History At Ashton's Field - Walkden, UK - UK Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

The canal locks display you see before you is a reminder of Ashton;s Field's history which lies underground. Take a moment to imagine what it was like and how it has changed over the decades.

At the start of the Industrial Revolution Worsley grew in importancedue to the construction of the Bridgewater Canal which carried coal from the Duke of Bridgewater's estates in Worsley to Salford.

Existing mines north of Worsley suffered from flooding and a tunnel was constructed to drain water out to the surface.

This inspired a project to develop a network of underground canals to transport coal within the Worsley colliery.

John Gilbert, the Duke's land agent and engineer was architect of the underground canal system - the 'Navigable Level', running from the Delph at Worsley to Dixon Green near Walkden. Work began on the underground stretch of canal in Worsley in 1759 reaching Walkden in 1770.

Four levels with side branches created a total length of 52 miles of underground canals, connected by a water powered incline plane and lifts. This complex system of underground canals linked to the Bridgewater Canal and it emerged at the Delph in Worsley where mine boats loaded with coal would transfer their cargo to larger boats that went on to market in Manchester.

The system was last used for coal in 1884 after which it was solely used for drainage purposes. The underground canals were eventually shut following the closure in 1968 of Mosley Common - the last pit in the area.

Their structure remains to this day - beneath your feet!