Northern Exposure

While Joseph Bazalgette was cementing his place in the annals of history, masterminding a city wide drainage scheme for London, his northern counterparts were steadily building their own legacy. From Tyneside, to Telford and all parts around and in-between, the same scenes played out and the same solutions were implemented. Industry was booming, populations were soaring and land in urban areas demanded a high premium. As a result rivers, brooks, streams, becks, burns and watercourses of every label were being secreted, channelled underground to create new space for further development. The engineers of the north were digging culverts in a big way.

Pic. 1 – Megatron, River sheaf, Sheffield.

Pic. 2 – Flushed Away, Overflow chamber, Macclesfield.

While I haven’t been back as often as I would have liked, I have made several pilgrimages to the culverts of my youth. This post isn’t an exposé of what the north has to offer; it’s merely a selection of images from some of those various trips. I’m keen to not make a habit of publishing great loads of images with little or no context, but I’m not entirely opposed to populating the odd post or two with a bunch of silhouette peppered pictures when I haven’t the time or inclination to spend slaving over a keyboard. These images span a period of six years or so, from 2004 – present, and represent a small portion of the great bounty of the north.

Pic. 3 – Crystal Phallus, Hockley Brook, Birmingham.

Pic. 4 – Gorton Falls, Gorton Brook, Manchester.

Pic. 5 – The Processor, Moston Brook, Manchester.

Pic. 6 – Bunker Drain, Warrington.

Pic. 7 – Pay Dirt, Manchester.

Pic. 8 – Kinder Surprise, Ford Green Brook, Stoke.

Pic. 9 – STD, Plumpton Clough Brook, Chadderton.

Pic. 10 – Redbarn, Wince Brook, Chadderton.

Pic. 11 – Lock Stock, Relief Sewer, Manchester.

Pic. 12 – Sirenity, Bilston Brook, Wolverhampton.

Pic. 13 – The Works, River Irk, Manchester.