The Chaddock Level
Boothstown's Underground Canal

The history of coal mining and the importance of the Bridgewater Canal in shaping the local landscape is described on the page Coal and Bridgewater Canal. The transformation of the area, particularly along the canal, following the demise of the coal industry, is described on the page After Coal: Bridgewater Canal Today.

The engineering feat of constructing fifty miles of underground canals from Worsley was also undertaken in Boothstown with the construction of the Chaddock Level, which extended over 6,000 yards from the Bridgewater Canal, south of Boothstown, to the Chaddock colliery, and beyond to the Queen Anne pit (which operated from 1810 to 1820) and the Henfold pit. The Chaddock Level was used to transport coal during the 19th century, and though precise dates of construction and disuse are unknown, the keystone on the entrance is dated 1816 (pictured, below).

The entrance to the Chaddock Level, with its keystone dated 1816, may still be seen, although it is often submerged under the water of a pond that has formed in front of it. Until large-scale housing developments in the proximity, the pond was hidden among the scrub, and was enjoyed by those who had discovered it. It is now just a few yards off a new road called Amberhill Way. One of the new streets off Amberhill Way was named The Chaddock Level

The tunnel of the Chaddock Level crosses under Amberhill Way at an angle of about 90 degrees, just past the last house on the canal side of the road. During the construction of the new housing in 1993 the Chaddock Level itself was exposed, as the main sewer was laid quite deep along a line that is now Amberhill Way. When the sewer was being installed a section was cut out of the tunnel. The broken ends of each side were sealed by sheet piling with a small pipe joining each side to release any build up of water.

The photographs above were taken when the tunnel was exposed in 1993. The double brick arch can be seen clearly. It was not the first time the tunnel had been breached. Local historian Ken Hardman reports that in 1952 workmen broke into its roof when laying new sewer pipes in Vicar's Hall Lane. At that time, before flooding caused the tunnel entrance to become submerged, it was possible to gaze into the brick tunnel. Ken Hardman's pamphlet also includes the following:

A local man I spoke to, who still lives a short distance from the entrance, told me of how, when a boy in the 1950s, he had gone with a friend in a home-made canoe up the level for quite some distance. It divided into two some way along, and there were ventilation shafts every hundred yards or so. However discretion overcame valour, and they sailed back before reaching any obstruction.

There are no known plans to preserve the tunnel entrance and its keystone. Many have expressed the view that it should be saved as a reminder for future generations of the labours of so many navigators, miners and canal workers. At least the tunnel entrance remains, having survived the redevelopment of its surrounding area in recent years. Perhaps it will remain undisturbed for many more years to come.