Wet Earth Colliery Tunnel - Clifton, UK - Canal Tunnels on Waymarking.com

Shallow coal mines had been operated in the Clifton area for a number of years but in 1740 a deeper shaft was sunk. However there were problems with flooding from the nearby River Irwell.

Eventually James Brindley, a successful engineer devised a method of pumping the water out and carrying it away in water channels.

In order to make the mine more profitable a better transport system was needed. In 1796 a nearby canal, the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal had been partly built to give a connection to Manchester.

Matthew Fletcher, the owner of the Wet Earth Colliery, then built a short 1.5 mile long canal called the Fletcher's canal to connect to the Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal, that followed the route of Brindley's original channel.

For further efficiencies the Fletcher's Canal was extended into the mine itself so that the coal could be loaded onto boats underground rather than hauling it to the surface first.

Wet Earth Colliery remained open until 1928, as it was then no longer economic, following which Fletcher's Canal ceased to be used to carry coal. The only traffic on Fletcher's Canal was then clay and feldspar carried the short distance to the works of the Pilkington Tile and Pottery Company. Fletcher's Canal closed in 1935 when it ceased to be used to carry materials to Pilkington's works.

These days the the land surrounding the coal mine has been converted to the 48 hecatre Clifton Country Park with public footpaths and a few preserved items from when the coal mine was still in operation. One of the footpaths follows the route of the Fletcher's Canal from this tunnel to its junction with the Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal. The canal is no longer in water but the route can still be seen although it is now very overgrown

Is the Tunnel in Use?: Redundant Which End is this Entrance?: East Date Constructed: 01/01/1805 Length of Tunnel: 1000 yards Construction Material: Brick Associated Website: [Web Link]

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