Industrial Heritage...

Hurrah! - my 100th blip today. Manchester's Castlefield area on the western side of the city is one of the world's most important sites for the history of manufacturing and transport. It has been described as the starting point of the industrial revolution. In 1761 it was the terminus for the Bridgewater Canal; the first long-distance artificial waterway. In 1805 it joined the Rochdale canal, and by 1830 was connected to the Liverpool and Manchester Railway; the first railway warehouse opened here in 1831. In 1848 the viaducts of the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway crossed the area and joined each other, two further viaducts and one mainline station: Manchester Central followed later. Prior to that the area was a roman settlement with a Roman fort called Mamucium, or Mancunium which is where the city's name originates from. Part of the Roman fort has been reconstructed on the excavated foundations. Today, private and pleasure barges still travel on the canals and trains thunder overhead as they make their way in and out of the modern city. The warehouses of yesteryear are now bars, apartments and offices with the area being designated as an Urban Heritage site in 1982 and is officially a conservation area. Overlooking the site is one of Manchester's newest landmarks: The Beetham Tower; a 47-storey skyscraper that houses apartments and a Hilton Hotel.