Etruria Wharf - Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, UK.
N 53° 01.173 W 002° 11.603
30U E 554107 N 5874749
An information board located at Etruria Wharf where the Trent and Mersey and Caldon canals join, at Etruria Junction.
Waymark Code: WMZZ0E
Location: West Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 01/26/2019
Views: 1
The information board Etruria Wharf is located on the outer wall a canal warehouse building, adjacent to Lock 40, also known as top lock or Summit Lock.
The information board shows a map and a photograph of Summit Lock and gives the following information;
"Etruria Wharf
Etruria Wharf is situated at the junction of the Trent and Mersey and Caldon canals. In the nineteenth century the wharf was described as the 'headquarters' of the canal and its centrality made it the perfect location for a boatmen's church opened in 1844.
Wedgwood was closely associated with both canals and built his famous factory next to the canal at Etruria.
A Etruria Wharf raw materials were landed and manufactured goods were forwarded. Barges had to pay a toll for using the canals. The boatman was charged according to the weight of the cargo.
Before a boat could be used for carrying goods it had to be 'guaged'. This was a method used for calculating the weight of the cargo. A 'guaging dock' can be seen at the end of the wharf.
'Summit Lock is one of the highest in the country. At this point boats were charged a toll as they passed along the canal. The former toll collection office and the adjoining canal warehouse now form part of the Etruria Industrial Museum. To facilitate toll collection, mileposts were erected along the canal between 1819-1820. The cast iron milepost at the Graving Dock entrance dates from this time. The Graving Dock was used by the canal authorities to gauge new boats before they were allowed on to the waterway network. Boats were floated into the dock and circular weights were loaded on to them. The water level was then marked on the bow of the boat. This building was originally roofed, evidence of which remains on the rear gable of the Canal Warehouse. To protect toll collectors and boatmen from the elements, the Summit Lock was also covered. This roof was removed in the 1960's following the decline in commercial traffic, subsidence and the subsequent need to raise the level of the Lock.' Source: (
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Maps and photographs of the area can be seen at the following links: (
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"The Boatmen's Chapel: Early in 1844 the Rev. Henry Wynter came to Etruria village and stated that he intended to stay, when it was pointed out that there was no Church of England in the village he announced that he would make one. He hired temporary premises in a large club room over the stable of the Etruria Inn.
After a short time he purchased the ground halfway between the canal bridge and the first lock, towards Shelton, and on this, by June 1844, had built the "Boatmen's Chapel" - this chapel was closed after the opening of St. Matthew's and on its site was built the Navigation Inn." Sources: (
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