Shipwrecked on the River Irwell

The forgotten story of the sailing barge Emma and her 300 passengers

The River Irwell. (Photo: Terry Hamlett on Unsplash)

It was 29 February 1828 and crowds were gathering along the banks of the River Irwell to watch a leap year spectacle.

The New Quay Company was floating a new boat — a Mersey “flat” named the Emma.

Two years before the world’s first intercity railway line connected Manchester and Liverpool, these barges …