The Uttoxeter Canal was a 13-mile extension of the Caldon Canal running from Froghall as far as Uttoxeter in Staffordshire. It was opened around 1811 and is sometimes referred to as a branch of the Caldon Canal.
A large part of the Uttoxeter Canal was subsequently filled in, around 1845, and tracks were laid on its bed for the new railway (which incidentally although now dismantled, had the first automatic, train-operated level-crossing in the UK, at Spath, just outside Uttoxeter.)
A few bridges from the Uttoxeter Canal still exist, with the occasional 'milepost', and Uttoxeter still has an area called "The Wharf".
There is still talk of re-opening the Uttoxeter Canal and perhaps even extending it to Burton-upon-Trent.
Canals first saw use during the Roman occupation of Great Britain, and were used mainly for irrigation.
Great Britain's canal network was steadily increased, but grew massively in the 18th century as the demand for industrial transport increased, and new canals were constantly added until the mid-19th century.
Canal boats proved more than adequate for this task, and so canals were constructed between industries, and between cities and ports, with vast amounts of materials from manufactured goods to coal and lumber being transported.
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