Monument record 10101/3/0 - Union Dee Branch (19th century)

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. In 1797 the line was extended by the addition of the Ellesmere Canal line from the Northgate locks to Ellesmere Port and the Manchester Ship Canal. The emphasis on canals as transport in the 1790s encouraged the establishment of a number of industrial complexes along the canal corridor. The original length of the canal in Chester ended at the Northgate and included five locks, later reduced to three with the Ellesmere extension from Tower Wharf north out of the city. At the same time the Dee branch of the canal was also opened. Tower Wharf itself rapidly developed as a major dry dock for repairing boats from 1798. A secondary company responsible for the canalisation of the River Dee in the 1730s also operated a large basin to the east of the river, later known as the Canal Basin on Tower Road, the basin linked directly to the Northgate locks. Although initially profitable the Company eventually lost out to Liverpool. The River Dee Company was responsible for much of the reclaimed land in the Roodee area in the mid 18th century. In the early 19th century the Union Dee Company linked the basin to the Shropshire Union Canal where it joined the Ellesmere Port Canal, now known as Tower Wharf.