NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Ellesmere Canal

The Llangollen Canal we see today was previously called the Ellesmere Canal, but the Ellesmere Canal as originally envisaged was very different from what was eventually constructed. What we now know as the Llangollen Canal initially formed the majority of the Ellesmere Canal, and later was part of the Shropshire Union Canal, and only with increasing popularity of pleasure boats was it renamed the Llangollen Canal in an effort to attract more visitors: ironically, the canal was...

The history of the line was bedeviled with indecision as to which route to take, fuelled by the unreasonable expectations of the canal boom of the 1790s, and what was planned as a roughly north-south route ended up being roughly east-west.

The formal proposal was launched at a meeting in Ellesmere in 1791 for a canal from Netherpool (now known as Ellesmere Port) on the River Mersey to the River Dee, and from there via Overton (south of Wrexham) to the River Severn at Shrewsbury via the iron ore and coal mining areas between Wrexham and Ruabon. Ellesmere is a market town in Shropshire, England. ... 1791 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Arms of Ellesmere Port Town Council Ellesmere Port is an industrial town in the district of Ellesmere Port and Neston, Cheshire, England, which was founded, as the name suggests, as an outlet to the sea from Ellesmere, Shropshire and the Wales border area around Llangollen (via a canal then called... The River Mersey is a river in the north west of England. ... There are several rivers called Dee in the UK: River Dee, Aberdeenshire, Scotland River Dee, Galloway, Scotland River Dee, Wales (Afon Dyfrdwy) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Wrexham (pronounced Recsam, and in Welsh spelt Wrecsam) is a town in north Wales. ... This article is about the British river. ... This article is about the town of Shrewsbury in England. ... Wrexham (pronounced Recsam, and in Welsh spelt Wrecsam) is a town in north Wales. ... Ruabon is a small village in the county of Wrexham in North Wales. ...

However, there were also suggestions that it would be better to take a more easterly route from the Dee to the Severn using part of the Chester Canal and swinging east, closer to Whitchurch. There are several rivers called Dee in the UK: River Dee, Aberdeenshire, Scotland River Dee, Galloway, Scotland River Dee, Wales (Afon Dyfrdwy) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... This article is about the British river. ... The Chester Canal was a canal linking the south Cheshire town of Nantwich with the River Dee at Chester, providing a route for produce (including salt) from Nantwich to reach Chester and, beyond it, the sea via the Dee estuary. ... Whitchurch is a small town in the north of the county of Shropshire. ...

The engineer William Jessop was called in to advise, and he recommended the westerly route. However, this posed formidable engineering obstacles, with the hills near Ruabon to be pierced and then the steep-sided valley of the Dee to be crossed. More height gain would shorten the tunnel near Ruabon, but would increase the height of the Dee crossing. Jessop proposed a climb of 92m (303ft) from Chester to Ruabon, a 4212m (4607 yard) tunnel, and an aqueduct over the Dee at Pontcysyllte. William Jessop (23 January 1745 - 18 November 1814) was a noted English civil engineer, particularly famed for his work on canals, harbours and early railways in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. ... Ruabon is a small village in the county of Wrexham in North Wales. ... There are several rivers called Dee in the UK: River Dee, Aberdeenshire, Scotland River Dee, Galloway, Scotland River Dee, Wales (Afon Dyfrdwy) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Ruabon is a small village in the county of Wrexham in North Wales. ... There are several rivers called Dee in the UK: River Dee, Aberdeenshire, Scotland River Dee, Galloway, Scotland River Dee, Wales (Afon Dyfrdwy) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... William Jessop (23 January 1745 - 18 November 1814) was a noted English civil engineer, particularly famed for his work on canals, harbours and early railways in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. ... Chester is the county town of Cheshire in the north-west of England, close to the border with Wales. ... Ruabon is a small village in the county of Wrexham in North Wales. ... There are several rivers called Dee in the UK: River Dee, Aberdeenshire, Scotland River Dee, Galloway, Scotland River Dee, Wales (Afon Dyfrdwy) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is an aqueduct which carries the Llangollen Canal over the valley of the River Dee, east of Llangollen in north Wales. ...

An Act was passed in 1793, and Jessop appointed engineer, and Thomas Telford as general agent. The easy section from the Mersey to the Dee, now part of the Shropshire Union Canal, was completed in 1795, and joined to the Chester Canal in 1797. 1793 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... William Jessop (23 January 1745 - 18 November 1814) was a noted English civil engineer, particularly famed for his work on canals, harbours and early railways in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. ... Thomas Telford (August 9, 1757 - September 2, 1834) was born in Westerkirk, Scotland. ... The River Mersey is a river in the north west of England. ... There are several rivers called Dee in the UK: River Dee, Aberdeenshire, Scotland River Dee, Galloway, Scotland River Dee, Wales (Afon Dyfrdwy) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The Shropshire Union Canal near Norbury Junction The Shropshire Union Canal is a canal linking Wolverhampton with the River Mersey. ... 1795 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Chester Canal was a canal linking the south Cheshire town of Nantwich with the River Dee at Chester, providing a route for produce (including salt) from Nantwich to reach Chester and, beyond it, the sea via the Dee estuary. ... 1797 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

For the crossing of the Dee, it had been proposed to have locks on the north side of the valley to take the canal down to a more normal height, but this would have required a longer tunnel at Chirk and another tunnel near Weston Lullingfields. Although it is not clear exactly with whom the credit should lie, between them Jessop and Telford developed the proposal for a cast-iron aqueduct at Pontcysyllte without any locks, thus reducing the length of the Chirk tunnel, but requiring a higer crossing of the Ceiriog at Chirk. There are several rivers called Dee in the UK: River Dee, Aberdeenshire, Scotland River Dee, Galloway, Scotland River Dee, Wales (Afon Dyfrdwy) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Chirk (Welsh: Y Waun) is a town in Denbighshire in Wales. ... William Jessop (23 January 1745 - 18 November 1814) was a noted English civil engineer, particularly famed for his work on canals, harbours and early railways in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. ... Thomas Telford (August 9, 1757 - September 2, 1834) was born in Westerkirk, Scotland. ... The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is an aqueduct which carries the Llangollen Canal over the valley of the River Dee, east of Llangollen in north Wales. ... Chirk (Welsh: Y Waun) is a town in Denbighshire in Wales. ... Chirk (Welsh: Y Waun) is a town in Denbighshire in Wales. ...

Chirk Aqueduct was opened in 1801, and Pontcysyllte in 1805. However, by this time the line from the Dee to Ruabon had been abandonned as there was competition from tramroads to carry iron ore and coal to the Dee. Also abandonned was the plan to reach the Severn, as the Shrewsbury Canal was already serving the town, and the poor navigational state of the Severn meant that additional traffic would not justify the cost of the building works. As the canal would now not reach its summit level near Ruabon, additional water supplies were needed, and a feeder was constructed along the side of the Dee valley to Llantisilio; the narrow feeder branch was made navigable, allowing boats to reach Llangollen. Chirk (Welsh: Y Waun) is a town in Denbighshire in Wales. ... The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is an aqueduct which carries the Llangollen Canal over the valley of the River Dee, east of Llangollen in north Wales. ... There are several rivers called Dee in the UK: River Dee, Aberdeenshire, Scotland River Dee, Galloway, Scotland River Dee, Wales (Afon Dyfrdwy) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Ruabon is a small village in the county of Wrexham in North Wales. ... There are several rivers called Dee in the UK: River Dee, Aberdeenshire, Scotland River Dee, Galloway, Scotland River Dee, Wales (Afon Dyfrdwy) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... This article is about the British river. ... This article is about the British river. ... Ruabon is a small village in the county of Wrexham in North Wales. ... There are several rivers called Dee in the UK: River Dee, Aberdeenshire, Scotland River Dee, Galloway, Scotland River Dee, Wales (Afon Dyfrdwy) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Llangollen is a small town in Denbighshire, north Wales, famous for the Llangollen International Eisteddfod, the Llangollen Canal (whose Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is nearby), and the Llangollen Railway. ...

So the main line as constructed only ran from Trevor to Weston Lullingfields, some 29 km long, while the 47 km "branch" via Ellesmere to the Chester Canal at Hurleston became the canal's only link with the rest of the waterways network in 1806, and became considered the main line. Ellesmere is a market town in Shropshire, England. ... The Chester Canal was a canal linking the south Cheshire town of Nantwich with the River Dee at Chester, providing a route for produce (including salt) from Nantwich to reach Chester and, beyond it, the sea via the Dee estuary. ... 1806 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

The Ellesmere Canal merged with the Chester Canal in 1813, and a further merger with the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal in 1845 was followed in 1846 by the formation of the Shropshire Union Railways & Canal Company. The Company was taken over in 1922 by the London & North Western Railway. The Chester Canal was a canal linking the south Cheshire town of Nantwich with the River Dee at Chester, providing a route for produce (including salt) from Nantwich to reach Chester and, beyond it, the sea via the Dee estuary. ... 1813 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1846 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... 1922 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

By 1939 traffic on the line from Hurleston to Llangollen had ceased, and the whole of the Ellesmere Canal network other than the line from Ellesmere Port to Chester was abadoned by Act of Parliament in 1944, though the line from Hurleston to Llangollen was retained purely as a water feeder for the Shropshire Union Canal main line and for drinking water, with an agreement in 1955 with the Mid & South East Cheshire Water Board securing the line's future. 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Llangollen is a small town in Denbighshire, north Wales, famous for the Llangollen International Eisteddfod, the Llangollen Canal (whose Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is nearby), and the Llangollen Railway. ... Arms of Ellesmere Port Town Council Ellesmere Port is an industrial town in the district of Ellesmere Port and Neston, Cheshire, England, which was founded, as the name suggests, as an outlet to the sea from Ellesmere, Shropshire and the Wales border area around Llangollen (via a canal then called... Chester is the county town of Cheshire in the north-west of England, close to the border with Wales. ... 1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Llangollen is a small town in Denbighshire, north Wales, famous for the Llangollen International Eisteddfod, the Llangollen Canal (whose Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is nearby), and the Llangollen Railway. ... The Shropshire Union Canal near Norbury Junction The Shropshire Union Canal is a canal linking Wolverhampton with the River Mersey. ... 1955 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Increasing popularlity with pleasure boats led to gradually increasing maintenance, and the decision to rebrand the Ellesmere Canal as the Llangollen Canal. As the canal was never intended to go to Llangollen, this renaming is a delightfully ironic twist symbolic of the canal's convoluted development and failure to do what it started out to do, but the route today makes for a delightful journey with a dramatic final few kilometres from Chirk to Llangollen. What we now know as the Llangollen Canal initially formed the majority of the Ellesmere Canal, and later was part of the Shropshire Union Canal, and only with increasing popularity of pleasure boats was it renamed the Llangollen Canal in an effort to attract more visitors: ironically, the canal was... Llangollen is a small town in Denbighshire, north Wales, famous for the Llangollen International Eisteddfod, the Llangollen Canal (whose Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is nearby), and the Llangollen Railway. ... Chirk (Welsh: Y Waun) is a town in Denbighshire in Wales. ... Llangollen is a small town in Denbighshire, north Wales, famous for the Llangollen International Eisteddfod, the Llangollen Canal (whose Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is nearby), and the Llangollen Railway. ...

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