Botany Bay (Chorley)

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Botany Bay refers to an area on the outskirts of Chorley alongside the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. It was instrumental in transport for North West England and was home to several mills during the Industrial Revolution. The earliest proof of settlements in the Botany Bay area, formerly known as Knowley Moss, date back to 1734 as shown on the map of Chorley at this time. It was not until the late 18th century that Knowley began to develop further when the site was earmarked as the main port for the Chorley area.

Chorley town in Lancashire, England

Chorley is a town in Lancashire, England, 8.1 miles (13 km) north of Wigan, 10.8 miles (17 km) south west of Blackburn, 11 miles (18 km) north west of Bolton, 12 miles (19 km) south of Preston and 19.5 miles (31 km) north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came principally from the cotton industry.

Leeds and Liverpool Canal

The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool.

North West England Place in England

North West England, one of nine official regions of England, consists of the five counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of 7,052,000 in 2011. It is the third-most populated region in the United Kingdom after the South East and Greater London. The largest settlements are Manchester, Liverpool, Warrington, Preston, and Blackpool.

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Canal building

During the construction of the Lancaster Canal, Botany Bay played host to the canal workers, and it is believed the name Botany Bay originated from around this time, due to the nature of the navvies occupying the area the locals saw it as an area to be avoided, much like the penal colony at Botany Bay Australia. [1] By 1816 The Leeds and Liverpool Canal had come to incorporate the Lancaster Canal and by this time Botany Bay had become an important loading and unloading area due to its warehouse system and proximity to the canal.

Lancaster Canal canal in England

The Lancaster Canal is a canal in North West England, originally planned to run from Westhoughton in Lancashire to Kendal in south Cumbria. The section around the crossing of the River Ribble was never completed, and much of the southern end leased to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, of which it is now generally considered part.

Botany Bay bay in Sydney

Botany Bay, an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 13 km (8 mi) south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cooks River at Kyeemagh, which flows 10 km (6 mi) to the east before meeting its mouth at the Tasman Sea, midpoint between La Perouse and Kurnell.

Transport

Due to the canal Botany Bay became a hub for transport, as early as 1830 services ran from Botany Bay wharf to Manchester, Wigan and Liverpool as well as others. This contributed greatly to Botany Bay's importance in both the cotton trade and increasing communication in the local area.

Manchester City and metropolitan borough in England

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 545,500 as of 2017. It lies within the United Kingdom's second-most populous built-up area, with a population of 2.8 million. It is fringed by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and an arc of towns with which it forms a continuous conurbation. The local authority is Manchester City Council.

Wigan Town in Greater Manchester, England

Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, 10 miles (16 km) south-west of Bolton, 12 miles (19 km) north of Warrington and 17 miles (27.4 km) west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town has a population of 103,608, whilst the wider borough has a population of 318,100.

Liverpool City and Metropolitan borough in England

Liverpool is a city in North West England, with an estimated population of 491,500 within the Liverpool City Council local authority in 2017. Its metropolitan area is the fifth-largest in the UK, with a population of 2.24 million in 2011. The local authority is Liverpool City Council, the most populous local government district in the metropolitan county of Merseyside and the largest in the Liverpool City Region.

1869 saw the opening of the Lancashire Union Railway which ran through Botany Bay, this was facilitated by the construction of a viaduct across the canal which was used primarily to transport coal between Wigan and Blackburn. The track was completed entirely from steel rails and cost £530,000 to construct. The railway line was also used extensively during the First World War to transport wounded soldiers to Liverpool and the viaduct remained in service until 1968 when it was demolished for the construction of the M61 motorway.

Lancashire Union Railway

The Lancashire Union Railway ran between Blackburn and St Helens in Lancashire, England. It was built primarily to carry goods between Blackburn and Garston Dock on the River Mersey, and also to serve collieries in the Wigan area. Most of the line has now closed, except for the St Helens-to-Wigan section that forms part of the main line between Liverpool and the North.

Blackburn town in Lancashire, England

Blackburn is a town in Lancashire, England. It lies to the north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, 9 miles (14 km) east of Preston, 20.9 miles (34 km) NNW of Manchester and 9 miles (14 km) north of the Greater Manchester border. Blackburn is bounded to the south by Darwen, with which it forms the unitary authority of Blackburn with Darwen; Blackburn is its administrative centre. At the time of the UK Government's 2001 census, Blackburn had a population of 105,085, whilst the wider borough of Blackburn with Darwen had a population of 140,700. Blackburn had a population of 117,963 in 2011, a massive increase since 2001.

M61 motorway road in England

The M61 is a motorway in North West England. It runs from the M60 motorway northwest of Manchester and heads northwest past Bolton and Chorley to join the M6 just north of the junction between the M6 and M65 motorways to the south of Preston.

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References

  1. Howell. C, A. "Grove Mill, Canal Mill & Botany Bay" (The History Press:2008)