A map of the Main Canal of the Shropshire Union Canal

A brief history of the Main Canal of the Shropshire Union Canal

The Shropshire Union Canal was constructed in 3 stages and by 3 different companies. The first of these sections was constructed in the 1770s and was called the Chester Canal. It ran from the River Dee to Natwich. It was a commercial failure but was rescued by the construction of the Ellesmere Canal in the mod-1790s, which ran from Chester to The Mersey. Another branch, The Middlewich Branch, was constructed in the eraly 1830s and completed in1835, joining the Shropshire Union Canal to the Trent and Mersey Canal.

The name "Shropshire Union" comes from the amalgamation of the various component companies (Ellesmere Canal, Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal, Montgomeryshire Canal) that came together to form the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company.

For more detailed information, follow the links below:

• Wikipedia
• Canal & River Trust
• Inland Waterways Association