Star date: 9th April 2017

FROM CANALS TO RAILWAYS AND AIRPORTS – SALFORD WAS THERE FIRST

When it comes to canals, planes and railways, Salford was usually at the world forefront. And at the forefront of Salford were three townships – Eccles, Barton and Patricroft – that can boast so many firsts.

Now Mark Child has brought all the pioneering transport developments together in one fascinating book, A Brief History of Travel in Eccles, Barton and Patricroft since 1628, which has everything in there, with photos, maps and manuscripts.

Full details here...

As the Preface to A Brief History of Travel in Eccles, Barton and Patricroft since 1628 states, "The three townships of Eccles, Barton and Patricroft saw the first British arterial canal, the first British aqueduct, the world's first scheduled passenger railway and railway pub, and the first passenger fatality...The world's first horse omnibus originated in nearby Pendleton and Britain's first municipal airport arrived in 1930..."

Not a bad historical claim! And the rest of Mark Child's fascinating 64 page book pads out the details with a great deal of knowledge and love for the subject – plus maps, photos, sketches and extracts from original documents.

The story starts in 1628, when the citizens of Eccles, Flixton and Stratford wanted a bridge over the River Irwell at Barton. No-one knows if it was ever built, but if it was, it didn't last as, in 1672 they were still complaining. And when they finally got their bridge it was rubbish, as, in 1680 more complaints were made that there was a risk that "passengers and cattle bee [thrown off]"...

Every school kid who has done history knows that James Brindley 'built the Bridgewater Canal' to take the Duke of Bridgewater's coal from Worsley to Manchester but apparently he didn't. Brindley only came into the picture in 1759 when a good portion of it was already built.

What Brindley did, however, was build the Barton aqueduct and the book recounts how he persuaded Parliament to give it the go-ahead by carving a model of it out of cheese for MPs...

There's also some nice little stories about the Liverpool to Manchester Railway which opened in 1830. The book re-prints some of the rules for passengers, including a ban on smoking in first class carriages, 175 years before it became official in the UK. Meanwhile, there's some intricate detail about the death of MP William Huskisson, who became the first railway fatality when he was run over by Stephenson's Rocket.

As part of the great railway, Eccles passengers en route to Manchester or Liverpool had to guess what the time the train would turn up, could only book a seat from Manchester and had no station as such, just a stop on the open track..

The author fills in all the history since then with roads, bridges, the railway and its special pub (with anecdotes from Salford pub crawler/specialist Tony Flynn). But, jumping one hundred years to 1930, the history of Barton Airport is equally important – the first in the country to have runways, and the first control tower at any British municipal airport. During the war, the airport continued flights to Eire and the authorities were obsessed with espionage and smuggling on the route, which the book also recounts.

Now, history is repeating itself with grandiose municipal projects of more bridges, Port Salford, motorway mayhem, road congestion and tram extensions. We do look forward to a new volume of A Brief History of Dire Travel since 2017, coming to a shelf near you in 2060.

In the meantime, Mark Child's A Brief History of Travel in Eccles, Barton and Patricroft since 1628 will do nicely...

A Brief History of Travel in Eccles, Barton and Patricroft since 1628
By Mark Child
Published by Neil Richardson

£6 available at Salford Museum and Art Gallery shop
Or by sending a cheque for £7.54 (inc postage) to Neil Richardson, 88 Ringley Road, Stoneclough, Radcliffe M26 1ET

Photos in the book and reproduced here are courtesy of Salford Local History Library