Weston Point Docks, also known as the Port of Weston, is an

inland port An inland port is a port on an inland waterway, such as a river, lake, or canal, which may or may not be connected to the sea. The term "inland port" is also used to refer to a dry port. Examples The United States Army Corps of Engineers publ ...

on 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 ...

in the town of

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. ...

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 ...

, England. It is operated by FLX Logistics.

History

Weston Point dock, disused church - geograph

In 1810, the Weaver Navigation Company completed the Weston Canal between

Frodsham Frodsham is a market town, civil parish, and electoral ward in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Its population was 8,982 in 2001, increasing to 9,077 at the 2011 Census. It is s ...

and the Weston Point area of Runcorn to avoid the difficult entrance to the mouth of the River Weaver, and a dock was established at Weston Point. The Old Basin is still extant but no longer accessible to shipping. The New Basin, built between 1850 and 1856, was filled in between 1963 and 1966. In 1841, an Anglican church, Christ Church, was constructed on the site of the docks, now redundant but a listed building. In 1859, a short section of canal called the

Runcorn and Weston Canal The Runcorn and Weston Canal was a short canal near Runcorn in Cheshire, England, constructed to link the Weston Canal, which is part of the River Weaver Navigation, to the Bridgewater Canal and Runcorn Docks. It was completed in 1859, but was l ...

was built which would link Weston Point Docks on the Weston Canal with

Runcorn Docks Runcorn Docks, originally the Bridgewater Docks, is an inland port on the Manchester Ship Canal in the town of Runcorn, Cheshire, England. It is operated by Peel Ports and handles bulk and project cargo. History Early development It is poss ...

on 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 ...

. Two further docks, the Delamere (1865-1870) and the Tollemache (1885), were built and now form one dock, the Delamache. The Manchester Ship Canal opened in 1894. This canal now services the docks as opposed to the Weston Canal and the Weaver Navigation.

Present

In August 2007, the owners of the Port of Weston, The Westbury Property Fund, merged with the

Eddie Stobart Group Eddie Stobart Group is a British multimodal logistics company, with interests in road haulage, rail freight, deep sea and inland waterway transport systems and deep sea port, inland port and rail connected storage facilities, along with transpor ...

to form the

Stobart Group Esken Limited (), formerly Stobart Group Limited, is a British infrastructure, aviation and energy company, with operations in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company is registered in Guernsey but has its operational head office in Londo ...

. The group planned to develop the site into an inter-modal port facility to enable freight, currently carried by road, to be transported by rail and water. This would mean increased warehousing, new container handling facilities, an extension to the existing

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

rail siding, a new link road, and improved navigable access between the dock and the Manchester Ship Canal. The plans were not implemented, however, and the docks are now operated by FLX Logistics.

References

{{reflist

External links

FLX Logistics
Ports and harbours of Cheshire Runcorn Mersey docks 1810 establishments in England

History

Present

See also

References

External links