We've had a lot of rain recently, and this is summertime not the spring or autumn deluge. Now I wish I had a better copy of this photograph from February 1923. The River Mersey has broken its banks, Jackson's Boat is in the distance and that is Rifle Road under water. Thankfully the flood defences on the River Mersey were built higher and higher in the 1980's and scenes like this will not be seen on this stretch of the river again. Well if it does happen in the future, there will be soon a tram track running to the right side of this picture and there won't be any service on that line.
Checking the level of the River Mersey is something I've done for years. You move to Chorlton and you casually observe that the sluice gates on the river are to take water out and not put it in. In short, when the river gets too high then go flood the meadows and any other low land.
Oh well, it's part of life but you just that you don't want to be the poor devil being interviewed by the local reporter with water breaching those sandbags around the front door .
1 comment:
And you have stolen my thunder Lawrence. The chorltonhistory blog will also be posting water and flood stories through June into July. There are newspaper stories about the foods in the 20s and a particularly bad one on 1954 which closed the railway station at Chorlton, water level so high it would dampen the fireboxes.
The last time the weir was used was I think 1912, but check those pictures from the 1990s and 2008 which show the water lapping the top of the present banks.
It occurs to me that none of are safe if the water surged through the road drains.
Just a thought.
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