The Beat Bank Branch Canal was an abortive canal near Manchester, England. It was to leave the Stockport Branch Canal in South Reddish and it was to be lock free but with a short tunnel. It was to follow the contour above the right bank of the River Tame, firstly in a northerly direction and then easterly as it followed the meandering course of the river upstream. It was to terminate at or near to the coalmining hamlet of Beat Bank in Denton where it could also secure supplies of coal from nearby mines at Haughton Green.
The Stockport Branch Canal and the Beat Bank Branch Canal were both authorised by an Act of Parliament obtained by the Proprietors of the Ashton Canal in March 1793, just nine months after the Act which authorised the main line of the canal. This second Act also authorised the Hollinwood Branch Canal, and allowed the Proprietors to raise £30,000 to fund the construction of all three branches. The Hollingwood branch opened in late 1796, and the Stockport branch followed in January 1797. Construction of the Beat Bank branch was difficult, as it was on a clay slope at the edge of the Tame Valley, which was liable to slippage, and once the Ashton Canal Company had secured an adequate coal-carrying business on the Hollinwood Branch Canal and the Fairbottom Branch Canal, they decided to suspend all work on the unfinished Beat Bank Branch Canal. They informed William Hulton, the owner of the coal mines at Denton, that they could not afford to complete the work.[1]
An Act of Parliament obtained in 1798 allowed the Canal Company to raise further money and abandon the unfinished canal. Its progress through Parliament was opposed by Hulton, who declined an initial offer of the unfinished canal, but he was unsuccessful in his opposition. Some of the money raised was used to pay compensation to land and property owners along the line of the canal for loss or damage caused by the activities of the Canal Company.[2]
Routeedit
Only a very short length of the canal was put in water at Reddish[3] and this was known as the Beat Bank or Reddish Private Branch. Just beyond the watered section, the plans showed a 110-yard (100 m) tunnel, but construction of this was not started. Beyond the tunnel, most of the bed was excavated for a distance of around 0.6 miles (0.97 km). No work was done on the section between there and the site of a proposed reservoir, and then another section of around 1 mile (1.6 km) was built, but the final length to the collieries was not.[4]
Sections of this canal still remain along Reddish Vale Allotments, to the right of Ross Lave Lane and past the M60 viaduct. The engineers who built the M60 viaduct used the same contours as those who built the Beat Bank branch canal and subsequently severed it.
The 1848 Ordnance Survey map shows about 300 yards (270 m) of canal running from the junction towards the site of the tunnel, but there are no buildings to indicate what it might have been used for.[5] By 1893, only about half of it was left,[6] and by 1907, an engineering works had been built beside the railway, and the remains of the canal are shown as little more than a widening of the main line at the location of the former junction.[7]
^All points are based on the 1848 Ordnance Survey 1:10,560 map
November 12, 2023
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The Beat Bank Branch Canal was an abortive canal near Manchester England It was to leave the Stockport Branch Canal in South Reddish and it was to be lock free but with a short tunnel It was to follow the contour above the right bank of the River Tame firstly in a northerly direction and then easterly as it followed the meandering course of the river upstream It was to terminate at or near to the coalmining hamlet of Beat Bank in Denton where it could also secure supplies of coal from nearby mines at Haughton Green Beat Bank Branch CanalSpecificationsStatusabandoned before completionHistoryOriginal ownerAshton Canal CompanyDate of act1793Date closed1798GeographyStart pointBeat Bank DentonEnd pointSouth ReddishConnects toStockport Branch CanalvteBeat Bank Branch CanalLegendBeat Bank Collieries6 Section not started5 Section built but not wateredBridgeSite for proposed reservoir4 Section not started3 Section built but not wateredTunnel not built 2 Section not started1 Section built and wateredJn with Stockport Branch Canal Contents 1 History 2 Route 3 Points of interest 4 See also 5 Bibliography 5 1 ReferencesHistory editThe Stockport Branch Canal and the Beat Bank Branch Canal were both authorised by an Act of Parliament obtained by the Proprietors of the Ashton Canal in March 1793 just nine months after the Act which authorised the main line of the canal This second Act also authorised the Hollinwood Branch Canal and allowed the Proprietors to raise 30 000 to fund the construction of all three branches The Hollingwood branch opened in late 1796 and the Stockport branch followed in January 1797 Construction of the Beat Bank branch was difficult as it was on a clay slope at the edge of the Tame Valley which was liable to slippage and once the Ashton Canal Company had secured an adequate coal carrying business on the Hollinwood Branch Canal and the Fairbottom Branch Canal they decided to suspend all work on the unfinished Beat Bank Branch Canal They informed William Hulton the owner of the coal mines at Denton that they could not afford to complete the work 1 An Act of Parliament obtained in 1798 allowed the Canal Company to raise further money and abandon the unfinished canal Its progress through Parliament was opposed by Hulton who declined an initial offer of the unfinished canal but he was unsuccessful in his opposition Some of the money raised was used to pay compensation to land and property owners along the line of the canal for loss or damage caused by the activities of the Canal Company 2 Route editOnly a very short length of the canal was put in water at Reddish 3 and this was known as the Beat Bank or Reddish Private Branch Just beyond the watered section the plans showed a 110 yard 100 m tunnel but construction of this was not started Beyond the tunnel most of the bed was excavated for a distance of around 0 6 miles 0 97 km No work was done on the section between there and the site of a proposed reservoir and then another section of around 1 mile 1 6 km was built but the final length to the collieries was not 4 Sections of this canal still remain along Reddish Vale Allotments to the right of Ross Lave Lane and past the M60 viaduct The engineers who built the M60 viaduct used the same contours as those who built the Beat Bank branch canal and subsequently severed it The 1848 Ordnance Survey map shows about 300 yards 270 m of canal running from the junction towards the site of the tunnel but there are no buildings to indicate what it might have been used for 5 By 1893 only about half of it was left 6 and by 1907 an engineering works had been built beside the railway and the remains of the canal are shown as little more than a widening of the main line at the location of the former junction 7 Points of interest editMap all coordinates using OpenStreetMapDownload coordinates as KML GPX all coordinates GPX primary coordinates GPX secondary coordinates Point Coordinates Links to map resources OS Grid Ref NotesEast end of excavated section 53 26 32 N 2 07 30 W 53 4421 N 2 1249 W 53 4421 2 1249 East end of excavated section SJ917939 section 5 8 Course cut by motorway 53 26 28 N 2 07 54 W 53 4410 N 2 1316 W 53 4410 2 1316 Course cut by motorway SJ913938 section 5West end of excavated section 53 26 35 N 2 08 27 W 53 4430 N 2 1409 W 53 4430 2 1409 West end of excavated section SJ907940 section 5East end of excavated section 53 26 25 N 2 08 51 W 53 4403 N 2 1475 W 53 4403 2 1475 East end of excavated section SJ903937 section 3East end of tunnel site 53 26 02 N 2 09 09 W 53 4339 N 2 1524 W 53 4339 2 1524 East end of tunnel site SJ899930 section 3End of watered section 53 25 58 N 2 09 33 W 53 4328 N 2 1593 W 53 4328 2 1593 End of watered section SJ895928 section 1Junction with Stockport Canal 53 25 55 N 2 09 45 W 53 4319 N 2 1626 W 53 4319 2 1626 Junction with Stockport Canal SJ892928See also edit nbsp United Kingdom portal nbsp Transport portalCanals of the United Kingdom History of the British canal systemBibliography editDean Richard 2001 Canals of Manchester Historical Canal Maps No 3 M amp M Baldwin ISBN 0 947712 12 7 Hadfield Charles Biddle Gordon 1970 The Canals of North West England Vol 2 David and Charles ISBN 0 7153 4992 9 References edit Hadfield amp Biddle 1970 pp 294 295 Hadfield amp Biddle 1970 pp 295 296 Hadfield amp Biddle 1970 p 298 Dean 2001 Ordnance Survey 1 10 560 map 1848 Ordnance Survey 1 2500 map 1893 Ordnance Survey 1 2500 map 1907 All points are based on the 1848 Ordnance Survey 1 10 560 map Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Beat Bank Branch Canal amp oldid 1008380063, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
