Middlewich Branch

Middlewich Branch
The lock and cottage at Minshull
Specifications
Maximum boat length	72 ft 0 in (21.95 m)
Maximum boat beam	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Locks	4
Status	navigable
Navigation authority	Canal and River Trust
History
Original owner	Ellesmere and Chester Canal Company
Date of act	1827
Date completed	1833
Geography
Start point	Middlewich
End point	Barbridge
Branch of	Shropshire Union Canal
Connects to	Trent and Mersey Canal

[ ] Middlewich Branch
Chester Canal(to Chester) Trent and Mersey Canal Wardle Lock Middlewich A530 aqueduct River Wheelock aqueduct Stanthorne Lock Crewe to Winsford railway River Weaver aqueduct Aqueduct Marina Minshull Lock Chester and Crewe Railway Venetian Marina Cholmondeston Lock A511(T) road Barbridge Junction --Hurleston Junction Llangollen Canal End of Chester Canal Nantwich Basin

The Middlewich Branch of the Shropshire Union Canal is located in Cheshire, in the north west of England, and runs between Middlewich, where it joins the Trent and Mersey Canal, and Barbridge Junction, where it joins the main line of the Shropshire Union Canal. It is 10 miles (16 km) long, and was planned as part of the Chester Canal, which was authorised in 1772, but the company ran out of money, and construction did not begin until 1827. The Trent and Mersey insisted that there should be no direct connection at Middlewich, and instead built the short Wardle Canal to join the two, charging large compensation tolls for traffic passing along it.

The canal became part of the Shropshire Union system in 1846, which was taken over by the London and North Western Railway within a year. Traffic on the branch was always limited by the compensation tolls, and it was not until 1888 that they were abolished. The canal was the location for trials with locomotive haulage of boats in 1888, using a narrow-gauge engine from Crewe railway works, but no further action was taken. The canal became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923. The railway company closed 175 miles (282 km) of canals in 1944, but the Shropshire Union main line and the Middlewich Branch were spared, and passed into the jurisdiction of the British Waterways Board following nationalisation in 1948.

The canal follows a delightful rural route through farmland across Cheshire, with a short urban section near the junction at Middlewich. Many of the structures are original, and consequently, most of them are grade II listed. There is no commercial traffic on the waterway, but transition to the leisure age has resulted in two marinas being constructed to provide moorings for pleasure craft.

The idea of a canal to Middlewich was first proposed by the River Dee Company, who feared that the construction of the Trent and Mersey Canal, authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1766, would draw traffic away from the river and from Chester. They envisioned a canal from Chester to Middlewich, where it would link up with the Trent and Mersey, with a branch to Nantwich. There was little support, although the Duke of Bridgewater stated that he would not oppose the canal providing that there was no physical connection to the Trent and Mersey at Middlewich. The canal was authorised on 1 April 1772, and the company started to build a line to Nantwich, with locks 80 by 14.75 feet (24.38 by 4.50 m). The cost was much more than anticipated, and the canal was opened to Nantwich in mid-1779, after another Act of Parliament was obtained to raise more money. There was no money left for the Middlewich Canal, and a plan to save costs by building it with narrow locks did not find favour with the shareholders, and so no work was done.