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Latitude: 53.581 / 53°34'51"N
Longitude: -2.3138 / 2°18'49"W
OS Eastings: 379320
OS Northings: 409426
OS Grid: SD793094
Mapcode National: GBR DW81.V1
Mapcode Global: WH97X.F8F2
Plus Code: 9C5VHMJP+CF
Entry Name: Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal Milestone at 11 3/4 miles from Manchester
Listing Date: 31 October 2025
Grade: II
Source: Historic England
Source ID: 1492977
ID on this website: 101492977
County: Bury
Parish: Non Civil Parish
Built-Up Area: Bury
Traditional County: Lancashire
Lieutenancy Area (Ceremonial County): Greater Manchester
A canal milestone of 1797, repositioned around 1890, for the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal. These stones marked the quarter-mile distances along the canal, which served many closely-spaced collieries.
A canal milestone of 1797, for the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal.
MATERIALS: buff sandstone.
DESCRIPTION: the post stands around half a metre high and is set into the ground at the back of the towparth. It is rectangular in cross-section, with a flat top. All the faces are dressed, with chamfered angles and horizontal tooling. The front (north) face is inscribed ‘M/ 11 3/4’ (the distance from Manchester) in deeply-incised, serifed lettering.
The milestone at 11 3/4 miles from Manchester was originally erected in 1797, probably in its current location. The Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal was authorised by Parliament in 1791 and opened to both of its destinations by 1797. It comprised a level summit canal extending to Bolton and Bury, and a branch descending 54m from Nob End (in the middle of this level) to Salford. The canal was connected to the River Irwell in 1808, and then across the Irwell to the Bridgewater Canal in 1838, and to the Rochdale Canal via the Manchester and Salford Junction Canal in 1839. This was principally a coal canal, and the frequency of collieries along it drove the requirement for distance posts to be sited every quarter of a mile, to allow accurate charging of tolls.
Around 1891, several of the canal’s milestones were moved slightly closer to Salford, and from the north bank to the south bank. No historic maps mark this stone. It is likely that this stone remains in or close to its original position.
This post is one of around 20 that are thought to survive in situ. One unbroken sequence of eight stones, spanning from the 7-mile marker on the Salford branch up to 8 3/4 miles on the Bolton branch, is already listed. A corresponding sequence shares four stones on the Salford branch and the 8-mile stone at the junction of the three branches, but extends by another eight stones to the 10-mile stone on the Bury branch. This shorter sequence, half a mile further north, spans from 10 3/4 to 11 3/4 miles on the Bury branch, but is missing the stone at 11 1/2 miles.
A major breach of the canal in 1936 cut the Bury branch off from Bolton and Salford, but this branch continued to be used for local traffic until 1966, and (in 2025) several sections are still in water. The entire canal was officially closed in 1961.
The Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal Milestone At 11 3/4 Miles From Manchester, a canal milestone of 1797 repositioned around 1890, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* as a lettered milestone in its historic position it is a good example of historic canal furniture and illustrates the commercial operation of the canal.
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