The Great Flood of 1927

“We watched as Middleton floated by”

By Harold Cunliffe

It was on the evening of the 11th July 1927 that the whole of the centre of a North Manchester mill town became locked down without warning and within a very short period of time and putting many of its residents in a perilous situation.

The event which caused so much horror is known as the “Great Middleton Flood.” The disaster originated a few miles away at the border with Oldham, known as “Mills Hill,” where, following several days of rain the canal embankment burst sending millions of gallons of water, laden with mud and debris along the already swollen River Irk towards the town of Middleton. One of the first casualties was the destruction of a bridge connecting the Don Mill to the main Oldham Road. Mill workers had to find an access route via a small footbridge or over the fields at the rear of the mill.

Another bridge became swept away on the rivers route towards the centre of town at Hanson Street. Our image shows a members of the public inspecting the damage. A policeman was sent to keep a watch, preventing onlookers from putting themselves in danger. The late Jack Taylor was only a small boy at the time of the flood, but when interviewed in 2007 he stated that he was fearful of his father being hurt. His father worked at the Cromer Mill, which was suffering the effects of water entering the building. Jack related that he thought that his dad Joe may not be safe should the water continue to rise. He and his mother Clara stood on the lane close to their house and watched in disbelief as the cottages in the distance at Little Green became engulfed in flood water. A greenhouse and shed floated away, all the chickens died. The following day neighbours, including Jack and his mother visited the cottages to lend a hand in the cleaning up process, such was the community spirit in those days. Jack decided to go for a walk while the adults were busy cleaning, then he had to be rescued when he sank in the soft silt with only his head and arms visible. His father Joe was one of the party who cleaned out the water inlet feed channels of mud at the Cromer Mill after the levels had dropped to a safe level. The channels provided the water for the steam engines. As a consequence of the canal emptying of water several mills in the area were laid idle. These mills depended upon the canal for the use

Above: Twenty five year old Annie Waterhouse married Hirst Whiteley in December 1926. Image. Mrs Ella Taylor. Above: 87 year old Annie enjoys her Sunday meal with Ella and Neville Taylor in 1988, who had the foresight to record, for posterity, the valuable memories spoken by their relative.

Above: Mill workers at the Rex witness the loss of the access road Above: Cottages at Little Green, where young Jack Taylor almost lost his life

Above: Hanson Street bridge which was swept away causing £2,000 worth of damage. Above: Looking down at the flood damaged Gas Works. A new main is visible which served the district of Middleton Junction. This was also the spot where Mr Stansfield lost his life.

of water for the mill engines. Two hundred and fifty hands were laid off at the Baytree Mill. The same number was sent home at the Malta Mill due to the pumps not having water. It was estimated that a mill could use 3,000 gallons a minute for the condensers, after which the water is returned to the canal. The canal bed was almost dry and with the warm weather it gave off an evil smelling odour from the decaying slime.

It is now 94 years since this event took place, so I very much doubt if anyone is alive who could relate the happenings of that night in July. It was when, in 2007 I was covering this subject for a local newspaper that a friend of the family, Mrs Ella Taylor, mentioned that one Sunday afternoon in 1988 an elderly aunt paid them a visit, who, would enjoy chatting about days gone by. On the Sunday in question her husband Neville had the foresight to place a tape recorder near her to record her interesting conversations, and all spoken in “lanky twang,” I may add. The cassette tape contained an hour of 87 year old Annie Whiteley, nee Waterhouse, relating the events of the 1927 flood. Annie lived at Middleton Junction at the time the flood took place; having been married the year prior and leaving the family home at Suffield Street, which happened to be in the centre of the worst part of the flooded area. Parents Jim and Hannah Waterhouse became trapped in their home by the rising flood water and had to be rescued. Hannah and her husband were in bed when they were disturbed by the sound of distressing voices outside. They both looked out of their bedroom window to find that the street was flooded and the level was two yards below their bedroom window. When they attempted to escape via the stairs they found that the flood water had entered their home and made its way up the stairs, preventing their exit. They were trapped in their bedroom with the only means of escape being through the window. Annie commented, “The first we knew that something had happened was when, about ten to ten in the evening all the gas mantles went out. We wondered what could be wrong, we all went out into the street to find out what was up, then news came that there had been flooding in Middleton and it was caused by a bursted canal bank at Mills Hill. A wall at the Gas Works had fallen down and flood water came down Suffield Street. Water came up to the picture rails, mother and father were upstairs in bed and they could not get down the stairs. Water came up the stairs within three stairs from the top. Mother had to tie bedsheets together and they both climbed out of the bedroom window in to a small boat that was brought from Boggart Hole Clough, (Blackley,

Above: Suffield Street. On the right is T.B.Woods mill. In the middle distance (right) was the Fire Station along with the houses where terrified residents became stranded in their bedrooms.

Manchester). Boats rescued folk by rowing up and down the street.

“These people were now homeless, they were taken to chapels and schools, and anywhere they could get a bed for the night. My parents were missing for three days; we had no idea where they were. I was working at the Neva mill and the boss said; ‘Annie, get your shawl and go and look for your mother and father.’ I was away from work for three days and the boss did not stop my wage, he was a good boss. My mother was a mile away near the old church with friends, and dad with an aunt at Blackley who had a shop. Both parents went to stay with my brother Jim while we cleaned the house up.

“The first time we visited Suffield Street to see what damage had been done we had a shock. The door was jammed with debris, coke from the Gas Works had filled the ground floor, there was even coke in the oven. Dad played the organ you know, this had floated into the kitchen and was stood behind the back door.

Bales of cotton from T.B.Woods mill littered the area. Lots of them prevented the water from getting away, like a dam. Workmen replaced the drains, but they were never the same. When we had heavy rain the house would flood out with water. I had to rush to Suffield Street at dinnertime to clear the water during wet weather. I have had a hard life you know. When dad was sleeping downstairs the water would reach his bedclothes. Eventually new pipes were fitted which solved the problem.

“When the big clean up started we all walked down the street to witness people’s belongings piled outside their houses, it was awful to see. Down the street the fire station was flooded out but not as bad as the houses lower down, the station was on higher ground. When they started to share out the money which had been collected my mother got a new carpet, three piece suite and a sewing machine.

Our sideboard was a beautiful piece of furniture. It was cleaned and put in the sun outside to dry, and then Mr Fielding, an auctioneer, saw it and he and another man treated it with linseed oil, and brought it back to life. My mother had a Federation sewing machine, bought from the Co-op, they were good machines. A woman who lived in the fire station houses had one as well, two machines in Suffield Street, neighbours would borrow them. When the money was shared out, ‘you are not recording this are you?’ But, every house had a machine, they said that they had a machine

Above: Townley Street. Electricity production ceased when water entered the boiler house extinguishing the fires in the boilers.

Above: The big clean-up where 2,400 gallons of disinfectant was used. Above: Teams of workmen worked constantly to remove the foul smelling silt.

before the flood, but there were only two in Suffield Street.

“All those who were flooded out lost everything. Someone from the Co-op Preserve Works at Mills Hill came and gave out cutlery; all our items were lost in the flood clean up. When we got back to normal my mother, who was good hearted, held a party for the people that helped, nurses, St John’s Ambulance.

Police and firemen as a thank you. She was a good baker and made all the food including the salad cream. They all said how good it tasted, good home cooked food.”

At the height of the flood an eye witness stated that water forced down a wall at the mill of T.B.Woods which then entered the mill, filled the ground floor overflowing through windows in which it had forced out, finally making its way to the river. Furniture and household items were carried out of the flooded houses. In one case a table complete with a teapot, cups and the remnants of an evening meal was seen passing down one of the streets.

Suffield Street in which Annie speaks about is alongside the area once known as “Little Park,” a part of town which was known for flooding in wet weather. When the canal burst its bank it destroyed a large number of sewers along its path, resulting in raw sewerage polluting the waters of the River Irk. This river makes its way to Middleton onto Rhodes and then through Blackley, Crumpsall and Collyhurst on route to Manchester. At Rhodes the most damage was caused at the Calico Printers Association works, commonly known as “Schwabe’s.”

Postcards were produced at the time showing the effects of flood damage which put the works out of action. The effects of the flood caused damage to the tune of £30,000.

At Collyhurst, over 500 people stood on the higher ground overlooking the swollen river Irk. One of those who witnessed this scene was Mrs Lillian Ward, who in 2007 telephoned from her home in Australia. She stated, “I was at school at the time of the 1927 flood. News came to say that the river was overflowing and you could see furniture and peoples belongings in the river from Middleton.

Above: Horse and carts similar to those owned by John Hulbert transported hundreds of tons of silt to the boundary of Middleton with Blackley, Manchester. Our appreciation goes to Danny Hardman for his digital expertise in enhancing many of the images used in this feature.

“As soon as we could we all ran down to the see what was going on. It was so upsetting to see the possessions from the people of Middleton as it went by, we watched as Middleton floated by. We could see animals which had been drowned. Sheds and a hen coop passed along with farm animals too. Trams were laid on for people to visit Middleton so we could witness the carnage caused by the flooding. People were standing on the street corners with collection boxes for the Mayors Relief Fund.” It is documented that people travelled from all parts of Lancashire, as far as Preston, to witness the havoc caused by the flooding.

Collectors for the Mayors Relief Fund were soon on scene. A white sheet was carried along the main road which leads to Manchester and within a short period of time £37 was collected. It was stated in the press, “Not all gifts were in copper and silver. A huge limousine with chauffeur yielded a sixpenny-bit, and a small family car supplied a pound note. An old lady in the back seat of a car threw a tenshilling note into the middle of the white sheet in the first five minutes of the collection starting.”

It was reported that the river Irk became silted to a depth of three feet in the section in the centre of town and the parts leading downstream, which would cause an increase of flooding in wet weather if it was not dredged. The council were to seek funding to urgently carry out this procedure. Footpaths and drains in the Little Park area were cleared of silt resulting in 200 tons being carted away in three days. Teams of workers worked all day and all night to clear the awful mess.

After three days they became exhausted so a rota system was made and the hours worked was reduced. The Blue Ribbon Mission Hall was made available to enable the workmen to gain some sleep and refreshment.

In Middleton three people lost their lives. At Collyhurst however there was another loss of life which sent a shock wave through the community. Many of the residents were horrified to hear the news that a five year old boy, by the name of Alfred Hall of Burton Street, Collyhurst lost his life at Red bank. Three boys were on the river bank trying to retrieve a wooden hoop from the River Irk when Alfred fell into the river and was swept away. The body was recovered the following day.

Above: A clean-up party pose for the camera at the Calico Printers Association, Rhodes, where considerable damage occurred.

In Middleton the three people who lost their lives were; seventy six year old Joseph Stansfield who left his home because he was curious to have a look at the flood to see if the level of water was receding. Stansfield was standing on a bridge next to the Gas Works when it collapsed into the fast flowing water; he went down with the bridge. An onlooker who was close by made a grab for him as he was falling but missed him by inches. Next the wall of the Gas Works came down on top of where the bridge once was. Vincent Stansfield along with his nephew searched the river Irk for his father, and then three days later he found him on the bank of the river near the Calico Printers Association lodges at Rhodes.

A feeling of being uncomfortable in his wet clothing cost the life of 57 year old Charles Heaton. Charles decided to attempt to make it to his lodgings, even though he had been offered dry clothes and a bed for the night, but he decided to chance it. He walked in to the fast flowing water for a distance of 25 yards before he lost his footing and was swept away to his death. His body was recovered during the early hours of the following morning in a field; his body lay 200 yards from the river.

The hero was Fred Hall, aged only 16 years. He lost his life saving others. On that fateful night he arrived in the centre of town to find people stranded in their homes by the rising flood water. He used one of the boats which came from Heaton Park to rescue families in distress. In total he made eight journeys then decided to make an attempt to climb onto a wall to safety. The strong current of the water forced his boat towards a bridge in the River Irk which supports the main road to Manchester, so he jumped into the water in an attempt to swim to the wall; he was a good swimmer, better than most. Fred spotted a clothes line but he was unable to grab hold and was swept away. An eye witness stated, “He went under the water, never to be seen alive again.” His body was found around 300 yards from the last sighting. Fred Hall, Charles Heaton and Joseph Stansfield are listed on a memorial in Jubilee Park.

It was due to a neighbour who just happened to be cleaning her step that saved the life of another person. When she was close to her next door neighbours house she could smell gas. She knew that her neighbour lived alone and that he had not gone to work. She alerted her husband who broke down the front door, only to find the house filled with gas, this was the deadly ‘town gas.’ He dragged the man out of the house then summoned help. The police were notified, and promptly attended the scene to find that the man was being revived by four doctors in the yard at the back of the house. The patient was transported to hospital, where, three days later he was well enough to return to his home. Upon investigation it transpired that the gentleman was in the process of making his tea, but the oven would not light due to the mains being damaged. He forgot to turn the gas tap off so when the main was repaired his house became filled with the poisonous gas.

It was very distressing for the residents of the Little Park who owned pets. All those in the flooded houses drowned. One can only imagine what the conditions of the flooded area of town were like. Both the electricity and gas supply failed. At the gas works the main pipe was fractured, it was due to the swift action by three of the operatives at the works who turned off the main supply that more lives was not lost. At the electricity plant the power failed due to water entering the boiler house and extinguishing the fires in the Lancashire boilers.

At the perimeter of the flood stood the George Inn. The landlord opened his pub to serve spirits to those who required reviving. No beer was available due to his cellar being under water, upon inspection barrels were floating around. A few yards away was the home of local businessman, haulage contractor and scrap metal merchant, Mr Hulbert. He took pity on those who desperately required dry clothing. The demand was so high that his entire wardrobe was cleaned out.

Above: Vouchers were given out by the flood relief committee. Sam’s Stores willingly accepted the vouchers.

Above: The local newspaper was put out of action when the gas supply failed. Gas was used to melt the lead type on the Linotype machines.