The impassable Chamber. The Worsley Brook

[@MartinZero]

Intro and outro music by Dean, Sensory triggered on KZbin. Other incidental music by Mark, Reg, Dave & John aka The Chameleons, thank you for being part of my soundtrack. Genuine comments of concern welcome H&S lectures will disappear. Respect to you all. Roy = "its a walk up a brook", however no one mentioned the subterranean blues in that low section 😁

[@stephenbirchall941]

Great video. I have sailed many times over that bit of canal. I'm glad they didn't try and drain the dry dock while you were there!

[@rich_devoto]

Martin the music on your videos is always top drawer - and now you’ve just stuck the world’s greatest band (ever) into this too! Zero and the Chameleons- blinking marvellous

[@MartinZero]

@@stephenbirchall941 There is only one dock I think and its rarely used

[@MartinZero]

@@rich_devoto Oh yes 😀

[@Simon_Nonymous]

We loved the retro intro!

[@stephenjones9153]

Bloody Spray Crete Vandalism 😭😭. Thankfully we have people like Martin and Co capturing our History and amazing architecture and workmanship for future generations to see. Extremely well done. 👍👍👍

[@MartinZero]

Yeah Spraycrete does kind ruin the vibe

[@xsickpeoplex]

Spray Crete keeps it up! All the brickwork of the culvert was absolutely goosed when it was surveyed and inspected back in 2015. I was going to be the supervising engineer on it but left just before it started on site.

[@yorkie2789]

Martin, you are the light that never goes out!

[@earlt.7573]

And then he goes and calls himself just "an idiot with a torch", haa--- Martin you're the best.

[@MartinZero]

😄👍

[@MartinZero]

Idiot with a Go Pro ? 😀

[@andyshearwood]

Thanks

[@MartinZero]

Thanks very much Andy

[@boilerroombob]

Just watched it on the big screen martin with the wife and it was an absolutely fantastic journey full of history thank you to you and all your friends for this chapter......x

[@MartinZero]

Thanks very much

[@dilwyn1]

Fantastic .. Another great vid Martin, cheers for making Sunday special !

[@MartinZero]

Thank you

[@GodsOath_com]

It's a testimony to their engineering knowledge that those brick arches are still intact. Wow.

[@wideyxyz2271]

Cool stuff. Its what Sundays are about!

[@MartinZero]

Cheers Pal

[@RossMaynardProcessExcellence]

"An idiot with a torch". You're being slightly hard on yourself there. You may not be an expert but you are bringing largely forgotten heritage to modern eyes. Well done to you and all your collaborators.

[@whatevernamegoeshere3644]

31:40 They usually instal drops in drainage because the slope needs to be a specific angle. Let's say you want a culvert that can carry plant waste too, like leaves in autumn, it needs 0.5% of slope but the two points you are connecting are 200 meters apart and 7 meters apart vertically. That makes for 3.5% slope, too high, which leaves solids behind on the edge, gets too shallow in the pipe and speeds up erosion. On the 200 meter run you want exactly 1 meter of drop, but you have 6 more meters to work around. If you install 2 drops, each at 3 meter depths, with a deep pool under them as damping to fight erosion, you end up with your exact slope and you even get some benefits as it aerates the water.

[@kingofcastlechaos]

Sitting here in Texas I am enthralled by the history you have around every corner. I have done a bit of underground urban exploring myself. Any time we run across something too tight and therefore too dangerous, we used a camera and light on a float. Be sure the float is boat shaped so it reduces camera wobble. We tied that to a sturdy fishing line on a rod and reel. We could pay out line to ease the unit into the tunnels and get an idea about what was in there before we got ourselves in trouble. It's a really bad feeling to be inching your way into a bad situation and find that the floor is slick and increasing in pitch! Going to subscribe and my dream retirement is to visit your lovely country and learn more about it.

[@dwbunloaf8245]

You exhibited real bravery there Martin . You looked genuinely scared but you carried on regardless, that’s bravery. Well done sir.

[@outsidethepyramid]

he IS sooo brave

[@MartinZero]

Cheers, wasnt the most pleasant of places, but I am glad we went through

[@4-dman464]

Martin's delivery is more reverent, polite, subdued, even hallowed than usual in this video. This is known locally as the Posh Worsley effect. Even people with broad accents from Bolton and Oldham and Wigan, suddenly start talking posh when driving through Barton Road Worsley, and only when driving beyond into downbeat Winton does their rough-and-ready accents return. It's not affected, it's a genuine linguistic phenomenon that automatically afflicts all outsiders passing through Worsley from anywhere in the world. Last spring a visiting couple from Kentucky suddenly sounded like they hailed from New Hampshire much to their own surprise. And so this is why Martin sounds a bit posher this time. Normal Ancoats service will be resumed next week.

[@MartinZero]

I even drank Prosecco

[@earlt.7573]

@@MartinZeroI hope ya drank straight from the bottle after breaking the bottle neck off on a rock, no sense getting TOO posh, I mean, really........

[@ROSS4422]

Thank you for this explanation!

[@bernardmcmahon351]

Nicely said, everyone, sometimes in their lives uses the ‘Worsley/ Eccles/ Winton’ method. Eccles 👍

[@StiggysGuitarLoft]

Sneaky bit of Chameleons love it

[@MartinZero]

Oh yes 👍

[@Grantham0]

Martin Thanks for a brilliant journey through Worsley Brook. I grew up in Winton / Worsley and am familiar with the history of Worsley , in particular. In the late1940's and early 1950's us kids used to explore "Worsley Woods" and surrounding areas . I ended up as a Camp Warden of the Middlewood Scout Camp in the 1960's and spent much of my late teenage days exploring not only the ruins of the Bridgewater Estate ( of which Middlewood was part) , but Worsley in general. Fond memories indeed One significant adventure was to go to what we kids called "The sunken Barges" located near the end of the coal loader railway line at the Monton end of the Bridgewater Canal. It was a " graveyard' of derelict barges and we would jump from one to the other , and I remember one "dare" was to swing out over the water on a long derelict crane from one barge to another! Happy days . On a visit to Worsley maybe 10 years ago I went to see if the "Sunken Barges" were still there but couldn't see any trace!! I follow your excellent videos via You Tube . I have been in Australia for 50 years but every time I've returned to UK I've spent quite some time in Winton and Worsley. Best wishes to you and keep up your brilliant videos David Chadwick

[@MartinZero]

I would of loved to have seen the sunken barges David, you were lucky 👍

[@littleant9304]

Thanks again Martin I worked on the Delph regeneration and was actually one of the people involved in the discovery of the tunnel amongst others there was a winch also discovered buried under all the earth we removed from there and also under the bridge there is a couple of sealed up tunnels Keep up the uploads 👍

[@MartinZero]

Cheers, yes i did read about the winch as well 👍

[@Dave64track]

What a fantastic piece of history again hidden away from public view thanks to you and your team for showing us this underground place. Keep up the great work and stay safe.

[@bobjackson6524]

WOW, that section at 21:40 is spectacular.

[@timwy]

Another masterpiece guys ! Fantastic!

[@MartinZero]

Thanks Tim

[@TieDyedShawn]

Martin I have to say thank you for your hard work to make your videos for us to watch. Have a wonderful day to you and your friends.

[@MartinZero]

Thanks Shawn

[@barbaraking6980]

Thanks Martin, Roy and Marcus, this was a fantastic insight to the course of the Worsley Brook and how it's been utilised and adapted over the years. Brilliant video yet again guys , really appreciate it.

[@MartinZero]

Cheers thank you

[@christycullen2355]

Them moths were nightmare fuel. Great little documentary as usual, it's great you showing us all this architecture that was built never to be seen

[@Scottish1970]

Martin you walk past so many loose bricks in your videos with the makers names stamped into them , I`m always trying to pause and make them out , there`s so many Facebook pages full of brick collectors , people that know the history of where the bricks have come from , roughly when they were made etc , fascinating stuff , maybe you could mention any you come across , there`s people mad about bricks from all over the world , it may uncover some helpful history. and get you a hell of a lot more follower`s , they`ve got me hooked and really are mad about bricks ,I`ll spread the word if you where to start showing the odd stamped brick , you come across so many and we hunt for them ourselves , amazing the amount you find in stream`s/ Rivers , love you`re vids Martin and the history in them, Cheers

[@m.m.i.9586]

Wow! The fern filled oasis was beautiful! Like something out of a painting. What an intriguing route, full of unexpected wonders! Thank you for bringing us along on the adventure.

[@MartinZero]

Yeah, I did like that bit as well

[@DEAD-DROP]

What a place, so many great features! Appreciate you taking us along Martin!

[@williamrobinson7435]

It's great that you have credited the musicians on this, Martin. 🎶👍. I've been to Worsley a few times, back in the day and it is indeed a lovely village, but Ive certainly never seen from these angles! The sheer amount of industrial heritage in the North West never ceases to amaze me. An absolutely fascinating video, nice one Martin and team! 🌟👍

[@MartinZero]

I must admit, this is a part of Worsley that few have seen

[@nacekozo]

Thank you for this - we live just up the road and regularly go for walks around here, but never knew about any of this.

[@gloriousradio]

Lovely to see what goes on under your feet in Worsley! I lived in one of the cottages on Mill Brow, built in the 1790s (it doesn't appear on the 1785 map but does in the later ones). The whole old Mill Dam is now a private garden and 'solid' ground, though it floods something rotten in heavy rain. A fastinating tour, though the less said about how you might have gotten into the brook at the end the better ;)

[@rheingau2011]

Thank you very much again, for sharing the results of your curiosity. The last chamber alone , i think, was worth the whole trip. Always fascinating what is hidden below our feets.

[@MartinZero]

That last chamber was amazing and thank you

[@ponetwozerodrone3707]

Martin and your gang... i an and you supporters are very grateful and appreciative of you entering entirely.. we say thank you...

[@WilliamHorrocks]

At 03:40 ish you enter a part of the Brook that was strengthened by a company called VolkerStevin in around 2015, these concrete units were pre-cast off site and then lifted down into the Brook via a crane and then manoeuvred into position.

[@WilliamHorrocks]

If you Google “Waterprojects online - Granary Culvert” you’ll find some info there. PS This is Bill Horrocks that commented a good while back on your River Medlock series. Keep up the good work mate.

[@paulstewart3216]

@@WilliamHorrocks Cheers for the pointer to the article Bill

[@donnawoodman6249]

The view of those hanging green leafy vines really entices me to go and wallow in it myself, that is a scene out of paradise!! 🤗🤗

[@andykopgod]

Amazing, so much history and tunnels around there, brilliant guys, nice to see Erling Haalend getting involved too 😆👍

[@MrStuNoo]

You're right on my doorstep here Martin. If I'd seen you whilst passing I'd have shouted in both a brew and a pint! But as always an excellent video demonstrating local (21 Century) engineering and technology from times gone by. 😎

[@MartinZero]

No sugar and a crumpet please

[@Steve_Wardley_G6JEF]

Thanks for this Martin, another fascinating look at what is clearly very old infrastructure. I know how you were feeling negotiating that low section so well done.

[@MartinZero]

Thanks, I wasnt warned about that section unfortunately 😀

[@MrTylerStricker]

This was an absolutely fantastic look at the Delph and its adjacent structures. Thank you for taking all of those spider webs to the face to bring us this fascinating documentation of these amazing works!

[@markwedgwood1602]

Martin, I really appreciate your videos, esp around Salford and Manchester. In the 1800’s I had some relatives who lived there. They all got christened at the Manchester Anglican Cathedral. Then they came to Australia.

[@warpig3474]

Excellent viewing. I love your content. I wish i had discovered your work earlier

[@climbthatmountainuk]

Cheers Martin. I've been watching your videos for years and enjoying them. This one was of particular interest to me having lived around this area for a long time. Just wanted to say thanks for not jumping to conclusions or feeling a need to explain everything; it's nice to see someone humble and able to admit where knowledge or research just isn't currently possible. Thanks for all your videos and all your hard work. Keep it up!

[@johnathanrowley2707]

Intresting how it's changed and moved around into different uses over the years

[@nigelericogden3200]

Thanks folks … me dad was born in 1921 and brought up in Ringlow Park Road … he would’ve loved your videos …

[@christopherescott6787]

Though needed, the spraycrete destroys so much character.Still a fantastic effort to get us there. Thanks gents for another fabulous explore.

[@MartinZero]

Thanks Christopher, yeah spraycrete a pain in the arse

[@gbentley8176]

Excellent work chaps. The people who designed and built our first industrial infrastructure were surely highly skilled, confident and proud of their achievements. Saying no to a challenge was a nonstarter.

[@sputumtube]

Your excellent local history documentaries/explorations never cease to amaze me. It's always fascinating that you show us the things that almost none of us have not only never seen before, but had no clue they even exist. What a goldmine of information these videos would be for local schools and definitely are for us subscribers. Thanks Marcus, Roy, Martin.

[@MartinZero]

Cheers 👍

[@hubertvancalenbergh9022]

Great exploration. Good to see Marcus again! 🌈 Cheers, guys.

[@MartinZero]

Cheers

[@garethparr9482]

As always guys up and above the call of duty to bring us these brilliant videos. You can only imagine the conditions those navies must have laboured in when they were driving those tunnels and culverts 300 or so years ago.

[@MartinZero]

Hi Gareth 👍

[@simally3200]

Thankyou Martin for All your videos much respect keep on keeping on top of pal

[@ianr]

Great video! Love the opening, you should do this for all videos now Martin. 🙂👍

[@MartinZero]

Cheers Ian, bit of fun 😀

[@ynot6473]

two ian rs watching martin!

[@SteveAndAlexBuild]

Another really interesting one Martin , thanks for taking us along with you 🤜🏻🤛🏻🧱🧱👍🏼

[@MartinZero]

A few bits of remedial brickwork for you to look at if you could please 😉

[@thedrainmaestro]

definitely one of our best culvert explores, mission impossible 🤣

[@MartinZero]

You bossed it 😆

[@davidhindle5969]

Just discovered your channel and what a find👏 always say we are all part of history and the research and lengths you go to are brilliant. Love the respect you show to the men, women and children who grafted like nobody nowadays can grasp. Keep it going👍

[@MartinZero]

Thanks very much David

[@Drivershell53]

top notch video, many thanks to you 3 for bringing it to us.

[@adrianhollidge2286]

Brilliant video Martin, thank you. I only stumbled upon your channel a few days back with the Secret trapdoor under the Rochdale Canal in Manchester and have been hooked ever since. I'm now subscribed of course and liking as I go. Hours of fascinating entertainment. Keep up the good work. I love it, from over here in Lincolnshire. Cheers :) 👍

[@hovermotion]

Wow Amazing video, been past this building loads of times , there must of been over a 100k worth of tables left there..stunning building..Great vid

[@Vtr1781249]

Fantastic video of the hidden Lancashire waterways, made even more enjoyable by your commentary on the various historical features 👍🏻

[@VanaPica]

Gold! For a guy (and crew) just with a torch you make very interesting and entertaining content.

[@MartinZero]

Thank you

[@ericplace367]

I’ve often been to Worsley delph but next time will know what to look out for. Thanks a lot for great video.

[@sianwarwick633]

Very interesting. What a puzzle of different tunnels and penstocks to control the water. Wouldnt like to be near there after the rain. I see by some of the articles, 'they' are trying to clear out the silt of the first part of the tunnel. Excellent photos to show the woodwork, and your historic maps very helpful. Gah, the tunnel height.

[@davidlamb9646]

Went to the school above me Delph in the 1940s. The brook comes out on Worsley Road and continues through playing fields, I believe that it reaches either the Manchester Ship Canal or the River Mersey. The brook very often flooded the road and we understood that a diversion was made to offset the problem. It solved the problem.

[@martinmarsola6477]

A great video today, Martin. A interesting tour into the past. See you on the next! 😊

[@ruthbrierley1798]

Wow! What an amazing explore. Thanks for taking us with you!

[@MrYfrank14]

Thanks for showing us that you are normal and you do get scared sometimes while going on these adventures.

[@philhoultby]

This is why I'm a member of this channel!

[@MartinZero]

Much appreciated Phil👍

[@jessegreenwood1956]

Fantastic video! Never heard of the Chameleons but dug around on the strenth of the tune in the oasis. The song is "View from a hill" from their album "script of the bridge". From their wiki and who they have influenced, I agree with their style as I listened to alot of those they influenced in the 80's and into the 90's.

[@johnmeasures583]

Amazing industrial history brilliantly presented. Thank you. ❤️

[@johngleeson6351]

another great vid martin.a big thank you to all the three participants.

[@MartinZero]

Thanks John

[@kielspeakman9794]

That drop shaft must have been to control either the flow rate of the water or the level of the water in the upper section. Great video. Love seeing local places explored.

[@jetsons101]

Putting Spraycrete on all the original brickwork would be like putting a coat of old house paint on the Mona Lisa, "Lame" At (17:48) is that what looks like corrugated steel, from the 1700's or the 1800's ??? Martin, it's amazing to think all of the building of the culverts and canals was all done by hand "no powered machines," I tip my hat to the long-forgotten WORKERS that built it. This vid was fantastic, thanks to all of you..........

[@MartinZero]

Thank you, yes that spraycrete was a major disappointment

[@jetsons101]

@@MartinZero You're being polite, I would use a word a bit stronger than disappointment..... Thanks again. Someday I hope to buy a coffee.

[@TheRamtops]

I would speculate the dropshaft was put there to slow the flow of the water. Best I can come up with. Great video, those Months were a bit special 😊 (Martin walking home after a night out in Manchester was also a bit special 😂)

[@TheRattyBiker]

OMG Martin - Ive not even got 45 seconds in and I'm commenting with a smile!! Although Im a late 80's child I could still appreciate the "northern & indestructible" intro you slapped on the video 😊😊 - despite I've still yet to watch your content I just know it's going to be far superior to any media Lyon ever created 👍👍👍

[@MartinZero]

Thank you Michael 😀

[@williamlloyd3769]

Epic explore! Thanks for showing / explaining all this engineering!

[@Gareth769]

great video - i used to visit the 'Orange canal' around there alot as a kid years ago. Have sent this to my Dad, he will love it! cheers again for the history !

[@bobjackson6524]

Love this area, We're visiting it more and more, (from Sale Moor/ Brooklands) Cant wait to watch this with a beer and a snack at bedtime tonight. 🙌🏻

[@malcbury9739]

Yet another brilliant video, Martin and gang! Amazing to find out just what is under your feet when you're out and about getting along with life, like walking the dog, going for a stroll, etc! lol

[@davidflamee]

Intrepid explorers and backed up with maps and local history. Brilliant. Many thanks for your fascinating video. Well done.

[@thra5herxb12s]

A lovely explore and a nice little insight in to the history behind it.

[@tonysicily2687]

A really great upload, thank you for sharing and doing this fr the rest of us

[@adrianstansfield]

Great video again Martin& the lads & I never knew that the history of the canal ☝

[@Lego6980]

Great video. Thanks Martin. Particularly enjoyed seeing the oasis.

[@kevinpalmer7452]

We’ve had a right job another absolutely wonderful production.

[@darrenhaynes865]

A great vid Martin great to see a more serious approach to this one which I much prefer ,its like one from the past

[@anthonycamilleri7297]

thanks martin and company very interesting indeed

[@CattCreature]

Absolutely fascinating!. Would be awesome if they emptied the water and had some tours down there. My heart sank at the sight of the concreted parts, especially after you showed the photos. That wooden draw bridge was beautiful! Oh my god!.

[@IanFairbrother-v4t]

Excellent video so informative, great.

[@ffrancrogowski2192]

It's most welcome to see you back in the Greater Manchester area, Martin. You yourself, Roy and Marcus are most certainly daring people going into those tunnels. Many thanks for such a most interesting film. By the way Martin, that Granada TV introduction reminds me of the old broadcasts from the Quay Street studios!

[@MartinZero]

Cant beat a bit of Granada

[@sampointau]

At 36:40 where the opening is for the water to go into the big drop, have a look at the brickwork around the opening, it seems like it also has slots for a penstock gate to open and close the flow, at least it is similar to the one further down where it is covered in spray crete and the lifting gear is still in position above ground.

[@paulbrown1022]

Cracking little film for an ‘idiot with a torch’! Loved it, well done Martin 👍

[@dn744]

Just a point about Mason marks. These were done on each stone usually if large, but also in 5s 10s and such. To indicate which he laid. This was on the days where it took time, so paid by the blocks. Some managed to do 2 times as many as others, so paid higher. Also, they had band's. Masons which did elaborate work paid far higher.

[@jeffreyyoung4104]

The reason for the drop shaft is to make it less dangerous trying to slope the tunnels from the dam to the outlet. By having the slope at the normal drop rate, it allows the silt to flow out, without having too high a flow rate with the tunnel sloped at the steeper angle. The tunnel not flowing may come from a different entrance from the lake that is either plugged, or gate is closed, but isn't needed as the other entrance seems to handle the needs of the flow! The depth of the drop shaft makes me wonder if that is where the mine water is brought up to flow out as well? If so, did they have a surface pumping station that brought up the water?

[@mkendallpk4321]

Fabulous video! Thank you Roy and Marcus. And of course you, Martin.

[@gordonbeattie4864]

I'd LOVE to go down there!!!🤩🤩🤩

[@Wedgedoow]

Another pearl Martin, so very interesting this history of Manchester I'm sat enthralled your brave with these epic adventures, better than any tv documentary of such. Thanks for posting.

[@gerryegan4872]

Fantastic video guys, well done for showing such a lovely area. Keep the videos coming.

[@missmerrily4830]

"Good God"......."God bless em, the moths, but yeah, let's leave them be'! Loved that 👍😊 Oh no... now spiders! 😆🤣 I felt really queasy when you had to pass under the Bridgewater canal. That was scary stuff, never mind the wildlife! And not so much an unhappy bunny rabbit Martin but an older wiser dog than Marcus with more highly turned preservation instincts! It was so useful to be able to see Roy's earlier photographs. What a difference. Like you I really enjoyed this video. It had everything, from mysteries to scenery to drama. You earned that visit to the pub! Thanks guys!

[@MartinZero]

Thank you very much. Ive never been a big fan of moths, bless em

[@iknowwhenitsadream]

Brilliant video. Ive explored the delph a little bit and had no idea any of that existed. Need to get some waders...

[@Marc_von_Hoffrichter]

Thanks Martin, Roy and Marcus. Bloody fascinating. Appreciated.

[@K8thebest_Gaming]

35:50 if this is the left drop shaft then would this exact thing be where the right drop shaft is or is it blocked off considering it was dry

[@DubStu]

My family and I regularly walk through Worsley woods and the kids love to play in and walk down Kempnough Brook. Where it opens into Old Warke Dam there’s a large house that belongs to Fred Doune, founder of Betfred. Only after watching the video and seeing it on Google maps it does appear that it’s built on what would have been the bottom (or at least side slope) of the original reservoir. Knowing how muddy and claggy it is round there it must have been a job and a half to get a solid foundation for it.

[@taxalterror]

Cheers Martin, Roy, and Marcus, that was so good thank you. Atb

[@dilanw8837]

Martin u an the boy's have the best day's out ever. Awesome video been really missing there underground one's thanks so much for all the work u do 👏👏👏👍