The Early Working Years
Graham Cousin's paper, 'The Macclesfield Canal - The Early Working Years' has been published by the Journal of the Railway & Canal Historical Society, Vol. 33 Pt. 8 No 179, July 2001, pp. 553-573, and we are very pleased to publish the full text in this section of the history pages.
© Copyright 2002 Graham Cousins and the Railway & Canal Historical Society.
Introduction
In the previous article I discussed the planning and subsequent building of the Macclesfield Canal. In this article I would like to consider the opening of the canal in 1831 and its early working years up until its take-over by the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne & Manchester Railway Co. in 1846. The article is divided into three time ‘slices’: 1831-1834, 1838, and 1845- 1846. In the first article the support given to the canal by the local Macclesfield Courier and Herald newspaper was highlighted. As will be seen here the Courier continued to monitor the fortunes of the canal for the benefit of its readers.