Breach of Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal

Date: July 6, 1936 • Location: Salford, United Kingdom

A major breach of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal in England sent millions of gallons of water cascading 300 feet (90 m) into the River Irwell.

The Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal is a disused canal in Greater Manchester, England, built to link Bolton and Bury with Manchester. The canal, when fully opened, was 15 miles 1 furlong (24 km) long. It was accessed via a junction with the River Irwell in Salford. Seventeen locks were required to climb to the summit as it passed through Pendleton, heading northwest to Prestolee before it split northwest to Bolton and northeast to Bury. Between Bolton and Bury the canal was level and required no locks. Six aqueducts were built to allow the canal to cross the rivers Irwell and Tonge and several minor roads.