Haywood Junction (), or Great Haywood Junction, is the name of the canal junction where the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal terminates and meets the Trent and Mersey Canal near to the village of

Great Haywood Great Haywood is a village in central Staffordshire, England, just off the A51 and about northwest of Rugeley and southeast of the county town of Stafford. Population details taken at the 2011 census can be found under Colwich. Haywood ...

, Staffordshire,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

History

The Trent and Mersey Canal was conceived as a way to provide a link between

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 populat ...

and Hull, passing through the Potteries. It was authorised by an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

in 1766, and with

James Brindley James Brindley (1716 – 27 September 1772) was an English engineer. He was born in Tunstead, Derbyshire, and lived much of his life in Leek, Staffordshire, becoming one of the most notable engineers of the 18th century. Early life Born i ...

acting as engineer, its were completed eleven years later in 1777. Brindley also built the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, which was begun at much the same time as the Trent and Mersey, and was completed in 1772. It joined the Trent and Mersey Canal at Great Haywood, and was part of his

Grand Cross Grand Cross is the highest class in many orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Grand Cross, e.g. Grand ...

plan to link four English estuaries: the

Humber The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between t ...

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

and

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 ...

. Haywood Junction therefore became a major transport interchange.

Location

At Great Haywood, the Trent and Mersey Canal heads north, as it continues its ascent from Derwent Mouth towards its short summit near Stoke on Trent. Haywood Lock is just to the south, while Hoo Mill Lock is a little further to the north. The

River Trent The Trent is the third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midlands. The river is known for dramatic flooding after storms and ...

runs to the west of the canal, much too small at this point to support navigation. Derwent Mouth, where the canal joins the river, is from the junction, while Etruria Lock, where the summit level begins, is away. The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal heads west from the junction. The Trent and Mersey towpath is carried over it by a bridge, and almost immediately, it crosses the River Trent on an aqueduct. It follows the valley of the

River Sow The River Sow is a tributary of the River Trent in Staffordshire, England, and is the river that flows through Stafford. Course The river rises to the south of Loggerheads, near Broughton and flows south-east beside the villages of Fairoak ...

, which joins the Trent below the junction, and soon reaches Tixall Wide, a broad expanse of water, which, although it looks like a lake, is deep enough to allow boats to reach its edges. Shugborough Park and Hall, now owned by the National Trust, is located to the south, and Tixall Gatehouse is to the north. The canal ascends through Tixall Lock, after which is crossed the Sow on another aqueduct. Tixall Lock is from the junction.

Shugborough Hall Shugborough Hall is a stately home near Great Haywood, Staffordshire, England. The hall is situated on the edge of Cannock Chase, about east of Stafford and from Rugeley. The estate was owned by the Bishops of Lichfield until the dissolutio ...

was begun in 1695, was extended in the 1760s, and some remodelling was carried out at the end of the eighteenth century by Samuel Wyatt. Internally, the plasterwork is magnificent, and the building is grade I listed. Many of the structures within the grounds are also listed. Tixall Lodge is a small octagonal-shaped building with a stone dome, which bears the date 1807. It is grade II listed, as is the

roving bridge A roving bridge, changeline bridge, turnover bridge, or snake bridgeWilliam George Victor Balchin, ed., ''The Country Life Book of the Living History of Britain'', 1983, , p. 109 is a bridge over a canal constructed to allow a horse towing a bo ...

at the junction. Just to the south of Haywood Lock, a bridge carries a footpath from Great Haywood to Shugborough Hall. The path crosses the Trent at Essex Bridge, a grade I listed structure with fourteen arches, which is only wide. It was probably built in the 1500s, and is virtually unaltered.

Bibliography

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References

{{Coord, 52.8041, -2.0089, display=title, format=dms, region:GB_type:landmark Canal junctions in England Trent and Mersey Canal Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal Tourist attractions in Staffordshire Grade II listed buildings in Staffordshire

History

Location

See also

Bibliography

References