Wigan Album
Leeds and Liverpool Canal
3 Comments
Photo: dk
Item #: 4886
Kodachrome 35mm slide taken early morning judging by the sun and suffering extensive colour loss - this is the best that I can do with it. It is the middle lock keeper's cottage, although it's an imposing building for a cottage, situated at the foot of what we called the slag heap but has now become known throughout as the rabbit rocks in front of the first lock up from the iron bridge - lock number 9.
The remains of this house and some of its foundations where still there when we were kids mostly hidden in the grass. The waterways board used the piece of wide flat land that it occupied as a yard to store gravel and stone at times and I think that an electricity pylon terminates at this point now.
Kirkless Hall is visible beyond and there are some houses in the left distance past the roundhouse branch line towards Whelley and New Springs whose presence may help to date this. Guessing 1950s. It would be good to know when this was knocked down if anyone can remember it at all.
dk ~ are you from New Springs area
dk,,,cant tell you when it was knocked down but certainly one of the occupants through the fifties was Gerry Aspinall (who was indeed the lockeeper and bargee)and his family,,believe Gerry was a native of Top Lock,,being of a neighbour of my mothers family,,who lived in Liverpool St,,,I do know he had a son(who was older than me)refered to a "Young Gerry" and a daughter who was around my age,,,am talking early to mid fifties now,,,when i was 10 ish,,,,You dead right ,,picture taken from foot of (Rockies" as we refered to it ,,with back to iron bridge,,As a native of Clarington Brook,,the prerequisites of a treck to "The Rockies" where penny arrow bars and a bottle of water,(milk bottle) that is or if you fortunate an empty Tizer bottle,,,many hours spent running up and down them there rockies play hide an seek ,skilley and even throw out can,,(,In todays world of playstations and i-pods or what ever they are called,),,such simple pleasures indeed ,,,though occasionally we would get chased off by the "ghengis khan"inspired ,marauding gangs from Belle Green Lane,,who i suppose considered it their territory,,,
What kind of a bet would you take"highfieldlass" that dk has had a foot in both camps(ie top lock and belle green lane)the worst kind of miscreant,,,lol,,one to be wary of,,lol,,,
It is the old lock keeper's house. Albion drive is behind it. It is a pub now i have had a drink in it. You can get to it from bell green lane at the top of the lane. You go down Kirkless lane across the canal bridge follow the canal to Haigh Hall and you will pass it on your way. The area is know as top lock or new spring the houses in the back ground could be on Withington lane most of the houses got pull down but there are still a few of the old houses still there.