The Irk Uncovered

I have been watching quite a few of the videos uploaded to Youtube by the excellent Mancunian amateur local historian and urban explorer Martin Zero. His video from 24/06/19 got me looking up some things on the Internet Archive. I have looked at both ends of the tunnel that now covers that part of the River Irk as it passes under Victoria Station before joining the River Irwell at the end of the tunnel. It never would have occured to me to get some waders and explore the river. I certainly would not have gone down there with only wellies to protect me from the very civilised water.

I found a map from 1428 of the cattle bridge over the Irk that he showed in the video, that can be seen in the thumbnail above. It has probably been rebuilt a few times since. I don't know how accurate the 1428 map is - it was published in 1884 in Old Halls in Lancashire and Cheshire. Including Notes on the Ancient Domestic Architecture of the Counties Palatine by Henry Taylor. The author writes that he compiled all the illustrations from reliable sources.




I am showing the four plates here because the scan of the book that contains them that was uploaded to the Internet Archive has the majority of the illustrations, and the illuminated capitals at the start of each chapter, corrupted. I have uploaded the four scans I made from a copy of the book held at the Local Studies section of the Central Library in Manchester. I have also added them to the Internet Archive in the hope that someone looking for one will find the other.

The site of Thomas de la Warre's Hall would later become a prison, a garrison, a hospital and, finally, Chetham's Library and Chetham's School. The Collegiate Church is now the Manchester Cathedral. Chetham's Library is well worth a visit if you like old libraries, old furniture and paintings, unusual old buildings or the atmosphere of Harry Potter's old school. The library is specialised in local history now but the further you go back in their catalogue the wider the subject matter available. They claim that it is the first public library in the English-speaking world as it opened in 1653.

St Wulfram's Church in Grantham, Lincolnshire would dispute that as the Francis Trigge Library was opened in 1598. It was very small and definitely not a lending library as the books were all chained in place. It was a public library as the bequest demanded that it was for

the better encreasinge of learnings and knowledge in divinitie & other liberall sciences & learning by such of the cleargie & others as well as beinge inhabitantes in or near Grantham & the soake thereof as in other places in the said Countie.

The Plates from Old Halls in Lancashire and Cheshire. 

Including Notes on the Ancient Domestic Architecture of the Counties Palatine 

Part II, Chapter I: Thomas de la Warre's College, Manchester

The cattle bridge over the River Irk is the one at the top right in this map. Both bridges over the River Irk are now in the covered section of the river. The "Old Bridge" connecting Salford and Manchester over the River Irwell at the bottom left was rebuilt as the Victoria Bridge. The Victoria Bridge was officially opened on the 20th of June 1839 and still carries road traffic.

According to the Manchester Guardian report on the 22nd of June 1839, the lamps to light Victoria Bridge at night could not be used on the day the bridge was officially opened. Some "mischievous person or thief" had stolen the lead pipes that supplied gas to the lamps. Five pickpockets were also apprehended during the opening ceremony.

Note that what was once the delightfully-named Toad Lane has now become Todd Street and Corporation Street.

This view includes the other, last bridge over the River Irk, before it joins the River Irwell.

This plan also only has the last bridge over the River Irk. Victoria Station, now served by both trains and trams, opened on New Year's Day 1844, just the other side of that bridge. The name Victoria Station was decided at a meeting on the 28th of December 1843. Despite that, it was known locally as Hunt's Bank Station for several years.