Barton Aqueduct

The original intention was for the Bridgewater Canal to reach Salford from the Duke of Bridgewater's coal mines in Worsley, by remaining on the north bank of the Irwell. Work began in 1759, but it was quickly decided to alter the route by building a masonry aqueduct to carry the waterway over the Irwell at Barton, and terminate instead in Manchester, to the south of the river. A Bill to authorise the new route was presented to parliament on 13 November 1759, and in January the following year Brindley travelled to London to give evidence before a parliamentary committee in support of the proposal. Although a gifted engineer Brindley had no formal education and rarely, if ever, committed his…

At about 200 yd long, 12 yd wide and 39 ft above the river at its highest point, the aqueduct was, for its time, an enormous construction. Early illustrations show the aqueduct's piers to have been flat-faced, but an engraving of 1864 shows them to have pointed cutwaters extending beyond the spring of the arch; it is likely that the piers were refaced in the early 1820s. The arches were composed of several rings of brickwork, with masonry used for decorative keystones. All the masonry used in the structure was coursed ashlar. On the day it was first tested the water was allowed to flow in, but one of the arches began to buckle under the weight. Brindley, overcome with anxiety, retired to…