At the end of 2014 we were given a splendid guided tour along the route of the old canal and railway, which once meandered through the Haigh Plantations (see Newsletter No.179). Since then we have received various bits of information which has enabled us to piece together much more of the history of this fascinating system. Not least is this wonderful Lidar image which Andy Wilcock has been able to download from the internet for us. As reported in October last year David Ratledge has been using this technique with some success in detecting Roman roads. However it is particularly useful in this area as the laser scan penetrates through the trees to reveal the precise contours of the ground. As you can see it shows the full extent of the canal from the Haigh Foundry to where it was cut off by the Whelley Loop Line (albeit with gaps where access has been made for the Old Quarry and the current route through the Plantations). The railway follows a similar route but uses a ramp from the Haigh Foundry and an embankment to cross the gulley.
Other information we have received recently, is from Bill Melling, who used to live in Haigh Cottages. He points us to a guide produced in the 1970's by the Wigan Metro, a written by Donald Anderson and Robin Grayson. The guide indicates that the railway was built in 1859, to connect Brock Mill Forge and Haigh Foundry to the Earl of Balcarres' existing rail network at the Lindsay Pit, but ended when the Loop Line was constructed in 1869. Another snippet sent by Bill is from "the Industrial Railways of the Wigan Coalfield"" by Townley, Smith & Pedan. This says that before the line was built, large teams of horses had to be used to haul the huge castings up the hill onto Wigan Lane. It also says that the track was laid over the leat which was built to supply water to the waterwheels at the Foundry. This suggests the 'canal' or leat is earlier. How much is revealed in research by Mike Clarke (published in an article in the Cloggs & Ganzey Newsletter No.7 2001).
This says that it was commissioned by Alexander Haliburton for Earl Balcarres in 1795. Mike quotes a book written by John Langton published in 1979 about the history of coal mining in South West Lancashire. A footnote describes an agreement Haliburton made with a John Lewis (canal cutter) for 'a navigable canal from the iron works at Haigh to Marsdens Farm', where the owner had apparently sunk a pit. We haven't been able to locate Marsden's Farm but we assume it must have been where the Lindsay Pit was later established. At what point the canal stopped being used is unclear but it must have been in the early 19th century as there is no sign of it on the OS map of 1849. If this is the canal we see the remains of today, then the question remains how they got the coal from the barges down to the Foundry (a drop of quite a few metres). This is maybe something the Society can investigate in the near future.
Programme for 2016
Still far from finalised but already we have Stan Aspinall in March telling us about some Standish family connections. His talk is entitled 'Skeletons in the cupboard at Sizergh Castle: the story of Cecilia Strickland 1760-1820. In April John Johnson will be giving us some background information on the Wigan Egyptian Collection (as see recently on TV).
Liverpool Museum Conference
'The Cheshire Hoards and the Romano British North West' is a free conference to be held on Saturday 27th February at the Museum of Liverpool from 10am to 5pm (no booking necessary). The Malpas and Knutsford Hoards are 2 groups of Roman treasure recently reported through the Portable Antiquities Scheme. They have now been acquired by the Museums of Liverpool and Congleton jointly through a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The hoards will go on display in the Museum of Liverpool from 13th February to 19th June. At the conference speakers from around the UK will present the two hoards with contextual information about numismatics and Romano-British finds from around Northwest of England.
Next Meeting
Wednesday 3rd February in the Standish Suite at the Brocket Arms (7.30pm as usual). It's our AGM this month but after the usual formalities, Cheryl Knott from the Lancashire Wildlife Trust, has offered to give us a talk on the Carbon Landscape project. We reported on this project in November and we are helping Cheryl with an application for a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. She will be able to explain what the grant will be for and what our role will be. Hope to see you there, BA
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