Warehouses, Wharves and Transport Infrastructure in Manchester During the Industrial Revolution: The Rochdale Canal Company's Piccadilly Basin, 1792-1856
Authors: Maw, Peter1; Wyke, Terry2; Kidd, Alan3
Source: Industrial Archaeology Review, Volume 31, Number 1, May 2009 , pp. 20-33(14)
Publisher: Maney Publishing
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Abstract:
Manchester, given its importance to British industrialisation, offers a useful platform to refine our understanding of inland navigation in the 18th and 19th centuries. Drawing on the archives of the Rochdale Canal Company, this article provides a new historical study of Manchester's canal-transport infrastructure in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, complementing industrial archaeologists' recent research. The Rochdale Canal, completed in 1804, was one of four major canals that served Manchester in the early 19th century, affording the town greatly improved access to eastern England and its commercial ports. This article analyses the establishment of the Rochdale Canal Company's Piccadilly basin from 1792-1856, a period when the company built eight multi-storeyed warehouses and laid out 25 wharves to facilitate its trade. The article assesses the basin's economic functions, drawing comparisons with Manchester's other canal basins.Document Type: Research article
DOI: 10.1179/174581909X424754
Affiliations: 1: Doctoral thesis on the textile industries of Lancashire and Yorkshire 2: Published on many aspects Manchester's history, including transport 3: Professor of Regional and Social History, Department of History and Economic History, Manchester Metropolitan University, Geoffrey Manton Building, Oxford Road, Manchester M15 6LL, UK;, Email: a.kidd@mmu.ac.uk
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