Services Directory Video
Stoppages on the Trent & Mersey Canal

A map of the Trent & Mersey Canal

The map displays a range of services available on the Trent & Mersey Canal. Simply click the box next to any service being displayed in the Map Key on the left of your screen.

Map Key

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Attraction
Historic Buildings
Castle
Museum
Theatre
Airport
Train Station
Bus Station
Public Houses
Restaurants
Licensed
Boat Yards
Marinas
Petrol
Diesel
Electricity Points
Water Points
Food Shops
Recycling Points
Sanitory Stations
Self Use Pump Outs
Sewage Disposal
Refuse Disposal
Mooring Overnight
Calor Gas
Laundries
Wi Fi
Winding Holes
Lock
Bridge
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A brief history of the Trent & Mersey Canal

Canal Details
Canal length : 94.9 miles
Locks : 76
Boat Length : 72ft
Height : 6ft 3ins
Width : 7ft ins

The Trent and mersey canal is 93.5 miles long and runs from the River Trent at Derwent Mouth in Derbyshire to Preston Brook in Cheshire.

The first proposal for the canal was put forward in 1755 but the process was not started until 1760. Various routes were considered with people both for and against the different proposals. The potteries in Stoke-on-Trent had problems both getting raw materials in and manufacturered goods out. At the time, businesses had to rely on the roads which were in a very poor condition resulting in many of the products being damaged or broken. Josiah Wedgewood was particularly interested in ensurng that the route passed through Stoke-on-Trent. Wedgewood's interest in the canal was not so much connecting the Trent to the Mersey but simply to connect the Potteries to the Mersey, allowing him to safely export his goods and to import china clay from the West Country.

A route that included Stoke-on-Trent was finalised and an Act of Parliament passed in 1766 and the first sod was cut by Josiah Wedgwood in July of that year at Middleport. The canal was completed 1766.


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