Meet a character
Samuel Oldknow
1756 – 1828 · Industrialist · Canal pioneer
The man who saw an empty valley between two canals and built a cotton empire on top of it. Ask him about the mills, the trade, or the century he watched the building work through.
Begin the conversation. Pick a question below, or write your own.
Try asking him
Three places to meet Samuel
Same character. Three ways to find him.
At the kiosk
Inside the heritage centre, a full-screen avatar with voice and lip-sync. The most immersive way to meet him.
On the towpath
Walking the trail with the app. He answers your questions about each spot you stop at along the canal.
Here, anywhere
On this site, when you can't make it to Marple. The conversation, the personality, the same Samuel.
Meet someone else
Ann Vanpine has a different view of all this.
An apprentice cotton spinner Oldknow took on at fourteen. Lived her whole life in the houses he built, and saw the mill from the inside.
Meet Ann Vanpine →