Explaining the Bridgewater breaches

Published: Monday, 03 February 2025

LYMM HERITAGE Centre has opened an exhibition concerning the Bridgewater Canal breaches.

BridgewaterBreach2This is concerning the waterway that passes through Lymm and is a key part of the village’s history and is used as a route for commercial traffic, Janet Friend reports.

Aptly named

The exhibition, aptly named 'Breach' opened last Saturday and will run until further notice, with a spokesman for the centre telling:

“As a heritage centre, there is no more important piece of heritage for us to celebrate than the Bridgewater Canal, which has been part for the Lymm scene for over 250 years and which, in many ways, shaped the village we know today,

“In this new exhibition, we look at this breach in the context of history but also look in some depth at how it may have happened, as well as looking into the future in a time of climate change that is impacting the whole canal network.”

BridgewaterBreachOn New Years Day there was a major breach of the Bridgewater its flooding devastating Warrington, causing residents across the town to have to evacuate their homes, and left narrowboats stranded, as shown above.

The torrential rainfall affected the Bridgewater Canal, that breached near Dunham Massey for the first time in over 50 years. It caused the bank to give way and left boats stranded.

Not the first time

But this wasn’t the first time that the canal has breached, as it breached in August 1971 near the Bollin Aqueduct, (pictured) with the lost water leaving a six miles stretch of the canal virtually empty.

Emergency repairs were carried out, but there were still concerns that the canal would have to permanently close, it taking £250,000 to completely repair and make it safe.

There is much more on display at the free exhibition that will open Thursday to Sunday between 12pm and 4pm.