Page "Manchester Ship Canal" Paragraph 6

The idea was championed by Manchester manufacturer Daniel Adamson, who arranged a meeting at his home, The Towers in Didsbury, on 27 June 1882.

He invited the representatives of several Lancashire towns, local businessmen and politicians, and two civil engineers: Hamilton Fulton and Edward Leader Williams.

Fulton's design was for a tidal canal, with no locks and a deepened channel into Manchester.

With the city about above sea level, the docks and quays would have been well below the surrounding surface.

Williams ' plan was to dredge a channel between a set of retaining walls, and build a series of locks and sluices to lift incoming vessels up to Manchester.

Both engineers were invited to submit their proposals, and Williams ' plans were selected to form the basis of a bill to be submitted to Parliament later that year.