Your floating hotel on the Canals and Rivers of the UK

Our guide to the waterways of the UK in detail.

The history of the Liverpool & Birmingham junction Canal.

This canal was one of the last to be built, it was created to join the Chester Canal to the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal and thereby allow a much shorter journey between Birmingham and Liverpool. The new route would cut 14 miles and 30 locks off the existing route via the Trent & Mersey Canal and avoid the bottleneck of Harecastle tunnel. The new canal was also to be a very "modern" waterway which would be a much wider, straighter and faster route than the alternatives, most of which were built some 50 years earlier. It was authorised in 1825

To the west of the proposed route was the rich industrial centre around Coalbrookdale, Coalport and Shrewsbury. In this area there were already numerous canals but they had no way of getting out into the main waterways network. The Birmingham & Liverpool company approached the Shrewsbury Canal who were only too pleased to have a connection with the main network - because of the position of the proposed junction, at Wappenshall, the Shrewsbury Canal would be able to charge tolls on every boat coming in and out of the East Shropshire Network. And so, work also began on the connection that would be known as the 10 mile Newport Branch and would start at Norbury on the main line.

In 1835 the Birmingham & Liverpool Junction Canal opened throughout its whole route 10 years after it had begun. Problems at Shelmore embankment had caused many delays and Thomas Telford had died before the opening. In the early years following its opening, the Birmingham & Liverpool Junction Canal worked very closely with canals that linked with it, namely the Ellesmere & Chester Canal and the Shrewsbury Canal. By doing this they were all able to preserve their profits and keep the railways at bay.

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.

For the further history read the Shropshire Union notes.

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 Shropshire Union.

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