The Union

Updates and corrections

Further research needed ... Research is never complete, and eventually one has to publish. There are several topics I’d like to have known more about — here are a few: Why did most of the ’s committee sell their shares in 1826? [Page 46] Where was the Canal’s depot? [Chapter 4] Where in parish was Rowland and Pickering’s experimental lift? [Page 68] Why was the Lilleshall Company, with its mines and ironworks, so reluctant to have a canal linked to the national network? [Page 114] Who built the Humber Arm — the canal company or the Sutherland Estates? [Page 114] There were at least 25 tramroads linked to the canal — little is known about most of them, rarely the dates of operation, and sometimes not even the type of track or the gauge. [Pages 157 & 158] Why did the SU invest in the Glyn Valley Railway and for several years operate it, as it was then tramroad technology some forty years out of date? [Pages 190 to 192] When were the last commercial loads carried on the ? — I’ve recently read some evidence that there was some carrying during the war. [Page 221] I’d welcome further information — my email address is .

A missing ‘k’ [Page 6] In the table of weights and measures, it should state that 1lb = 0.4536kg.

River Weaver [Page 16] Under the 1721 and 1760s Acts, surplus revenue was to be used for the maintenance and improvement of roads and bridges in . The wording in the book is a little sloppy — county councils did not come into being until 1889, when they took over the administrative functions of unelected county courts of quarter sessions.

Iron tub-boat [Page 39] The iron tub-boat illustrated, LillCo749, was found by David Adams in use as a water tank at Brocton Leasowes Farm in 1972. It is possibly the oldest extant iron boat in Britain.

Rowland and Pickering’s experimental lift [Pages 68–69] A third site has been suggested for the location of the experimental lift: at the northern end of , where the covered interchange dock was built. The evidence for none of the suggested sites is strong enough to be convincing. The mystery remains.

Water supply to the Shropshire Union Main Line [Pages 154–5] A further supply enters the canal in the Grub Street Cutting on the east side between Bridges 41 and 42. As designed, water which was not needed for the canal was conveyed across the cutting in Bridge 40 (‘Water Bridge’) into Blakemere Pool, following the original line of the stream.

Pontcysyllte Forge [Page 196] The site depicted is on the south side of the ‘Water Line’, between the junction at Trevor and Postles Bridge, now occupied by houses in Bron y Gamlas. The caption is incorrect. Exuperius Pickering was given permission to build a coke works here in 1816 — he did not build the forge, which made wrought iron and its products. An ironworks had been constructed on part of the site by 1838, most likely by William Fox, but the building shown probably dates from the mid-1870s. Waste material from here was dumped on the field almost opposite, creating what is now known as ‘The Clinker’.

Canal & River Trust: local organisation [Page 232] From August 2018 the parts of the former Shropshire Union system in Cheshire are in the North West Region, the other parts in being in the West Region. Thus the boundary on the Main Line is above the Flight and on the Canal is below the Flight. The parts in are in the Region for day-to- day matters, but liaison with the Welsh Assembly is dealt with by the Wales & South West Region.

The breach [Page 233] The reopened on 21 December 2018, having been closed since 15 March. The cause of the breach was that all the paddles of had been left up, causing the pound below to fill and overflow the bank on the embankment. What has not been satisfactorily explained is why there was no way of safely passing the surplus water.

Wirral Community Trust [Page 236] Lyneal Trust; Vale of Boat Trust [Page 247] In addition to the Heulwen Trust (mentioned on pages 255–6 and 273) I should have mentioned the excellent work done by three other trusts operating for people with disabilities. All are charities, run by volunteers. My apologies for the omission. The Wirral Community Narrowboat Trust, formerly the Wirral Narrowboat Association, started operation in 1984 and now has two modern boats. One boat is usually based at ; the other sometimes operates from , or Trevor. The Trust was awarded the Queen’s Award For Voluntary Service in 2017. The Lyneal Trust, founded in 1985, provides canal and canalside holidays for people with disabilities and their carers, and which is run by volunteers. The Trust operates three canal boats from Lyneal Wharf, three miles east of Ellesmere, where it also has chalets. It was granted the Queens Award for Voluntary Service in 2008. The Vale of Llangollen Canal Boat Trust, founded in 1983, provides day trips from Trevor for disabled and disadvantaged people on its boat, Glas y Dorlan.

Llanymynech Wharf Visitor Centre and the George Watson Buck [Pages 260 & 275] The section of the book dealing with the restoration of the omitted any mention of the reopened section at . The restored Visitor Centre provides displays and exhibitions about the canal, Heritage Area and other local places of interest. Since 2005 the boat George Watson Buck has provided trips on the short section of canal, which includes crossing the boundary from England into Wales. My apologies to all the hard-working volunteers without whom this valuable asset would not exist.

Shrewsbury & Newport Trust [Page 264] The Trust was actually formed on 21 October 2000.

National Waterways Museum [Page 271] In October 2017 the National Waterways Museum took several of its deteriorating wooden boats out of the water and moved them to an off-site storage facility, just as I had hoped when I wrote the paragraph. This move to leased premises in Rossfield Road, about half a mile from the museum, was partly financed through the Arts Council England Resilience Project. The Boat Museum Society, which provides volunteer skills and financial support to the National Waterways Museum, changed its name to the Waterways Museum Society in 2018. It was founded in 1971 as the North Western Museum of Inland Navigation, becoming the Boat Museum Society in 1995 prior to it transferring its museum operation to the Waterways Trust in 1999.

Peter Brown 21 March 2019