The board is located at Lock 12 of the Bosley Flight on the Macclesfield Canal. It has information about the locks and includes a picture, photographs and a map.
The information given is as follows;
" Welcome to
BOSLEY LOCKS
On the Macclesfield Canal
The canal was constructed as a short cut between Manchester and The Midlands, and it was all dug out by hand!
The Macclesfield Canal stretches 26 miles (42km) from its junction with the Peak Forest Canal at Marple to Hall Green Stop Lock near Kidsgrove where it joins the Trent & Mersey Canal.
Completed in 1831, it was one of the last canals to be built in this country. In fact, within just a few years railways replaced canals as the transport of choice for commerce. However, the canal carried commercial traffic until the 1960s.
Hi Tech Telford
In the 1830s the Macclesfield Canal was cutting edge canal engineering, thanks to the brilliant mind of engineer Thomas Telford and the expertise of canal engineer William Crosley.
Telford's plan included clever features, such as this flight of locks, cuttings, embankments and aqueducts that helped shorten the canal route, thus reducing journey times.
Visit lock 4 to find out more about the workings of the Bosley lock flight and the way in which the side ponds helped conserve precious water. The side pond here at Lock 1 is now part of the lock house garden.
(NOTE: It looks like this board has been relocated as it states in the text above that it is located at lock 1 whereas it was positioned at lock 12 when we visited in June 2019)
If you look to the hill on your left you can see the quarry at Bosley Cloud, which supplied gritstone for the canal works.
The Canal today
Whether it's a narrow boat cruise of the Cheshire Ring, or enjoying a walk or cycle ride along the towpath through Peak District scenery, the Macclesfield Canal has much to offer. The towpath is maintained by Canal &River Trust with valuable support from the Macclesfield Canal Society (www.macclesfieldcanal.org.uk)
Look out for
* Patterned stonework, representing the skilled work of stonemasons.
* Unique milestones, restored by the Macclesfield Canal Society in the 1980s.
(there are photographs of the stonework and a milestone beneath the text)"
"The Macclesfield Canal was one of the last narrow canals to be built, indeed, it was very nearly built as a railway! A variety of ideas were proposed and the present canal was approved by Act of Parliament in April 1826. The route of the canal was surveyed by Thomas Telford and construction was engineered by William Crosley. The completed canal was opened on 9th November 1831 at a cost of £320,000." More about the history of the canal can be seen at the following link: (
visit link)
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visit link)