Monument record 10101/4/0 - Ellesmere Port Canal Company Branch

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. In Chester that included the Ellesmere Canal Company, the Chester Canal Company and the Union Dee Branch connecting the canal to the river. (1)

The Chester Canal company was established in 1772 as an extension to the existing Middlewich canal passing through Nantwich although it did not open until 1779 owing to a number of problems including objections from the River Dee Company. (1)

The canal failed as an enterprise however and was threatened with closure for the remainder of the 18th century only turning a profit in 1797 with the addition of the Ellesmere Canal line and the emphasis on canals as transport in the 1790s encouraging the establishment of a number of industrial complexes along the canal corridor. (1)

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. (1)

The Ellesmere extension was more profitable than the Nantwich line with principal cargoes including coal, farm produce, fertilisers and passengers. (4)

<1> Lewis C.P & Thacker A.T. (eds), 2005, Victoria County History - A History of the County of Chester: Volume Vii, The City of Chester - The City of Chester, Culture, Buildings, Institutions (Book). SCH6522.

<2> Ordnance Survey, 1872-1875, Metric Ten Foot Scale Town Plan of Chester (Maps and Plans). SCH6780.

<3> Ordnance Survey, 1872-1875, Metric Ten Foot Scale Town Plan of Chester (Maps and Plans). SCH6780.

<4> Robinson H., 1968, Cheshire River Navigation with Special Reference to the River Dee (Article in Journal). SCH5892.