The Harecastle Telford Tunnel is a canal tunnel on the Trent and Mersey Canal at Kidsgrove in Staffordshire.
"The tunnel, which is 1.6 mi (2.6 km) long, was once one of the longest in the country. Its industrial purpose was for the transport of coal to the kilns in the Staffordshire Potteries. The canal runs under the 195 m (640 ft) Harecastle Hill near Goldenhill, the highest district in Stoke-on-Trent." Source: (
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"Harecastle Tunnel (northern entrance) is a place on the waterways on the Trent and Mersey Canal (Main Line - Etruria to Hardings Wood) between Junction with Burslem Branch Canal (disused) (3 miles and 7¾ furlongs to the southeast) and Hardings Wood Junction (Junction of Trent and Mersey Canal and Hall Green Branch) (2¾ furlongs to the northwest).
It is at one end of Harecastle Tunnel.
An extra 45 minutes is added to route calculations when passing through Harecastle Tunnel." SOURCE: (
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This tunnel was constructed by Thomas Telford and is one of two parallel tunnels. The first tunnel was built by James Brindley but today only the tunnel built by Telford is navigable.
There are two blue plaques to commemorate the tunnels constructed by engineers James Brindley and Thomas Telford, located on the canal keepers office at the Harecastle Tunnel, North Portal on the Trent and Mersey Canal, Kidsgrove.
The entrances to both tunnels can also be seen at this location.
Brindley's Tunnel was a great success but was unable to cope with the increasing traffic on the canal and the slow process of legging meant that the Harecastle Tunnel was becoming a major bottleneck on the canal.
The second tunnel was commissioned and built by Thomas Telford. Due to advances in engineering, it took just three years to build compared with the eleven years it took to build James Brindley's tunnel. The 2962 yard tunnel was completed in 1827. It had a towpath so that horses could pull the boats through the tunnel. After its construction it was used in conjunction with the Brindley tunnel, with each tunnel taking traffic in opposite directions. The Brindley tunnel was closed in 1914.
Between 1914 and 1954 an electric tug was used to pull boats through the tunnel. In 1954 a large fan was constructed at the south portal. While all the boats are within the tunnel an airtight door is shut and all the air is pulled through the tunnel by the fan. This allows diesel boats to use the tunnel without suffocating the boaters. Today the journey takes about 30–40 minutes.
In the late 20th century, the Telford tunnel also began to suffer subsidence, and was closed between 1973 and 1977. The towpath, long disused, was removed, allowing boats to take advantage of the greater air draft in the centre of the tunnel. Source: (
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