The Llangollen Canal () is a navigable canal crossing the border between England and Wales. The waterway links Llangollen in Denbighshire, north Wales, with Hurleston in south Cheshire, via the town of Ellesmere, Shropshire. The name, which was coined in the 1980s, is a modern designation for parts of the historic Ellesmere Canal and the Llangollen navigable feeder, both of which became part of the Shropshire Union Canals in 1846.
The Ellesmere Canal was proposed by industrialists at Ruabon and Brymbo, and two disconnected sections were built. The northern section ran from Ellesmere Port on the River Mersey to Chester, where it joined the Chester Canal, and opened in 1795. Work on the southern section began at Frankton, with a line southwards to Llanymynech, and subsequently, a second section was built westwards towards Trevor. This involved crossing the Afon Ceiriog and the River Dee, which was achieved by building two vast aqueducts, using iron troughs to contain the water. The Ceiriog was crossed at Chirk, and Chirk Aqueduct opened in 1801, to exploit local supplies of iron and coal. The canal then passed through Chirk Tunnel, and reached the southern end of Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in 1802, which was not completed until 1805. To join the two halves up, a heavily engineered route from Trevor Basin via Ruabon and Brymbo to the River Dee at Chester was planned, but very little of it was built. Instead, the present route from Frankton to Hurleston Junction on the Chester Canal was constructed, and opened in 1805. As the route never reached the water reservoir at Moss Valley, Wrexham (built in 1786), a navigable feeder was built to Llantisilio where the Horseshoe Falls weir was constructed on the River Dee to supply the canal.
As part of the Shropshire Union system, the canal from Hurleston to Llangollen thrived until the end of the First World War, after which it saw very little traffic. Navigation was formally abandoned under the terms of the London Midland and Scottish Railway (Canals) Act 1944 (8 & 9 Geo. 6. c. ii), obtained by the owners, the London Midland and Scottish Railway, but the channel was retained as it still supplied water to the main line of the Shropshire Union, and subsequently to the Mid and South-East Cheshire Water Board. This arrangement was due to end in 1954, but as there was no alternative supply of water, the powers were extended. Early pioneering cruises of the waterway were made by Tom Rolt in 1947 and 1949, and despite it being officially closed, a number of boats started to use it. There was a growing campaign to reopen it, but it was still designated as one of the 'waterways having insufficient commercial prospects to justify their retention for navigation' under government papers published in 1955 and 1958. It was not until the passing of the Transport Act 1968 that the route was finally designated as a cruiseway, and its future was secured. As leisure use of the canals grew, the route was rebranded as "The Llangollen Canal" in the 1980s, and it has become one of the most popular routes for holidaymakers. Its importance in the history of the British canal system was recognised in 2009, when the stretch from Gledrid Bridge near Rhoswiel to Horseshoe Falls including Pontcysyllte and Chirk aqueducts was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
History
A grand plan for the Ellesmere Canal was first proposed in 1791 by a small group of industrialists who owned coal mines, iron mines and other works near Ruabon. They wanted to link their area to the River Mersey in the north and the River Severn to the south. The northward section would link up with the Chester Canal and hence the River Dee before continuing to the Mersey at Netherpool (now Ellesmere Port). The southerly section of the waterway would pass through Overton before heading towards Shrewsbury. There would be branches to Bersham and Brymbo, where there were ironworks, to Llanymynech, where limestone was being quarried, and it would run past Whitchurch to Prees. A rival group proposed a branch from the Chester Canal to reach Ruabon, via Whitchurch, with additional lines to Llanymynech and Shrewsbury. There was support for the plans of the first group, and work began, but twelve years later, the plans of the second group had largely been implemented.
John Duncombe, an engineer who was one of the original promoters, and Joseph Turner estimated that the main line to Netherpool and to Shrewsbury would cost £67,456, while the whole scheme, including the branches, would cost £171,098. The promoters then decided they needed an engineer with a track record to advise them, and engaged the services of William Jessop, to be assisted by Duncombe and William Turner. Jessop proposed a somewhat different route south of Chester. It was the time of Canal Mania, and when subscriptions were opened, 1,234 subscribers offered a total of £967,700, of which £245,500 was actually accepted. In February 1793, the two groups decided to work together, and a host of deviations and alterations were made to the plans, for which an act of Parliament, the Ellesmere and Chester Canal Act 1793 (33 Geo. 3. c. 91) was obtained on 30 April 1793. A capital of £400,000 was authorised, with powers to raise an additional £100,000 if required, and Jessop was appointed as engineer, to be assisted by Duncombe, Thomas Denson and William Turner. On 30 October, Thomas Telford was also engaged.
Work began on the route southwards from Netherpool in November 1793, and packet boats started to run along it from 1 July 1795, although it was not quite finished. Three locks to connect it to the Mersey were completed in early 1796, and coal was first carried to Chester in February. The connection to the Chester Canal took a little longer, and was completed in January 1797. The company were keen to develop the trade in limestone from Llanymynech, and cutting of the canal southwards from Frankton began in early 1794. At the time, plans for the Montgomeryshire Canal were before Parliament, which would continue southwards from Carreghofa, just beyond Llanymynech. With four locks at Frankton, and another three at Aston, the line to Carreghofa was opened in autumn 1796, and a good trade in limestone northwards, and goods southwards to the Montgomeryshire Canal, developed.
Progress north-westwards from Frankton towards Trevor was hampered by the need to cross two rivers, the Afon Ceiriog at Chirk and the Dee at Pontcysyllte. Both would require tall aqueducts, but to save construction costs at Pontcysylle, plans were drawn up for three locks at each end, to reduce the height of the main arches by . However, on 14 July 1795 Jessop proposed that the aqueduct should be built above the Dee, and that the costs should be saved by using an iron trough. He also proposed a similar trough at Chirk, instead of an embankment at Pont-faen, writing that "instead of an obstruction it would be a romantic feature in the view", and this was a major factor in persuading the landowner to allow it to be built at Chirk, rather than at Pont-faen. The foundation stone for Pontcysyllte was laid on 25 July 1795, although the committee did not formally approve the new plans until 10 August.
Again, the company was keen to get trade moving on the canal, and pressed on with the line from Chirk to Frankton. The Vron Ironworks were at Chirk, with coal mines nearby, and goods from Ruabon could also be brought there by road, until the canal was completed. Work started on the Chirk aqueduct in January 1796, and when finished, it was long with ten arches, each with a span of , carrying the canal above the Afon Ceiriog. It was constructed with a cast-iron bottom to the trough, but the sides were of masonry, an unusual choice given the decision to use a cast-iron trough at Pontcysyllte. The section from Chirk to Frankton included six locks and was completed in 1801. The section onwards through Chirk and Whitehouses tunnels, to reach the southern end of Pontcysyllte, opened in June 1802. The section over Pontcysyllte aqueduct and to Trevor opened in 1805.
In July 1795, the company hired contractors to start work on the branch from Hordley, near Frankton locks, to Westoncommon, which was completed in 1797. A wharf, public house, stables and other features were constructed near Westoncommon, and four lime kilns were built, to burn lime from Llanymynech using coal from Chirk. Plans for this branch to continue onwards to Shrewsbury were dropped, because lime from Weston would have to compete with that brought along the Shrewsbury Canal, and coal to supply the domestic market at Shrewsbury would not be available until Pontcysyllte aqueduct was completed. It did not appear that the route would be profitable, and this remained true when the plans were reconsidered subsequently.
Joining the two halves
Plans for joining the southern sections to the northern one were revisited by Telford in 1795, and after approval by Jessop, were authorised by act of Parliament, the Ellesmere and Chester Canal Act 1796 (36 Geo. 3. c. 71). They involved a heavily engineered line from Trevor to Chester, via Ruabon to the Dee at Chester, with a branch to Coed Talon, which would serve the Brymbo ironworks near Ffrwd. Locks would lift the line by from Trevor basin to Plas Kynaston, after which it would run on the level to Poolmouth and the junction with the Coed Talon Branch. It would then descend through a long flight of locks, roughly following the line of the later Chester to Wrexham railway, to enter the Dee opposite the branch to the Chester Canal. A second branch would run from Pulford to Farndon and Holt. Just over of the Coed Talon branch was built, to a basin near Ffrwd, and although it was filled with water, it seems that it was never used, and was filled in again from 1809.
In early 1794, a shareholder and a local landowner took out a patent for a canal lift, and offered to build a trial one. If it proved successful, then the Ellesmere company would pay for it, and if not, the inventors would meet the costs. A site was chosen on the proposed line, and by May 1796, it was ready for trials to begin. John Rennie and Jessop examined it, but like several similar ideas of the time, it was not felt to be robust enough to withstand the rigours of daily use. The company eventually paid £200 to the inventors, one quarter of the actual costs. Jessop decided in 1800 that the route between Trevor and Chester should be abandoned, due to the changes in circumstances, and coal being available in Chester from a number of other locations.
The Chester Canal, which had not been a financial success, had hoped that links with the Ellesmere Canal would improve their prospects, but when the Ellesmere and Chester Canal Act 1796 had failed to mention any connection with the Chester Canal, they had taken action, and had cut off the water supply to the northern section from Chester to Ellesmere Port. When agreement was reached on a new line from Frankton Junction to Whitchurch, the water supply was reinstated, and work on the new line started in February 1797. The work was difficult, as it had to cross Whixall Moss, and a tunnel was required near Ellesmere. It also included a branch to Prees Higher Heath, but only of this was built, terminating at Quina Brook, where the company built some limekilns. By 1804, the main line had reached Tilstock Park, some short of Whitchurch. Further agreement had been reached in 1802 on a route from Tilstock Park to Hurleston Junction, on which work started immediately. It was completed on 25 March 1805.