The extension of the Bridgewater Canal to Runcorn was completed as far as Sale by 1765, and transformed the town's economy by providing a quick and cheap route into Manchester for fresh produce. Farmers who took their wares to market in Manchester brought back night soil to fertilise the fields. Not everyone benefited from the canal however; several yeomen claimed that their crops were damaged by flooding from the Barfoot Bridge aqueduct. A 1777 map shows the village of Cross Street, on the site of the road now of the same name, divided between the townships of Sale and Ashton upon Mersey. The village was first referred to in 1586 and is believed to have originated around this time. The map also shows that Sale was spread out, mainly consisting of farmhouses around Dane Road, Fairy Lane, and Old Hall Road. Sale absorbed Cross Street as it expanded.