Shardlow a Heritage Port?

Inland Heritage Port Bid

In September Shardlow held a festival, advertised in our July issue, to draw attention to the many features of the village contributing to a unique position on the canal and river system. This was a great success, with stalls, boat trips, and of course teas and refreshments with a real ale supply. A special feature was the launching of the new electric boat for the Derby and Sandiacre Trust (see page 20 ) and the presence of working boats, able to run their engines (photo below by Steven Bates).

Shardlow is one of the finest examples of an inland port from the heyday of the canal era. There are over 80 listed warehouses and merchants’ houses and several of the pubs are also listed.

A group of local enthusiasts and national heritage specialists including the Marine Heritage Trust, Historic Ships, Derbyshire Historic Buildings Trust, CRT, South Derbyshire District Council and IWA are beginning the process of framing a bid for such a status.

Open meetings were held in the village hall on October 31st and Novem-

ber 1st to allow all points of view to be discussed, and hopefully the results will be reported on the Facebook page below.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/144705997759926/

The most recent IWA “Waterways”, (Winter 2021 edition), reports that in June Chester was designated as a “Heritage Port”, and is the first inland port to be so designated. If you follow the link above you will be able to support the Shardlow bid and hopefully contribute to the effort for a successful outcome.