The Chester Canal was an English
canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...
linking the south
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
town of
Nantwich
Nantwich ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It has among the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England, with notably good examples of Tudor and Georgian architecture. ...
with the
River Dee at
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
. It was intended to link Chester to
Middlewich
Middlewich is a town in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, east of Chester, east of Winsford, southeast of Northwich and northwest of Sandbach. The population at the 2011 Census was 13,595. ...
, with a branch to Nantwich, but the
Trent and Mersey Canal
The Trent and Mersey Canal is a canal in Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire in north-central England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities to the east of Burton upon Trent and north of Middle ...
were unco-operative about a junction at Middlewich, and so the route to Nantwich was opened in 1779. There were also difficulties negotiating with the
River Dee Company
Sealand (Welsh: Gwlad-y-Môr) is a community in Flintshire and electoral ward, north-east Wales, on the edge of the Wirral peninsula. It is west of the city of Chester, England, and is part of the Deeside conurbation on the Wales-England bo ...
, and with no possibility of through traffic, the canal was uneconomic. Part of it was closed in 1787, when Beeston staircase locks collapsed, and there was no money to fund repairs. When the
Ellesmere Canal
The Ellesmere Canal was a waterway in England and Wales that was planned to carry boat traffic between the rivers Mersey and Severn. The proposal would create a link between the Port of Liverpool and the mineral industries in north east Wales an ...
was proposed in 1790, the company saw it as a ray of hope, and somehow managed to keep the struggling canal open. The Ellesmere Canal provided a link to the
River Mersey
The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...
at
Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port ( ) is a port town in the Cheshire West and Chester borough in Cheshire, England. Ellesmere Port is on the south eastern edge of the Wirral Peninsula, north of Chester, south of Birkenhead, southwest of Runcorn and south of ...
from 1797, and the fortunes of the Chester Canal began to improve.
The Ellesmere Canal was also building branches in North Wales, which were intended to link up to the River Dee at Chester, but eventually linked to the Chester Canal at
Hurleston Junction
Hurleston Junction () is the name of the canal junction where the Llangollen Canal terminates and meets the Shropshire Union Canal main line at Hurleston, Cheshire, England.
History
The Chester Canal was planned as a broad canal running from Ch ...
, just to the north of Nantwich, in 1805. The canal then became the middle section of a much longer and more profitable canal. The two companies merged in 1813, becoming the Ellesmere and Chester Canal. When the
Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal
The Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal was a canal in England which ran from Nantwich, where it joined the Chester Canal, to Autherley, where it joined the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. Forming part of a major link between Liverpo ...
was proposed in 1826, which would provide a link from Nantwich to Wolverhampton and the Birmingham canal system, the company saw it as an opportunity to build the
Middlewich Branch
The Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal is located in Cheshire, in the north west of England, and runs between Middlewich, where it joins the Trent and Mersey Canal, and Barbridge Junction, where it joins the main line of the Shropsh ...
, which would provide a connection to Manchester and the Potteries. The branch opened in 1833, and the Junction Canal opened in 1835. Amalgamation followed in 1845, with the new company retaining the name of the Ellesmere and Chester Canal. The following year, the
Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company
The Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company was a Company in England, formed in 1846, which managed several canals and railways. It intended to convert a number of canals to railways, but was leased by the London and North Western Railway (LN ...
was formed from the Ellesmere and Chester company, which also took over a number of canals which joined theirs. Plans to convert some of the canals to railways were put on hold in the 1847, when the canal company was leased to the
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom.
In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...
. Under railway control, the canals continued to operate successfully, but decline set in during the 20th century, and when many of the adjoining canals were closed in 1944, the sections which had been the Ellesmere and Chester Canal and the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal, together with the Middlewich Branch, were retained.
The canals were nationalised in 1948, and long-distance commercial traffic had all but ended by 1958. In 1963, the
British Waterways Board
British Waterways, often shortened to BW, was a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom. It served as the navigation authority for the majority of canals and a number of rivers and docks in England, Scotland a ...
was formed and the canal ceased to be operated by railway interests for the first time in over 100 years. It was designated as a cruising waterway in the
Transport Act 1968
The Transport Act 1968 (1968 c.73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The main provisions made changes to the structure of nationally owned bus companies, created passenger transport authorities and executives to take over pub ...
, with potential for leisure use, and since then, it has been enjoyed by recreational boaters, by walkers and by fishermen. In 1997, the
Chester Canal Heritage Trust
The Chester Canal Heritage Trust was started in 1997, to promote the canal in Chester, Cheshire, and educate about it. The canal was originally the Chester Canal, before becoming part of the Shropshire Union Canal network.
The objectives of the ...
was formed and has worked to promote the canal and its heritage. Responsibility for the canal passed from British Waterways to the newly formed
Canal & River Trust
The Canal & River Trust (CRT), branded as in Wales, holds the guardianship of 2,000 miles of canals and rivers, together with reservoirs and a wide range of heritage buildings and structures, in England and Wales. Launched on 12 July 2012, the ...
in 2012.
History
In 1771, the people of Chester, fearing that the construction of the
Trent and Mersey Canal
The Trent and Mersey Canal is a canal in Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire in north-central England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities to the east of Burton upon Trent and north of Middle ...
would divert trade away from their city to
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, announced in the Press that they would be applying to build a canal between
Middlewich
Middlewich is a town in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, east of Chester, east of Winsford, southeast of Northwich and northwest of Sandbach. The population at the 2011 Census was 13,595. ...
, on the Trent and Mersey, and Chester. The city was at the time served by the
River Dee, and the River Dee Company had recently spent £80,000 on improvements to the river, but they realised that without a connection to the growing canal network, there was little future for the river or the Port of Chester. The idea had first been raised three years earlier, when merchants suggested a line from the Trent and Mersey to near
Runcorn
Runcorn is an industrial town and cargo port in the Borough of Halton in Cheshire, England. Its population in 2011 was 61,789. The town is in the southeast of the Liverpool City Region, with Liverpool to the northwest across the River Mersey. ...
. There were no objections from the Corporation of Liverpool, but the canal company was non-committal. By 1770, the plans were a little clearer, with a main line from Chester to Middlewich and a branch to
Nantwich
Nantwich ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It has among the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England, with notably good examples of Tudor and Georgian architecture. ...
. Although the Corporation of Chester subscribed £100 towards the scheme, and the societies and clubs of Chester put up another £2,000, there was little enthusiasm for it. Neither the
Weaver Navigation
The River Weaver is a river, navigable in its lower reaches, running in a curving route anti-clockwise across west Cheshire, northern England. Improvements to the river to make it navigable were authorised in 1720 and the work, which included ...
nor the Trent and Mersey were supportive, as both might have lost some trade if the canal were built, and when the
Duke of Bridgewater
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
was approached for support, he replied that provided the canal did not physically link with the Trent and Mersey at Middlewich, he would not oppose the plans. Despite attempts at flattery, the Duke would not alter his position, and so the company promoting the
bill
Bill(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
* Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States)
* Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature
* Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer
* Bill, a bird or animal's beak
Plac ...
in parliament began with a serious disadvantage.
The bill became an Act of Parliament on 1 April 1772, authorising the construction of a canal to run "from the River Dee, within the liberties of the city of Chester, to or near Middlewich and Nantwich". The Act allowed the company to raise £42,000 by issuing £100 shares, and an additional £20,000 if necessary. Of this, only £28,000 had been subscribed at the time of the Act, but construction began near Chester, with Samual Weston acting as engineer and John Lawton working as his assistant. Weston had previously worked as a surveyor, and had been involved in excavating canals as a contractor, but had no experience of managing a major engineering project. The Mayor of Chester cut the first sod at the end of April. There were concerns that while the canal was being constructed past Northgate Gardens, prisoners from Northgate Prison might escape, and the company had to give a bond against this possibility. The canal was conceived as a broad canal, designed with locks which were by suitable for broad-beam barges.
Most of the Trent and Mersey Canal north of the proposed junction was suitable for barges which were wide, but the final three locks in Middlewich, and all of those south of the junction, are only suitable for narrow-beam barges.
The project was hampered by financial and engineering problems, and so progress was slow. At the Chester end, the River Dee Company had managed to insert a clause into the Act which restricted the width of the final lock into the river to . Although the lock was built, and some narrow boats capable of using it were constructed, agreement was reached on a wider connection after four years of argument. The solution adopted was a single pair of gates, which provided a entrance into a basin from which the canal rose to the Northgate level. The land on which the basin was built was owned by the River Dee Company, who therefore charged tolls on all traffic using it. In 1774, part of an aqueduct collapsed, and had to be dismantled and repaired.
Soon afterwards, Weston left the project, and Thomas Morris was recalled from Ireland to take over. He had previous experience building the extension of the
Bridgewater Canal
The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, Greater Manchester, Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester. It was ...
to Runcorn. Under his direction, the canal opened from Chester to Huxley Aqueduct on 16 January 1775, and to Beeston in June. Morris was sacked in September, to be replaced by
Josiah Clowes
Josiah Clowes (1735–1794) was a noted English civil engineer and canal builder. His early years were spent running a canal carrying company with Hugh Henshall, and although he worked on some canal projects before 1783, that year marked his switc ...
. He too was sacked, and was followed by Moon, who had previously acted as assistant to Morris. The canal was completed under the direction of Joseph Taylor. In September 1776, the junction with the Dee was opened, but the project was now in financial difficulties. By late 1777, they had spent all of the share capital of £42,000 and another £19,000, which had been raised as a loan guaranteed by Samuel Egerton of Tatton. He was a shareholder in the company and related to the Duke of Bridgewater. They applied for another Act of Parliament, which allowed them to raise another £25,000, by additional calls on existing shareholders, and to borrow £30,000 as a mortgage. They succeeded in raising £6,000 by making additional calls, and borrowed £4,000 from
Richard Reynolds, an ironmaster from Ketley, who was responsible for several of the East Shropshire Canals, including the
Wombridge Canal
The Wombridge Canal was a tub-boat canal in Shropshire, England, built to carry coal and iron ore from mines in the area to the furnaces where the iron was extracted. It opened in 1788, and parts of it were taken over by the Shrewsbury Canal Com ...
and the
Ketley Canal
The Ketley Canal was a tub boat canal that ran for about from Oakengates to Ketley works in Shropshire, England. The canal was built about 1788 and featured the first inclined plane in Britain. The main cargo of the canal was coal and ironstone ...
.
The money was used to complete the line to Nantwich, and to build a reservoir at Bunbury Heath. The work was completed in August 1779, and the company hoped to raise enough money to then build the line to Middlewich. They proposed building it with narrow locks, to reduce the cost, but the shareholders were not prepared to support them; instead they concentrated on trying to generate traffic on the line that had been built. They attempted to mine salt at Nantwich, but failed to find any, and tried running boats on the Trent and Mersey, from which goods were carried over land to Nantwich, for onward carriage to Liverpool. They also ran boats for cargo and passengers on the canal itself. By the end of 1781, the company had no money and was unable to meet interest payments on the loans. They decided to forfeit the canal to Egerton, the main mortgagee, but he did not respond to their offer. Angry landowners who had not been paid drained Bunbury reservoir in March 1782, but somehow the committee managed to keep the canal open, by selling boats and land. Disaster struck in November 1787, when Beeston Staircase Locks collapsed, and there was no money to fund repairs.
The impact of the Ellesmere Canal
In 1790 the plans for the
Ellesmere Canal
The Ellesmere Canal was a waterway in England and Wales that was planned to carry boat traffic between the rivers Mersey and Severn. The proposal would create a link between the Port of Liverpool and the mineral industries in north east Wales an ...
were published, and the directors of the Chester canal saw this as a chance to make the canal profitable again, and to build the Middlewich branch.
[ Following the chairman's report to a meeting of the shareholders, they resolved to try to raise some money to carry out repairs, any by the end of the year reported that the canal was "nearly filled with water and business begins to stir." The Ellesmere scheme was extensive, with a line from the ]River Mersey
The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...
at Netherpool (later renamed Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port ( ) is a port town in the Cheshire West and Chester borough in Cheshire, England. Ellesmere Port is on the south eastern edge of the Wirral Peninsula, north of Chester, south of Birkenhead, southwest of Runcorn and south of ...
) to the River Dee near Chester, to give access to the Chester Canal, and branches to Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
, Ruabon
Ruabon ( cy, Rhiwabon ) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. The name comes from ''Rhiw Fabon'', ''rhiw'' being the Welsh word for "slope" or "hillside" and ''Fabon'' being a mutation from St Mabon, the original church ...
, Llangollen
Llangollen () is a town and community, situated on the River Dee, in Denbighshire, Wales. Its riverside location forms the edge of the Berwyn range, and the Dee Valley section of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beau ...
, Bersham
Bersham ( cy, Y Bers) is a village in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, that lies next to the River Clywedog, and is in the community of Esclusham. Bersham was historically a major industrial centre of the area, but despite this the village sti ...
, Llanymynech
Llanymynech is a village straddling the border between Montgomeryshire/Powys, Wales, and Shropshire, England, about 9 miles (14 km) north of the Welsh town of Welshpool. The name is Welsh for "Church of the Monks". The village is on the ba ...
and maybe Whitchurch and Wem
Wem may refer to:
* HMS ''Wem'' (1919), a minesweeper of the Royal Navy during World War I
*Weem, a village in Perthshire, Scotland
* Wem, a small town in Shropshire, England
*Wem (musician), hip hop musician
WEM may stand for:
* County Westmeath, ...
. Although William Jessop
William Jessop (23 January 1745 – 18 November 1814) was an English civil engineer, best known for his work on canals, harbours and early railways in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Early life
Jessop was born in Devonport, Devon, the ...
estimated that the cost would be £196,898, it was the time of the Canal Mania
Canal Mania was the period of intense canal building in England and Wales between the 1790s and 1810s, and the speculative frenzy that ensued in the early 1790s.British Canals. The Standard History. Joseph Boughey and Charles Hadfield.
Backgro ...
, and 1,234 subscribers offered £967,700. Applications were scaled down and the company accepted £246,500. A rival group were proposing canals to the east, which resulted in the first group proposing a direct link with the Chester Canal from their Whitchurch Branch, and in February 1793, the two groups amalgamated. On 30 April they obtained an Act of Parliament authorising them to raise £400,00 with an additional £100,000 if necessary. Jessop was assisted by John Duncombe, Thomas Denson and William Turner, and from 30 October, Thomas Telford
Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE, (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotla ...
was appointed to set out the line and oversee the construction.
Work began on the Wirral line from Ellesmere Port to Chester in November 1793, and packet boats began using most of it on 1 July 1795. The locks connecting it to the River Mersey were completed early the following year, and the connection to the Chester Canal opened in January 1797. The line was supplied with water from the Chester Canal, supplemented by a steam engine at Ellesmere Port which pumped water from the Mersey. Passenger boats along the canal proved very popular, with connections from Ellesmere Port to Liverpool provided by larger boats, although passenger services from Chester to Nantwich lasted for less than a year. Commercial traffic also grew steadily, helped by the construction of new basins at Chester and the provision of a tide lock into the Dee, which made access into the lower basin possible at all times, and helped to keep it free from silt.
The Ellesmere Canal company had been constructing canals to the west, linking Llangollen to Frankton, but the route from there to Chester had not been decided. In 1796, they obtained an Act of Parliament, authorising a line from near the great aqueduct at Pontcysyllte
The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (; cy, Traphont Ddŵr Pontcysyllte) is a navigable aqueduct that carries the Llangollen Canal across the River Dee in the Vale of Llangollen in northeast Wales.
The 18-arched stone and cast iron structure is for use ...
running roughly northwards through Ruabon, Bersham, Gwersyllt
Gwersyllt () is an urban village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales.
The densely populated village is one of Wrexham's largest and is situated in the north western suburbs of the city, bordering the nearby villages of Llay, Cefn-y ...
and Pulford
Pulford is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Poulton and Pulford, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is on the B5445 road, to the south west of Chest ...
to join the River Dee opposite the canal basin at Chester. The Chester company, who were trying to put their financial affairs into order, noticed that the 1796 Act failed to mention a connection with their canal. They decided to obtain an Act to enforce a connection, and to stop supplying water to the Wirral line. The Ellesmere company responded quickly, agreeing to make changes to their Act, and the Chester company continued to supply water. On the strength of this, they were also able to raise some money to put the canal into good order and to repay some of their debts. The Ellesmere company extended their canal eastwards from Frankton to Whitchurch, and in 1802, the two companies reached agreement on a line from near Whitchurch to Hurleston Junction
Hurleston Junction () is the name of the canal junction where the Llangollen Canal terminates and meets the Shropshire Union Canal main line at Hurleston, Cheshire, England.
History
The Chester Canal was planned as a broad canal running from Ch ...
, just to the north of Nantwich. It opened on 25 March 1805, and water supply was enhanced by the construction of a navigable feeder through Llangollen to Horseshoe Falls
Horseshoe Falls is the largest of the three waterfalls that collectively form Niagara Falls on the Niagara River along the Canada–United States border. Approximately 90% of the Niagara River, after diversions for hydropower generation, flows ...
on the River Dee at Llantisilio.
In 1804, the Ellesmere company offered to buy out the Chester Canal for 1,000 of their shares, and to take over debts up to £4,000. The Chester Canal held out for more, and the negotiations failed. Three years later, the financial position of the Chester Canal was better, and they began paying off their debts. Finally in 1813, they agreed to amalgamate, and the action was authorised by a further Act of Parliament. The Ellesmere company paid just half of their 1804 offer, and the 500 Ellesmere shares were distributed between the various Chester shareholders. The Ellesmere and Chester Canal Company took over on 1 July 1813. A new section of canal and an iron lock were built at Beeston in 1827, to resolve continual problems with leakage there.
A new route to the south
In 1826, the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal
The Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal was a canal in England which ran from Nantwich, where it joined the Chester Canal, to Autherley, where it joined the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. Forming part of a major link between Liverpo ...
was authorised by an Act of Parliament, to construct a canal from Nantwich to a junction with the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal
The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a navigable narrow canal in Staffordshire and Worcestershire in the English Midlands. It is long, linking the River Severn at Stourport in Worcestershire with the Trent and Mersey Canal at Haywoo ...
at Autherley in the Midlands. With the prospect of being part of a link between Liverpool and the Midlands,[ the joint company had again pressed for the construction of the Middlewich branch, which would give them an outlet to Manchester and the Potteries industrial centre around Stoke-on-Trent. The Trent and Mersey Canal refused to sanction the idea of a canal which would effectively reduce their income until the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal was authorised. Once it was, the Ellesmere and Chester company obtained an Act of Parliament in 1827, but the Trent and Mersey insisted that they build a short connecting canal, the ]Wardle Canal
The Wardle Canal is the shortest canal in the UK, at . The canal, in Middlewich, Cheshire, connects the Trent and Mersey Canal to the Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal, terminating with a single lock known as Wardle Lock. It w ...
, consisting of a lock and not much more, the tolls for which were exorbitant. The 1827 Act repealed all previous legislation for the Ellesmere and Chester Canals and consolidated their position. The branch was built as a narrow canal, and cost £129,000. It opened on 1 September 1833, but was little used until the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal was completed. It finally opened on 2 March 1835, having suffered from engineering problems during construction. Again, it was a narrow canal, suitable for boats which were wide.[
The two canal companies worked together from the start, in a bid to ensure that both remained profitable despite competition from the railways.][ This came soon, for the Grand Junction Railway from Warrington to Birmingham had been authorised before the canal opened, and was carrying goods by January 1838. Tolls on the canals were considerably lower than had been envisaged when the route was promoted. Experiments with steam tugs to haul trains of narrow boats were carried out in 1842, and a report in 1844 indicated that they were then used extensively. By the following year, however, the Ellesmere and Chester company were thinking about converting the canal to a railway, and argued that steam tugs were no cheaper than locomotive haulage on a railway. A merger with the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal was discussed in 1844, and was authorised on 8 May 1845, the new company retaining the name of the Ellesmere and Chester Canal.
]
Part of the Shropshire Union
Almost immediately, the company began looking at the possibility of converting all or part of the system into railways. W A Povis, their engineer, was convinced that railways could be built along the routes at around half the cost of building a new line. The move was opposed by the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal
The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a navigable narrow canal in Staffordshire and Worcestershire in the English Midlands. It is long, linking the River Severn at Stourport in Worcestershire with the Trent and Mersey Canal at Haywoo ...
who argued that closing bits of the inland waterways system would have serious repercussions on the parts left. Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS HFRSE FRSA Doctor of Civil Law, DCL (16 October 1803 – 12 October 1859) was an English civil engineer and designer of locomotives. The only son of George Stephenson, the "Father of Railway ...
suggested that a number of railways and canals should amalgamate, to reduce competition when bills were presented to Parliament. The canals to join the Ellesmere and Chester Company were the eastern and western branches of the Montgomeryshire Canal
The Montgomery Canal ( cy, Camlas Trefaldwyn), known colloquially as "The Monty", is a partially restored canal in eastern Powys and northwest Shropshire. The canal runs from the Llangollen Canal at Frankton Junction to Newtown via Llanymyn ...
, the Shrewsbury Canal
The Shrewsbury Canal (or Shrewsbury and Newport Canal) was a canal in Shropshire, England. Authorised in 1793, the main line from Trench to Shrewsbury was fully open by 1797, but it remained isolated from the rest of the canal network until 183 ...
and the Shropshire Canal
The Shropshire Canal was a tub boat canal built to supply coal, ore and limestone to the industrial region of east Shropshire, England, that adjoined the River Severn at Coalbrookdale. It ran from a junction with the Donnington Wood Canal ascend ...
. Although some would be converted to railways, the route from Ellesmere Port to Middlewich via Barbridge Junction was part of the system that would be retained as a waterway, on which salt was a major source of revenue. The plans resulted in the formation of the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company
The Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company was a Company in England, formed in 1846, which managed several canals and railways. It intended to convert a number of canals to railways, but was leased by the London and North Western Railway (LN ...
in 1846. The new company could raise £3.3 million of new capital, in addition to that already in existence, with another £1.1 million if necessary. They prompted new railways, but before any of the existing canals were converted, the company was leased to the London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom.
In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...
, who took control in June 1847. They allowed the Shropshire Union to continue to operate fairly independently, and by 1849, the idea of conversion had been dropped, as the canals could still operate profitably.[
Profitability was maintained, with the result then when most of the Shropshire Union network of canals were abandoned in 1944, the sections which had originally been the Chester Canal, the northern part of the Ellesmere Canal, the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal and the ]Middlewich Branch
The Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal is located in Cheshire, in the north west of England, and runs between Middlewich, where it joins the Trent and Mersey Canal, and Barbridge Junction, where it joins the main line of the Shropsh ...
were all retained. The only other section which was not abandoned was the Llangollen branch; this was kept because of its function as a water supply channel, rather than for navigation.[
]
Leisure era
In common with many operational canals, the remains of the Shropshire Union system, including what had been the Chester Canal, were nationalised on 1 January 1948, and became the responsibility of the Docks and Inland Waterways Executive, which was part of the British Transport Commission
The British Transport Commission (BTC) was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain (Northern Ireland had the se ...
. At the time, the function of canals was still viewed as commercial. An official reply to the Inland Waterways Association
The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) is a registered charity in the United Kingdom and was formed in 1946 to campaign for the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and sensitive development of British Canals and river navigations.
Not ...
in 1947 stated that the Ministry of Transport ''"... do not look very favourably upon any scheme for pleasure craft on the canals at the present time."'' Despite such official attitudes, Eric Wilson, who produced the first edition of ''Inland Waterways of Great Britain'' in 1939, noted that those wishing to use the Shropshire Union for leisure cruising should apply to the Agent at Chester. He advised that application should be made well in advance, in case there were problems due to the condition of the waterway and its locks.
Control of the canal passed to the British Waterways Board on 1 January 1963, and for the first time in over 100 years, it was managed by an organisation which was not under railway control. The Transport Act 1968 classified all waterways under the jurisdiction of British Waterways
British Waterways, often shortened to BW, was a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom. It served as the navigation authority for the majority of canals and a number of rivers and docks in England, Scotland ...
into commercial, cruising and remainder waterways.[ All of the remaining Shropshire Union network was designated as cruising waterway, with the potential for leisure use. By that time there was little commercial traffic. The branch to the River Dee at Chester had been unused since 1932–34, with the demise of steel traffic from Shotton steelworks to Ellesmere Port, and long distance carrying of tar from Ellesmere Port to the Midlands had ended in 1957–58.
The canal is popular with pleasure boaters, as much of it is pleasantly rural, with added interest provided by the city of Chester and Ellesmere Port with its waterways museum. The towpath through Chester provides an attractive route for walkers. The canal is well connected, with links to the Trent and Mersey Canal via the Middlewich Branch to the east, the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal via the former Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal to the south, and provides a route to the Llangollen Canal, from which the ]Montgomeryshire Canal
The Montgomery Canal ( cy, Camlas Trefaldwyn), known colloquially as "The Monty", is a partially restored canal in eastern Powys and northwest Shropshire. The canal runs from the Llangollen Canal at Frankton Junction to Newtown via Llanymyn ...
, which is the subject of an ongoing restoration scheme, can be accessed. Boaters can also access the River Dee at Chester, although advance notice must be given, and the river is only accessible for four hours either side of high tide. At Ellesmere Port, the canal has connected to the Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a inland waterway in the North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the Mersey Estuary at Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it generally follows the original routes of the river ...
since its opening in 1894. For many leisure cruisers, the requirements of the ship canal company for taking small boats onto a large commercial waterway are too daunting, and Ellesmere Port acts as the end of their journey.
The Chester Canal Heritage Trust
The Chester Canal Heritage Trust was started in 1997, to promote the canal in Chester, Cheshire, and educate about it. The canal was originally the Chester Canal, before becoming part of the Shropshire Union Canal network.
The objectives of the ...
was set up in 1997 to promote the canal and its heritage. Among other projects, they have received funding from the Local History Initiative and the Nationwide Building Society
Nationwide Building Society is a British mutual financial institution, the seventh largest cooperative financial institution and the largest building society in the world with over 16 million members. Its headquarters are in Swindon, England. ...
, which has allowed them to research the history of the canal and publish the results as a book. In 2012, responsibility for the canal passed from British Waterways to the newly formed Canal & River Trust
The Canal & River Trust (CRT), branded as in Wales, holds the guardianship of 2,000 miles of canals and rivers, together with reservoirs and a wide range of heritage buildings and structures, in England and Wales. Launched on 12 July 2012, the ...
.
Traffic
Although the Chester Canal was not a success as traffic was sparse, this changed once it was connected to the Ellesmere Canal. The Ellesmere company expected to carry limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
from the quarries at Llanymynech
Llanymynech is a village straddling the border between Montgomeryshire/Powys, Wales, and Shropshire, England, about 9 miles (14 km) north of the Welsh town of Welshpool. The name is Welsh for "Church of the Monks". The village is on the ba ...
and Trevor
Trevor (Trefor (disambiguation), Trefor in the Welsh language) is a common given name or surname of Welsh language, Welsh origin. It is an habitational name, deriving from the Welsh ''tre(f)'', meaning "homestead", or "settlement" and ''fawr'', ...
, iron from the ironworks at Ruabon
Ruabon ( cy, Rhiwabon ) is a village and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales. The name comes from ''Rhiw Fabon'', ''rhiw'' being the Welsh word for "slope" or "hillside" and ''Fabon'' being a mutation from St Mabon, the original church ...
and Bersham
Bersham ( cy, Y Bers) is a village in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, that lies next to the River Clywedog, and is in the community of Esclusham. Bersham was historically a major industrial centre of the area, but despite this the village sti ...
, and coal from mines at Chirk
Chirk ( cy, Y Waun) is a town and community in Wrexham County Borough, Wales, south of Wrexham, between it and Oswestry. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 4,468. Historically in the traditional county of Denbighshire, and later Clwy ...
, Ruabon and Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
to Chester, Liverpool and Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
. The canal to Bersham and Wrexham was not built, and that to Shrewsbury was built much later on, but trade in coal, limestone, lime and building materials developed within the network of canals, and traffic between the canals and Liverpool increased steadily, much of it passing along the former Chester Canal. Receipts for the Ellesmere Canal were £12,568 in 1807 and £15,707 just two years later.
In 1836, a review of trade on the canals showed that limestone from Llanymynech and coal from Chirk was used to produce lime at a number of locations along the canals. Coal from Chirk for industrial and household use was carried, although there was a competing trade in coal from Flintshire, which travelled along the River Dee and entered the canal system at Chester. There was trade in iron from Ruabon to Chester, but the tolls were very low, as the canal route was long, whereas the land journey was only . In 1838, the canals carried 60,406 tons of iron bound for Liverpool, most of it manufactured goods, of which 38,758 tons came from Staffordshire, 11,687 tons from North Wales and 9,961 tons from Shropshire. An additional 10,370 tons, most of which originated in North Wales, passed along the Middlewich Branch, bound for Manchester.
The canal company carried goods in their own boats, and produced a report on the four years from August 1846 to June 1850 in 1851. This showed an income of £180,746 from tolls, and identified six main types of traffic. These included iron goods from the Wolverhampton area to Liverpool; limestone from Trevor and Crickheath to Nantwich or Wappenshall on the Shrewsbury Canal
The Shrewsbury Canal (or Shrewsbury and Newport Canal) was a canal in Shropshire, England. Authorised in 1793, the main line from Trench to Shrewsbury was fully open by 1797, but it remained isolated from the rest of the canal network until 183 ...
, with a back trade in iron ore from near Burslem
Burslem ( ) is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Tunstall, Fenton, Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent form part of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. It is often referred to as the "mother town" of Stoke on Trent.
T ...
; general merchandise, which was carried between Chester and Liverpool; and general merchandise for Shropshire and North Wales. All of these were profitable. The carriage of general goods from Birmingham to Liverpool and the Chester coal trade both made a small loss.
Once the canals were owned by the London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom.
In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...
, restrictions were imposed on what they could carry, and the canals failed to make sufficient money to cover the interest on mortgages. However, they made a substantial operating profit for some years. Around 1850, the average annual income was £104,638, which yielded a surplus of £45,885. Most of the income was from carrying, and by 1870, income had risen to £143,976, although this only yielded a surplus of £11,727. Total traffic was 855,462 tons in 1858, but this had dropped to 742,315 tons in 1868. The carrying business was expanded in the 1870s, but although turnover increased, operating profits fell dramatically, to just £1,568 in 1876. By 1905, total traffic was 469,950 tons, nearly all of it in boats owned by the company, and between the 1870s and the onset of the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
the company sometimes made a small operating profit and sometimes a loss. Following the end of the war, working hours were cut, wages increased, and the cost of materials increased. Losses escalated, to £153,318 on an income of £227,845 in 1920, and carriage by the company ceased in 1921, in an attempt to reduce losses. 433,230 tons of goods carried in 1929 had dropped to 151,144 tons in 1940, by which time income from tolls was £17,763, and total income was £40,985.
Route
The River Dee branch heads eastwards from the river, and passes through two locks before turning to the north. Another two locks raise its level to that of the Ellesmere Canal, and the junction was the site of a historic boatyard. Originally, the branch continued eastwards after the first two locks, and another two brought it up to the level of the Chester Canal main line. From the junction, the Ellesmere main line headed south, to another right-angled band where it joined the Chester Canal. There are moorings at Tower Wharf, just before the bend. To the south of the canal is the old city, one of the few English cities which retains nearly all of its city walls
A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...
, the cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
much of which dates from 1092, and the King Charles' Tower, which overshadows the canal. After rising through the Northgate Staircase locks, which were cut out of solid rock, the canal enters a steep-sided rock cutting. After several bridges, the first of five locks which raise the level of the canal by another is reached. Between the fourth and fifth locks, the North Wales Coast railway line to crosses under the canal in a tunnel.[
The canal passes along the south-western edge of ]Christleton
Christleton is a village and civil parish on the outskirts of Chester, in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The Shropshire Union Canal (originally Chester Canal) passes through ...
, and through the centre of Waverton,[Ordnance Survey, 1:25,000 map] where there is a large grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
mill building, which was once steam powered and includes bays in the right gable from which boats were loaded. The parish church is some distance from the main centre of population, on the edge of the flat Cheshire plain. The tall tower dates from the 16th century, and the roof of the nave is of hammer-beam
A hammerbeam roof is a decorative, open timber roof truss typical of English Gothic architecture and has been called "...the most spectacular endeavour of the English Medieval carpenter". They are traditionally timber framed, using short beams pr ...
construction, dating from 1635. There are several accommodation bridges on this section, all dating from the time of the construction of the canal, including Davies Bridge, Salmon's Bridge, and Faulkners Bridge, all built in orange brick and grade II listed structures. The railway line to Crewe follows the same general alignment as the canal, but a little further to the south, as both follow the valley of the River Gowy
The River Gowy is a river in Cheshire, England, a tributary of the River Mersey.
It rises in western Cheshire in the hills near Peckforton Castle, very close to the source of the River Weaver. While the Weaver flows south initially, the Gowy f ...
. The canal crosses from the south bank of the river to the north bank on an aqueduct and continues eastwards, passing the massive ruined remains of Beeston Castle
Beeston Castle is a former Royal castle in Beeston, Cheshire, England (), perched on a rocky sandstone crag above the Cheshire Plain. It was built in the 1220s by Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester (1170–1232), on his return from th ...
, which was built in the 1220s by the Earl of Chester on top of a steep hill, and dominates the countryside.
The castle is opposite Wharton's Lock, which is followed by the village of Tiverton on the north bank. Immediately after a bridge carrying the A49 road
The A49 is an A road in western England, which traverses the Welsh Marches region. It runs north from Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire via Hereford, Leominster, Ludlow, Shrewsbury and Whitchurch, then continues through central Cheshire to Warrin ...
over the canal is the first of the two Beeston locks.[ The first is called Beeston Iron Lock, and was built from ]cast iron
Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...
plates in 1828 by Telford. Cast iron was used because of problems with running sand under the original stone locks. It is both a grade II* listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
structure and a scheduled ancient monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
, and is unique in England. Shortly afterwards is Beeston Stone Lock, also a listed structure, but dating from the construction of the canal and using conventional materials.
The next lock is Tilston Lock, situated about to the north of Bunbury. The railway crosses to the north side of the canal near Bunbury Staircase Locks, a staircase of two locks which share the intermediate gates. These are the last locks before the end of the Chester canal, and are the last locks which wide-beam boats can use when travelling south. As the canal approaches Barbridge Junction
Barbridge Junction () is the name of the canal junction located at Barbridge, Cheshire, where the Shropshire Union Canal Middlewich Branch terminates and meets the Shropshire Union Canal main line.
History
The Chester Canal was conceived in 1 ...
, the railway turns away, heading east, and the canal turns towards the south. The junction is the start of the Middlewich Branch
The Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal is located in Cheshire, in the north west of England, and runs between Middlewich, where it joins the Trent and Mersey Canal, and Barbridge Junction, where it joins the main line of the Shropsh ...
, which descends through four locks to reach the Trent and Mersey Canal at Middlewich. After another , the Llangollen Canal turns off at Hurleston Junction
Hurleston Junction () is the name of the canal junction where the Llangollen Canal terminates and meets the Shropshire Union Canal main line at Hurleston, Cheshire, England.
History
The Chester Canal was planned as a broad canal running from Ch ...
immediately rising through four locks. Soon, Nantwich Basin is reached, which was the historic terminus of the Chester Canal. Telford's original plan was to terminate the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal by running it across Dorfold Park and joining the basin end-on, but the owner objected, and an embankment had to be built around the edge of the park. This crossed the road on Nantwich Aqueduct, and joined the canal just to the north of the basin. Dorfold Hall
Dorfold Hall () is a Grade I listed Jacobean mansion in Acton, Cheshire, England, considered by Nikolaus Pevsner to be one of the two finest Jacobean houses in the county. The present owners are the Roundells.
History
Dorfold or ''Deofol ...
, to the west of the basin, is a grade I listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
mansion, built in 1616 for Ralph Wilbraham.
Boat sizes
As built, the locks on the Chester Canal were originally . Over the years the maximum size for vessels using the canal has altered. By 1985, it had been reduced to , and in 2009, sizes were quoted as .
Points of interest
See also
*Canals of Great Britain
The canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a varied history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's ro ...
*Chester Canal Heritage Trust
The Chester Canal Heritage Trust was started in 1997, to promote the canal in Chester, Cheshire, and educate about it. The canal was originally the Chester Canal, before becoming part of the Shropshire Union Canal network.
The objectives of the ...
Bibliography
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References
External links
{{Commons category-inline, Chester Canal
Photographs of the Chester Canal
Chester
Canals in Cheshire
Canals opened in 1779