Mersey and Irwell Navigation

Mersey and Irwell Navigation
Stickings Lock on the river Irwell, c. 1850
Specifications
Status	mostly destroyed
History
Date of act	1721
Date completed	1734
Date closed	1880s
Geography
Start point	Salford
End point	Widnes

The Mersey and Irwell Navigation was a river navigation in North West England, which provided a navigable route from the Mersey estuary to Salford and Manchester, by improving the course of the River Irwell and the River Mersey. Eight locks were constructed between 1724 and 1734, and the rivers were improved by the construction of new cuts several times subsequently. Use of the navigation declined from the 1870s, and it was ultimately superseded by the Manchester Ship Canal, the construction of which destroyed most of the Irwell section of the navigation and the long cut between Latchford and Runcorn.

The idea that the Rivers Mersey and Irwell should be made navigable from the Mersey Estuary in the west to Manchester in the east was first proposed in 1660, and revived in 1712 by Thomas Steers. In 1720 the necessary bills were tabled. The Act of Parliament for the navigation was received in 1721. The construction work was undertaken by the Mersey & Irwell Navigation Company. Work began in 1724, and by 1734 boats "of moderate size" could make the journey from quays in Water Street, Manchester,53°28′46″N 2°15′23″W / 53.4794°N 2.2564°W / 53.4794; -2.2564Coordinates: 53°28′46″N 2°15′23″W / 53.4794°N 2.2564°W / 53.4794; -2.2564 to the Irish Sea. The navigation was suitable only for small ships, and during periods of drought, or when strong easterly winds held back the tide in the estuary, there was not always sufficient draft for a fully laden boat.