I learned to swim in the basin over the wedlock. We called it the seven wonders. Lot of us would go swimming there in the summer. I also lost a tooth jumping over that lock. Great to see the old place again. Cheers
Love your videos, they really teach me lots about my home city! The other day I walked along the Ashton Canal on my way up to meet a friend in Woodhouses. I passed 'Mordor' and thought ahh so this was where Martin was exploring, I also passed through Philips Park but didn't head over to the Medlock side of it, but i did see it 'rewilded' in Clayton Vale and again over the other side of the railway in Woodhouses.
Great videos Martin and awesome the time you put in mate.what a grim place that archway the syringes etc.looking forward to the next one further down the ashton canal where ancoats hospital backs on to,was only driving past the other day and remember when me nan had her hip replacement there late 70s.wow unbelievable now all the apartments there.
Hi Martin great video amazing shots of the Medlock to think the sanitary works dumped so much crap LOL into the river thank god we now take a little more care of our rivers and canals. I wonder what years ago May have been stored in those arches as you stated in the video King street Harvey nicks but what’s under King Street probably crap Andy Found
Hi Andy. I was lucky to find that picture of exactly where we were exploring. There used to be eels in the Medlock apparently, Plus I think they are trying to bring wildlife back to it. I wonder if the arches used to be open rather than bricked up ? Thanks Andy 👍
I think you're fast becoming an urban hero! There's no way I would have walked around there after seeing those syringes! I would have been off to Harvey Nick as quick as my credit card could get me there... Nice work and kudos for tenacity... I just keep wondering how all that litter gets there particularly black bin bags full of it - why would anyone bother to drag it there rather than put it in the bin? Where does it come from? Looking forward to next episode and Ancoats - the disappearing hospital episode!
Hello, Yeah It would be easier to just take it to a council tip. Believe me I had to have a latte with extra froth to calm my nerves afterwards. This quest is going to get tougher to access the river.
Martin, all narrow canal locks are roughly 72 feet x 7 feet, hence the name Narrowboat. Wider barge canals are 14 feet or more wide but vary in length often depending on the length of the local wider but shorter boats usually referred to as barges. Narrowboats are often wrongly referred to as barges. Hope this is of some help / interest. Again, thanks for another excellent video.
The place you called mordor was used as the red wreck location in coronation street. They had to stop using it because they had to pay to clean it every time they wanted to film.
Hiya Martin I'm new here great channel...I grew up in miles platting so know tbis area rrally well...the gas ometer you are referencing next to the big black one behind the old sanitary works isn't the same one that you viewed from within Philips Park, there were three gasometers along Bradford Rd two were open metal structures, one if which stood alone at Philips park end and the second stood next to black enclosed one all were sited on the Gas board land, they sed to rise when filled with gas and fall when they were empty, my mother said there was a barrage balloon located at the Philips park gasometer to prevent it from being bombed in the second world war...just a bit if background for you😁👍
Martin when I worked at MCC in the Highways Department there was a book with all the old field foot paths & culverts marked up .........it was really old and printed on cloth.
Love what you do Martin I took a trip up to Glasgow a few years back to take a look at some of the former shipyards and heavy engineering areas. Trying to make sense of it all as a toolmaker
very good and interesting video. when you visit these places your mate needs to wear boots, not only are there needles but also human excrement, a lot of people dont see the grim and gritty parts of the city, and forget those places exist, as you have seen often they are somebody's home, life can be like that sadly, I like the fact that on film you are not too intrusive, and are respectful of boundaries and fencing. What you are viewing the general public can too. the drain on the canal, is called a sluice. it helps stop the level getting too high on the canal. for a comparison on the canal lock, go and see the locks on the manchester ship canal, they are monsters!! there is full access at Latchford in warrington, nearer to you on the upper reaches access isnt good, irlam is ok, but as I just said latchford is a whopper and very interesting if you like history, and the engineering prowess of people. anyway, looking forward to the next one, stay safe! oh yes I nearly forgot, check out britainfromabove website, it might prove useful for old overhead photography.
Hi Nik. Thanks yeah I have warned him to wear boots next time, he does have some. I think the Ship canal could be a whole set of videos. I will check out Latchford and Irlam. Britain from above is an amazing site I love it 👍 Thanks very much
Another great video Martin, pretty grim indeed, bet you're glad you went with Sam, Even though it's just by a busy road it still looks sketchy as owt! not the sort of place you want to be alone and possibly disturbing rough sleepers! Onwards fella to the next video....Keep up the good work. Dave.
Hi Dave thanks very much. By the way the only road is on the top of the viaduct, no main roads down where I was. we were near the tram tracks but that area is dodgy as.... your pretty cut off down there. Yep wasn't going alone.
These videos are fascinating - you shown a picture of Bradford Iron Works - my grandfather was labourer in an iron works round there - could well have been that one. He was from Belfast so maybe he came because of the potato blight. My father must have been brought up round there - we never went there at all. He was born in 1904 and worked on the Cheshire Lines Railway - staying on the railways finishing up at Manchester Central Power Box until it closed on 1968. If only we cold ask them about life then .
Hello again Irene. Yes that whole area is or was fascinating it was so Industrial. Its changed massively over the years. Yes I'd definitely like to go back and have a walk round with my Camera.
If I remember correctly when I was a kid the sanitary works was where the bin wagons parked. The sanitary department took care of waste disposal. As kids we called that area the 4 wonders because the road and railway crossed the canal where it crossed the river. We used to squeeze between the road and railway bridge to get to the canal bank.
Great vid martin. I remember those gasometers when i was young. I'v got some old photos of the area i.e bradford pit , philips park with the cooling towers in background and various others. I also have a cutting i kept out of M.E.N of the demolition of the large gasometer on the right of your picture.
Martin Zero yes i don't mind sharing the photos with viewers. Its interesting looking at the old photos of how the bradford area has changed. We must make a date when its suitable for us both.
Just had a look at some old maps , where the map you were using showed Sanitary Works a Barts Map for 1900 states Manchester Corporation Holt Town Manure Works. Barts map for 1870 shows a pottery and there was a Medlock Hall right near by. The area off viaduct street has been a tipping ground for years unfortunately.
Shalom Martin! In a couple of your past videos you have posted a web site to get the maps that you use. I have tried to get there to no avail. I have been warned off by Malwarebytes and one other virus protection. Is it because I'm on the other side of the pond? Only, I have never had any problems with other UK sites. I really do enjoy your channel and the history surrounding and under Manchester. Keep at it!!
Like Armitage Shanks One In Every Pub In Britain in the 1940's / 1950's In 1969, Armitage merged with Shanks Holdings Limited, a competing "sanitary engineering company" established at Barrhead near Glasgow, Renfrewshire in 18(19)78, producing the famous brand name Armitage Shanks. Extract from Wikpedia
The Holt Town Sanitary Works were for processing human sewage. They were the centre of a corruption scandal. A public inquiry was started on the 21st of March 1887, according to the Manchester Guardian. They sat for 18 days and finished on the 30th of April. In 1870 it was Medlock Hall and Holt Town Reservoir. By 1884 the Reservoir had gone but Medlock Hall was still there. The 1900 Bartholomew map has it as the Manchester Corporation Holt Town Manure Depot on the newly built Upper Helena Street. There were a school and a recreation ground within a hundred yards. By 1908 it was the Health Committees Works. By 1913 there was nothing there. That is all I can see on the maps I found that are free on Manchester Historical Maps.
i was given a 4 foot photo of this area by manchester uni it shows the sanitary works in the 60s from a different angle in the process of being demolished interestingly part of the factory sat over the medlock where it emerges from the culvert on my photo the roof has gone exposing the insides i think by sanitary works it might be an incinerator that burned stuff because in your earlier photo it shows lots of containers of stuff in the yard meaning it is sanitising waste ie burning it instead of treating sewerage which should arrive in pipes to settling ponds....of course we might never know its real purpose but still very interesting.
As you come out of London St Pancras (goin' sahth) they've turned the gasometers into apartments. Looks like they kept the original frames, too. I think it's near Camden Lock.
Hi Martin the scene where your in the overspill of the Ashton Canel is correct it does go down to the river but there is a sluce key near by to open it up so it can flow down and also a trap door so it can be cleaned
hi Martin the steps are where the great is where you stood and just looked at the video on the link below and when they get to the top of the steps you can see when they look up the trap door and no ive not been down there just been fishing that streach when they have lifted it to check for blockages
Fair play to ya Martin that was a shit tip of a place with all that rubbish but this is an interesting journey along da river Medlock keep up da good work pal👍
The railway bridge used to go over the canal and the canal used to go over the river. We used to walk on the outer ledge of the railway bridge and go over the lot. The ledge every now and again had a steel outcrop which you had to hold on to just using the palms of your hands. The cops wouldn't follow us kids up there. The area was called the Kema and was rumoured to be patrolled by a hunchback. I never saw the'hunchback' but I knew kids that claimed they had.
Enjoying this set of videos and looking forward to next episode. Need to be really careful when investigating areas like this as you pointed out with the needles. Hope whoever was living in that arch got themselves sorted out :-( Subbed for more!
Hello. Glad you liked the video. Yes hopefully they wont have to return to that grim place whoever was living there. Thanks for subscribing. I have subscribed back. Are you from Scotland ? Can I ask how you found my video ?
I'm not entirely sure how I found your video. I do watch a lot of urban exploration and history videos. I think one of your videos must have come up as a recommended video. I think the first video of you're I saw was the "Old house hidden in the woods."
Excellent vid mate. Really interesting. It's mad seeing how it passes through all the old industrial places. I've never really seen it past Phillips park. It's totally different if you go the other way. Through medlock vale, failsworth and daisynook. Ite nice. I wonder where it starts??
Hi Ned, yes its so industrial in the parts past Phillips park and so damm culverted and inaccessible. Not sure where it starts. I was thinking of finding the source of some of these Rivers
Hi Martin, I remember seeing the small bin trucks lined up in that Sanitary Yard that were used for collecting the human waste that was cleared from the back entry Dolly Vardis or Tipplers if I have spelt the name right, This was why New Viaduct St got its Nick Name of Shit Yard Brew, around that area was called The Severn Wonders by the locals, A classmate from St Bridgids Bradford Gerald Bates drowned around that area, all the school attended his Funeral at St Bridgids Church, I doubt if the contents of all these trucks could have been dumped in the Medlock as it would certainly have blocked it up, I heard that the waste from Davyhulme was loaded into large trucks & then ships to be dumped at Sea which may have also been the Destination for the New Viaduct waste.
Hi Terry. Very Interesting , what year would you have seen the bin trucks ? That poor kid did he drown in the Medlock ? Shit yard Brew 😆 Its not changed much
The late 50s or very early sixties Martin, I got a good hiding for going on The Rats as the older lads from around Bradford called The Severn Wonders at the time, I tagged on behind them & met my Dad on the way back well passed my getting in time, at a guess i would think Gerald died around 1958/9, I can still remember his Distinctive Gruff voice, he lived on Ashton New Rd in Beswick/Bradford near Doves The Florest, I think he drowned in the canal as I remember someone saying they used to go over the canal on the edge of the Steel Railway Bridge ledge.
A 13:42 you left a pause between "dead" and "easy" that was longer than I was expecting. Given what you'd already showed us I honestly thought you'd found a body or something!
Hello Martin, finally I started watching your videos and this is amazing. I've been to that place, and I'm fascinated by the fact, that road/railway + canal + river tunnel just above each other. My questions is, where is the exact location of that door you get in and how did you get to the other side of the canal? (so not the footpath side)
Are you sure this is the same gasometer because there was another one exactly the same just behind it off Bradford road, behind the Bradford pub which had a closed type, cylinder gasometer as in the picture. They were dismantled a good few years back
Hi Emma, well I had a good look at the map and it certainly looks like the one. But yes your right at the time there were a few weren't there all around that area. Its difficult and I try to be as accurate as possible. Thanks Emma you know the area well ?
More excellent research & presentation Martin. - So we truly share something .. "The Lord of The Rings". - Manchester has "MORDOR" and New Zealand has "Hobbiton" - Two sides of one coin. - You said "god forsaken" but I'd rather claim 'MAN forsaken'. Those peaceful rural canals where narrow-boating holiday-makers relax & wind-down ..reach & sink low into Manchester's pits. Cheers mate.
When I was a teen me and my two best friends rode our bikes down to an old park that was across the highway from our neighborhood , and found a dead bum in one of the park bathrooms , of course we got the police , and that turned into an all day adventure , then I got grounded for crossing the highway , I still remember the smell , not a very nice memory .
The gasometers stored the gas from the adjoining Bradford Gas /coke works. We would wake up to the yard covered in coke dust. Bradford also had the worst air quality in the world.
The Holt Town Sanitary Works were for processing human sewage. However, the free maps at Manchester Historical Maps seem to show no buildings between a 1908 map and a 1948 map where the new buildings are in the shape of the ones in the 1923 photo. What date was that map you showed? The sewage works did illegally dump 60 tons per day into the Rivers Medlock and Irwell in the 1880s. According to this website: waterwaysheritage.wordpress.com/2017/01/31/a-trail-for-holt-town-manchester/ You might be interested in the descriptions of where the sewers were in 1884, in this book: archive.org/details/b29785066/page/180
They used to make gas from the coal, it was called town gas and it was stored in the gasometers. I grew up in Denton and there was a massive gas and brick works.All gone now but yes the gasometers went up and down dependant on the amount of gas .
2:02 a strange and desolate place know as ........... Manchester (Says the Yorkshire Man) lol 11:47 has been on tv a homeless tv program on bbc 3 iplayer i think it was a lad and a lass were living their in a tent and its the same macca gas pipe they showed you,
Why don`t you try asking local people for info, you`d find out a lot more. The running water you heard from the canal is a sluice about five yards in front of you !
The road on the embankment that you mention at the 11min mark was a railway line. I think it was for moving coal and coke around the gas works. it can be seen on the Lancashire CIV.NE (includes: Manchester.) Map Revised: 1931 to 1932 Published: 1936 You can view it on the National Library of Scotland website for free (it really narks the English OS people that you can see them for free)
I learned to swim in the basin over the wedlock. We called it the seven wonders. Lot of us would go swimming there in the summer. I also lost a tooth jumping over that lock. Great to see the old place again. Cheers
Thanks Steven
Love your videos, they really teach me lots about my home city! The other day I walked along the Ashton Canal on my way up to meet a friend in Woodhouses. I passed 'Mordor' and thought ahh so this was where Martin was exploring, I also passed through Philips Park but didn't head over to the Medlock side of it, but i did see it 'rewilded' in Clayton Vale and again over the other side of the railway in Woodhouses.
Top dollar production yet again there Martin. Carry on with my education of Manchester please :)
Dennis, thank you. I need to work out this next bit, don't know anything myself yet.
Hi martin in your vidos
@@grahamlunn6063 Always say hello to fellow Lunns.
Another interesting video! I once went on a steam hauled railtour from Liverpool Lime Street to Scarborough and we went on that freight only line.
Nicely done and nicely presented mate, found it easy to follow. That old aerial pic is amazing! If only we could time travel!
Cheers Pal. Yeah that pic was a find. Would love to go back in time like you say
If only. Looking forward to part 3 mate.
More awesome memories. Thank you. :)
Great videos Martin and awesome the time you put in mate.what a grim place that archway the syringes etc.looking forward to the next one further down the ashton canal where ancoats hospital backs on to,was only driving past the other day and remember when me nan had her hip replacement there late 70s.wow unbelievable now all the apartments there.
Hi Brian thanks very much. Yeah I went in Ancoats hospital just after it had shutdown about 16 yrs ago
Hi Martin great video amazing shots of the Medlock to think the sanitary works dumped so much crap LOL into the river thank god we now take a little more care of our rivers and canals. I wonder what years ago May have been stored in those arches as you stated in the video King street Harvey nicks but what’s under King Street probably crap
Andy Found
Hi Andy. I was lucky to find that picture of exactly where we were exploring. There used to be eels in the Medlock apparently, Plus I think they are trying to bring wildlife back to it. I wonder if the arches used to be open rather than bricked up ? Thanks Andy 👍
I think you're fast becoming an urban hero! There's no way I would have walked around there after seeing those syringes! I would have been off to Harvey Nick as quick as my credit card could get me there... Nice work and kudos for tenacity... I just keep wondering how all that litter gets there particularly black bin bags full of it - why would anyone bother to drag it there rather than put it in the bin? Where does it come from? Looking forward to next episode and Ancoats - the disappearing hospital episode!
Hello, Yeah It would be easier to just take it to a council tip. Believe me I had to have a latte with extra froth to calm my nerves afterwards. This quest is going to get tougher to access the river.
I'd guess that CONTRACTED garbage collections get dumped as a time saving short cut .. "Fly Tippers"?
That place is beyond disgusting. Absolutely vile. I bet it smelt pretty bad as well. Dirty bastards.
Great videos Martin, keep them coming.
Thanks Kenneth. More to come 👍
Martin, all narrow canal locks are roughly 72 feet x 7 feet, hence the name Narrowboat. Wider barge canals are 14 feet or more wide but vary in length often depending on the length of the local wider but shorter boats usually referred to as barges. Narrowboats are often wrongly referred to as barges.
Hope this is of some help / interest.
Again, thanks for another excellent video.
Thanks very much. I am very naive in some of the videos and don't claim to be an expert so this helps 👍
@@MartinZero my pleasure. Glad to be of assistance.
Boots. Good to have. Glad you had a friend with you in Mordor.
Yeah, not a nice place
The place you called mordor was used as the red wreck location in coronation street. They had to stop using it because they had to pay to clean it every time they wanted to film.
Really !! ?? Why on earth did they pick that location
Hiya Martin I'm new here great channel...I grew up in miles platting so know tbis area rrally well...the gas ometer you are referencing next to the big black one behind the old sanitary works isn't the same one that you viewed from within Philips Park, there were three gasometers along Bradford Rd two were open metal structures, one if which stood alone at Philips park end and the second stood next to black enclosed one all were sited on the Gas board land, they sed to rise when filled with gas and fall when they were empty, my mother said there was a barrage balloon located at the Philips park gasometer to prevent it from being bombed in the second world war...just a bit if background for you😁👍
Martin when I worked at MCC in the Highways Department there was a book with all the old field foot paths & culverts marked up .........it was really old and printed on cloth.
Cloth !!! Bloody hell. Would love to see it though 👍
Love what you do Martin I took a trip up to Glasgow a few years back to take a look at some of the former shipyards and heavy engineering areas. Trying to make sense of it all as a toolmaker
Hi Thank you. yes sometimes the change is so massive its hard to imagine what was ... 👍
very good and interesting video. when you visit these places your mate needs to wear boots, not only are there needles but also human excrement, a lot of people dont see the grim and gritty parts of the city, and forget those places exist, as you have seen often they are somebody's home, life can be like that sadly, I like the fact that on film you are not too intrusive, and are respectful of boundaries and fencing. What you are viewing the general public can too.
the drain on the canal, is called a sluice. it helps stop the level getting too high on the canal.
for a comparison on the canal lock, go and see the locks on the manchester ship canal, they are monsters!! there is full access at Latchford in warrington, nearer to you on the upper reaches access isnt good, irlam is ok, but as I just said latchford is a whopper and very interesting if you like history, and the engineering prowess of people.
anyway, looking forward to the next one, stay safe!
oh yes I nearly forgot, check out britainfromabove website, it might prove useful for old overhead photography.
Hi Nik. Thanks yeah I have warned him to wear boots next time, he does have some. I think the Ship canal could be a whole set of videos. I will check out Latchford and Irlam. Britain from above is an amazing site I love it 👍 Thanks very much
Another great video Martin, pretty grim indeed, bet you're glad you went with Sam, Even though it's just by a busy road it still looks sketchy as owt! not the sort of place you want to be alone and possibly disturbing rough sleepers! Onwards fella to the next video....Keep up the good work. Dave.
Hi Dave thanks very much. By the way the only road is on the top of the viaduct, no main roads down where I was. we were near the tram tracks but that area is dodgy as.... your pretty cut off down there. Yep wasn't going alone.
Martin, Could that trackway on the other side of the canal in that picture be a single line railway track coming into the sidings?
Great stuff, thanks Martin.
Thank you Matt 👍
These videos are fascinating - you shown a picture of Bradford Iron Works - my grandfather was labourer in an iron works round there - could well have been that one. He was from Belfast so maybe he came because of the potato blight. My father must have been brought up round there - we never went there at all. He was born in 1904 and worked on the Cheshire Lines Railway - staying on the railways finishing up at Manchester Central Power Box until it closed on 1968. If only we cold ask them about life then .
Hello again Irene. Yes that whole area is or was fascinating it was so Industrial. Its changed massively over the years. Yes I'd definitely like to go back and have a walk round with my Camera.
Great video. Really love seeing this old history
That gas pipe is amazing
I would like to see where it goes
What did it used to hook to ?
I lived on Philips Park road for a couple of years. A pub called the Stag Hotel
Very interesting Martin, keep up your varied videos.
Terry thank you. Working on the next idea 👍
If I remember correctly when I was a kid the sanitary works was where the bin wagons parked. The sanitary department took care of waste disposal. As kids we called that area the 4 wonders because the road and railway crossed the canal where it crossed the river. We used to squeeze between the road and railway bridge to get to the canal bank.
Brilliant. I wish I had that local knowledge about the places I visit 👍
Great vid martin. I remember those gasometers when i was young. I'v got some old photos of the area i.e bradford pit , philips park with the cooling towers in background and various others. I also have a cutting i kept out of M.E.N of the demolition of the large gasometer on the right of your picture.
Alfie that sounds Fab, be great if you share them with our viewers 👍
Martin Zero hi martin. I would share them but dont know how . I'm not sure how to do these vids. Dont have camera or editing stuff. Just my moby !
Ok well if you want me to come make a video of your stuff. If its personal and you want to be private I get it.
But am sure folks would love to see.
Martin Zero yes i don't mind sharing the photos with viewers. Its interesting looking at the old photos of how the bradford area has changed. We must make a date when its suitable for us both.
Your videos are always interesting and informative keep up the good work 👍👍
Hi Nathan thanks very much mate 👍🙂
We called that as kids. The 7 wonders
lovely work found it very intresting thank you.!!
Thank you Angelica 🙂
Just had a look at some old maps , where the map you were using showed Sanitary Works a Barts Map for 1900 states Manchester Corporation Holt Town Manure Works. Barts map for 1870 shows a pottery and there was a Medlock Hall right near by. The area off viaduct street has been a tipping ground for years unfortunately.
Hi Mike, wonder if the building changed use then over the years. Medlock Hall sounds interesting
Love these videos!!!!! Really enjoyed this one!
Another great film Martin it looked rough round there was Sam your bodyguard and your going to holts next your a brave man lol
Hi Brian, yeah Sam was my bodyguard. Not going there alone. Don't scare me 🙂
Shalom Martin! In a couple of your past videos you have posted a web site to get the maps that you use. I have tried to get there to no avail. I have been warned off by Malwarebytes and one other virus protection. Is it because I'm on the other side of the pond? Only, I have never had any problems with other UK sites. I really do enjoy your channel and the history surrounding and under Manchester. Keep at it!!
Sanitary works us normally where sanitary ware is made i.e. pottery toilets and iron unrinals etc..
Like Armitage Shanks One In Every Pub In Britain in the 1940's / 1950's
In 1969, Armitage merged with Shanks Holdings Limited, a competing "sanitary engineering company" established at Barrhead near Glasgow, Renfrewshire in 18(19)78, producing the famous brand name Armitage Shanks. Extract from Wikpedia
The Holt Town Sanitary Works were for processing human sewage. They were the centre of a corruption scandal. A public inquiry was started on the 21st of March 1887, according to the Manchester Guardian. They sat for 18 days and finished on the 30th of April.
In 1870 it was Medlock Hall and Holt Town Reservoir. By 1884 the Reservoir had gone but Medlock Hall was still there. The 1900 Bartholomew map has it as the Manchester Corporation Holt Town Manure Depot on the newly built Upper Helena Street. There were a school and a recreation ground within a hundred yards. By 1908 it was the Health Committees Works. By 1913 there was nothing there. That is all I can see on the maps I found that are free on Manchester Historical Maps.
@@OGGalleryCrew92 still looks like it
i was given a 4 foot photo of this area by manchester uni it shows the sanitary works in the 60s from a different angle in the process of being demolished interestingly part of the factory sat over the medlock where it emerges from the culvert
on my photo the roof has gone exposing the insides i think by sanitary works it might be an incinerator that burned stuff because in your earlier photo it shows lots of containers of stuff in the yard meaning it is sanitising waste ie burning it instead of treating sewerage which should arrive in pipes to settling ponds....of course we might never know its real purpose but still very interesting.
As you come out of London St Pancras (goin' sahth) they've turned the gasometers into apartments. Looks like they kept the original frames, too. I think it's near Camden Lock.
Its a good idea
@@MartinZero They do look good, I must admit.
Hi Martin the scene where your in the overspill of the Ashton Canel is correct it does go down to the river but there is a sluce key near by to open it up so it can flow down and also a trap door so it can be cleaned
Ahh ok Marc. Is it the route to the steps that run into the culvert though ? Have you been down there ?
hi Martin the steps are where the great is where you stood and just looked at the video on the link below and when they get to the top of the steps you can see when they look up the trap door and no ive not been down there just been fishing that streach when they have lifted it to check for blockages
ok thats great thanks, at least I guessed right
Fair play to ya Martin that was a shit tip of a place with all that rubbish but this is an interesting journey along da river Medlock keep up da good work pal👍
Cheers Jay 👍
The railway bridge used to go over the canal and the canal used to go over the river.
We used to walk on the outer ledge of the railway bridge and go over the lot.
The ledge every now and again had a steel outcrop which you had to hold on to just using the palms of your hands.
The cops wouldn't follow us kids up there.
The area was called the Kema and was rumoured to be patrolled by a hunchback.
I never saw the'hunchback' but I knew kids that claimed they had.
Enjoying this set of videos and looking forward to next episode. Need to be really careful when investigating areas like this as you pointed out with the needles. Hope whoever was living in that arch got themselves sorted out :-( Subbed for more!
Hello. Glad you liked the video. Yes hopefully they wont have to return to that grim place whoever was living there. Thanks for subscribing. I have subscribed back. Are you from Scotland ? Can I ask how you found my video ?
I'm not entirely sure how I found your video. I do watch a lot of urban exploration and history videos. I think one of your videos must have come up as a recommended video. I think the first video of you're I saw was the "Old house hidden in the woods."
Ahh ok thanks very much 🙂
Excellent vid mate. Really interesting. It's mad seeing how it passes through all the old industrial places. I've never really seen it past Phillips park. It's totally different if you go the other way. Through medlock vale, failsworth and daisynook. Ite nice. I wonder where it starts??
Hi Ned, yes its so industrial in the parts past Phillips park and so damm culverted and inaccessible. Not sure where it starts. I was thinking of finding the source of some of these Rivers
Bishops Park in Oldham, near to Arncliffe Rise.
Thanks John
fly tipping... we call that "illegal dumping" over here in Oregon.
Hi Martin, I remember seeing the small bin trucks lined up in that Sanitary Yard that were used for collecting the human waste that was cleared from the back entry Dolly Vardis or Tipplers if I have spelt the name right, This was why New Viaduct St got its Nick Name of Shit Yard Brew, around that area was called The Severn Wonders by the locals, A classmate from St Bridgids Bradford Gerald Bates drowned around that area, all the school attended his Funeral at St Bridgids Church, I doubt if the contents of all these trucks could have been dumped in the Medlock as it would certainly have blocked it up, I heard that the waste from Davyhulme was loaded into large trucks & then ships to be dumped at Sea which may have also been the Destination for the New Viaduct waste.
Hi Terry. Very Interesting , what year would you have seen the bin trucks ? That poor kid did he drown in the Medlock ? Shit yard Brew 😆 Its not changed much
The late 50s or very early sixties Martin, I got a good hiding for going on The Rats as the older lads from around Bradford called The Severn Wonders at the time, I tagged on behind them & met my Dad on the way back well passed my getting in time, at a guess i would think Gerald died around 1958/9, I can still remember his Distinctive Gruff voice, he lived on Ashton New Rd in Beswick/Bradford near Doves The Florest, I think he drowned in the canal as I remember someone saying they used to go over the canal on the edge of the Steel Railway Bridge ledge.
Bad lad, bet you got a thick ear 😀 So when was that works demolished Terry ?
It would only be a guess Martin as it stood empty for a few years & used just as a parking area for the Cleansing Dept, it would be early sixties.
love the music. ... and ... WTF's Man Cty doing there? The last time I looked it was on the other side of Manchester!
Yep its moved...😀 and thank you
Why did they move here.
A 13:42 you left a pause between "dead" and "easy" that was longer than I was expecting. Given what you'd already showed us I honestly thought you'd found a body or something!
Am full of ambiguities 😃
enjoy your videos. just made my own channel got inspired by your videos really. so thanks. just got the 1 video so far.
Hello, Thanks glad you like my vids. Very nice of you to say I inspired you. Your from Oldham then ?
I am indeed yeah. Lees.
Cool, you planning more videos. When did you start ?
yeah i am, hoping to try and do at least 1 a week. i filmed and took the photos on monday. and just made the channel yesterday pal
Well. I am subscriber number 3. I will watch your channel
hi martin, how did you do that map bit where you had two cursors moving at same time
Hi Matt here is the link to that website maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#
wow thank you so much
Hello Martin, finally I started watching your videos and this is amazing. I've been to that place, and I'm fascinated by the fact, that road/railway + canal + river tunnel just above each other. My questions is, where is the exact location of that door you get in and how did you get to the other side of the canal? (so not the footpath side)
The door ? Not sure you mean the gap where Sam is ? The opp side of Canal ? You come up from the tram track area if that makes sense
@@MartinZero Yes, the doorway at ~10:42 in the video.
I can see that large gas pipe on google maps on the side of the footpath, so it's very interesting.
Are you sure this is the same gasometer because there was another one exactly the same just behind it off Bradford road, behind the Bradford pub which had a closed type, cylinder gasometer as in the picture. They were dismantled a good few years back
Meaning this may be the one I’m talking about. The one that remains to the present day would be to the right of this picture a good few hundred yards
Hi Emma, well I had a good look at the map and it certainly looks like the one. But yes your right at the time there were a few weren't there all around that area. Its difficult and I try to be as accurate as possible. Thanks Emma you know the area well ?
Yep, we always called it the 'red river'
where can i find that old picture?
Hi Andy. If your on Facebook can you message me on my page 'Martin Zero' I can tell you. Sorry I dont mean to be awkward
do the river and canal connect?
No they don't connect but there is an overflow from the canal to the river
More excellent research & presentation Martin. - So we truly share something .. "The Lord of The Rings". - Manchester has "MORDOR" and New Zealand has "Hobbiton" - Two sides of one coin. - You said "god forsaken" but I'd rather claim 'MAN forsaken'.
Those peaceful rural canals where narrow-boating holiday-makers relax & wind-down ..reach & sink low into Manchester's pits. Cheers mate.
Thanks Martin 😀👍
When I was a teen me and my two best friends rode our bikes down to an old park that was across the highway from our neighborhood , and found a dead bum in one of the park bathrooms , of course we got the police , and that turned into an all day adventure , then I got grounded for crossing the highway , I still remember the smell , not a very nice memory .
Hi Gabe, thats a pretty sad story
A sanitary works makes bogs, or at least the ones in Stoke did.
I think this was like a sewage works
The gasometers stored the gas from the adjoining Bradford Gas /coke works. We would wake up to the yard covered in coke dust. Bradford also had the worst air quality in the world.
What is the theme tune on start of this video
Its a little tune I wrote 👍
It sounds cool
Cheers Pal 👌
Your welcome
thats a lovely big pipe
The Holt Town Sanitary Works were for processing human sewage. However, the free maps at Manchester Historical Maps seem to show no buildings between a 1908 map and a 1948 map where the new buildings are in the shape of the ones in the 1923 photo. What date was that map you showed?
The sewage works did illegally dump 60 tons per day into the Rivers Medlock and Irwell in the 1880s. According to this website: waterwaysheritage.wordpress.com/2017/01/31/a-trail-for-holt-town-manchester/
You might be interested in the descriptions of where the sewers were in 1884, in this book:
archive.org/details/b29785066/page/180
Thanks yet another good resource
What on earth are these gasometer things? I'm in an area in Canada that had plenty of coal mining but yet I've never seen or heard of such a thing...
It was a tank that held the gas. Old fashioned now , they rise and fall depending on how full they are
They used to make gas from the coal, it was called town gas and it was stored in the gasometers. I grew up in Denton and there was a massive gas and brick works.All gone now but yes the gasometers went up and down dependant on the amount of gas .
😎
2:02 a strange and desolate place know as ........... Manchester (Says the Yorkshire Man) lol
11:47 has been on tv a homeless tv program on bbc 3 iplayer i think it was a lad and a lass were living their in a tent and its the same macca gas pipe they showed you,
I follow you on google earth.
Really !! Fab 👍
11 degrees! are you a penguin?, I live in Florida so anything below 20 and its time to "winterize".
Been out today filming it’s 5 degrees 😨👍
11 degrees C by the way, not F
why doesn't the government do something about it?
Why don`t you try asking local people for info, you`d find out a lot more. The running water you heard from the canal is a sluice about five yards in front of you !
The road on the embankment that you mention at the 11min mark was a railway line. I think it was for moving coal and coke around the gas works. it can be seen on the Lancashire CIV.NE (includes: Manchester.)
Map
Revised: 1931 to 1932
Published: 1936
You can view it on the National Library of Scotland website for free (it really narks the English OS people that you can see them for free)
Cheers Terry
So what is a gasometer You should wear heavy leather boots.
It’s a huge tank used for storing gas for domestic and industrial use. They are not used anymore
@@MartinZero The solid one ,there was a story it was built by Germans,[POWs?]