The coffin flood

'For all we know, hundreds of bodies have been washed down the river, and some of them have gone into the sea' - the horror of Manchester's worst flood

The flooded River Medlock burst through the wall of the cemetery at Philips Psrk. (Graphic: Dean Kirby)

The storm that lashed Manchester on 13 July 1872 was like nothing ever seen before or since on the streets of England’s rainy city.

To the north east, close to what is now the Etihad Stadium, the River Medlock became such a torrent that it took out two …