The District of Worsley, Salford in the County of -- Lancashire --

Worsley is a town in the City of Salford. Historically part of Lancashire, Worsley has provided evidence of Roman and Anglo-Saxon activity, including two Roman roads connecting Manchester with Wigan. From the 11th century, Worsley was a township in the Eccles parish of the Salford Hundred and was originally in Eccles ecclesiastical parish, and also in Barton-upon-Irwell Poor Law Union. Worsley Village has been designated a Conservation Area to include some 40 listed buildings, and is popular with visitors for its scenic canal-side walks, leafy roads and woodland. This picturesque village on the Bridgewater Canal became a designated conservation area in the 1960s and its landmarks include Worsley Delph and the mock Tudor Packet House.

The town was first mentioned in 1195, when it was passed to Elias de Workesley, but by 1450 the spelling of the name of the town had changed to as we know it today. It was however the canals that were to help Worsley grow, in 1759 an application was made to Parliament for the construction of the first large scale canal in Britain. The title of Duke of Bridgewater was first given to Scroop Egerton in 1720. He devised a navigation system for Worsley which was not carried out. His son, the third Duke of Bridgewater Francis Egerton, was to build the Bridgewater Canal, in conjunction with this was the growth in the industrialization of the area. The development of the railways led to a further increase in the industrial activity in the area and further increases in population. The canal today is peaceful although once it was home to plenty of boat builders, wheelwrights and nail makers. As the canal passes through Worsley, iron oxide from the mines has, for many years, stained the water bright orange. The removal of this colouration was unsuccessful and much of the canal centred on the Delph is still bright orange.

Worsley New Hall, designed by Edward Blore, was built in 1846 for Francis Egerton the First Earl of Ellesmere. The hall was used as a hospital in World War I and in World War II housed Dunkirk evacuees, American soldiers preparing for D-Day and the Lancashire Fusiliers. In 1943 the hall was badly damaged by fire and demolished in 1949.

	Worsley Packet House Photograph by kind permission and © of David Clare, 2017

This grade 2 listed building, and the Boat Steps directly in front of it, date back to 1760 and the half-timbering was added in c.1850 by the 1st Earl of Ellesmere. You would have purchased your ticket for the 'packet boat' at the Packet House and boarded at the Boat Steps.