The forgotten miles under our streets that were once the 'lifeblood of the city'
manchestereveningnews.co.ukOn a dark November morning in 1973, Geoffrey Ashworth was a young student staring down from the eighth floor of the Chemistry Building at the Victoria University of Manchester.
Looking down at the busy junction of Brunswick Street and Upper Brook Street, Chorlton, he observed workmen uncover a large hole in the road.
From the hole, a straw-coloured stream of water flowed briskly in a diagonal direction towards the Physics Building, and soon became the focus of attention of staff and students. "A large sewer", said one voice - "The River Medlock, surely," said another. "The Tib River, The Corn Brook," came a babble of voices from the crowd.
That afternoon, documents found in the local history department of the Central Library revealed the yellow waters did indeed belong to the Corn Brook, which once flowed through fields just south of Manchester, joining the River Irwell at Pomona Docks.
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