 The Shropshire Union Canal near Norbury Junction The Shropshire Union Canal is a navigable canal in England; the Llangollen and Montgomery canals, sometimes counted as branches of the SU, lie mostly in Wales. Download high resolution version (1024x768, 114 KB) Photograph of the Shropshire Union Canal near Norbury Junction. ...
Download high resolution version (1024x768, 114 KB) Photograph of the Shropshire Union Canal near Norbury Junction. ...
For other uses, see Canal (disambiguation). ...
For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...
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 Montgomery Canal (originally the Montgomeryshire Canal) is a semi-disused canal in eastern Wales. ...
This article is about the country. ...
The canal lies in Staffordshire, Shropshire and Cheshire in the north-west midlands of England. It links the canal system of the Midlands, centred on Birmingham, with the River Mersey and Manchester Ship Canal at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. Staffordshire (abbreviated Staffs) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. ...
Shropshire (pronounced /, -/), alternatively known as Salop[6] or abbreviated Shrops[7], is a county in the West Midlands of England. ...
For other uses, see Cheshire (disambiguation). ...
This article is about the British city. ...
The River Mersey is a river in north west England. ...
The canal at its Manchester end, looking towards Old Trafford. ...
The "SU main line" runs south east from Ellesmere Port on the River Mersey to the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal at Autherley Junction near Wolverhampton. Other links are to the Llangollen Canal (at Hurleston Junction), the Middlewich Branch (at Barbridge Junction), which itself connects with the Trent & Mersey Canal, via the Wardle Canal, and the River Dee (in Chester). With two connections to the Trent and Mersey (via the Middlewich Branch and the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal) the SU is part of an important circular and rural holiday route called the Four Counties Ring. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a canal in the Midlands of England, passing through Staffordshire and Worcestershire. ...
Wolverhampton is a city in the historic county of Staffordshire and metropolitan county of the West Midlands. ...
Hurleston Junction (grid reference SJ625553) is the name of the canal junction where the Llangollen Canal terminates and meets the Shropshire Union Canal at Hurleston, Cheshire, England. ...
The Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal is located between Middlewich, Cheshire, UK and Barbridge, Cheshire, UK , and connects the Wardle Canal to the Shropshire Union Canal. ...
The Trent and Mersey Canal is a canal linking the River Trent at Shardlow in Derbyshire to the River Mersey at Runcorn in Cheshire. ...
The Wardle canal is located in Middlewich, Cheshire, UK, and connects the Trent and Mersey Canal to the Shropshire Union Canal (Middlewich branch). ...
River Dee may refer to: River Dee, Wales (Afon Dyfrdwy), mostly in North Wales, flowing from Snowdonia to Chester. ...
For the larger local government district, see Chester (district). ...
The Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal is located between Middlewich, Cheshire, UK and Barbridge, Cheshire, UK , and connects the Wardle Canal to the Shropshire Union Canal. ...
The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a canal in the Midlands of England, passing through Staffordshire and Worcestershire. ...
The SU main line was the last trunk narrow canal route to be built in England. It was not completed until 1835 and was the last major civil engineering accomplishment of Thomas Telford. | Come and take it, slogan of the Texas Revolution 1835 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...
The Falkirk Wheel in Scotland. ...
Thomas Telford (August 9, 1757 - September 2, 1834) was born in Westerkirk, Scotland. ...
The name "Shropshire Union" comes from the amalgamation of the various component companies (Ellesmere Canal, Birmingham & Liverpool Junction, Montgomeryshire Canal) that came together to form the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company. The main line between Nantwich and Autherley Junction was almost built as a railway although eventually it was decided to construct it as a waterway. The Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company ran from Stafford railway station to Shrewsbury railway station, via Wellington railway station. ...
Nantwich is a market town in south Cheshire, England, in the Borough and parliamentary constituency of Crewe and Nantwich. ...
Route
Wirral Line From Ellesmere Port on the River Mersey, the SU crosses the Wirral peninsula to Chester. This stretch was built in 1805, as the Wirral Line of the Ellesmere Canal. It connected Chester (and the River Dee) to the River Mersey at Ellesmere Port. The Ellesmere Canal was to have continued west and south to Wrexham, and Trevor and then on to the River Severn at Shrewsbury. The line from Chester to Trevor was never built, and the section beyond Trevor was not completed in its planned form. However, some stretches of the Ellesmere were built: these now form the modern Llangollen Canal and Montgomery Canal both of which are strictly speaking branches of the Shropshire Union Canal, although nowadays considered to be separate canals. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
The River Mersey is a river in north west England. ...
Thomas Jefferson. ...
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. ...
For the larger local government district, see Chester (district). ...
River Dee may refer to: River Dee, Wales (Afon Dyfrdwy), mostly in North Wales, flowing from Snowdonia to Chester. ...
The River Mersey is a river in north west England. ...
This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
Severn redirects here. ...
For other places with the same name, see Shrewsbury (disambiguation). ...
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 Montgomery Canal (originally the Montgomeryshire Canal) is a semi-disused canal in eastern Wales. ...
Chester Canal In Chester, from the top of the arm leading down to the Dee, the SU follows the old Chester Canal built in 1772 to connect Chester and Nantwich. The canal passes alongside the city walls of Chester in a deep, vertical red sandstone cutting. After Chester, there are only a few locks as the canal crosses the nearly flat Chester Plain, passes Beeston Castle, and the junctions at Barbridge and Hurleston and arrives at Nantwich basin, the original terminus of the Chester Canal. Chester Canal basin at Raymond Street, near the junction with the River Dee 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...
Chester Canal basin at Raymond Street, near the junction with the River Dee 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...
 Canal boats on the Chester Canal near Beeston The two junctions on this stretch are very important links in the English/Welsh connected network. - At Barbridge, the Middlewich Branch of the SU goes NE to Middlewich on the Trent and Mersey Canal (via the tiny Wardle Canal). This was the original planned main line of the Chester Canal, but was in fact built much later than the Nantwich stretch.
- At Hurleston, the old Ellesmere canal from Llangollen and Montgomery made a connection from Frankton Junction eastwards to the old Chester Canal after it was realised that the planned main line from Trevor to Chester along the Dee was never going to be built. This canal eventually merged with the Chester Canal and became the Llangollen Branch of the Shropshire Union. These waters are now known as the Llangollen Canal and (south from Frankton Junction, and still being restored) the Montgomery Canal.
The Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal is located between Middlewich, Cheshire, UK and Barbridge, Cheshire, UK , and connects the Wardle Canal to the Shropshire Union Canal. ...
, Middlewich is a market town within the Congleton borough of Cheshire, England. ...
The Wardle canal is located in Middlewich, Cheshire, UK, and connects the Trent and Mersey Canal to the Shropshire Union Canal (Middlewich branch). ...
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 Montgomery Canal (originally the Montgomeryshire Canal) is a semi-disused canal in eastern Wales. ...
Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal The odd angle between Nantwich basin and the next stretch of the SU shows that the journey southwards is on a newer (and narrow) canal originally constructed as the narrow Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal to connect Nantwich, at the end of the Chester Canal, to the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal at Autherley Junction, near Wolverhampton. An important lost link can be seen at Norbury Junction, where a branch (1841) ran south-west through Newport to connect with the Shrewsbury Canal at Wappenshall Junction. The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a canal in the Midlands of England, passing through Staffordshire and Worcestershire. ...
1841 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...
Map sources for Newport at grid reference SJ7419 Newport is a market town in Shropshire, England, some 6 miles north of Telford. ...
The Shrewsbury Canal was a canal in Shropshire, England. ...
After Nantwich basin, a long sweeping embankment incorporating an aqueduct carries the canal across the main A534 Nantwich-Chester road. The canal then has to climb out of the Cheshire Plain by means of a dozen locks at Audlem. The canal passes near Market Drayton. Further south there are substantial lengths of embankment through the Staffordshire village of Knighton. There is an aqueduct south of Norbury Junction and deep cuttings at Loynton near Woodseaves, and Grub Street, south of High Offley. For other uses, see Aqueduct (disambiguation). ...
Audlem is a village in the county of Cheshire in the north-west of England, approximately seven miles south of Nantwich. ...
Staffordshire (abbreviated Staffs) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. ...
Norbury is a village in south-west Staffordshire, England It is situated approximately five miles north-east of Newport, just south of the A519 Newport to Newcastle-under-Lyme road, and two miles south-east of Woodseaves. ...
The chapel and crossroads at Woodseaves Woodseaves is a village in Staffordshire, England. ...
High Offley is a small village in Staffordshire, England. ...
The lengthy embankments are equipped with stop locks at regular intervals to prevent loss of water should the canal be breached in this area. During World War II these locks were kept closed at night because of the risk of bomb damage.
At Gnosall the canal enters the 81 yard Cowley Tunnel. Originally the tunnel was planned to be 690 yards (631 m) long, but after the rocky first 81 yards, the ground was unstable, and the remaining length was opened out to form the present narrow and steep-sided Cowley cutting. External links Gnosall Web - The Community Portal to the Global Village Categories: Stub ...
The canal then continues as the remarkable mile-long very tall Shelmore Embankment. Repeated soil slippage during construction meant that this was the last part of the B&L Junction Canal to be opened to traffic.
At Wheaton Aston, the canal climbs its last lock to reach the summit level, fed by the Belvide Reservoir just north of Brewood (pron. "Brood"). Near the reservoir, the canal passes by aqueduct over Watling Street (the A5 road). Belvide Reservoir is a reservoir owned by British Waterways. ...
Brewood was once a town, but now a village, in South Staffordshire, England. ...
For other uses, see Aqueduct (disambiguation). ...
The A5 is a major road in the United Kingdom. ...
The SU terminates at Autherley junction on the Staffs and Worcester Canal. Immediately before the junction is a very shallow stop lock built to prevent the loss of water to the new rival canal from the pre-existing Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. Unusually, the B&L Junction canal's summit level was designed to be a few inches lower then the older canal, so the newer canal gains a small amount of water each time the lock is cycled (the reverse of the practice usually insisted on by canal companies as a condition for not opposing the construction of a newer one). Canal locks in England. ...
The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a canal in the Midlands of England, passing through Staffordshire and Worcestershire. ...
Onward Links The link with the Staffs and Worcester provides a choice of onward journeys - Northwards, the S&W meets the Trent and Mersey at Great Haywood junction - allowing journeys east to the Leicester Branch of the Grand Union Canal (or the Trent) or north to the Potteries, Manchester, and the Pennines.
- Southwards, Aldersley Junction is only a mile away, connecting to the BCN Main Line of the Birmingham Canal Navigations (the maze of canals between Wolverhampton and Birmingham) and onwards to the Grand Union Canal main line and London.
- Beyond Aldersley, the S&W is a very popular holiday route down to the River Severn at Stourport.
 Betton Mill on the Shropshire Union Canal at Market Drayton The BCN Main Line, or Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line describes the evolving route of the Birmingham Canal between Birmingham and Wolverhampton in England. ...
Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) is a network of canals linking Birmingham, England to Wolverhampton and the Black Country. ...
Wolverhampton is a city in the historic county of Staffordshire and metropolitan county of the West Midlands. ...
This article is about the British city. ...
The canal at Braunston The Grand Union Canal is a canal in England and part of the British canal system. ...
Severn redirects here. ...
Stourport-on-Severn, often shortened to Stourport, is a town in Worcestershire, England, with a population of 19,713 (2001 Census). ...
Formation of the "Shropshire Union" company -
The Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company was formed in 1846. The Ellesmere and Chester canals had amalgamated in 1813, and the absorption of the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal by the Ellesmere and Chester Company was authorised by an Act of Parliament passed in 1845. A further Act, passed in 1846, changed the name of the company to the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company[1] and authorised the acquisition of the Shrewsbury Canal and other canals in the east Shropshire network (linking modern-day Telford with the River Severn to the south at Coalport). Then (in 1847), the latter was taken over by the London and North Western Railway Company, which allowed the Shrewsbury Canal and the branch from Norbury Junction to decline. The Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company ran from Stafford railway station to Shrewsbury railway station, via Wellington railway station. ...
The Shrewsbury Canal was a canal in Shropshire, England. ...
, This article is about the town of Telford, Shropshire. ...
Severn redirects here. ...
Coalport is a village in Shropshire on the River Severn at grid reference SJ700021, shortly downstream of Ironbridge. ...
1847 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR) was formed in 1846 by the merger of three railway companies - the Grand Junction Railway, London and Birmingham and Manchester and Birmingham. ...
Restoration In order to promote the interest in, use of, and restoration of parts of the Shropshire Union Canal, the Shropshire Union Canal Society was formed.
The canal in Chester is promoted by Chester Canal Heritage Trust.
References - ^ Shropshire Routes to Roots
See also // See NO History of the British canal system for a more detailed history. ...
The British canal system of water transport played a vital role in Britains Industrial Revolution at a time when roads were only just emerging from the medieval mud and long trains of pack horses were the only means of mass transit by road of raw materials and finished products...
Further reading - Gordon Emery - The Old Chester Canal (2005) ISBN 1-872265-88-X
External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Shropshire Union Canal - Shropshire Union Canal Society
- Old Photographs & Drawings of Chester & Liverpool, The Chester Canal Area part 1
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