The canal received its Act of Parliament in 1792. It was built to supply coal from Oldham and Ashton under Lyne to Manchester. The first section between Ancoats Lane to Ashton-under-Lyne and Hollinwood was completed in 1796, followed by the lines to Heaton Norris and Fairbottom in 1797. Although there were plans to link it to the Rochdale Canal, it opened as an isolated waterway. Benjamin Outram was retained to complete the final section between Ancoats Lane and the Rochdale Canal including the Piccadilly Basin. It included the unique Store Street Aqueduct, built on a 45 degree skew and believed to be the first major such structure in Britain and the oldest still in use today. The section was completed by 1798, but the necessary extension by the Rochdale proprietors to the Bridgewater Canal was not built until 1800. Although the Huddersfield Narrow Canal was open as far as Woolroad by 1798, neither it, nor the Peak Forest Canal were complete. In fact it was another ten years before the former connected to Yorkshire and the east coast. With little but local trade in its early years, the canal struggled financially and a dividend was not paid until 1806. It then prospered until competition from railways, and later road transport, greatly diminished traffic, and through traffic had ended by 1945. Traffic on the branches ended in the 1930s. Following nationalisation in 1947–48, traffic did not revive, and all traffic had ceased by 1958, after which maintenance was run down. By 1961, combined with vandalism, the canal had become unnavigable, and its retention for pleasure use seemed unlikely. The Ashton Canal was one of seven stretches of canal, formerly designated as remainder waterways, that were re-classified by the British Waterways Act of 8 February 1983. Under the act, a total of of canal were upgraded to Cruising Waterway Standard.
Leisure use
Pressure from the Inland Waterways Association, combined with the formation of the Peak Forest Canal Society, led to a campaign to reopen the Ashton, with the major organised volunteer clearance of the section though Droylsden in September 1968, known as Operation Ashton. Further campaigning, and the growth of local authority support, led to its restoration, along with the adjacent lower Peak Forest Canal, and reopening on 1 April 1974. The restoration of these two canals opened up the Cheshire Ring, an immediately popular one-week leisure cruise circling much of east Cheshire. With the opening of the Southern Pennine canals, the Ashton is now also part of the South Pennine Ring and the longest Pennine Ring of all. It used to be common to hear reports of unfortunate incidents along the Ashton, such as thefts from boats and intimidating, or at least unnerving, behaviour on the part of some local youths and children. This, for a time, caused boats to go through in convoys. Today the Ashton Canal is increasingly valued by the communities through which it passes, and although many boaters still advise others to cover the Ashton during early hours, and not in school holidays, reports of problems often turn out to be the repeated telling of old stories. However, incidents do still occur, as in August 2014 when a number of boats were attacked by hooded youths. The locks are renowned for debris which can result in blocked lock gates, but Canal & River Trust workers are soon on site to clear any reported incidents. Portland Basin is a good overnight mooring after ascending the Ashton locks, for those who do not wish to proceed beyond Romiley. There are current campaigns to restore the Hollinwood Branch and Stockport Branches.
Listed structures
The following structures along the canal are Grade II listed:
Locks numbers 1-3, 6-15 & 18
Bridges numbers 4, 5, 9 & 16
Lock Keepers Cottages at locks numbers 2 & 7
Towpath Bridge over junction with Islington Branch Canal
Towpath Bridge over junction with Stockport Branch Canal
Former Packet Boathouse adjacent to bridge number 16
