The painting shows the River Mersey viewed from Spike Island in Widnes at low tide. The Mersey Gateway Bridge crossing the river upstream. In the near edge of the river there are some 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 able to carry up to 80 tonnes of cargo, 2 to 3 times what a large modern lorry can carry. They were mostly abandoned by around 1970 because of improving road transport.
The boats were very strongly built. They had two or three masts and were a double ended barge with a rounded bilge. Often 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 and it's many collieries. Opened in 1757 it was the first canal of the industrial revolution. The canal ends here at Spike Island, not too far from this viewpoint. 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 and no longer passable by boat.
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