Images from a Historic Building Recording Survey at Marple Wharf Canal Warehouse, Church Street, Marple, Stockport, August 2022
Archaeological Research Services Ltd, 2023. https://doi.org/10.5284/1106624. How to cite using this DOI
Data copyright © Archaeological Research Services Ltd unless otherwise stated
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 5357
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1106624
- How to cite using this DOI
Introduction
This archive contains images from a historic building recording of the Grade II Listed canal warehouse at Marple Wharf, Church Street, Marple, Stockport, SK6 6BN. The work was undertaken by Archaeological Research Services Ltd in August 2022.
The historic building recording was undertaken to Historic England's Level 3 Standard, and was required to assist in discharging condition 12 of the planning condition and condition 11 of the Listed Building Consent (Application Ref. Nos. APP/C4235/W/20/3252201 and DC/074339 respectively). The former Canal Warehouse likely dates to c.1835, constructed following the formation of the Marple wharfs in the 1820s and 1830s. The building represents the focal point of the Marple Wharf, and would have played an important role for Marple's canal network. The building represents a large, two-storey former Canal Warehouse. It has been constructed in the vernacular style, from locally sourced materials of a utilitarian in design.
The warehouse had originated with a connection to the Macclesfield Canal, as seen with the extant shipping doors, and with the internal waterway connecting with the north-eastern canal arm. This would have allowed narrowboats to unload and load within the building itself. The building had originated with a full-height aperture and loading door on the northern elevation, with these features likely associated with a hoist for the movement of goods between floors. The original window apertures of the northern and western elevations would have been crucial for providing natural light to the warehouse floors.
The ground floor had originated as an open plan space, with the ceiling structure supported by six cast iron columns. These support large timber beams above, and would have provided a strong degree of structural support to the first floor, for the storage of heavy goods. The ground floor retains original stone setts, as well as giant flagstones. The first floor of the building would have been originally accessed from the exterior staircase, forming a predominantly open place space, open to the roof structure. The floor retains original trusses with cast iron king posts, as well as surviving timber floorboards, which would have represented a resilient material for warehouse use. The western elevation of the building features a chimneystack, which suggests that the first floor would have originated with a heated space. This would likely have represented a manager's office, though no evidence of this could be discerned.
In the early 20th century, the timber canopy of the southern elevation had been added, first appearing on the 1907 OS Map. The late 20th century saw the building's conversion for office use by the Canal and River Trust, who occupied the building until 2010. This conversion saw the modern partitions and modern ceiling structure added to the first floor.
