Lock No. 6 was once the site of a Lock Keeper's Cottage
At lock 6 there used to be a lock-keeper's cottage. Called Glen Cottage, it was demolished during the sixties when the canals were not being maintained. There are several good photographs of it dating from the early 1900s on the Virtual Tour. Stuart Cooper, whose family were the last to live there before leaving for Australia in 1962, has shared some interesting memories with us below.
A view of Glen Cottage, the former Lock keeper's cottage next to Lock 6.
From Stuart Cooper 23 July 2025:
Hi. Loved seeing the photos of my old house. My family lived in the cottage at lock 6 from about 1945 until 1962. I have so many happy memories living there. My parents Les and Doris Cooper rented the house from the railways, who rented it from the canal authority. My dad worked on the railway. We left the cottage in December 1962 and migrated to Australia. At the time I was 9 and my two brothers Cameron and Ian were 16 and 15. My dad told me that once we moved out, the house was demolished and the stone used for canal repairs. The conservatory you refer to was actually a green house, which my father took down because the glass was extensively damaged and dangerous. The rear view of the cottage shows the original stables but we used them as a pig sty and garage.
Glen Cottage at Lock 6, the only picture seen of it from this side.
My wife and I visited the site when we visited England in 2005. It is the most beautiful place. My sister, who was born in Australia, has heard so many stories about where we lived and is currently visiting the area to see it for herself. I attended Ludworth primary school in Marple Bridge and my brothers went to Hyde Grammar. Dad was a signalman at Marple Bridge. The house didn’t have electricity, we used paraffin / oil lamps. There was only one cold water tap. There was an outside toilet and coal shed. Cold nights were spent cuddled up in front of the open fire. At the next lock up there was a set of step that went down into a park. I used to walk that way to school. Mum loved to pick the bluebells that grew in the area. As a little boy I was forbidden to go anywhere near the canal. Much to my mother’s angst, my brother Ian used to jump his motor bike across the lock… he was always the wild one! My parents and two brothers are now deceased but we always used to talk about our idyllic childhood growing up in that house. Australia offered opportunities not available to us in England at that time but none of us ever lost our great memories and love for our home - Glen Cottage, Canal Side, Marple Bridge.
Glen Cottage at Lock 6, demolished in the 1960s.
The watercolour below was painted across two pages of his sketchbook by the artist John Tuson on 24 May 1963 and, as can be seen, the cottage was derelict at that time. This is only 5 months after Stuart's family left!
Painting of Glen Cottage and Lock 6 by John Tuson.
On the tow path side just above Lock 6, virtually hidden by trees and undergrowth, can be made out the remains of an old side pond. It still has water in it but is no longer functional. Quite often a heron can be seen here, silently stalking his prey.
