Mount Sion Steam Crane, adjacent to the Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal
Mount Sion Steam Crane, adjacent to the Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal, Mount Sion Road
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1242921
- Date first listed:
- 16-Mar-2011
- List Entry Name:
- Mount Sion Steam Crane, adjacent to the Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal
- Statutory Address:
- Mount Sion Steam Crane, adjacent to the Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal, Mount Sion Road
Location
Location of this list entry and nearby places that are also listed. Use our map search to find more listed places.
Use of this mapping is subject to terms and conditions .
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale.
What is the National Heritage List for England?
The National Heritage List for England is a unique register of our country's most significant historic buildings and sites. The places on the list are protected by law and most are not open to the public.
The list includes:
 |
Buildings |
 |
Scheduled monuments |
 |
Parks and gardens |
 |
Battlefields |
 |
Shipwrecks |
Local Heritage Hub
Unlock and explore hidden histories, aerial photography, and listed buildings and places for every county, district, city and major town across England.
Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1242921
- Date first listed:
- 16-Mar-2011
- List Entry Name:
- Mount Sion Steam Crane, adjacent to the Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal
- Statutory Address 1:
- Mount Sion Steam Crane, adjacent to the Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal, Mount Sion Road
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- Mount Sion Steam Crane, adjacent to the Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal, Mount Sion Road
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Bury (Metropolitan Authority)
- Parish:
- Non Civil Parish
- National Grid Reference:
- SD 76739 06820
Reasons for Designation
The Mount Sion Steam Crane, built in the latter half of the C19, is listed at Grade II for I for the following principal reasons:
Rarity: It is thought to be one of the earliest surviving steam cranes in the country. It is one of only a small number of surviving in situ steam cranes and is thought to be the only example in England that still remains in its original canalside location.
Intactness: Although unused for a number of years its component parts remain remarkably complete and enable a clear understanding of how the crane operated.
Historic Interest: It adds significantly to the interest of the Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal, and is a vivid reminder of the use of steam technology in the canal industry.
Group Value: It has group value with the Grade II listed water-powered beam pump at Mount Sion Mill.
Details
326/0/10085
MOUNT SION ROAD (Off)
Mount Sion Steam Crane, adjacent to the Manchester Bolton and Bury Canal
16-MAR-11
II
A steam-powered crane thought to have been built between 1875 and 1884 by Thomas Smith and Sons, located on a small triangle of land on the side of the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal and associated with the Mount Sion Mill.
MATERIALS: The crane is built predominantly of cast iron.
PLAN: The crane is mounted on a base that is rectangular in plan.
DESCRIPTION: The crane stands on a rectangular stone plinth upon which is an iron casing holding the crane's rotating gear that allowed it to swing horizontally through 360 degrees during operations. It was powered by a riveted tall cylindrical boiler standing on a platform at the rear of the crane that drove eccentric cams which powered piston rods. Also located on the platform directly above the rotating gear are the winding gear and cogs that enabled the tapered jib and the hoist to raise and lower.
HISTORY: The Mount Sion Steam Crane was constructed by Thomas Smith & Sons of Rodley near Leeds, probably between 1875 and 1884 and bears the number 3184. It was formerly used to tranship coal between the canal and the Mount Sion Bleach Works, located on lower ground immediately to the south, which from the 1930s became the Mount Sion Papermill, after the bleach works burned down. Boats on the canal were designed to take containers that could be lifted directly to and from the bank and as such were probably of a specific design to this canal. There may have been a forerunner to this system operating on the Bridgewater Canal, Greater Manchester, where the barges brought coal directly from the Worsley mines via a container system. It is not known when the Mount Sion steam crane went out of use. It has recently been partially repainted (2010).
SOURCES: English Heritage, Transport Buildings Selection Guide, March 2007.
English Heritage, Maritime and Naval Buildings Selection Guide, March 2007.
http://pastscape.english-heritage.org.uk (accessed 25 March 2010).
REASONS FOR DESIGNATION: This canalside steam crane, probably built between 1875 and 1884, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Rarity: It is thought to be one of the earliest surviving steam cranes in the country. It is one of only a small number of surviving in situ steam cranes and is thought to be the only example in England that still remains in its original canalside location.
Intactness: Although unused for a number of years its component parts remain remarkably complete and enable a clear understanding of how the crane operated.
Historic Interest: It adds significantly to the interest of the Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal, and is a vivid reminder of the use of steam technology in the canal industry.
Group Value: It has group value with the Grade II listed water-powered beam pump at Mount Sion Mill.
Legacy
The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.
- Legacy System number:
- 508329
- Legacy System:
- LBS
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 09-Jun-2026 at 20:08:26.
Download a full scale map (PDF)End of official list entry
All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.