Fact File

These notes are designed to help you with homework and other projects. It will help you to discover: Why the canal was built Who helped to build the canal Why the was once named the . The Llangollen Canal is a narrow The Llangollen canal. It is 44 miles long Canal is one of the and runs from most beautiful Junction near in in Britain. , to Llangollen in .

canalrivertrust.org.uk © Canal & River Trust Charity Commission no. 1146792 1 canalrivertrust.org.uk/explorers Llangollen Hurleston Canal Junction Hurleston Reservoir Nantwich Hurleston Locks

Wrenbury Locks Union Main Line Canal Chain Pontcysyllte Bridge Aqueduct Lift Bridge Steam Railway Locks

ver Dee Ri Wales Wales Llangollen g Tunnel England io r i e Glendrid Bridge Ellesmere

C Tunnel r Chirk e Ellesmere Branch v i Aqueduct R

Llangollen Canal

canalrivertrust.org.uk © Canal & River Trust Charity Commission no. 1146792 2 canalrivertrust.org.uk/explorers Llangollen The 11 mile (18 km) section of the Llangollen Canal between and Canal Glendrid Bridge near Chirk, is a World Heritage Site. Changing names Originally, the Llangollen Canal was What is a part of the Ellesmere World Heritage Site? Canal. Much later, in 1957, the canal was A World Heritage Site is a natural or renamed the Llangollen artificial site, an area, or a structure Canal to make it better of outstanding international known. importance. These top sites are given special protection to save A very special canal them for future generations. Today, part of the Llangollen Canal is a World Heritage Site. It’s one of the most popular canals for boaters and about The Llangollen 15,000 boats a year chug slowly Canal is as important along this spectacular canal. That’s as Stonehenge! more traffic than when the canal carried cargo!

canalrivertrust.org.uk © Canal & River Trust Charity Commission no. 1146792 3 canalrivertrust.org.uk/explorers The old Ellesmere Canal

Building the When people planned the Ellesmere Canal Ellesmere Canal there were arguments over which Construction began with route it should take. the central section and some branches (side Some wanted the western canals). But the canal hilly route via the coal mines company ran out of near Wrexham. Others money. It was decided preferred an easterly route not to complete the canal which was easier and to or . cheaper to build because it Instead the Whitchurch was less hilly. Eventually the Branch was joined to western route was chosen. the at . The old Ellesmere Canal.

One canal The old becomes three Ellesmere Canal doesn’t exist The original Ellesmere anymore! Canal was split into three: the Llangollen Canal, the Montgomery Canal and the Shropshire Union Main LineCanal. canalrivertrust.org.uk © Canal & River Trust Charity Commission no. 1146792 4 canalrivertrust.org.uk/explorers Building Ellesmere Canal Two of the greatest early canal engineers helped to build the Ellesmere Canal. Thomas (1757-1834) (1745-1814) was appointed to design William Jessop structures such as was appointed aqueducts and locks. senior engineer Thomas had new for the Ellesmere ideas and came up Canal. He designed with experimental and planned it, designs for many but navvies dug new structures (see the channel, pages 8,9 and 10). stonemasons Thomas Telford hacked out the Thomas was one of the first people to use cast William Jessop stone chambers iron for large structures William helped As well as canals, and tunnels, and such as bridges. He Thomas to become a bridges and aqueducts, builders constructed William also designed had to invent new successful engineer and bridges and other docks and harbours. techniques, such as the two men became canal buildings. how to seal the iron connections to make good friends. sure they didn’t leak.

canalrivertrust.org.uk © Canal & River Trust Charity Commission no. 1146792 5 canalrivertrust.org.uk/explorers Bridges and Locks Grindley Brook Wrenbury Lift Bridge Staircase Locks The lift bridge at Wrenbury There are three staircase locks is easily lifted when boats (where one lock opens directly need to pass through. into the bottom of the next lock) near the village of Grindley Brook. Lift bridges are smaller There are three more locks in and cheaper to build the village. Together the locks than stone bridges. raise boats up from the Cheshire plains into the Welsh hills.

Thomas Telford visited the house overlooking Grindley Brook Staircase Locks while supervising Chain Bridge their construction. Chain Bridge was built in 1817. Two years later, a French industrial spy sketched Chain Bridge along with other structures in the area. At that time, British engineers were creating exciting structures with new materials – so he stole the idea! Chain Bridge is a footbridge suspended by chains. It was one of the first chain bridges in the world.

canalrivertrust.org.uk © Canal & River Trust Charity Commission no. 1146792 6 canalrivertrust.org.uk/explorers Aqueducts and tunnels Chirk Tunnel opens out at the end of . Boats cannot pass each other in Thomas Telford designed this the tunnel but fortunately it is amazing piece of engineering. It straight enough to be able to was completed in 1805 and it’s see if a boat is already inside. still the highest and longest aqueduct in Britain. Thomas used iron to build the trough which carries the Llangollen Canal across the aqueduct. Iron had never been used in this way before and people were afraid that the aqueduct would fail. You can walk across Pontcysyllte Aqueduct along the towpath or cross it by boat. But don’t look down – it’s very scary! Chirk Aqueduct.

Every 10 years or so Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is Chirk Aqueduct drained for and Chirk Tunnel maintenance. But were also designed by first the plug must be pulled out! Thomas Telford.

canalrivertrust.org.uk © Canal & River Trust Charity Commission no. 1146792 7 canalrivertrust.org.uk/explorers The River Dee

Canals need a supply of water, as water is lost along the canal when locks are used. This is because water moves down the locks and not back up again. When the old Ellesmere Canal was being built, it became clear that the streams along the route would not provide enough water to keep the canal The Pontcysyllte working. The solution was to use water from Aqueduct crosses the River Dee. the River Dee.

Horseshoe Falls Thomas Telford designed the crescent-shaped Horseshoe Falls to draw water from the River Dee into the old Ellesmere Canal. The weir is 140m long but only 1.22m high. This makes it less likely to be damaged by floods.

Horseshoe Falls are built of stone. Over 13 million gallons (59 million litres) of water a DAY drop over the Horseshoe Falls. weir into the canal!

canalrivertrust.org.uk © Canal & River Trust Charity Commission no. 1146792 8 canalrivertrust.org.uk/explorers Cargo The iron industry The iron industry was important because The Ellesmere Canal was an it had so many uses - from tools to steam engines. All the raw materials for making excellentbuilding way of moving materials bulky cargo such as limestone (used in iron (iron ore, coal and limestone) were (slate, clay), found in . lime (used as the iron industry) coal, grain a fertilizer on fields), and malt (for brewing) - and cheese! Pig iron was even delivered to the canal side and loaded straight onto and taken to local forges and foundries to be made into other things.

Iron is made in a blast furnace. Iron ore, limestone and coal are Loading coal to be delivered heated together to extract the iron. The by rail to the canal side. molten metal runs out into a bed of sand and then it’s called ‘pig‘ iron.

canalrivertrust.org.uk © Canal & River Trust Charity Commission no. 1146792 9 canalrivertrust.org.uk/explorers Boats

The boats using the Llangollen Boats were not just for Canal were pulled by cargo horse until the introduction . In 1884, a horse- of motor engines. Some drawn passenger boat boats continued to be pulled service for sightseers by horse even after the started. People can still introduction of motor boats. travel by horse boat today starting from Llangollen Wharf.

Holiday boats and cruisers are so popular on the canal today that it probably carries more traffic than This horse-drawn when it first opened! inspection boat is checking that everything on the canal is in working order.

This boat is crossing the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. canalrivertrust.org.uk © Canal & River Trust Charity Commission no. 1146792 10 canalrivertrust.org.uk/explorers Canal Families

Living on the canal Boaters’ children Working on boats usually up at 4am ran in families, with sons Children were to help following their fathers to get the boat going. They would work on the canal. Boaters not get to bed until late. Boats were often born near the were always on the move so it canal. Sometimes, where was very difficult for children to families lived on boats, go to school regularly. children were born on the boats themselves.

The working day A boating family on the Llangollen Canal.

A working day often and started at dawn didn’t finish until it was dark. Sometimes it was just men that worked on Children were the boat and went home often given the when they could. When task of leading a whole family lived on the horse. a boat everyone was involved in the work – including the children.

This boy is riding the horse that pulls the boat. canalrivertrust.org.uk © Canal & River Trust Charity Commission no. 1146792 11 canalrivertrust.org.uk/explorers The Llangollen

Many canals were Canal survives abandoned as transporting cargo by Hurleston Locks rail and road became The Llangollen Canal begins quicker and cheaper. with a flight offour locks But the Llangollen at Hurleston Junction. The Canal remained locks raise the water level open to carry water more than 34 ft (10.4 m) to from the River Dee to enable boats to climb up Hurleston Reservoir and from the flat Cheshire plains then to local homes to the Welsh hills. and industries. Hurleston Locks.

Hurleston Reservoir Canals are artificial so they need a supply of water. Hurleston Reservoir was built to store water to feed the canals to Chester and Middlewich. Water from the reservoir still

supplies water to local houses. Hurleston Perhaps you’ve drunk some of the Reservoir was one 50 million litres of water that of the last structures travels along the canal each day! to be built on Hurleston Reservoir. the canal. canalrivertrust.org.uk © Canal & River Trust Charity Commission no. 1146792 12 canalrivertrust.org.uk/explorers