Old Warke Dam, Worsley

It very rarely snows my neck of the woods, let alone stick around for days on end. So, change of plan, drop everything, move things to the back burner and off for a wander instead. I’d forgotten how enjoyable photography is when there’s no pressure to come away with a masterpiece in the memory card. I certainly got my 10,000 steps in this morning wandering around all the local landmarks and more!

Here’s a shot from the side of the Old Warke Dam looking across to the Aviary which was built in 1840 as a shooting and fishing lodge for the 1st Earl of Ellesmere, Francis Egerton. The woods were planted as his private hunting ground. Because of this the trees in the woods are of the same age. The story goes that the paths around the dam and through the woods were constructed in the 1860s at the time of the cotton famine. During which time the Earl of Ellesmere devised the scheme to provide work for unemployed weavers.

Today, I’m led to believe it is the home of a well-known bookie… Fred somebody!

Tags:   Worsley The Aviary Old Warke Dam architecture historic village Andy Rouse Canon 5D3 5DMkIII EF24-105mm f/4L

© All Rights Reserved

The Delph, Worsley

The central structure is an interpretation of something that was described by Arthur Young in 1770 as ‘a crane of curious construction, used for heaving the stones out of the quarry into the barges.

Looks nice in the snow… I revisited the following day… all gone!

Tags:   Worsley The Delph crane sculpture Worsley Delph Monument weathering steel & bronze

© All Rights Reserved

Bridgewater Canal, Worsley

Snowed on Monday, iced over on Tuesday, gone by Wednesday.
I think this is only the third time I’ve captured Worsley snow-covered in over 20 years!

Tags:   Worsley Packet House Bridgewater Canal historic Industrial Revolution mining canals waterways snow Andy Rouse Canon 5D3 5DMkIII EF24-105mm f/4L

© All Rights Reserved

Bridgewater Canal, Worsley

Just caught it nice with the sun illuminating the house and storage area wall. This is one of the oldest buildings in Worsley, dating from around 1725. Originally a residential dwelling before being altered to become the Nailmaker's Shop in 1789 when construction of the canal and all the related building work commenced. It has been used as a reading room, a library, a gallery and currently as offices.

Centre of the image is the Alphabet Bridge - so named as it has 26 planks each embossed with a letter making up the crossing that leads to the Packet house.

Tags:   Worsley Bridgewater Canal canal Nailmaker's House nailmaker reading room library gallery commercial property Sacha House white-washed building architecture historic village Andy Rouse Canon 5D3 5DMkIII EF24-105mm f/4L

© All Rights Reserved

Bridgewater Canal, Worsley

It’s taken some effort to overcome my lack of motivation and massive overdose of CBA to get out and take some new images since the Cornwall trip. I still have plenty of images to go at from that trip, but the brief snowfall we had last Thursday broke the daze I was feeling and so I drove down to Worsley on impulse.

Typically, the snow was melting by the minute… it doesn’t stick for long round my neck of the woods! I’ve manged to capture a few images with snow on the ground, but I thought I’d kick off with this one on account of the sunlight on the crane sculpture and besides I’ve not been back here since the Delph project was completed way back in September 2019.

Tags:   Worsley Duke of Bridgewater Francis Egerton Bridgewater Canal canal Delph basin mines mining underground canals 46 miles iron ochre iron ore orange silt colour sculpture crane starvationers restoration UNESCO World Heritage Status

© All Rights Reserved