ended in the early 19th century. William Arden, 2nd Lord Alvanley, succeeded to the Arden estates on the death of his uncle, John Arden, in July 1823. He was a bachelor who had spent his life in the circle of the Prince Regent, building up heavy debts in expectation of his inheritance. Within a month of getting the estates he had sold Underbank Hall in Stockport, and in 1825 most of the Bredbury lands were sold in lots, realising in three days nearly GB£154,000. There was a final sale, including the mansion of Arden Hall in 1833. William Arden was succeeded by his brother Richard Arden, on whose death in 1857 the barony became extinct. The long connection of the Arden family had been broken, and for the next century most of the old manor lands were held by a small number of families, including the Horsfields, Hudsons and Vaudreys, until it became profitable to sell to building developers. At the sale of the Bredbury estate, an area lying along the River Goyt was purchased by a Mr Marsden, who built a weir at Otterspool and planned to use water power to develop the valley from there to New Bridge as an industrial estate. However, he failed to secure the water rights. and by the time the lengthy legal proceedings were completed water power had been superseded by steam power. Industrial Revolution The construction of the Peak Forest Canal by Samuel Oldknow, under the direction of Benjamin Outram, opened in sections in the 1790s and first decade of the 19th century, had a striking effect on the village. On the one hand, it provided a water supply and the transport of raw materials, fuel and finished products for the new mills. On the other hand, it made possible the importing of lime from Derbyshire for agricultural improvement. The green fields and rich crops of the local farms were remarked upon by visitors and, with easy transport to the growing markets of Manchester and Stockport, local agriculture was prosperous in the period following the Napoleonic Wars when elsewhere in the country there was rural depression. The coming of the railways led to further industrial development, a steady growth of population and the fusing of the separate settlements into the village of Bredbury. The first line was the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway branch from Hyde Junction, which was opened to Hyde