Waterways of Stoke-on-Trent - Burslem
Branch Canal
Waterways of Stoke-on-Trent - Burslem
Branch Canal
| BURSLEM "The making of a
turnpike-road from Burslem, in connexion with the Liverpool and
Manchester turnpike road at Lawton, under an Act passed in 1763,
facilitated the carriage of raw materials and manufactured goods, and
gave rise to improvements in the buildings; but the completion of the
Grand Trunk Canal, in 1777, gave a stronger impetus to manufacturing
enterprise, and to the building of larger manufactories, and a better
description of dwelling-houses. A branch canal, from the main line,
brought nearly up to the town, in 1805, gave further facilities to
traffic; and, from the period when the main line of the Canal was
completed, to the present, great local improvements have progressively
gone forward."
John Ward "The Borough of Stoke-upon-Trent" 1843 |
The canal that's awash with pottery history
Burslem Branch Canal was once one of the cornerstones on which the growth of The Potteries was built.
Parts of the half mile stretch are now filled in, other sections clogged with rubbish and many of its buildings are unused and run down.
photos of the canal breach
When the canal was authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1797, it paved the way for Burslem to become the Mother Town of The Potteries. Construction work was completed in 1805, 30 years after James Brindley completed the adjoining Trent and Mersey Canal.
Large quantities of china clay, stone and other raw materials were shipped in for use at the Burslem potbanks and finished ware was exported via the River Mersey and Liverpool Docks.
The canal was even immortalised by Arnold Bennett when Denry Machin’s horse and cart crashed into it in his novel The Card. The canal was abandoned after it burst its banks in the 1960s.
Plans for Burslem Port
Plans are underway to restore the Burslem Branch canal - this ambitious project will bring boats, tourism, leisure, craft workshops and residential property to this area.
