The canal to Nantwich was built between 1772 and 1779. Business was poor until a link was made with the Ellesmere Canal in 1795. This canal carried cargoes from Shropshire and North Wales to the River Mersey at Whitby, now known as Ellesmere Port. Later it was connected to the Potteries and Wolverhampton.
One of the earliest and most important industries in this area was the Leadworks of Walkers, Maltby and Co. built in 1800. On the other side of the canal you can see its shot tower - the only one of its age left in Great Britain today. The Leadworks made a range of products such as pipe, sheet and paint but particularly lead shot, much of it for use in the Napoleonic Wars.
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Various other industries were established alongside the canal in Chester, especially corn mills which ground the grain brought hereby boat from the nearby farms and Ellesmere Port docks. Some mills have been demolished but you can see two surviving buildings on both sides of the canal - the Mill Hotel and the 'Steam Mill' - now offices - which was originally built for F A Frost & Sons in 1834.
Saw mills, chemical works, the manufacturers and various engineering companies also built their works close by. The number increased when railways developed later in the 19th century just to the north of this site. Some of the buildings remains can still be seen today as can Boughton Watertower at the waterworks built alongside the canal in the 1850s.
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