It was converted to private accommodation in 1999. Transport The Manchester to Blackburn packhorse route passed through the town (hence the name Blackburn Street). The bridge across the Irwell was likely first erected during the late Medieval period at the site of a ford. An Act of Parliament in 1754 authorised the first turnpike through the hamlet of Radcliffe Bridge, and included Manchester to Bury via Crumpsall, and from Prestwich to Radcliffe. An Act of 1821 created a turnpike from Bury to Radcliffe, Stoneclough and Bolton. An Act of 1836 created a turnpike from Starling Lane to Ainsworth, and Radcliffe to Bury and Manchester Road (near Fletcher Fold). A turnpike from Whitefield to Radcliffe Bridge via Stand Lane was created in 1857 with toll houses at Besses o' th' Barn, Stand Lane, the junction of Dumers Lane and Manchester Road, on Bolton Road near Countess Lane, and on Radcliffe Moor Road at Bradley Fold. Radcliffe New Road was created in an Act of 1860 which enabled the construction of a toll road between Radcliffe and Whitefield. To prevent damage to the road surfaces, weighing machines were used at various strategic positions including at the bridge end of Dumers Lane, at Sandiford turning, and on Ainsworth Road. During the Industrial Revolution, as local cottage industries were gradually supplanted by the factory system the roads became inadequate for use. A convoy of horse-drawn lorries carrying salt between Bealey's Bleach Works and Northwich would take up to two weeks to make a return journey. These problems gave rise to the construction of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal, which reached the town in 1796 and which was navigable throughout in 1808. For 38 years the canal was the town's main route for trade and transport, with a wharf near Hampson Street. The proprietors later converted into a railway company and built a line between Salford and Bolton, which opened in 1838. A branch from this line was to have been built to Bury, along the line of the canal, but due to technical constraints this did not happen. Radcliffe's closest railway connection therefore remained several miles distant at Stoneclough. The opening of the Manchester, Bury and Rossendale Railway (later known as the East Lancashire Railway (ELR)) in 1846 brought the town a direct connection to Manchester and Bury. Two stations served the town, Radcliffe Bridge station, and Withins Lane station (although this closed