Rochdale Canal, Sladen Lock 44 – Sladen Fold, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 39.334 W 002° 04.913
30U E 560676 N 5945591
The Rochdale canal is 32 miles long and connects Manchester on the west side of the Pennine Hills and Sowerby Bridge on the east side.
Waymark Code: WMD41E
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/15/2011
Views: 3
The Canal History
The Rochdale Canal was completed in 1804 and is one of three canals that cross the Pennine hills. This is the only one that doesn’t use tunnels. In addition it was a broad canal with bridges and locks that allowed boats of 14 feet width to pass through.
The one downside of not using tunnels is that it originally had 92 locks. These days two of them have been combined into one deep lock.
Competition from railways and roads subsequently led to a decline in goods being carried and by 1937 the only section left in operation was at the Manchester end of the canal.
In 1965 there was talk of abandoning the canal but by this time leisure boating had become very popular in the UK and there was a campaign to keep it open. Work was started and the canal slowly re-opened in a number of different stages. The whole length finally reopened in September 2007.
Details of this lock
Lock 44, known as Sladen Lock, is on the western side of the summit. This lock is near Sladen Fold and there is a cotton weaving mill here. There are a lot of mills around this area that used the canal to transport goods.
Most of the mills had some connection with the Fothergill family, who owned or part owned them. This particular mill was run by a company called Fothergill and Harvey which was established in 1859. They used the canal to transport raw cotton from Manchester ready for weaving at Greenvale Mill on this site.
The current mill was erected in 1940 and extended in 1950.
Fothergill and Harvey had links with a company that developed a method of producing Khaki dye used in army uniforms in hot countries. When the Boer War broke out the company became the main manufacturers of the required army uniforms and made them very profitable.
This part of the canal is easily accessible from the road that crosses the canal from the A6033 at Timbercliffe.
At the southern end of the lock is a narrow bridge that gives vehicular access to the mill from the road that runs along the eastern side of the canal from Timbercliffe.
Waterway Name: Rochdale Canal
Connected Points:
The City of Manchester on the western side of the Pennines hills and the town of Sowerby Bridge on the east.
Type: Lock
Date Opened: 01/01/1804
Elevation Difference (meters): 3.00
Site Status: Operational
Web Site: [Web Link]
Date Closed (if applicable): Not listed
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