Monument record 10101/1/4 - Greenfield Lock

Greenfield Lock is a canal lock built 1775 by Samuel Weston for the Chester Canal Company. It is of English bond orange and blue brick with red sandstone detail. It is a narrow lock flaring at either end with a pair of wooden gates to the west and steel gates to the east. Simple concrete bridge across west end and a spillway at the south-east corner. The Shropshire Union Main Line covers a total distance of 66 miles from Autherley Junction to Ellesmere Port passing through Chester as one of its final destinations. It was originally a number of separate companies operating sections of the canal that were only united under one name in 1846. The Chester Canal company was the earliest part of the system, established in 1772 as an extension to the Middlewich line passing through Nantwich. It opened in 1779 following a number of problems including objections from the River Dee Company. The canal failed as an enterprise, however, and was threatened with closure for the remainder of the 18th century.