This painting shows the River Mersey viewed from Spike Island in Widnes at low tide. The Mersey Gateway Bridge, which opened in 2017 can be seen in the background. In the foreground are Mersey Flat Boats in ruins. The Mersey Flats were used to transport goods around Cheshire and its surrounding areas in the 18th, 19th and well into the 20th century. They were mostly abandoned by around 1970 because of improving roads and road transport technology. They could carry up to 300 tons of cargo, about 10 times what a large modern lorry can carry.
The boats were a 2 or 3 masted double ended barge with a rounded bilge. Mostly they were family run, with skills and knowledge passed down through the family.
The Sankey Canal, formerly known as the Sankey Brook Navigation, was built for the Mersey Flats to transport coal and other goods to and from the town of St Helens with it's many collieries. Opened in 1757 it was the first canal of the industrial revolution. The canal ends here at Spike Island, not far from this viewpoint, where the locks are still in use today. Spike Island is an artifificial island built for the 1833 Sankey Canal extension. The original Sankey Brook Navigationk had its locks to the river a few miles upstream at Warrington near to where the Sankey brook enters the River Mersey. Most of the canal is now disused, other than fishermen, walkers and cyclists.
The canal was originally built with all swing bridges to allow for the large masts of the Mersey Flats. The later added Sankey Viaduct rail bridge was built with a 70-foot headroom to allow for the boats to pass under.
Original art work in soft pastels on pastel paper.
Picture size: around 420 x 300mm or 16 x 12 inches.
Frame size: around 600 x 420 mm or 24 x 16 inches.
Black oak vaneered frame and black mount.
Price: £300 collected from Widnes, Cheshire.
Delivery available. Enquiries: stu@stuartlake.co.uk