Flooded fields Chorlton 2012

The River Mersey might not have flooded the fields in Chorlton for a very long time. But the heavy recent rains have made paths across the Meadows walkable only in wellington boots. Well you could wade through in regular footware and dry them later.

The picture shews the path from Brookburn Road out towards Jackson's Boat. It looks like a muddy stream. I was out collecting kindling just like local people would have done centuries ago. There is plenty of it about. Didn't get very far, and beyond the water covered path are the soggy ponds on the open grounds.

These days people buy kindling wood to create a fire. It's cleaner and quicker. I much prefer the cheaper and traditional option. I don't know the legal position on collecting fallen twigs and branches. It is probably not allowed without permission or a licence. Removing whole trees might be taken seriously by someone in authority or the land owner.

When the rains cease, and the paths dry out, which they will then I can continue the walk across to Jackson's Boat.

Another Flood Picture

It's still raining as I type. Why not find another old flood photograph? It reminds us that flooding of the Chorlton will never be this bad again. This is one from August 1922 shewing the flood water from the River Mersey is covering the fields. I've looked for a pattern in which months had the heaviest rains to cause flooding. August features many times. So much for those halcyon glorious summers of the past. But it could easily be April, June or November. An earlier post had a picture from flooding in February 1923 which is a mere six months after this summer flooding.

Upstream from Chorlton is Northenden (a village called Northen before the 20th Century) and this story of the Mersey flooding over the years is reported in The Manchester Examiner Saturday 19th June 1847.

 "I examined the records upon a wooden post in the kitchen of the Boat House of the highest Mersey's floods since 1799. In that year the water was a yard deep in the kitchen. It was four feet six inches deep in 1840, the highest mark on the post; it was three feet and some inches on the 21st December 1837; it was three feet and some inches on the 31st August 1833. 1845 and 1828 were both years of record in the Boat House kitchen."

The rain continues to fall but at least the kitchen is dry.....

Flood Warning

We've had a lot of rain recently, and this is summertime not the spring or autumn deluge. Now I wish I had a better copy of this photograph from February 1923. The River Mersey has broken its banks, Jackson's Boat is in the distance and that is Rifle Road under water. Thankfully the flood defences on the River Mersey were built higher and higher in the 1980's and scenes like this will not be seen on this stretch of the river again. Well if it does happen in the future, there will be soon a tram track running to the right side of this picture and there won't be any service on that line.

Checking the level of the River Mersey is something I've done for years. You move to Chorlton and you casually observe that the sluice gates on the river are to take water out and not put it in. In short, when the river gets too high then go flood the meadows and any other low land.

Oh well, it's part of life but you just that you don't want to be the poor devil being interviewed by the local reporter with water breaching those sandbags around the front door .