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Our guide to the waterways of the UK in detail.

The history of the Shropshire Union Canal.

What is today known as the Shropshire Union canal was originally four separate canals.

· The Chester canal built 1772 to 1779 Chester to Nantwich.
· The Ellsemere Canal 1793 to 1808, the canal across the Wirall, and what is now the Llangollen into Wales from Nantwich.
· The Liverpool & Birmingham Junction canal 1825 to 1835 from Autherley Junction to Nantwich.
· The Shropshire tub-boat canals built 1765 on to serve the River Severn industrial area at Coldbrookdale and Shrewsbury.

In 1812 the Chester & Ellesmere canal companies merged.

Then in in 1845 the Birmingham & Liverpool Junction company joined forces with the Ellesmere & Chester company to form one large partnership. Then in 1846 the whole of the Birmingham & Liverpool Junction Canal became part of the Shropshire Union Railways & Canal Company. Whereas this sounds like a take-over, in fact it wasn't. The Ellesmere & Chester and Birmingham & Liverpool Junction Canal Company had the good sense to choose a better name! But while doing so they also became a "railway" company.

In 1847 the Eastern Branch owners on the Montgomery agreed to a handsome sum of money and the waterway joined the Shropshire Union Railway & Canal network. For three years the Western Branch of the Montgommery stayed independent then it too joined the Shropshire Union network in 1850. From this time on, the whole line from Welsh Frankton to Newtown was known as the Montgomeryshire Canal.

Finally the Shropshire Tub Boat canals were included in the Shropshire Union.

Soon afterward their creation the Shropshire Union sold out to a "real" railway - London & North Western. They were quite happy to allow the canal to continue in business because it went right into GWR territory, something L&NWR would not have been able to do themselves. When eventually the railway company took over for real they found that the Shropshire Union Railway & Canal Act of Parliament wasn't transferable and they couldn't build tracks on the canal routes! Many years of legal wrangles ensued but none of the Shropshire Union network was ever used by trains.

Because the new railway owners were not allowed to build a railway along the canal, in 1853 they set up a passenger "Fly Boat" service instead on the Montgomery canal. The service (which became very successful) ran from Newtown to Rednal (near Oswestry) where an interchange station was created. From Rednal boat passengers could catch trains to Liverpool, Birkenhead, Chester and Shrewsbury. The boat journey from Newtown to Rednal took 5 hours, averaging nearly 6½ mph to cover 32 miles and pass through 22 locks.

After several years of trying in 1857, LNWR obtain the necessary power to close the Shropshire Canal and build a railway in its place. They closed down the main line of the canal from Donnington Wood to Windmill Farm (near Stirchley) and also closed the Coalbrookdale Branch. The only section of canal still in use was the 1¼ miles from the foot of Windmill Farm to the river bank in Coalport (this included the Hay Inclined Plane). The tramway at Coalbrookdale (below the Brierly Hill Incline) was also still used. After closing the canal, LNWR opened a railway branch line which used much of the canals route, wiping it out in places.

In 1861 The railways finally reached Welshpool and Newtown and from this time on the Montgomery canal began to decline although it still made a profit for many more years.

While the actual canals were now run by L&NWR, the Shropshire Union Canal Company still existed and concentrated on freight haulage. Because they had good relations with their railway owners they continued to expand when most other canal companies and carriers were running into financial problems due to rivalry with railways. The SUCCC (Shropshire Union Canal Carrying Company!) owned 213 narrow boats and this number was growing all the time. By 1889 SUCCC owned 395 boats and was still expanding, many years after a lot of other canal companies had closed down.

Meanwhile, the L&NWR tried to see if locomotion could be put to use on the waterways. In 1888 the Middlewich arm was used for an experiment in which boats were pulled by 4 wheeled steam tractors or an 18-inch gauge line. The idea did not succeed due to the cost of the track and difficulties in steering. However it is still used on some French canals.

In 1894 the Manchester Ship Canal opened and at Ellesmere Port it crossed the Shropshire Union's path where the latter entered the River Mersey. L&NWR quickly saw the potential for greater profits and built new quays and warehouses, spending £250,000 to accommodate the extra trade which came from the new ship canal.

In 1902 once again the railway company threatened to close a number of the Shropshire Union canals due to low profitability, but a profit is a profit and no canals were closed. At this point SUCCC was running 450 boats!

At the start of World War I they operated 670 boats. However from the start of World War 1 things began to go downhill fast, all canal routes were suffering and SUCCC never recovered from the losses made during the war. In 1921 the Shropshire Union Canal gave up its carrying company and sold its massive fleet to private operators saying the new eight hour day made operating costs too high.
In 1921 Trench Inline Plane on the Shropshire canal, the last working inclined plane in Britain, was closed.

Locks were now only opened Monday to Friday and general standards of maintenance began to slip.

In 1922 the Shropshire Union Railways & Canal Company, run by London & North Western Railways, was swallowed up as part of the huge London, Midland & Scottish Railway Company. Where as the L&NWR may have kept the canals going, LMS were certainly only interested in letting them run into dereliction. Immediately they closed down numerous canal properties including Shrewsbury basin.

In 1931 the last regular traffic on the Shrewsbury canal, carrying sulphuric acid for Shrewsbury gas works, came to an end.

In 1936 A breach in the bank near Frankton Junction on the Carreghofa Branch of the Ellsemere canal caused closure and LMS refused to pay for repairs, this effectively cut off the Montgomery canal the low level of trade was shown when this only stranded three boats on the Montgomery.

In 1944 LMS sought permission to close 175 miles of the waterways under its control. Only the main line was kept open, this included the original Birmingham and Liverpool Junction, the old Chester main line and the Wirral line from Chester to the Mersey. The link to Middlewich was also kept open. The part of the Ellesmere canal from Hurleston to Llantisilio was never abandoned because it was an important water feeder from Horseshoe falls. Because of this, Pontcysyllte Aqueduct survived.

During the 1960's the Shropshire Union Canal Society (SUCS) looked into the possibility of restoring the Shrewsbury Canal but eventually abandoned the idea and turned their attention on the more urgent Montgomeryshire Canal. This allowed the authorities to get away with slightly more than they may otherwise have done. For instance, construction of the A5 road right across the canal was completed with little or no opposition. It is also alleged that parts of the Newport Branch (connecting the Shrewsbury Canal to the main network) were purposely dismantled for no good reason - other than to prevent restoration. But all is not lost, virtually all of the Shrewsbury Canal route and that of the Newport Branch has survived (even if parts have been filled in and ploughed over) and it is hoped that when the Montgomeryshire Canal is completed, maybe attention will return to this interesting canal - it certainly deserves it.

Sources.

Nicholson Guides to the Waterways.

Roots & Routes, Peter Hardcastle's Website
http://www.canals.btinternet.co.uk/index.htm

Some pictures of this canal?

Autherly to Norbury / Norbury to Nantwich / Barbridge to Chester / Chester to Ellesmere Port / Middlewich branch.

General information on the canal.

More History of the canal

The Chester canal / The Liverpool & Birmingham Junction.

Find our information about other canals and rivers on the canal index page.

If you have any questions then do ring us on 07977 229103
or email us at martinreed@reedboats.co.uk