Worsley Village conservation area

Worsley Village

Worsley village was designated as a conservation area by the former Lancashire County Council in 1969. The boundary was drawn to include, at that time, approximately 40 listed buildings, together with some less attractive but historically interesting industrial buildings. A map showing the boundary of the conservation area is available to downloaded at the bottom of the page.

The character and historical background of Worsley is unique in south east Lancashire and Greater Manchester. The relationship of historic buildings, canal basins and open spaces with a landscape setting of mature trees adds to the general interest of the area and contributes to its exceptional character.

The settlement originated in the last quarter of the 18th century as a group of industrial buildings, cottages, shops, inns and other community buildings at the delph where the entrance to the Duke of Bridgewater's underground coal mining and canal system was situated. From this point coal was transported to Manchester by the Bridgewater Canal, the first commercial system to be developed in Britain.

Visually separate from the canal, Worsley Green is an area of public open space, bordered by Worsley Road and by terraces of 18th century cottages and 19th century houses with elevations in black-and-white vernacular style. The Victorian ornamental fountain, an important feature of the Green, originally formed part of a chimney stack on factory buildings that stood on the site of Worsley Green.

In the area north of Worsley Road, the delph - one of Salford's three scheduled ancient monuments - is the main feature of interest. The Duke of Bridgewater commissioned James Brindley to design the Bridgewater Canal and then in 1760 he engaged the engineer John Gilbert to create 46 miles of underground canals, together with a series of locks that transferred loaded barges from one canal to another. Two main canals, one 30 metres (100 feet) above the other, run northwards from Worsley delph to Farnworth. A herringbone of minor canals link up to dozens of pits on either side.

Two tunnels were driven in from the delph about 25 metres (82 feet) apart which joined a feeter about 456 metres (1,500 feet), the overall height being 2.4 metres (8 feet) with approximately 1.2 metres (4 feet) of water below and a breadth of 3 metres (10 feet), with the first seam lying about 684 metres (2,250 feet) from the delph. The scheduled ancient monument at the delph relates to the tunnel entrances, sluice gates and apron platform between; it does not include the canal itself.

The principal buildings of interest in this area are the Bridgewater Estate offices, the Nailmaker's House, Rock House, Packet House, Court House and former police station (The Old Nick).

Conservation area appraisal

In July 2007 the council adopted an appraisal for the Worsley Village conservation area. This defines what is important about its character and appearance and identifies its special characteristics. It provides a basis for making decisions about the future management of the conservation area, helping to determine what might be appropriate development in and around its boundary. The conservation area appraisal and its associated documents are available to download at the bottom of the page.

Amendment to boundary - 2007

As part of the appraisal of the Worsley Village conservation area, consideration was given to the review of its boundary. In July 2007 the conservation area boundary was amended, and extended to include specific areas to the south side of Barton Road and northwards to include Old Warke Dam and the Aviary. There was also a small reduction to the boundary south of the Bridgewater Hotel Public House.

The delph (canal tunnel entrances and wharf) is designated as a scheduled ancient monument.

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This page was last updated on 19 February 2019