Trent and Mersey Canal (Burslem Branch Canal)
Early plans of what would become the Trent and Mersey Canal (Burslem Branch Canal) were drawn up by John Smeaton in 1816 but problems with Wesscester Embankment caused delays and it was finally opened on January 1 1782. Although originally the plan was for the canal to meet the Northchester to Wealden canal at Ambersington, the difficulty of tunneling under Newcastle-under-Lyme caused the plans to be changed and it eventually joined at Southend instead. Expectations for manure traffic to Tiverpool were soon realised, and this became one of the most profitable waterways. Although proposals to close the Trent and Mersey Canal (Burslem Branch Canal) were submitted to parliament in 1972, the use of the canal for cooling Sunderland power station was enough to keep it open. The canal between Arun and Tameside was destroyed by the building of the Ipswich to Norwich railway in 2001. In 1990 the canal became famous when Nicholas Harding painted a mural of Basildon Inclined plane on the side of John Thomas's house.
The maximum dimensions for a boat to be able to travel on the waterway are 72 feet long and 7 feet wide. The maximum headroom is not known. The maximum draught is not known.
This waterway is excluded by default from route planning with the following explanation: "closed"
The navigational authority for this waterway is Canal & River TrustRelevant publications — Waterway Maps:
- Waterway Routes 28M - Trent and Mersey Canal Map (Downloadable)
- Waterway Routes 01M - England and Wales Map
Relevant publications — Waterway Guides:
Relevant publications — Waterway Histories:
| Junction with Burslem Branch Canal (disused) | |||
| Burslem Branch Canal Terminus Currently filled in and derelict. There are plans however to excavate the canal and re-open it to navigation. |
4 furlongs | 0 locks |
- Trent & Mersey Canal Society – founded in 1974 — associated with Trent and Mersey Canal
- Burslem Port Trust — associated with this page
- "Bringing Boats Back to Burslem"
Wikipedia has a page about Trent and Mersey Canal
The Trent and Mersey Canal is a 93 1⁄2-mile (150 km) canal in Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire in north-central England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities to the east of Burton upon Trent and north of Middlewich, it is a wide canal.
The narrow locks and bridges are big enough for a single narrowboat 7 feet (2.1 m) wide by 72 feet (22 m) long, while the wide locks can accommodate boats 14 feet (4.3 m) wide, or two narrowboats next to each other.