IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Sankey Valley Industrial Estate, Junction Lane, NEWTON-LE-WILLOWS, WA12 8DN

Taken from a plane on approach to Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

This is a view across Mucky Mountains Nature Reserve with a part of the old Sankey/St.Helens Canal to the right. The Mucky Mountains were formed from waste created by Muspratt's Vitriol Works.

The snow gives an Alpine appearance to the mounds of chemical waste.

The opening of the Sankey Canal in 1757 was the catalyst for the major industrial development of the area. Mucky Mountains are heaps of chemical waste, the by-product of soda made in the 1830s using the inefficient Leblanc Process http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leblanc_process . Muspratt’s Vitriol Works http://www.n-le-w.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=43&Itemid=27 produced two tons of waste for every ton of soda it made. Large volumes of hydrochloric acid were discharged into the canal and solid wastes were dumped on nearby land forming large mounds. It is reported that conditions in the alkali works (which closed in 1851) were so bad that the escaping gases caused men’s’ teeth to rot and burned their clothes.

The opening of the Sankey Canal in 1757 was the catalyst for the major industrial development of the area. Mucky Mountains are heaps of chemical waste, the by-product of soda made in the 1830s using the inefficient Leblanc Process http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leblanc_process . Muspratt’s Vitriol Works http://www.n-le-w.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=43&Itemid=27 produced two tons of waste for every ton of soda it made. Large volumes of hydrochloric acid were discharged into the canal and solid wastes were dumped on nearby land forming large mounds. It is reported that conditions in the alkali works (which closed in 1851) were so bad that the escaping gases caused men’s’ teeth to rot and burned their clothes.

Looking over the Sankey Canal towards the Mucky Mountains Nature Reserve. The Sankey Canal (which is also known as the Sankey Brook Navigation) ran along the valley of the Sankey Brook from the point where the brook joined the River Mersey, to a location to the north east of St Helens. The opening of the canal in 1757 was the catalyst for the major industrial development of the area. Mucky Mountains are heaps of chemical waste, the by-product of soda made in the 1830s using the inefficient Leblanc Process http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leblanc_process . Muspratt’s Vitriol Works http://www.n-le-w.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=43&Itemid=27 produced two tons of waste for every ton of soda it made. Large volumes of hydrochloric acid were discharged into the canal and solid wastes were dumped on nearby land forming large mounds. It is reported that conditions in the alkali works (which closed in 1851) were so bad that the escaping gases caused men’s’ teeth to rot and burned their clothes.

The Sankey Canal, west of Bradley (Bradlegh) Lock.

Behind the camera (ie to the east of here) the canal has been filled in. This is the remains of Bradley Lock with its stone walls. Although named "Bradley" on recent maps, its original name was "Bradlegh" and a local signpost uses that spelling.