Brindleys Weir

S) 89 NW, 1482-/3/10006

STRETFORD, CORNBROOK ROAD (off), Brindleys Weir

II

Culvert basin and drain sump. Mid-C18, with later alterations. Attributed to the canal engineer James Brindley, and designed to allow the Corn Brook to flow under the Bridgewater Canal. The structure comprises a pear-shaped basin, approximately 25 metres long, bounded on the west side by the canal and on the east by the embankment wall of the Cornbrook railway junction. The basin is enclosed by walls of regularly coursed and massive squared sandstone. The basin is lined with large sandstone setts, laid to courses, and has a deep channel around its perimeter to the north, east and south. At its centre is a circular drain sump, about 5 metres in diameter, and now enclosed by C20 railings. The brook enters the basin at its north-east corner, and flows into the drain via a deep channel well below the level of the setts and the chamfered ashlar rim of the drain. In times of spate,the basin could accommodate large volumes of water, and, by means of the sturdy basin floor and enclosure walls, prevent the scouring of the canal embankment. The brook was carried in a culvert well below the canal, and returned to its natural channel well beyond the canal to the west. The basin and drain sump represent an important example of ancillary canal engineering associated with one of the most important engineers of the canal era.

Listing NGR: SJ8223096953