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Shropshire Union Canal
The Shropshire Union Canal, sometimes nicknamed the "Shroppie", is a navigable canal in England. It is the modern name for a part of the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company network. In the leisure age, two of the branches of that network have also been renamed. These are the Llangollen and Montgomery canals, both of which lie partially in Wales.
The canal lies in the counties of Staffordshire, Shropshire and Cheshire in the north-west English Midlands. It links the canal system of the West Midlands, at Wolverhampton, with the River Mersey and Manchester Ship Canal at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, 66 miles (106 km) distant.
The "Shropshire Union main line" runs southeast from Ellesmere Port on the River Mersey to the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal at Autherley Junction in Wolverhampton. Other links are to the Llangollen Canal at Hurleston Junction, the Middlewich Branch at Barbridge Junction, which itself connects via the Wardle Canal to the Trent and Mersey Canal, and the River Dee branch in Chester. With two connections to the Trent and Mersey via the Middlewich Branch and the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, the Shropshire Union is part of a circular and rural holiday route called the Four Counties Ring.
The Shropshire Union 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. The name "Shropshire Union" comes from the amalgamation of the various component companies, including the Ellesmere Canal, the Chester Canal, the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal, and the Montgomeryshire Canal, that came together to form the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company in 1847. 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 canal starts from Ellesmere Port on the River Mersey traversing the Wirral peninsula to Chester. Ellesmere Port was originally the hamlet of Netherpool, but the new name was adopted around 1796, as it expanded with the canal construction. This stretch of contour canal, which was completed in 1797, was originally part of the unfinished Ellesmere Canal. The industrial waterway was intended to connect the Port of Liverpool on the River Mersey to the River Severn at Shrewsbury via the North East Wales Coalfields. However, by 1800 William Jessop the canal's engineer had decided that circumstances had changed, and that the proposed 16-mile (26 km) mainline from Chester to Trevor Basin near Wrexham was now uneconomical. The northern Wirral section was already joined to the pre-existing Chester Canal, and both eventually become part of the Shropshire Union network.
In Chester, from the top of the arm leading down to the Dee, the SU follows the old Chester Canal. This was conceived as a canal from Chester to Middlewich, where it would join the Trent and Mersey Canal, with a branch to Nantwich. Construction started in 1772, but progress was slow. The plans changed, become a main line from Chester to Nantwich with a branch to Middlewich. Nantwich was reached in 1779, but building of the Middlewich branch would not start for another 54 years. The enterprise was a financial disaster, and the company failed in 1787, but plans for the Ellesmere Canal injected new hope into the project, and it was repaired in 1790, in the belief that the Middlewich Branch might then be started.
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 ascends to the nearly flat Chester Plain, passes to the north of Beeston Castle, and the junctions at Barbridge and Hurleston to arrive at Nantwich basin, the original terminus of the Chester Canal. At Barbridge, the Middlewich Branch of the SU goes northeast 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 only authorised in 1827 and completed in 1833.
At Hurleston, the old Ellesmere canal from Frankton Junction joins the old Chester Canal. The Ellesmere Canal had built canals in three directions from Frankton, north-westwards to Pontcysyllte, south-westwards to Llanymynech and south-eastwards to Weston, part of their line to Shrewsbury. They started building a line towards Whitchurch in 1797, and reached Tilstock Park in 1804, still 4 miles (6.4 km) short of Whitchurch. By 1800 the company had decided that a line from Pontcysyllte directly to Chester would never be economic. The connection between Tilstock Park and Hurleston was authorised in 1802, and opened in 1805. A navigable feeder from Pontcysyllte via Llangollen to the River Dee at Llantisilio was authorised in 1804, and the water began flowing in 1808. The Shrewsbury Branch never progressed beyond Weston. The Ellesmere and Chester companies amalgamated in 1813. The canal from Hurleston eventually became the Llangollen Branch of the Shropshire Union, and is now known as the Llangollen Canal. From Frankton Junction, the line to Llanymynech is now part of the Montgomery Canal, and is still being restored, while the Weston Branch was abandoned and parts have become a nature reserve.
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Shropshire Union Canal
The Shropshire Union Canal, sometimes nicknamed the "Shroppie", is a navigable canal in England. It is the modern name for a part of the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company network. In the leisure age, two of the branches of that network have also been renamed. These are the Llangollen and Montgomery canals, both of which lie partially in Wales.
The canal lies in the counties of Staffordshire, Shropshire and Cheshire in the north-west English Midlands. It links the canal system of the West Midlands, at Wolverhampton, with the River Mersey and Manchester Ship Canal at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, 66 miles (106 km) distant.
The "Shropshire Union main line" runs southeast from Ellesmere Port on the River Mersey to the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal at Autherley Junction in Wolverhampton. Other links are to the Llangollen Canal at Hurleston Junction, the Middlewich Branch at Barbridge Junction, which itself connects via the Wardle Canal to the Trent and Mersey Canal, and the River Dee branch in Chester. With two connections to the Trent and Mersey via the Middlewich Branch and the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, the Shropshire Union is part of a circular and rural holiday route called the Four Counties Ring.
The Shropshire Union 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. The name "Shropshire Union" comes from the amalgamation of the various component companies, including the Ellesmere Canal, the Chester Canal, the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal, and the Montgomeryshire Canal, that came together to form the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company in 1847. 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 canal starts from Ellesmere Port on the River Mersey traversing the Wirral peninsula to Chester. Ellesmere Port was originally the hamlet of Netherpool, but the new name was adopted around 1796, as it expanded with the canal construction. This stretch of contour canal, which was completed in 1797, was originally part of the unfinished Ellesmere Canal. The industrial waterway was intended to connect the Port of Liverpool on the River Mersey to the River Severn at Shrewsbury via the North East Wales Coalfields. However, by 1800 William Jessop the canal's engineer had decided that circumstances had changed, and that the proposed 16-mile (26 km) mainline from Chester to Trevor Basin near Wrexham was now uneconomical. The northern Wirral section was already joined to the pre-existing Chester Canal, and both eventually become part of the Shropshire Union network.
In Chester, from the top of the arm leading down to the Dee, the SU follows the old Chester Canal. This was conceived as a canal from Chester to Middlewich, where it would join the Trent and Mersey Canal, with a branch to Nantwich. Construction started in 1772, but progress was slow. The plans changed, become a main line from Chester to Nantwich with a branch to Middlewich. Nantwich was reached in 1779, but building of the Middlewich branch would not start for another 54 years. The enterprise was a financial disaster, and the company failed in 1787, but plans for the Ellesmere Canal injected new hope into the project, and it was repaired in 1790, in the belief that the Middlewich Branch might then be started.
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 ascends to the nearly flat Chester Plain, passes to the north of Beeston Castle, and the junctions at Barbridge and Hurleston to arrive at Nantwich basin, the original terminus of the Chester Canal. At Barbridge, the Middlewich Branch of the SU goes northeast 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 only authorised in 1827 and completed in 1833.
At Hurleston, the old Ellesmere canal from Frankton Junction joins the old Chester Canal. The Ellesmere Canal had built canals in three directions from Frankton, north-westwards to Pontcysyllte, south-westwards to Llanymynech and south-eastwards to Weston, part of their line to Shrewsbury. They started building a line towards Whitchurch in 1797, and reached Tilstock Park in 1804, still 4 miles (6.4 km) short of Whitchurch. By 1800 the company had decided that a line from Pontcysyllte directly to Chester would never be economic. The connection between Tilstock Park and Hurleston was authorised in 1802, and opened in 1805. A navigable feeder from Pontcysyllte via Llangollen to the River Dee at Llantisilio was authorised in 1804, and the water began flowing in 1808. The Shrewsbury Branch never progressed beyond Weston. The Ellesmere and Chester companies amalgamated in 1813. The canal from Hurleston eventually became the Llangollen Branch of the Shropshire Union, and is now known as the Llangollen Canal. From Frankton Junction, the line to Llanymynech is now part of the Montgomery Canal, and is still being restored, while the Weston Branch was abandoned and parts have become a nature reserve.