Weaver Wonders
Seeing and believing. As you walk the towpath or cruise the river there are so many things to see if you know where to look. Take a location upriver from Acton Bridge. Did you know that where the Riverside Inn is located there was once a tan yard? The group of trees at the end of the car park hides the residual waste used to tan the leather.
Move down river to where the River Princess moors. The car park was once the site of a water mill when the original Weaver passed through what is now the Acton Bridge cruising club. Note the club house at one time it was the bridge operators cottage. When the river levels changed due to improved and bigger locks being constructed the mill was demolished and for some time a bone yard was located on the site. According to memories the place seethed with flies and smelled appalling. Imagine living close to that site? Further down the old river track is the stone bridge that carried the A49 over the Weaver. The height of the arch limited the size and design of craft able to navigate the river. Now take the man made navigation passing through the new Acton Bridge. The first thing of interest is the site of the original swing bridge. This was a single lane hand operated bridge with a plank decking. When heavy threshing machines crossed the bridge the deck had to be covered and strengthened. The landings of the bridge are still identifiable on the Leigh Arms side of the navigation. The A49 at that time passed behind The Horns and in front of the Leigh arms originally named the Bridge inn.
The name was changed at the insistence of the land owner a Mr Leigh when he did a deal with the trustees. There was a toll office located by the old bridge. This is where the amount of cargo was calculated by a toll clerk to assess the dues owing to the Weaver trustees. If you have the opportunity to see the old black and white film entitled The Return of Bulldog Drummond the bridge is featured in it when a Bentley car is driven into the river during a car chase.
Move down river to the abutment of the new bridge. A plaque is attached to the concrete indicating the height of the water reached during the 1948 flood. Try to imagine the area before the new bridge was constructed. There were stables for the boat horses and a huge stone water trough. During WW1 there was a warehouses located on the wharf where the lock cottages are now located. On the tow path that passes under the new bridge it is possible to find the ladder and the remaining wall of Acton Bridge Lock
Have you ever wondered how Acton Bridge operates it is quite a massive structure? If you look over to the island to the middle of the bridge you will be able to see a circular concrete wall with a roller path on the top. Inside the structure is a chamber containing water. The bridge sits on pontoons and floats the rollers stabilise the bridge they do not support the weight of the bridge. When the bridge is in the on position wedges are driven by electric motors locking the bridge in position. Without the wedges every time a vehicle passed over the bridge would bounce about. Prior to the recent modernisation and the installation of computers the bridge was driven from the control cabin using the same controls as a tram car.
Two views of the old Acton Swing bridge
Many years ago barges would return to the Weaver after delivering their cargoes to the Mersey ports bringing return cargoes of horse manure from the vast stables located in Liverpool, They also brought coal for deliver to remote farms bordering the river. Along the length of the river were located fixed derricking pole to assist in the landing of the cargoes. In bargees language a whip was set up to unload by hand winch from the dumb barges or steam winch from the packets. Usually the cargo was shovelled into baskets on board the craft by the crew to be landed ashore into horse drawn farm carts. The last example of a derricking post was located below Pickerings O' the boat until 1995 until it rotted off at the base and fell into the river to be recovered and brought to Dutton Locks by Carl Leckey in the Water Witch. It remained on the lock side awaiting a decision as to its future by the waterway museums. Eventually it was taken away and dumped. somewhere, sadly another unique piece of history was destroyed.
Frodsham level Locks in the nineteen fifties this area was used as a dump for many old and disused Weaver craft. In what was the small lock is the remains of the Daresbury of Castle. The craft was a former Weaver sailing flat reputedly to be as old as Nelsons Victory. She was converted to a maintenance craft .for the Weaver and remained in use for many years There were plans to recover it at one stage but vandals put paid to this when they set fire to it. Another unique piece of Weaver history lost.
Frodsham level Lock house demolished and bulldozed into the disused locks the Bebbington
family seen at the front door of the house were some of the last tenants
There was also stables and a paddock at this location for use of the horse drawn narrow boats