Shardlow Canal Port - Shardlow, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 52° 52.097 W 001° 20.736
30U E 611361 N 5858900
This plaque recognises the importance of Shardlow as a canal port where goods were transferred between the Trent and Mersey Canal and the River Trent.
Waymark Code: WM11J64
Location: East Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/30/2019
Views: 2
TRANSPORT TRUST
SHARDLOW
CANAL PORT
Inland port and community established
in the late 18th century at the
interface of the Trent and Mersey Canal
with the River Trent
For further information visit:
www.transportheritage.com
TRANSPORT HERITAGE SITE
"The plaque is on the wall of
Shardlow Heritage Centre that was established in 1996 in an original salt warehouse and is run by a small group of volunteers to research and preserve the history of the village and its port.
The Centre is open Easter to October on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays from 12 noon to 5 pm. Evening and group visits can be arranged as well as guided walks for 10 – 40 people. Walks begin at the Heritage Centre and take about an hour and a quarter, ending with a visit to the Centre."
link
About Shardlow Canal Port
"The Trent and Mersey Canal opened in 1777, linking the River Trent at Derwent Mouth, Derbyshire to the River Mersey, with the section through Shardlow (Shardlow Basin) completed in 1770. With the second connection via the Bridgewater Canal, 'The Grand Trunk' was James Brindley's vision of more than 70 locks and five tunnels - following Brindley's death in 1772, the project was completed by Hugh Henshall.
Originally a river port, with origins back to the bronze age, Shardlow developed greatly with the opening of the Trent & Mersey Canal. The earliest extant map, from 1816, shows a canal port comprising twelve warehouses and associated basins, with commodities such as coal, timber, iron, cheese, wheat and salt transferred from wide boats to narrow boats and warehousing for onward distribution.
Along with this development came all sorts of other businesses and buildings to support the carriers - boat builders, rope walks, workshops, stores, stables, offices, workers' cottages and owners' houses. The decline of the canal system led to the closure of the port in 1948 and different uses for the warehouses, but the area remains remarkably little changed today. The Heritage Centre is leased from Mansfield Brewery which completely refurbished and equipped the building as a museum for the village."
link