Shropshire Union Canal (Dee Branch) - Middle Lock, Chester, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 11.592 W 002° 53.980
30U E 506703 N 5893768
The Dee Branch is broad canal and is a short stretch of the Shropshire Union Canal less than 1 mile long. It connects the main line of the canal with the River Dee.
Waymark Code: WMWF1V
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 08/25/2017
Views: 0
The Canal
Before canals became popular in the UK there was a port on the River Dee at Chester.
After the Trent and Mersy Canal was built a loat of boat traffic diverted to the canal and Chester was worried about losing all its trade and so proposed a canal from the River Dee to connect to the Trent and Mersey Canal at Middlewich
with a branch to Nantwich. However the Trent and Mersey Canal were unco-operative about a junction at Middlewich, and so the route to Nantwich was opened in 1779.
Later on in 1795 the Ellesmere Canal was built from Ellesmere Port to connect to the Chester Canal and later after other extensions various parts of the Canal were merged to form the Shropshire Union Canal.
When the Chester Canal was completed it used to connect to the River Dee at a point to the south of here. When the Ellesmere canal was completed the easternmost part of the connection to the Dee including two locks was infilled and the start of the branch moved north to here and two new locks built including this one.
These days most of the short Dee Branch that connects the Shropshire Union to the River Dee is closed and boats can no longer connect to the River Dee.
The are proposals to renovate this stretch of the canal and build a new lock in a weir on the River Dee to restore navigation along the length of the River Dee.
The Lock
This lock is the second lock from the main line. It has been well maintained and the lock gates have been replaced since 2000 but due to difficulties maintaining this stretch of canal it is not currently operational.
This lock is also known as Bridge Lock, as it is located under South View Road Bridge.
This lock is a Historic England Grade II Listed Building.
"Broad lock, similar in form to adjacent graving lock (qv). Early-mid C19. Brick and sandstone; 2 pairs of timber and steel lock-gates; brick walls to lock chamber; sandstone copings, pavement and corners to recesses for lower gates; stone-coped retaining walls at lower entrance to lock. Raymond Street bridge (not included) spans the lock."
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