Sankey Bridges - originalconfluence of Canal and Brook

Welcome to Sankey BridgesThis area has seen many changes through the industrial age rightthrough to the most recent rehabilitation works. The constructionof the Sankey Canal from 1757 marked the beginning of a periodof transformation. Commercial industries relating to the canal,housing and social provision for the workers all developed makingthe area lively and prosperous.

Private wharves, a coal yard and a public house called the‘Resolution Sloop’ existed here in 1756. A boat yard and drydock followed. Originally belonging to the Clare family the yardstarting building ‘Mersey flats’ in 1807 and continued for mostof the century. The Sankey Bridges boatyard had a spell offinancial difficulties about 1848. However, in 1855 their fortunesbegan to improve and the order book was full until at least1881.Today the boat yard is the site of the builders merchantsand the BMX track is on top of the dry dock.

Originally the canal ended at Sankey Bridges with boats lockingout into the Sankey Brook and then downstream to the Mersey.However, there were difficulties and delays due to tides and thewinding nature of the Brook. An extension of the canal wasauthorised in 1762 up to Fiddlers Ferry to alleviate these problems,although Sankey Lock continued in use until at least 1830 withboats attempting to jump the queues at Fiddlers Ferry. No traceof Sankey Lock remains today.

The advent of the railway marked significant change for thefortunes of the canal. By the 1830s canal dividends were falling.In 1845 the St Helens Canal and Railway Company were formedto amalgamate the commercial interests of the both the canal andthe railway. The area became more complex with houses,factories, storage yards, watercourses, locks, bridges, roadcrossings, railways lines and the station all crammed in.

In the early days canal traffic had priority over both road and railtraffic. It was custom to leave all the bridges open so boats couldsail through uninterrupted. If a road crossing were required thebridges would be swung over. The railway bridge was controlledby a signal box on the bank at the end of the station platform andred warning lights shone to remind trains to stop.

On a foggy night in November 1858 the locomotive “Actaoen’’ran into the canal at Sankey Bridges. The engine was required toreturn the same night but nobody remembered to tell the StationMaster whom, after the passage of the train, swung the bridge toallow canal traffic to pass during the night, and retired to bed asusual. On returning the driver missed the danger signal in the fogand the engine plunged into the canal. It took several days tohaul it out of the water.

There were some concerns about deterioration of the lock gatesand brickwork caused by the pollution from the chemical plantsof St Helens. In 1881 lock walls were collapsing and amaintenance dredger was bought in 1881 and tried out at SankeyBridges to keep the canal useable.

In 1913 the last boat was built at Sankey Bridges with repairfacilities being maintained until after World War One. The handoperated swing bridge for road traffic was replaced in 1915 byan electrically worked bascule bridge. In 1930 the bridge wasstrengthened and in 1972 it was replaced by a fixed bridge.

The recent works in this area have been funded by the NorthWest Development Agency. Their Land Reclamation Schemeaims to reclaim derelict and underused old industrial land creatingparkland, woodland and nature reserves.

Sankey Bridges and the Mersey White Lead Company (left) 1900s.

‘Santa Rosa’ being launched at Sankey Bridges in 1906.

Sankey Bridges railway bridge turning to allow the barge “Ellesborough”through, about 1955. This steel barge, built by Yarwoods of Northwich,was owned by Wolverhampton Corrugated Iron Company.

North of Sankey Bridges - Bridge on the left is across the entrance to thedry dock. The bascule bridge can be seen next to the Mersey White Leadworks and the Clare Ridgeway boatyard.

Sankey Bridges railway platform 1950.

“Ellesweir” at Sankey Bridges in 1961at theside of the Mersey WhiteLead works. In the background can be seen the ‘swing type’ railway bridgeand Sankey Bridges signal box.Photographs courtesy Warrington Museum, Peter A. Norton Archives and SCARS website www.scars.org.uk

Sankey Bridges - 1754with proposed Sankey Canal

This sign was dsigned by Warrington Borough Council Ranger Service in conjunction withThe Sankey Canal Restoration Society - 2003.

Winwick Maintenance YardThis complex was vital for the efficient operation of the canal and much of theelaborately constructed buildings remain. The main building, built in 1841, was a largewood and metal workshop. Timber bridges, gates, decking and fencing were all madeand repaired here. The important forge produced countless items of ironwork neededto keep the canal and its vessels functional. The yard was a resting and feeding point

for horses and mules hauling their boatsto St Helens so horse fodder was alsostored here.

A crane lifted boats into the buildingfrom the canal so they could be workedon under cover. A massive timber beamwas used to lift and move boats aroundinside and was supported on the hugeroof trusses.

The yard had its own narrow gaugerailway which was used to move coalfrom the canal boats to a storage areabeside the railway sidings, until it wasneeded by the locomotives.

Quay Fold cottages to the northprovided a variety of general services.One is reputed to have been a publichouse known as the Ship Inn, whilstanother had a room for public prayers.

Winwick Dry DockThis important feature is the only remaining dry dock on the Sankey Canal. It wasbuilt entirely of sandstone with stepped sides and curved ends. Notice the stepsallowing workers to get down to the floor and the sleepers for the traditional MerseyFlat boats to rest on. The one metre ‘threshold depth’ from the canal allowed theMersey Flats access for repair. Once the boat was inside, the dock gates were closedand the water drained off via a small culvert in the western wall. This simple buthighly efficient system used no machinery, just the lie of the land. Once repair workhad taken place the dock was filled and the boat floated out.

Winwick Dry Dock BridgeThe present bridge spanning the entrance to the dry dock is the third to occupy thesite. No information has been traced of the original or how it moved to allow theboats to enter. The second bridge may have had some form of lifting mechanism butagain no evidence has survived. In the latter days of the dry dock’s operation thesteam dredger ‘Winwick’ was brought to site and its crane used to remove the bridgewhenever access was required.

Steeped in history, the 15 mile Sankey Valley Park follows the course of England’soldest canal. The Warrington section combines the old and the new with rivers, ponds,woodlands and meadows all forming a superb backdrop to a variety of recreational andhistoric features.

The area where you are now was once a hive of canal activity. If you can, imagine thecanal full of water, people living and working here, the horses pulling boats and all thesounds and smells of a busy repair yard - voices, hammering, wood cutting, metalworking, coal burning and steaming timbers. Although the canal is now in-filled, theworkshop and dry dock complex still remain.

Winwick LockThis lock lowered the canal byabout two metres. It has the bestpreserved by-wash channel left atany lock on the canal, and much ofthe stonework of the lock chambersurvives in good condition. Thelock keepers cottage, which waslocated on the west bank, was lastoccupied by the Hedgewick familyand was vacated just before WorldWar 2 during which it was destroyedby German bombers.

Hulme LockThis lock and cottage werecompletely hidden by in-fillfollowing the demolition of thecottage in the late 1970’s.Excavation and restoration bySCARS volunteers and WBChave revealed both the floor planof the building and the structureof the lock and the by-washchannel. A variety of buildingmaterials including brick, slate,ceramic tiles and massive timberuprights in the lock wall havebeen used. The cottage wasoriginally of two rooms at locklevel with cellars below but waslater extended to include afurther room at each level.

Dallam SluicesAll the way from St Helens, theSankey Brook flowed at a lowerlevel than the canal, making it aconvenient overflow at times of heavy rain. Just south of Hulme Lock, Sankey Brookflowed into the canal then excess water drained through the sluices into the brook’soriginal course. The remains of the sluice gates and the stone lined channel can still beseen. From here on, the brook was at a higher level than the canal, causing widespreadflooding to the Dallam area on a regular basis. To eliminate this problem the brookwas diverted into the canal’s deepened channel at the lower level.

Sankey Canal - Sugar Barge. 1935 Approaching Hulme Lock photo courtesy of SCARS

Welcome to Sankey Valley Park - Winwick Quay

The Dredger ‘WIDNES’ in the Dry Dock 1959 Looking towards Hulme Lock

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Maintenance Yard Workers

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Winwick Lock 1970 photo courtesy Peter Harris collection

Winwick Maintenance Yard photo courtesy Warrington Development Corporation

Early 19th Century Map

Dallam Sluice photo courtesy Barker Archive

Approaching Hulme Lock photo courtesy Barker Archive

Sankey Sluices

Hulme Lock& Cottage

Dry Dock

DrawBridge

Swing Bridge

Boat HouseMaintenance Yard

Ship InnSwing Bridge

Winwick Lock

▼Today the local authorities of Warrington, St Helens and Halton,together with the Sankey Canal Restoration Society (SCARS), aredeveloping the Sankey Canal Trail as a 15 mile greenway for walkersand cyclists, whilst working towards the restoration of navigation.

This sign was produced by Warrington Borough Council RangerService in conjunction with SCARS and was funded by theEnvironment Agency. If you want to know more about the SankeyCanal, its history or plans for the future please contact the Rangers atSankey Valley Park. Tel : 01925 571836.

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