Posted by Tony Thornborough on 1st September 2009 at 03:44 PM Salford Local History - Barton Upon Irwell a fascinating corner of Salford - (Part 2 of 2)
Filmed and Edited by Tony Thornborough
Words and Audio by Tony Flynn
Music by Ewan McCall Performed by the Pogues
Barton Upon Irwell is surely one of the most interesting and historical areas of Salford, if not the North West. Nestling beside the Manchester Ship Canal and only a few minutes walk from the Trafford Centre, this fascinating little corner of our City is best known for the Barton Swing Bridge and Barton Aqueduct. As we will discover however, there are some fascinating facts that may come as a surprise to many of the commuters who pass daily over Barton’s busy crossroads which once stood as the gateway into one of Europe’s largest industrial complexes – Trafford Park
How many times have you passed without noticing the Stonemasons personalised marks,a marvellous piece of architectural history, also you may be surprised to know that the Aqueduct site is a conservation area, obviously in need of some cleaning up.
Finally spot the deliberate mistake by the mystery gardner who calls the date on the slab as being 1841 when it is so obviously 1824!.
 Comment by Guest 6th December 2009
My greatgrandfather, employed by Handysides, was foreman steel erector for the aqueduct and I have a handwritten reference which he was given by the civil engineer in charge when it was finished. Nobody bothered to mention it when I was young, it was only when I started doing my family history that I found out. We visited the conservation area in October and, sadly, it still looks rather a mess. |
Comment by Guest 22nd September 2009
Well done Tony and team for showing us part of our Wonderful Industrial Heritage. So many "firsts" in that area of which we should all be proud. Doreen and Eddie Rowbottom of the Eccles Local History Society have produced a booklet called A Walk Around Barton which will complement the work that Tony also puts in to local history. I await the reopening of Eccles Library and hope that we can then purchase/borrow the whole range of local history books, videos etc. Tony is an Eccles lad, has written numberous books on local pubs, cinemas etc., etc., but at the moment there is not one outlet in Eccles stocking them. This is a disgrace.
Keep up the good work Tony,
Sean Kilgarriff. |
Comment by Guest 9th September 2009
Hi Allan,
Nice to hear from you all the way from Atlanta.
Regards to the query about the aqueduct, Brindleys original stone aqueduct across the River Irwell was demolished for the construction of The Manchester Ship Canal in the 1890's and the steel one which is in it's place was opened in 1893.
The part of the arch which is seen in the video was moved for the road widening of Barton Lane in 1894 and was situated slightly further down the road. Since that photograph of the two young girls alongside the arch the road has been widened and lowered to allow buses and heavy vehicles underneath the aqueduct, not always succesfully I may add!.
Tony Flynn. |
Comment by Guest 8th September 2009
Brilliant stuff, Tony. Was the stone aquaduct once moved over and rebuilt? (Atlanta Al) |
Comment by Guest 4th September 2009
Have just been told by one of our eagle eyed viewers that WRB 1824 stands for William Rigby Bradshaw who was the son and assistant of the Superintendent and Trustee, Mr R. H. Bradshaw.
The information came from Glenn Atkinsons excellently researched book, Bridges Over Barton, so at last I can sleep at night, many thanks to Julie from Essex for providing the information. Tony Flynn. |
Comment by Guest 3rd September 2009
Smashing videos,how nice the area looks until you see the so called Conservation Area, this is a disgrace to Barton.
Well done for highlighting this negleted and forgotten area of Eccles. |
Comment by Guest 2nd September 2009
I love these films,Tony.You must enjoy making them.I wish people wouldn't leave all their rubbish about,by the canal,though.Wanda |
Comment by Guest 2nd September 2009
Great, thanks. Cath |
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