The Fairbottom Branch Canal was a canal near

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 48,604 at the 2021 census. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, Greater Manchester, ...

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

, England.

Route

The canal left the

Hollinwood Branch Canal The Hollinwood Branch Canal was a canal near Hollinwood, Greater Manchester, Hollinwood, in Oldham, England. It left the main line of the Ashton Canal at Fairfield railway station (Greater Manchester), Fairfield Junction immediately above lock ...

at Fairbottom Junction immediately above lock 22. It was just over one mile long (1.82 km) and it was lock free. It terminated at Fenny Fields Bridge, Bardsley, which is situated in the Medlock Valley between

and

Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...

History

Although this canal was mainly rural, its main purpose was to carry coal so there was a loading stage for coal and a short private branch for the same purpose. There was also a mill. Immediately north east of the terminus at Fenny Fields Bridge an industrial community was founded at Park Bridge and a tramway, which included a small-bore tunnel long, connected the two together. This community was founded in 1783 by Samuel Lees to make rollers for the textile industry. This community expanded rapidly as the demand for textile machinery increased. Following the premature death of Samuel in 1804 the factory was successfully run by his widow Hannah Lees née Buckley and in later years the company was renamed Hannah Lees & Sons in her honour. The last part of this works closed in 1963 due to the decline in the textile industry. Fairbottom Branch

Around 1800, water was being supplied to this canal by '' Fairbottom Bobs'', a

Newcomen engine The atmospheric engine was invented by Thomas Newcomen in 1712, and is sometimes referred to as the Newcomen fire engine (see below) or Newcomen engine. The engine was operated by condensing steam being drawn into the cylinder, thereby creating ...

working for mine drainage. At first, waggon haulage on the tramway was by means of horses but early in the 1840s a steam locomotive called 'The Ashtonian' replaced them. Because of the narrow-bore tunnel, the driver needed to be of short stature and even then he had to kneel down to pass through the tunnel. The locomotive's funnel also had to be removed. This tramway remained operational into the 1880s. In the early 1930s two leakages occurred that made it necessary to lower the water level in the canal and this, coupled with mining subsidence, caused its unofficial closure in 1932. By 1948 the canal was completely unnavigable but it did remain in water. Much of the line of the former canal remained intact and there are now plans to re-open part of it again as an amenity canal along with much of the Hollinwood Branch Canal.

References

External links

Park Bridge
{{Coord, 53.5058, -2.1222, display=title, region:GB, format=dms Canals in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham Canals in Tameside Canals opened in 1792

Route

History

See also

References

External links