Sad to report former Canal & Riverboat editor Norman Alborough passed away peacefully at home on August 9^th following a long battle with cancer. Norman was a great support to IWPS during his tenure and regularly commissioned articles on Bugsworth along with including our normal press releases and news reports, and was guest of honour and speaker at one of our Annual Dinners at Castleton. In recent years he had moved onto editing an antiques magazine until failing health meant he had to retire. Personally I will always remember his ready wit and his ability to magic up a joke at any time. Our sympathies go to his wife Linda at this troubled time.

Les Robinson

British Waterways' proposals for an extension to the Leeds & Liverpool Canal beyond its current Tobacco Warehouse terminus in Liverpool's Stanley Dock, across Pier Head and into the South Docks in Liverpool, are to be supported by a £7.5 million grant from the North West Development Agency.

At 126 miles, the Leeds & Liverpool is already the longest canal in Britain and this extension would add further 1.4 miles. The total cost of the project is likely to be about £17 million, and subject to the balance of funding being put in place, construction of the link is due to begin later in 2005 when work begins on the construction of a cruise liner facility begins at Pier Head.

The Ashton Canal and the Lower Peak Forest Canal, which includes Marple Locks, were officially re-opened to navigation on the 13 May 1974 by Mr Denis Howell MP, Minister of State at the Department of the Environment. At the time, no recognition was given to the sterling efforts of the Peak Forest Canal Society and many other volunteers without whom both canals and Marple locks would have been lost forever.

The Manchester Branch of the Inland Waterways Association commissioned this new plaque, which formally recognises and celebrates those efforts. It can now be seen at Top Lock, Marple, on the wall beside the 1974 plaque.

The new plaque at Top Lock, Marple, which celebrates the efforts of the Peak Forest Canal Society and many other volunteers. Photo: Peter J Whitehead

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By Peter J Whitehead

Three main types of canal were developed in Britain in the second half of the 18^th century, namely broad canals, with locks 14 feet wide, narrow canals, with locks 7 feet wide, and tub-boat canals. The latter type of canal was developed to pass through land where the gradients were particularly steep and they were principally built in Shropshire and the South West. The complex network of tub-boat canals in Shropshire was characterised by their short length and narrow width. In total, five tub-boat canals were built in the area now known as Telford, these being the Donnington Wood Canal, Ketley Canal, Shrewsbury Canal, Shropshire Canal and the Wombridge Canal.

The tub boats that plied these canals traversed incline planes mounted either in cradles or caissons running on rails, those in Shropshire being fitted with cradles.

As early as the 1780s, canal engineers were searching for means of replacing flights of locks with other devices, such as inclined planes and lifts, and for contrivances, such as cradles and caissons, to carry boats. Today, no inclined planes remain in working order on Britain’s canal system but their remains, sometimes obscured by undergrowth and trees, can still be found here and there. Approximately 20 inclined planes were constructed in the South West alone, notably on the Bude and Torrington Canals and the Ridd inclined plane on the latter canal is particularly noteworthy.

In Shropshire, the Donnington Wood Canal ran from Pave Lane, near Newport, through Lilleshall to Donnington Wood. It had branches at Lilleshall and at Donnington Wood there was an inclined plane to the mines. The Ketley Canal connected Ketley and Oakengates, where it linked with the Shropshire Canal, and it had one inclined plane. The Shrewsbury Canal, constructed by Josiah Clowes and later Thomas Telford, ran from the foot of the Trench inclined plane to the centre of Shrewsbury. It contained the renowned iron aqueduct at Longdon and a number of guillotine locks. The Shropshire Canal ran from Donnington Wood to Coalport and it had four inclined planes. The Wombridge Canal ran from Wombridge, via the head of the inclined plane at Trench, to Donnington Wood where it connected with the Donnington Wood Canal. At Trench, access to the Shrewsbury Canal was by means of the inclined plane. To compound matters, the Newport Branch Canal eventually connected the Shrewsbury Canal to the main line of the Birmingham & Liverpool Junction Canal (Shropshire Union Canal) at Norbury Junction.

At first, the inclined planes in Shropshire were self-acting, descending loaded boats hauling up empty ones, and horse gins provided power when the reverse situation applied. However, gins were quickly superseded by steam engines that powered a complicated arrangement of pulleys used in the haulage process. Tub boats were rectangular in plan, 20 feet long x 6 feet 4 inches wide, and were of wrought iron construction. A boat descending an inclined plane entered one of the two chambers, built at a right angle to the canal, where it was manoeuvred over a submerged cradle running on rails. Once in place, the boat was secured to the cradle in readiness for its passage down the plane. The cradle was then hauled over a sill and onto the plane, at which point it was still inside the chamber. When everything was ready it began its descent, which required just a few minutes, and a small number of workmen were able to complete the whole operation.

The best preserved is the Hay inclined plane at Coalport in Shropshire. Here there is a difference of 207 feet between the Shropshire Canal and the bottom of the Severn Gorge where goods were transhipped between tub boats from the canal and barges/Severn trows on the river. It became disused around the turn of the 20^th century following which the rails were ripped up and the associated buildings partially destroyed. Following the establishment of the Ironbridge Gorge Museums Trust in the early 1970s, the plane was cleared and the rails were replaced. Volunteer working parties from the Peak Forest Canal Society assisted with this work. Nowadays, a section of the Shropshire Canal and the inclined plane are contained within the Blists Hill open-air museum.

A rare view of the Hay inclined plane at Coalport, Shropshire, late 19th century.   At the top of the plane the two chambers, where tub boats were manoeuvred onto cradles, can be seen and the large structure above housed the pulleys that were used to haul tub boats on the plane. The adjoining building on the right is the engine house and the chimney further to the right marks the location of the boiler house.   Photograph: Jack Brady Archive Collection

The Hay inclined plane at Coalport, Shropshire, April 1975.  Members of a Peak Forest Canal Society Working Party are seen here helping to replace the rails on the incline. Photograph: Chris Griffiths/Jack Brady Archive Collection

The inclined plane on the Ketley Canal is commemorated on a halfpenny trade token dated 1792. At this time the government was not issuing sufficient small coinage and employers were quick to exploit government inertia by issuing their own money in the form of trade tokens. Employees were paid using these tokens, which could only be spent at the company shop or exchanged for coins of the realm at some remote location.

The reverse of this token depicts the chambers into which tub boats had to enter to enable them to be manoeuvred over cradles. On the left an empty cradle can be seen at the top of the plane and on the right a workman seems to be operating a control lever. Mounted above the chambers is the arrangement of pulleys that were powered by a steam engine.

The exact date of the opening of the Ketley Canal is unknown but the trade token shows that it was operational by 1789. Although this canal was only 1½ miles long, the difference in height between the two ends was 73 feet at Ketley Bank. As a result of this, the engineer, William Reynolds of Ketley, built what is believed to be Britain’s first inclined plane. The function of this canal was to supply ironstone to the Ketley ironworks. In 1816 this works closed and thus the Ketley Canal became unused. It is believed that the inclined plane remained operational for another two years before it too closed.

	1792 halfpenny trade token. Coalbrookdale, the first iron bridge. The obverse depicts a boat, possibly a Severn Trow, passing below the famed iron bridge at Coalbrookdale. The wording above the bridge states, ‘ERECTED ANNO 1779. SPAN 100 FEET.’ Around the periphery it is worded, ‘IRON BRIDGE AT COALBROOK DALE. 1792’. The reverse depicts the top of the inclined plane on the Ketley Canal and below it is worded, ‘INCLINED PLANE AT KETLEY 1789’. Material: copper. Diameter: 1 5/32 inch. Photograph: Author’s collection
The inclined plane at Chapel-en-le-Frith, early 20th century. This photograph of the incline was taken from Buxton Road bridge over the tramway and it shows waggons moving over the plane. A disc signal is visible between the tracks and this was used to inform the Brakeman at the top that everything was ready so that he could begin to move waggons over the plane. When it was misty or dark, a bell was used for communication purposes. Photo: IWPS Archive Collection
	The top of the inclined plane at Chapel-en-le-Frith, late 1920s. It is known that the tramway was used to dismantle itself following its abandonment and the waggons appear to be loaded with scrap material in readiness for their journey down to Bugsworth Canal Basin. Note the steel haulage rope between the lines. The building on the left is the Brakeman’s house and the one on the right is a stable for tramway horses. Photo: IWPS Archive Collection

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Transport Minister, Derek Twigg, has officially opened the first resurfaced section of towpath at Runcorn. This runs from Top Locks, Waterloo Bridge and Railway Arches to Leira Way.

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In the list of Pete’s walks printed in the April, 2005, issue of 174, I completely missed out the Somersetshire Coal Canal visit which also included Combe Hay locks etc.

I am indebted to Derrick Hunt for pointing out the error. Derrick also tell me that they have now excavated the Fussell’s Boat Lift (Balance Lock) which is well worth a visit if you are in the Bradford on Avon and Frome area. Don Baines

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IWPS Walks - River Irwell and Ship Canal

On the far side of the bridge is the famous Mark Addy pub where we were regaled with the tales of this extraordinary man who frequently jumped in to the river to save drowning persons, and who ended up dying of something almost certainly picked up from the unpleasant grimy waters. A ramp just beyond the pub takes the path town past Ralli Quays, though the path sadly degenerates quickly once you pass under Irwell Street and is like a jungle for the next few hundred yards, though you may be rewarded with a splendid crop of blackberries to keep the hunger pangs at bay. The verdant growth eventually gives way enough to spot the entrance lock to the Manchester & Salford Junction Canal on the opposite bank, and not long after, our path rises up to pass over the former entrance to the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal. The MB&B is being restored as part of the massive Middlewood development on the far side of the ring-road which crosses the canal above the former Lock 2, but this side of the ring-road looks as abandoned as ever.

The river passes under Princes Bridge and then two railways, the first of which was the original Manchester-Liverpool line out of the station, which now forms the Museum of Science and Industry. The towpath rises up towards the Wilburn Street basin built in 1865 principally for the transhipping of nightsoil downstream to the flat, farmed landscape of Chat Moss. The interpretation board here, in need of a clean, tells the story of the flat ‘Emma’ that was launched hereabouts, fully rigged with around 200 people on board. She hit the bank, capsized and around forty people drowned. We broke for lunch at Regent Bridge, half of the party making for the Harry Ramsden’s fish restaurant, and the other half for the somewhat less salubrious Bricklayers Arms on Ordsall Lane, with some excellent Holts ale on tap.

Resuming in the afternoon we passed the confluence of the River Medlock and the Irwell on the far bank with the now-disused Hulme Lock behind it – replaced by Pomona Lock further downstream as the link between the Bridgewater and Manchester Ship Canals. The Ship Canal strictly starts a hundred yards further downstream from Hulme Lock where the Woden Street footbridge crosses over. The footpath has been quite good since Regent Bridge and continues in that vein as this walkway was created in the late 1980’s at the expense of the Trafford park Development Corporation. The former gate across the path just below Woden Street appears to have been removed and the plaque with the path’s opening hours (presumably now redundant) ends with the two words ‘City of’; have Salford scrubbed out their name in an attempt to disown either the path or its formerly restrictive opening hours ? Two anonymous concrete obelisks stand on a linking footpath near Everard Street, and at Modwen Road, also the site of locked gates in the past, the same semi-obliterated sign with opening hours.

Until only a few years ago the walkway ended just beyond here at Colgate-Palmolive’s works, but Salford council paid for the path to be extended out along the Colgate perimeter wall and thence continuing to Trafford Road and Salford Quays. We noted Pomona Lock on the far side, situated at the end of the old Pomona Dock No 3 and pondered the demise of Dock No 4 which seemed to have been completely eradicated, as has Dock 5 which was on the Salford side almost exactly where the Modwen Road office development now stands. As we approached the bend before Trafford Road swingbridge, we paused and noted more photographs of the area in its pre-Ship Canal days. The Mersey & Irwell took a much tighter turn here and would have passed under the Trafford Road some fifty yards or so north of where the Ship Canal currently passes beneath it. Just upstream of the original bridge was Throstle Nest lock, now buried under the new buildings on the edge of Exchange Square.

We followed the path under the swingbridge where the walkway now ends in the car park of the former cinema which boomed briefly following the development of Salford Quays, but then ironically started losing out to the cinema at the nearby Trafford Centre. Looking west towards Mode Wheel Lock, we noted the remains of the supports for the old railway swingbridge that crossed just below the road bridge – the bridge itself has been moved to a site on the former dock 9, close to the Lowry theatre. As we bore right we noted that there is a tunnel under the road roughly on the line of the old navigation and next to it a plaque indicating the site of the Old Trafford Bridge, opened November 7^th 1878 (pre-dating the Ship Canal by sixteen years). We climbed up to the roadway, crossed back into Manchester (or more precisely Trafford) and took the flight of steps down to the path on the other bank. Continuing north for around 200 yards, we then took a well-hidden flight of steps up to Pomona Strand, and Throstle Nest footbridge over the Bridgewater Canal. From here we followed the Bridgewater north back into the city, stopping briefly to note Brindley’s circular weir which takes the Cornbrook under the canal – the brook is the boundary between Manchester and Trafford. A buzz of noise gradually increased as we headed across the little overbridges that span short arms and noted the former entrance to Hulme Lock. The spit of land between the canal and the lock branch is being developed by John McAslan & Partners as St George’s Island canalside apartments.

We eventually reached Castlefield to find a carnival in full swing with most of the bars seeming to have DJs doing their thing on the turntables (or whatever it is they use now in this post-vinyl world). While it was great to see the canals being so well used, the thumping noise and crowded bar patios were something to which our rather genteel sensibilities felt particularly unattuned so having made our way up to Castle Street, we bid our farewells and made our way home.

A preliminary interpretation— by Don Baines

In July 2004, David Wilde, son of Lloyd and Mildred, who lived at Canal House, presented the IWPS with a collection of forty-five canal tickets, perhaps more-correctly described as order notes, for “loads of broken stone” to be supplied via Bugsworth Canal Basin. The notes cover the period 20/10/1903 to 31/12/1903.

The orders were from Brunner Mond & Co. Limited, Sandbach, for boat loads of Broken Stone to be delivered to “Our Betchton Sidings, Near Ettiley Heath Station, North Stafford Railway.” The reference to the sidings probably has no relevance to the destination which was almost certainly the canal wharf at the Brunner Mond chemical works at Malkins Bank, Sandbach. The canal wharf at Malkins Bank was just below the 4^th lock from the bottom of the Wheelock Flight, a distance of approximately 40 miles from Bugsworth and with 36 locks to negotiate. The explanation that the Brunner Mond company had no special order forms relating to the canal and simply used their normal railway-style tickets is the most likely. The Malkins Bank works were demolished around the 1930s and the area is now a golf course.

A typical example of the order notes is shown below. In this case the date of origination is the 12 December 1903.

A study of the tickets led to the following observations and assumptions with regard to the tickets themselves.

The notes were originated at Sandbach and issued to the boatman prior to departure for loading at Bugsworth.

The originator added his/her initials though not on all notes. There are predominantly two styles of originator’s handwriting, one upright, the other backward leaning (perhaps left handed?). However, one note (S 13811) has two distinctly different handwriting styles, one for the order of 1 Boat Broken Stone and the other a note in red and underlined which reads To load before hired boats.

On the note shown: below the order is the name J Archer and the date 15/12/03.

The assumption is that this is the boatman’s name and the date of loading or departure. It is not thought to be the boatman’s signature or handwriting as there are only two different handwriting styles on all the notes. The handwriting, therefore, must be that of the wharfinger(s). Was the wharfinger still John Worth listed in the 1881 census? He was only 46 in 1881.

There are some dubious entries which gives the impression that the bookkeeping wasn’t very diligent.

The first task, after studying the tickets, was to gather what information was to be gleaned from them. This was tabulated as shown below and produced some conclusions but raised many more questions.

Over the period 20^th October 1903 to 31 December 1903, 47 boats were loaded with ‘Broken Stone’ presumably limestone as it was going to Brunner Mond for the production of soda ash (See Limestone - The Bugsworth Legacy by P J Whitehead).

Assuming 25 tons per load, some 1175 tons were shipped to Malkins Bank from Bugsworth over the period.

Was this the only canal traffic from Bugsworth in 1903? Probably not, but where are any other records?

Six tickets have the instruction to load before outside boats or to load before hired boats, in the same handwriting as the person making out the order. There is one exception, where the instruction has been added in red ink. Presumably these boats belonged to the Brunner Mond company and got preferential treatment.

The elapsed time between the order ticket being issued and the boat being loaded varies widely with the shortest being 1 day. If the orders were given to the boatman as he departed from Malkins Bank, then to be loaded the following day at Bugsworth they must have travelled non-stop to do it.

The frequency with which boats reappeared at Bugsworth also varies widely, from 3 days upwards. To have left Bugsworth, travelled the 40 or so miles to Malkins Bank, unloaded there, and returned for another load in 3 days is some going, bearing in mind this was being done in winter! The most likely explanation here is that the first date is wrong and perhaps occurred with the wharfinger catching up on his paperwork. To return in four days seems more reasonable but even so they were putting in very long hours and a lot of hard work to do it. One can only imagine the hazards of operating through the hours of darkness on cold winter’s days.

This example of order has a very distinctive originator’s style of handwriting and a completely different style for the person who added the “load before hired boats” comment.

This is an example of the second most common handwriting on the orders. The originators initials are in the bottom right hand corner and appear to be ACD. Note the backward sloping script, perhaps indicative of a left-handed person.

Common to all three tickets shown is the style of handwriting of the person who added the boatperson’s name and the unusual way he or she showed the date.

Analysis of the Brunner Mond Tickets

Days to load = the number of days between the date of the note and the date of departure.

Days between departures = the number of days between the departure of a boat (boatman’s name) and the next departure of the same boat.

J Roscoe and J Ruscoe are the same person

Sadler and W Sadler are the same person 

* The handwriting of these signatories looks remarkably similar - so, assuming the name is that of the boatman and that they did not write it themselves , who signed the notes? The wharfinger?

** Comment as above but a different handwriting.

There appears, therefore, to have been two people who despatched the loads.

3 The name Sadler on this note appears to have been written by the same person who wrote the order and may, or may not, refer the same W Sadler on the first note.

? 34 days seems excessively long and the Sadler name reappears on the 15/12/1903. Should the date have been 3/11/03 for departure or was Sadler ill or doing other work?

?? 30 days. Was the wharfinger catching up on his paperwork? Perhaps this too was a bookkeeping error - so what was the real date of departure?

$ Note date later than previous but higher numbered note

% The letter S and first two digits are missing from this note but the handwriting is identical and there is numerically only 3 difference from the previous one, therefore safe to assume S 11 to start the number.

^ In addition to above comment, the second date or name is probably an error since S Hodkinson was loaded only the day before. Alternatively, were there two S Hodkinson’s or did he operate two boats? The most likely explanation is that they were the father and daughter listed in the Boat Census of 1891.

& The comment ‘One for last time’ appears twice and accompanies an order for two boat loads. Does it mean a reminder for a previously ordered load or is it a follow up order for a load already received?

Is the J Goddard named on the Brunner note listed above, the son, James, of William Goddard, a Bugsworth boatman listed in the 1881 census (extract shown below). James would have been 30 in 1903 and his father 60

Residents of Bugsworth - 1881 Census - abbreviated to include boat people only

An occasional series of extracts from the 1881 Census taken on Sunday, 3^rd April and Monday, 4^th April 1881.

Census place: Chinley, Bugsworth and Brownside. Public Record Office Ref: RG11.

Key: Col.2, Marital Status. Col.3, Relationship to Head of Household. Col. 4, Age. Col. 6, Birthplace.

Charlotte from Bugsworth

James Taylor (Crew) Widower Age 71 Boatman born Manchester

Was this J Taylor related to the T Taylor named on the Brunner Mond notes? His father perhaps. James would have been 83 in 1903. More than likely no relation.

Beatrice from Malkins Bank (Malkins Bank is on the Trent and Mersey Canal at Sandbach)

Samuel Hodgkinson (Captain) married age 49 Boatman born Cheshire, Elton, Nr Sandbach

Sarah Hodgkinson (Daughter) single age 19 Boatwoman born Cheshire, Tetton, Nr Sandbach

Joseph Hodgkinson (Son) single age 14 Boat Boy born Cheshire, Tetton, Nr Sandbach

This could be the S Hodkinson listed on the Brunner notes - he would then have been 61 - far from retirement in those days

Could the two S Hodkinsons who loaded within two days have been the father and daughter listed here? She would have been 31 in 1903. They certainly come from the right area!

James from Malkins Bank

John Wakefield (Crew) married age 65 Boatman born Staffordshire, Leek

Martha Wakefield (Wife) married age 54 Boatwoman born Staffordshire, Stoke

Henry Wakefield (Son) single age 16 Boating born Staffordshire, Etruria

David Wakefield (Son) age 8 born Staffordshire, Etruria

This could be the J Wakefield named on the Brunner notes although by then he would have been 77

Likewise, the H Wakefield above is possibly his son Henry who, by then, would have been 28 and more than capable of handling his own boat.

Who, then, was the W Wakefield named on the Brunner notes? A spelling error, another relation? Perhaps a son from an earlier marriage or a brother?

The role of limestone in the alkali industry is of such critical importance in the history of Bugsworth that it cannot be ignored. It concerns the manufacture of soda ash (anhydrous sodium carbonate, Na₂CO₃). Before discussing the production of soda ash and its many applications it is necessary to examine the links between Bugsworth and the alkali industry.

As we have seen, the shortage of limestone for the bourgeoning chemical industry situated in the heart of the Mersey Basin was the principal reason for the construction of the canal and tramway in the first place. Ironically, during the period of decline and closure of Bugsworth Basin (1880 to 1927) the direct links with the present-day alkali industry were getting stronger. This was the period when the canal and tramway were becoming obsolete. The MS&LR was able to use its canals for a longer period than was, perhaps, justified because it had wisely integrated its rail and canal network. This enabled it to penetrate the markets of two major competitors, the Midland Railway and the London and North Western Railway. Eventually it had to admit defeat because it could no longer tolerate traffic in one direction only from Bugsworth, the boats then having to be taken back empty. The canal and tramway was subject to the laws of the market place and had become a victim of new technology.

The discovery of rock salt (halite, sodium chloride, NaCl) in Cheshire in the late 1600's laid the foundations of the modern alkali industry which began to develop in the Mersey Basin. Ludwig Mond, a German chemist, was a director of one of the many factories which had been set up to manufacture soda ash by the Leblanc process. In April 1872 he acquired the rights from Ernest Solvay, a Belgian chemist, to manufacture soda ash by Solvay's ammonia-soda process. Mond then went into partnership with John Brunner to form Brunner, Mond & Co. They purchased the Winnington Estate just north west of Northwich on the Northwich-Runcorn road. Here they set up a new factory which opened in 1873.

This new venture was a great success and by the 1880's Brunner Mond's product was in demand all over the world. The business expanded and other soda factories opened in Sandbach, Middlewich and Lostock. Brunner, Mond & Co Ltd soon became one of the four largest chemical manufacturers in the country and in 1926 it amalgamated with the other three, namely, United Alkali Company, British Dyestuffs Corporation and Nobel Industries to form Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd (21). Winnington became the headquarters of the ICI Alkali Division as it was strategically placed for the supply of its basic raw materials of salt, limestone and coal. Today it is known as Brunner Mond & Company Limited.

By 1870 a William Pitt Dixon was operating kilns in the New Road battery. His association with Bugsworth was a long one and it is he who forged the direct link between Bugsworth and the alkali industry of the Mersey Basin. A weighing machine was installed on the tramway leading to the head of these kilns for the purpose of weighing the limestone. This machine was accommodated in a small stone-built weigh house bearing a date stone incised 'WPD 1870'. By 1890 it appears that Dixon was operating all eight of the New Road kilns at Bugsworth and he also had an interest in limestone quarries around Dove Holes.

By the 1880's some 17 independent quarry companies were operating in Dove Holes Dale and along Great Stone Dale. Since none of them was large enough to satisfy the demand for limestone individually they became engaged in unprofitable competition with each other. The solution was a merger and 13 companies agreed to this and they formed the Buxton Lime Firms Company. This competition was also affecting the Dixon business and in about 1892 he transferred his quarry interests and the lease of his Bugsworth kilns to BLF. By 1899 it appears that BLF had also gained control of the, probably disused, Gnat Hole (east) kilns. They also owned coal mines in the area to ensure a supply of coal for their kilns.

In 1919 BLF became part of Brunner, Mond & Co Ltd based at Winnington in Cheshire. Thus Brunner, Mond administered kilns at Bugsworth between 1919 and about 1922. It is believed that all limestone traffic on the tramway ceased in about 1922 because it had been transferred to rail and road haulage. It is uncertain whether or not any of the kilns were still in operation by this time. Considerable research has failed to produce any firm evidence concerning the sequence of closure. All that remains are unreliable apocryphal stories.

It is self-evident that Brunner, Mond & Co would probably not even be aware that they had gained control of kilns at Bugsworth. It was merely an accidental acquisition as a result of the incorporation of BLF into Brunner, Mond & Co. Their primary interest lay in securing the source of limestone, a vital raw material for their business. The kilns were of no concern to them. A steady supply of limestone was all they required and this was guaranteed by a more modern transport system.

Brunner Mond’s Malkins Bank works seen above in 1888 and below in 1923 prior to its demolition in the 1930s.  The canal and wharf was on the opposite side of the works and ran roughly parallel to the railway.  Today the area is a golf course. Photos: David Kitching

The Brunner Mond tickets have provided a wealth of new information about the trade between Bugsworth and the Malkins Bank works but have created many unanswered questions. They have also provided an insight into what a hard life it was operating a boat on the canal system. Whether the questions raised will, or even can, be answered is another story with much more research yet to be done.

Acknowledgements

My thanks to David Kitching and Peter Whitehead for their invaluable help in unravelling some of the mysteries.

Thanks also to David Wilde who donated the tickets to the IWPS.

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Overnight on the 28 and 29 August 2005, the historic Bugsworth Mill was destroyed by fire. The fire was first noticed at 9:00pm on Sunday evening and by 9:30pm, when the mill was burning fiercely, a loud explosion was heard as a gas bottle exploded and sporadic smaller explosions followed this. Firemen fought the blaze throughout the night, taking water from the Peak Forest Canal by Teapot Row and from the canal as far away as the Navigation Inn. By Monday morning the mill was just a shell, the roof and floors having burned away and collapsed.

Click here to read more about the fire and the history of Bugsworth Mill

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A common error corrected 

by P J Whitehead

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