Mersey and Irwell Navigation

The Mersey and Irwell Navigation was a river route in North West England linking the Mersey estuary to Manchester. It followed the River Irwell and parts of the River Mersey, with eight locks built between 1724 and 1734. The navigation was improved several times, including a new canal section added in 1804 to bypass difficult stretches. Thomas Steers revived the plan in 1712, and the navigation opened in 1734, allowing boats to travel from Manchester to the Irish Sea. The route included weirs, cuts and locks to keep water levels steady and ease bends. Quays and warehouses were built along Water Street in Manchester in 1740. The navigation carried goods between Liverpool and Manchester for over a century. In 1844 it was bought by the Bridgewater Canal Company for £550,800, and later sold again in 1872 for £1,112,000. By 1882 it was described as choked with silt and usable for only 47 days in 311. Rising railway competition and high port charges made the route less profitable. The navigation’s decline led to plans for a ship canal that would give Manchester direct access to the sea. Today only a short stretch of the original navigation survives upstream of Pomona Docks. The Woolston New Cut and parts of the Runcorn to Latchford Canal still exist, though the cuts are now dry. The remains of several locks can be seen, including Throstles Nest Lock, Mode Wheel Lock and Howley Tidal Lock. The Barton-upon-Irwell lock once stood beside James Brindley’s aqueduct. These remnants show how the navigation once carried trade between Manchester and the coast.