Duke's Lock

Another lock  but quite different from the extra of last Friday
It was a delight today to meet up with a friend and have a drink in the warm sunshine overlooking the canal.  It seemed as if many others too were enjoying the summer weather as they sat outside the bars and restaurant. I watched a couple of boats going down through the Duke’s Lock beside the former Lock Keeper’s House which looked good with the wisteria and cherry blossom and although I walked quite a distance I wished there had been more time to explore this fascinating area.
During the latter half of the last century this area of Castlefield in Manchester had become derelict after being a very important and busy since the Bridgewater Canal was built in 1761 to carry coal from the Duke of Bridgewater’s mines at Worsley to Manchester.  The canal boats were able to carry around ten times more coal than was previously possible by cart. In fact, the canal was so effective that the price of coal in Manchester fell by over half within a year of its opening meaning that the use of steam power in factories became economically viable.  It became a very important commercial area especially when the Rochdale Canal reached Manchester in 1799 joining the Bridgewater Canal at Lock 92.  Although it was the first lock built the chief sponsor was a Yorkshireman and did not want his canal to start in Lancashire.  When the Duke of Bridgewater gave permission for the Rochdale Canal to join his canal he insisted that his own men build the lock and operate it after it was opened so it became known as the Duke’s Lock.  With 50 laden boats a day passing through it must have been an important source of income particularly with trade between Yorkshire and Liverpool and even sometimes transatlantic trade.
Over the last few years the area has been revitalised with new constructions, old buildings demolished or converted and a couple of new footbridges.  There is so much industrial archaeology and technology to see and a place where some people like to work or spend leisure time.