The Canal Comes to Whitchurch
By Peter Brown
By Peter Brown
Early proposals
The earliest mentions of a canal to Whitchurch are in the context of linking the river Severn and the Mersey. James Brindley recorded in his diary in April 1762 that he ‘set out for Cheshire and Shropshire survey or raconitoring’; he specifically mentioned visiting Whitchurch. This was before the lines of the Trent & Mersey and Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canals were established.
In May 1768 Richard Whitworth published a pamphlet which suggested a canal from the river Dee via Whitchurch and Market Drayton to join his proposed Shrewsbury–Stafford canal near his home at Batchacre Grange (east of Newport).
The Chester Canal was conceived as a canal from the river Dee at Chester to Middlewich, with a branch to Nantwich. It was opened to Nantwich (12 miles from Whitchurch) in 1779; the link to Middlewich was not built until 1833, nor that to Wolverhampton until 1835.
The creation of the Ellesmere Canal
In January 1791 the Shrewsbury Chronicle published extracts from a pamphlet written by ‘A Friend of Inland Navigation’ which extolled the suitability of the area between the Severn and the Dee for canals. Amongst the advantages would be the improvement of land through manuring, and the easier transport of the produce to market, thus making farming more profitable and increasing the value of land; also lime, coal, slate, ironstone and lead could be brought from the mines and quarries to where they were needed.
The earliest mentions of a canal to Whitchurch are in the context of linking the river Severn and the Mersey. James Brindley recorded in his diary in April 1762 that he ‘set out for Cheshire and Shropshire survey or raconitoring’; he specifically mentioned visiting Whitchurch. This was before the lines of the Trent & Mersey and Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canals were established.
In May 1768 Richard Whitworth published a pamphlet which suggested a canal from the river Dee via Whitchurch and Market Drayton to join his proposed Shrewsbury–Stafford canal near his home at Batchacre Grange (east of Newport).
The Chester Canal was conceived as a canal from the river Dee at Chester to Middlewich, with a branch to Nantwich. It was opened to Nantwich (12 miles from Whitchurch) in 1779; the link to Middlewich was not built until 1833, nor that to Wolverhampton until 1835.
The creation of the Ellesmere Canal
In January 1791 the Shrewsbury Chronicle published extracts from a pamphlet written by ‘A Friend of Inland Navigation’ which extolled the suitability of the area between the Severn and the Dee for canals. Amongst the advantages would be the improvement of land through manuring, and the easier transport of the produce to market, thus making farming more profitable and increasing the value of land; also lime, coal, slate, ironstone and lead could be brought from the mines and quarries to where they were needed.
