Dr. Cyril Boucher Memorial - Marple, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 24.425 W 002° 04.087
30U E 561948 N 5917960
This memorial plaque was erected to the memory of Dr. Cyril Boucher an early pioneer of the Peak Forest Canal Society who was instrumental in getting the canal restored and re-opened.
Waymark Code: WMMWK1
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/15/2014
Views: 1
The Peak Forest Canal
It is a narrow canal constructed between 1794 and 1805 and is fourteen miles long. It connects Buxworth with Dukinfield where it joins the Ashton Canal. The main purpose of the canal was to transport limestone from quarries above Buxworth. There are sixteen locks near the town of Marple that raise the canal a height of 210 feet in a distance of 1 mile.
The advent of the railways and later modern roads led to the decline of the canal and it fell into disuse between 1920 and 1960. An upsurge in leisure boat use led to the canal being restored and reopened in 1974.
The Memorial
Dr. Cyril Boucher lived in a house that overlooked the Peak Forest Canal and became actively involved in the campaign to restore the canal. The first success in this campaign was the overturning of the decision to demolish the Marple Aqueduct where this memorial stands.
Severe damage was caused during the hard winters of 1961/2 and 1962/3 when ice formed in the trough, expanding and causing the parapet wall to collapse. Because the canal was no longer commercially used it was proposed to demolish the aqueduct. However the local campaign saved the aqueduct and this success led to the final restoration and reopening of the whole canal.
The memorial stone has an information board with information about both the canal and Dr. Cyril Boucher.
MARPLE AQUEDUCT
One of the wonders of the Cheshire Ring, this three arched aqueduct carries he Peak Forest Canal nearly 100 feet over the
River Goyt. Opened in 1800 the designer was the Peak Forest canal engineer, Benjamin Outram
The Peak Forest Canal was the main route to Dukinfield
and was opened throughout in 1804. It fell into disuse in
the 1960s and restoration was started by the Inland
Waterways Association and The Peak Forest Canal Society
with stalwarts like Cyril Boucher.
Dr. Boucher carried out much
of the hands on work and gave
the invaluable technical advice
which led to the re-opening of
the canal in 1974.
A tramroad was laid in 1798 enabling limestone traffic to
travel to Manchester with freight from the quarries in the
Derbyshire Hills. The tramroad of Marple was doubled in
1801 and operated until the opening of the locks in 1804.
The locks allow boats to descend 214 feet (65.2 metres)
from the level of the Macclesfield Canal.
The aqueduct and flight of 16 locks part of the
Cheshire Ring of Canals and still represent an amazing
feat of engineering.
There is also an inscription dedicated to Dr. Boucher on the concrete surround of the information board. This has become rather weathered and covered in lichen but is still just visible.
IN MEMORY OF
CYRIL BOUCHER
1910 - 1997
A PIONEER IN PRACTICAL
CANAL RESTORATION