The hidden tunnels that lurk beneath Manchester's streets

Running underneath some of the most recognisable landmarks in central Manchester is an abandoned tunnel that most people will never see. The tunnel forms part of the now defunct underground canal, which opened 185 years ago this year.

Completed in 1838, the Manchester and Salford Junction Canal opened to the public on October 28, 1939. It was built to provide a direct waterway between the Mersey and Irwell and the Rochdale Canal.

Travelling one kilometre across the city, the canal ran from the Irwell by Water Street, underneath Deansgate and the site now occupied by Manchester Central, before passing under Great Bridgewater Street and Lower Mosley Street to link up with the Rochdale Canal.

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The route allowed boats and barges to travel between the Irwell and the Rochdale Canal without paying the hefty tolls to pass through the Bridgewater Canal's Hulme link. But the construction of this expensive new route couldn't have come at a worse time.

In the 1840s, railways were becoming a more popular way of transporting goods, meaning the new canal was deemed unnecessary only a short time after it was built. Powerful steam locomotives could carry goods and people far more quickly than canal boats, and the investment that had previously gone into building canals was redirected to the railways.

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In the 1880s, the eastern part of the canal was closed and filled, allowing Manchester Central Station to be constructed above. But an important new use for the remaining part of