Shrewsbury District & North Wales Branch Newsletter Autumn / Winter 2020
Front cover : Chirk Aqueduct on the Llangollen Canal by Alison Smith
THE BRANCH COMMITTEE
President
Michael Limbrey 01691 654081
michael.limbrey@waterways.org.uk
Chairman
Michael Haig 07801 415573
michael.haig@waterways.org.uk
Secretary
VACANT
shrewsandnwales@waterways.org.uk
Membership Sec.
Dawn Aylwin 01691 830403
dawn.aylwin@waterways.org.uk
Treasurer & Welsh Liaison Officer
Alan Platt
alan.platt@waterways.org.uk
Webmaster
Alan Wilding
alan.wilding@waterways.org.uk
Publicity
VACANT
shrewsandnwales@waterways.org.uk
Newsletter Editor
Andrew Smith
andrew.smith@waterways.org.uk
Committee Members
Susan Wilding John Heald Graham Russell
susan.wilding@waterways.org.uk john.heald@waterways.org.uk graham.russell@waterways.org.uk
NW Region Chairman
Sir Robert Atkins robert.atkins@waterways.org.uk 01995 602225 or 07770 254444
Heritage & Planning
Peter Brown
iwa@peterquita.co.uk
Branch Web pages www.waterways.org.uk/shrewsbury www.facebook.com/pages/IWA-Shrewsbury-Branch/388651831206061 If you would prefer to communicate with the branch in the traditional way, please write to the chairman c/o IWA Chesham address at foot of page Shroppie Fly Paper is the newsletter of the Shrewsbury District & North Wales Branch of The Inland Waterways Association (IWA). IWA is a membership charity that works to protect and restore the country's 6,500 miles of canals and rivers. For further information contact any committee member. Copy for Shroppie Fly Paper is very welcome, preferably by email. Photographs may be in any common computer format or as prints. Please supply a stamped addressed envelope if you require photographs to be returned. ‘Letters to the Editor’ intended for publication are invited, as are comments for the Editor’s private guidance. Copy and letters submitted for publication may be edited. The Inland Waterways Association may not agree with the opinions expressed in this branch newsletter but encourages publicity as a matter of interest. Nothing printed may be construed as official policy unless stated otherwise. The Association accepts no liability for any matter in this newsletter. Any reproduction must be acknowledged. The Inland Waterways Association is a non-profit distributing company limited by guarantee. Registered in England no. 612245. Registered as a charity no. 212342 Registered Office: Island House, Moor Road, Chesham HP5 1WA Tel: 01494 783 453 Web: www.waterways.org.uk
THE EDITOR'S CUT... So… Another issue put together under the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic... As mentioned in the last issue, we did manage a very enjoyable 2-week trip on the Llangollen and Montgomery canals in the summer. It was our first time on the Montgomery but certainly won’t be our last so it’s good to see work starting on Schoolhouse Bridge (see page 22); a crucial stage in opening more of the canal up to navigation.
We had another short trip planned during the October half-term break but that was scuppered by the 2nd Welsh lockdown which meant we were not allowed to leave the country to go to the boat. Our lockdown ends tomorrow (9th Nov) but now the 2nd English lockdown means that we still can’t get to the boat! We are taking advantage of the situation to get our engine compartment refurbished at Nantwich Canal Centre where we moor. Fingers crossed that we can get to the boat in December to see the end result! We do love visiting the boat in the winter and getting the stove lit. In fact we have spent every New Year’s Eve since we got the boat on-board; initially to free up the house for the kids to have a party, now just because it’s nice! The pandemic has not stopped all work on our waterways and you can see various reports about maintenance and restoration work throughout this issue (Nantwich area: page 12, Wappenshall: page 6, Schoolhouse bridge: page 22). But as Michael Limbrey points out (page 14) more work is needed to protect our waterways heritage. The new IWA TV (page 11) already has lots of information about various projects that the organization has been involved with and there is plenty more to come.
We are now in the winter season so boaters will need to be aware of revised opening times for various facilities in and near our area. There’s an overview of some of the main ones on page 26 as well as a link to download the full winter stoppages list. If you do manage to get out and about on the waterways during the winter, we would love to see your photographs. Let’s hope for some nice crisp frosty days when the canals can look so photogenic! Stay safe everyone and see you in the Spring! Andrew Smith
Next copy date: Friday, March 19, 2021 1
IWA SHREWSBURY DISTRICT & NORTH WALES BRANCH DIARY 2020/21 After all the cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is good to see some new dates appearing in the diary for next year. Obviously those will be subject to conditions at the time and it will be well worth checking before travelling to any events. To reduce travelling and cost many of the branch business meetings now take place online. If you would like to join us online, please contact our Chairman at: michael.haig@waterways.org.uk Date(s)
Event
See page
Dec 1, 2020
Brain of Monty Quiz closing date
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Dec 14, 2020
Branch Committee Meeting (online)
Feb 8, 2021
Branch General Meeting & Branch Committee Meeting (online)
March 19, 2021
Shroppie Fly Paper Spring edition copy deadline
April 12, 2021
Branch Committee Meeting (online)
May 8, 2021
Montgomery Canal Triathlon
June 14, 2021
Branch Committee Meeting (online)
July 16-18, 2021
Gnosall C-Fest
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Summer 2021
Rebuild Schoolhouse Bridge
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Aug 9, 2021
Branch Committee Meeting (online)
Oct 11, 2021
Branch Committee Meeting (online)
Dec 13, 2021
Branch Committee Meeting (online)
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FROM THE STEERER Whatever next? It seemed, during the summer, that our canals were returning to a semblance of normality, with boats moving and hire boat companies starting to recoup some of the depressing costs of lockdown. Okay, having to pre-book a socially distanced table at a waterside pub rather than just turning up on a whim slightly took the edge off the fun, but generally speaking, not too bad. Oh, and keeping an eye on CRT’s stoppage alerts, there did seem to be a greater number of lock failures than usual, but then for the best part of three months virtually all maintenance had had to be shut down. But now, writing this as the clocks go back to GMT and ever-increasing numbers of us are hampered by new versions of lockdown, things are looking bleak again for waterside businesses. Sadly, government hasn’t smiled on the campaign by IWA, British Marine, the RYA and CRT to lobby for specific support for affected businesses, at least not yet. In his column in this edition, our Region Chairman mentions that the campaign continues, and the more help our members can give it the greater the chance of success. However, while recent developments may be frustrating, we are certainly not downhearted! I took advantage of being allowed into Wales (and back out again) during the summer, to join a CRT and British Canoeing expedition to the Chirk and Whitehouse tunnels on the upper Llangollen to investigate further the vexed issue of unpowered craft using the tunnels safely.
Regular readers will know that the branch has harboured concerns on this topic for a number of years, so it was good to see CRT West Midlands, encouraged by CRT’s own Navigation Advisory Group, taking it seriously. Safety concerns are being addressed through improved signage on the tunnel approaches and the production of uprated safety information for boaters and canoeists. But there will still be the chance of encountering unpowered craft at the tunnels, so if you are a boater, please be alert and follow the safety code. Talking about CRT, I know that many readers will have attended the regional webinar that we hosted, featuring Richard Parry and Daniel Greenhalgh, titled “Leading CRT Back from Lockdown”. Our thanks go to both of them for taking part, and also to our own National Chairman, Paul Rodgers, for agreeing to be the moderator of the Q&A session.
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Daniel suffered a rather dramatic broadband ‘outage’ during his presentation but there was still a lot of interesting content – of necessity more general than branch-focused – and we easily filled our hour-long time slot. If you missed it or would like to remind yourself about what was discussed, you can watch it on -demand on IWA’s YouTube channel. Just go to waterways.org.uk/tv and you will find this latest presentation along with IWA’s back catalogue of interesting branch, regional and national talks. Three more things before I go. First, if you are within striking distance of Shrewsbury, why not visit the pop-up charity Christmas card shop at St Mary’s Church that will be running in early December after the latest lockdown? We haven’t had any other chance to show you some of the latest additions to IWA’s Christmas card range as all our canalside events were cancelled this year. Despite this being our only fundraising opportunity in 2020, efforts by volunteers in previous years have kept the bank account at a level where we can still make donations in support of local canal restorations. We’ve just made a significant award to SNCT, and you can read about it on page 6. Lastly, on page 10, you will find details of our rescheduled, slimmed down, virtual Branch General Meeting to replace the 2020 AGM, which was cancelled as we went into closedown last March. We plan to run it as a Zoom meeting rather than a webinar, so there will be a greater opportunity for verbal interaction. We will be commenting on 2019 and 2020, so I hope we will see some of you there.
Michael Haig Branch Chairman
SHROPPIE FLY PAPER BACK ISSUES ONLINE!
Did you know that you can access back issues of this magazine at issuu.com? The link to find issues back to 2009 is https://issuu.com/waterwaysassoc/stacks/ ff499dbd5f2941bba5e738cf88c600d6 But if that’s too much to type in, try this shortened version! https://bit.ly/2Pn5arf
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REGION CHAIRMAN WRITES Not a lot to talk about on the waterways themselves, although some people have enjoyed the bursts of better weather and taken to the boats! But life has gone on and many Branch Officers and Members have been talking and listening online. Your own Branch, in particular, has been hosting Zoom meetings and webinars and attracting quite sizeable audiences for its trouble - to its great credit. National Trustees, including the new members, have also been in regular discussions about the future - governance, finance and priorities. And we have been doing so, online of course, under the guidance of our National Chairman, Paul Rodgers, and the interim Chief Executive, Sarah O’Grady. The latter, who is with us for only six months, has been casting an experienced and weather eye over all our procedures and producing guidance papers under a mnemonic called PESTLE which we are to consider in the next few weeks. (Politics, Economics, Social, Technical, Legal, Environmental!)
At a time of national crisis, from which we are not immune individually or collectively, we must get to grips with the above problems. And, from all that, we also need to set new parameters for a permanent Chief Executive in 2021. I mentioned in my last report the Trustees’ concerns about the survival of waterside businesses and we continue to press their case with the Government. Have any of you seen evidence of difficulties - or successes - and, if so, can you relay it to your Chairman or me? And, again, never has it been a more appropriate time to liaise with your local councillors - Parish, District or County - and your MP. If there things to be done to protect and enhance the waterways product, then they all need to know about them. Clearly, the pandemic is not going away any time soon and a vaccine is still a dream. But we must continue our commitment and enthusiasm for everything to do with our waterways. But safely and carefully. Look out for others and take good care of yourselves
Sir Robert Atkins—Chairman, North West Region
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FUNDING BOOST FOR WAPPENSHALL WHARF The volunteers of the Shrewsbury and Newport Canals Trust are closing in on their ambition to re-water the East Basin at Wappenshall as part of the 1st Phase of the restoration of the wharf buildings and their immediate surroundings. The basin is being lined with concrete and they aim to get it back in water by the end of the year, assuming further coronavirus restrictions don’t get in the way. Following our donation of £3,000 to the restoration in early 2019, the Shrewsbury District & North Wales Branch is again helping to ensure sufficient funds are available with a further grant of £1,000 specifically targeted for the re-watering project, which will see the basin back in water for the first time in almost 60 years. Concrete slabs have been laid over a waterproof liner to cover the whole of the base to bring it up to modern day standards. Timber shuttering and steel reinforcement structures have been built and, over a recent weekend, 28 cubic metres of concrete were poured to create the first seven of the slabs and 25 metres of the retaining wall base. A retaining wall is also being built on the far side of the basin, opposite the smaller of the two wharf warehouses. The basin wall is revealed
Bernie Jones, chairman of SNCT said: “2020 has clearly been a difficult year for the Wappenshall Project Team, and we have had to change our working practices significantly in order for the restoration volunteers to comply with coronavirus restrictions. This grant is most welcome as it should enable us to complete the re-watering of the basin by the end of the year.” Commenting on the method used to line the basin, Bernie and Newport Canals Trust (SNCT) volunteers explained: “A lot of people have Shrewsbury prepare to pour concrete to line the basin at Wappenshall asked why we have only put Wharf prior to its rewatering. concrete into some of the basin. This method is generally known as ‘hit and miss’, as once these slabs have cured, we will remove all of the shuttering and then pour more concrete into the gaps between them.
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“The whole basin will eventually be covered and the retaining wall will be built and the towpath re-established. We plan the next concrete pour around the end of November.” IWA branch chairman Michael Haig added: “An enormous amount of work has been put into the Phase 1 project by a very dedicated group of volunteers. It will be great to see the fruits of their labours. We’re just pleased that we could add our financial contribution to help make it happen.” The wharf dates back to the late 1830s, when Wappenshall Junction became an important and busy interchange between the Shrewsbury Canal and the Newport Branch of the Birmingham & Liverpool Junction Canal, now known as a part of the Shropshire Union. Since the official abandonment of the Shrewsbury and Newport canals by Act of Parliament in 1944, the site has been used as a coal yard and by a truck repair business before being taken over by SNCT, who applied for planning permission to restore the site in 2008. It is now owned by Telford and Wrekin Council and leased to SNCT on a 125year lease to maintain and restore the buildings. Mike Haig
Photos courtesy of SNCT
MEMBERSHIP MATTERS
We are delighted to welcome the following people who have either transferred to the Branch, renewed their membership, or joined as new members since the Summer edition and hope to meet you all at one of the events advertised in this magazine.
Mr & Mrs Brown Post Restante Audlem
Mr Cowie from Wrexham
Mr English from Wrexham
Mr Fletcher from Telford
Mr & Mrs Hall from Newhall, Nantwich
Mr Tilbury from Lilleshall
Mr Walker & Mrs Robinson from Oakengates, Telford
Unfortunately, due to the countrywide lockdown the Christmas Card Shop at St Mary's Church in Shrewsbury will be closed during November but hopefully will open for business from 2nd to 12th December when IWA cards will be on sale. Dawn Aylwin
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WALKABOUT While feeling the need to work up an appetite for Sunday lunch at the Navigation, Maesbury Marsh, I went on a short walk to find St. Winifred’s Well, teasing me from the edge of the Nicholson’s Guide.
I left Maesbury Marsh on the Main Road, heading for Woolton Bank, half a mile away, and then left at the top of the slope. It’s an industrial countryside, with vast open fields for crops or livestock. After 150 yards at Top Farmhouse, I needed to turn left and down a farm driveway – no signage. Faced with two gates and a parked car, I uncertainly pressed forward and saw a picket gate beyond the car, complete with notice saying Parking Space for Well Residents. Talk about a secretive site! Through the gate, and the 21st century vanished as I stepped into a hollow path with ancient hedgerows meeting overhead. 50 yards perhaps took me into the most perfect glade with its tiny ancient chapel, repurposed over the centuries as a cottage (the modern shed on the right turns out to be the house’s bathroom. You can stay there as it is a holiday rental with the Landmark Trust). Turning its corner, I found the pool itself.
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St. Winifred (or as the Welsh know her, Gwenfrewi or St. Winefride) was a 7th-century Welsh princess at Holywell, Flintshire, sworn to a life of chastity and decapitated by an angry suitor as she ran away to take refuge in a church. Legend has it that her uncle, St. Beuno, brought her back to life and a stream sprang up at the spot, still a place of pilgrimage today with icy plunge pools available to the faithful. In the 12th century her body was taken to Shrewsbury Abbey, and this is said to be a resting place on that journey – Ellis Peters wrote a Cadfael novel based on the story.
As at Holywell, there is a series of plunge pools full of crystal clear water bubbling up out of the ground. The setting was all birdsong and lush vegetation – quite lovely. A wooden bridge at the far side of the glade ejected me back into an open field under glaring sky. There is supposed to be a footpath back to the canal but it is not clear and I admit to going astray. On checking a map I see I should have kept the hedge to my left and followed it all the way back to the canal – easy peasy. The whole walk took no more than an hour and a half and I am sure it meant I was able to manage pudding at lunch!
Alison Smith
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Having regretfully had to postpone the Annual General Meeting previously scheduled for 4 April 2020 due to the coronavirus, our next General Meeting will be held on 8 February 2021 at 7.00pm by Zoom video conference. The membership team at IWA Chesham will send members an email with an invitation to register for the meeting closer to the time. If you have not yet provided IWA with your email address but would like to attend the meeting, please email the membership team at Membership@waterways.org.uk. AGENDA
Apologies for absence Approval of the minutes of the AGM held on 13 April 2019 Treasurer’s report for 2019 & 2020 Chairman’s report for 2019 & 2020 Election of committee members 1
1 The following committee members are standing down at the meeting, having served three-year terms. All offer themselves for re-election:
Dawn Aylwin Michael Haig Michael Limbrey Alan Platt Susan Wilding
The following members were co-opted onto the committee in 2020 and offer themselves for election:
John Heald Graham Russell
We welcome other nominations from members willing and able to help out on our team. Please send expressions of interest to the chairman, Michael Haig. The General Meeting will be followed by a branch committee business meeting, at which all General Meeting attendees are most welcome to stay as observers.
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IWA TV IS HERE! Members who receive email updates from IWA head office will already be aware of the recent launch of IWA TV which brings together recordings of online broadcasts that have taken place over the summer. Many new interactive live video broadcasts (webinars) are planned for the future. You can book your place for future events at: https://www.waterways.org.uk/tv There are also more recordings on the IWA YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_ROBJ6rpm_41BSmu-Glf2Q These include two that have been organised by our branch: Bringing Uttoxeter Canal back to life https://youtu.be/b047bA1GG5g Very interesting illustrated talk by Steve Wod, Chairman of the Caldon and Uttoxeter Canals Trust. Leading Canal & River Trust Back from Lockdown https://youtu.be/e-RddMOwRoE Quite a coup here to have CRT Chief Executive Richard Parry and CRT North West Region Director Daniel Greenhalgh plus IWA National Chairman, Paul Rodgers all taking part under the able chairmanship of our branch chair Mike Haig! NOTE: All of the events and recordings are available to view free of charge. However it is a good idea to book a place for the future events as there is a limit on how many can watch at the same time!
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NANTWICH AREA NEWS Green Flag Award
Twenty miles of the Shropshire Union canal, from Wardle Lock on the Middlewich Branch to the top of the Audlem flight, first achieved this prestigious award in June 2017. It has been confirmed that, for the fourth consecutive year, this length of canal has continued to achieve the scheme’s high standards and again been awarded Green Flag status.
Significant volunteer input has played a major part in the canal first obtaining and then maintaining Green Flag status for the last four years. Between 2014 and 2018 the Middlewich Branch was improved by SUMBA (Shropshire Union Middlewich Branch Adopters) - in Audlem there is a monthly Task Force on the lock flight - STTV (Small Tasks Team Volunteers) carry out important minor repairs and in Nantwich Sue and I try and maintain a high visual standard on the towpath between bridges 89 and 93, which includes the embankment. Further good news is that, after four years constantly lobbying CRT, we have now received Green Flag Award tiles for erecting on towpath totem posts. We‘ve installed some in Nantwich between bridges 89 & 93 and will soon have done the same in Audlem. CRT have also confirmed that soon Green Flag Award flags and poles will be erected at the Nantwich services and canal side in Audlem.
Dog Waste Bins
Due to the increasing popularity by dog walkers of Nantwich embankment’s towpath, the bins at Marsh Lane and opposite Nantwich services have been struggling to cope with the volume of “little black bags”. Following discussions with CRT the emptying frequency has recently been increased to Mondays and Thursdays. Unfortunately the bins are often still overflowing - a combination of household waste bags filling the capacity and the contractor not adhering to the emptying frequency. To try and avoid this unsightly situation, we are regularly monitoring the situation for CRT and discussions have taken place to further increase bin volume at these locations.
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Path Leading Up To Nantwich Aqueduct
In recent months several horizontal and vertical posts have either broken due to age or been removed by mischief makers. This led to dangerous gaps in the fence above a steep slope. The good news is that, at the beginning of November, CRT’s local team not only repaired the missing fencing but also proactively replaced several uprights that would need repairing in the near future. Congratulations are due for a first class job.
Towpath Benches
We understand that most of the benches between bridges 89 & 93 were installed by a voluntary organisation in the late 1990s. Due to age and lack of regular painting many of them are in a poor condition and past being repaired. We are helping CRT engage with local organisations and councils with the aim of replacing some of the benches next year. In the meantime since July two benches have had sections intentionally broken, which we have either repaired or replaced. Graham and Susan Russell
GNOSALL CANAL FESTIVAL 2021 (16/18 JULY)
Just a quick reminder about the revised date for the Gnosall Canal festival. In the event of a continuing pandemic, final decision to be taken at end of May. Full information available at their website www.gnosallcanalfestival.co.uk
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OUR CANAL HERITAGE In “British Canals” waterways hero Charles Hadfield highlights 45 canal projects authorised in the years of the Canal Mania with a capital of nearly £8million (perhaps two hundred times as much today). This was an extraordinary investment, made by investors with inherited wealth or those with new riches from trade around the empire joined by yeoman farmers and those who speculated to lose what little they had. This investment that has been highlighted in a recent statement by the Canal & River Trust pointing out that the story of our canals is “entwined in the exploitation of people through slavery – both from the money derived from the transatlantic slave trade invested in their construction, and through the cargoes produced by enslaved people that the canals were built to carry including sugar, cotton, and tobacco.” Ellesmer ewarehouse 2019 Without suggesting that other forms of (photo by Peter Brown) exploitation are equivalent, it can be added that eighteenth century wealth was also derived from growing numbers of mines and factories across Britain, and from clearances or enclosures and the development of country estates right across the British Isles. Children were at work in mines and wool and cotton mills. Canal navvies in shanty towns were paid in tokens so they could only buy provisions in the employer’s shop, at inflated prices.
They were hard times. And they were the days which saw the development of the canals which are our inheritance today. Whatever we may think of how they came about, we now treasure that inheritance: structures such as bridges and aqueducts of local stone or brick, locks which work so simply (if sometimes reluctantly) with timber and ironwork little different from materials that had been used for centuries in castles and cathedrals and the navies of King Henry and King George. The IWA has been campaigning for our waterways for nearly a quarter of their history. “Working to protect and restore the country's 6,500 miles of canals and rivers” as we say. Today part of that campaign is for the heritage which makes our waterways. The branch has tried to focus attention on the Ellesmere warehouse, sadly neglected for so many years. It must be more than thirty years since we had a rally stall inside that building. Disappointingly, despite its protected status, we have not yet been able to get anyone to do anything about it.
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Ellesmere Warehouse is listed, but many structures of the canal age are not. I can think of more than a handful which will not last unless care is taken. There are too settlements which grew around the canal – think of Frankton or Maesbury on the Montgomery Canal – where buildings – or the settlement itself – may lose the characteristics which tell their story.
This is serious stuff. No less than ensuring that the structures we have Hut at Garthmyl on the Montgomery Canal. inherited survive to tell the canal story What was it for? How long will it last? to future generations. There can be a vision of our canals as a linear park with manicured lawns and decorated with artworks, but that has little to do with their story as working arteries, of coal and corn, iron and timber, of boatmen and their horses working hard for long hours to feed the nation and its furnaces. This heritage needs someone to care for it – maybe more than one person, and maybe not one person for all 130 miles in the branch area ( – and that’s not counting the lost canals where significant remains may still be seen) – someone to look at these canals, to note the toll houses, stables, warehouses, bridges and aqueducts and their condition. Desktop research will reveal whether and to what extent they are protected. The canalside warehouse at Dragon Bridge, Arddleen has deteriorated in the last few years. How long will it last?
I had another ending to this article and then Waterways came through my letterbox – and yours too. You can read there that ‘while parts of our inland waterways are protected as places of special historical, architectural or scientific interest … there remain many hundreds of miles of canals and rivers, plus their related buildings or artefacts, that are not safeguarded in any way.’ IWA, it says, ‘seeks to highlight … the continuing importance of preserving historic waterways assets for the enjoyment of future generations’. Do read that article about the waterway heritage and the risks to it. We are talking about everything that makes today’s waterways places we enjoy, places which tell the story of their working past. They really would not be the same without that story: would you help us pass it on to future generations? Michael Limbrey
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CABIN FEVER On our summer cruise on the Llangollen Canal, I fancied some exercise after a day at the tiller. While my tired crew rested from a hard day scraping aged varnish, I took my twitchy legs for a walk. We had a lovely mooring overlooking Blakemere, but the only mere with a path all the way around is Colemere, so that’s where I went. Access is via Bridge 56, taking a quiet lane south past a few picturesque cottages. As the lane turns uphill, a sign invites you in to Colemere Countryside Heritage Site through a gate on your left. The Meres in this area were formed at the end of the ice age, around 12000 years ago. Blocks of ice became buried underground as moving glaciers shunted huge lumps of land about. These blocks then melted, and the land above collapsed. They are of varying depth and provide a wide range of habitats – for this reason Colemere is named a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) and a Ramsar site, this for its importance as a wildfowl site. As you enter, the mere can only be glimpsed through the margins of a magnificent mature woodland. The path is wide and level with no problem anywhere with social distancing. At the far end you reach the Colemere Sailing club, in existence for 60 years now. It’s huge – I thought it was a private house on approach – with the dinghies when not in use pulled up on a bank alongside.
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This end of the mere is more open with a grassy picnic space with a free car park for visitors by road. Continuing round, we pass through another gate into the wildflower meadow – dogs need to go on leads here especially in the nesting season. In July much of the grass had gone to seed but it was clear to see what a wonderful display it must have been earlier in the year. It’s overlooked by St. John the Evangelist church, built in 1869 of materials brought in by canal via Lyneal Wharf.
As we start to close the circle, we enter Yell Wood – more mature woodland, and the path still easy – I passed a mother and buggy here without problems. At the fork, turn left to complete the tour of the mere. Colemere is beautiful at any time of year: in spring it has migrating birds and a mass of flowers in the hay meadows: the trees provide the colour in the autumn: winter has its own beauty, but as a forager I was so chuffed to see the wild raspberries cropping heavily – yum! Alison Smith
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THE END OF AN ERA I suppose the first hint that the end was nigh was when we took Coriolan up to Llangollen and were moored in the basin there; as a break from watching the moorland fires on the Berwyn Range we cleared out the boat of accumulated old newspapers, magazines and CRT circulars and in the process I unwittingly committed the log to the municipal recycling skip. This log went back to when I first owned a boat in 1987 and where every mile traversed and lock worked, totalling a few thousand of each, were faithfully recorded. The fates were trying to tell me something.
The following year I spent time having not very serious but time consuming things done to me in hospital and anyway I became convinced that climbing up lock ladders with a windlass in my belt and holding a rope was not a suitable or safe pastime for a 75 year old with a dodgy knee. The cost per trip, with licence and mooring fees, was becoming high anyway, so a decision was made in autumn 2019 to sell the boat, but who wants to buy a boat in the winter and the mooring and licence was paid up to 2020 so the spring seemed better. Then along came the pandemic and I was put into ‘sheltered’ lockdown by the authorities, so couldn’t even get to Swanley to tidy her up until August. The plus side was that with the sudden public passion for staycations and distaste for going to sunny climes in a flying petri dish, it became a seller’s market, and in fact she sold for a good price within a month of going on the market. This period even allowed for a survey, and I saw the resultant document which was to my mind somewhat bizarre in criticising it for not having the bottom plate blacked; maybe the surveyor was used to deeper cuts than the SUC system! The process of boat selling seems to follow the same ritual as a house on a smaller scale; you ask a silly price, accept a lower offer, and then have a bit of a haggle over the surveyor’s report; the ritual reminded me of Jane Austen’s formal ‘country dances’.
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The whole saga started back in the 1970’s. We saw an advertisement for a cut price offer of a holiday on the Broads, and with the benefit of hindsight I now know why it was cheap. The boat was like a CRT mud hopper but made out of plastic and had all the style and swim of a brick, but we had fun, didn’t drown either of the lads or totally wreck the boat though I do remember my first, but not last, instance of looking at the bank to decide whether the boat or the current was winning. A second trip, in a better boat on the Broads a few years later was followed by a decision to try something not so flat so we had a couple of holidays in a hireboat from Wrenbury (then English County Cruises). In the second of these the late lamented made the fateful comment that ‘hiring is very expensive, why don’t we try and buy one’. The idea that owning is cheaper than hiring is laughably wrong but a financial windfall at the time enabled us to go for a new one. A trip with notebook and tape measure to a few boat shows was followed by a tour of boat builders. I should mention that my handicraft abilities are less than negligible and I never achieved much more than an oil change.
Of the builders we settled on David Piper, father of Simon, and a wonderfully eccentric guy who informed me that our choice of paint was ‘bloody horrible’ but who still featured her in his WW ad. The only fault was that his signwriter was dyslexic, a slight occupational drawback, so the Piper serial number on one side was 316 and on the other 361. Car ownership for me is measured in decades rather than years, and that certainly applies to boats so for some 15 years we enjoyed Leonore. Holidays were restricted by work, and when I became self employed there was one occasion when I was tempted by a phone call enough to turn round a day out and change plans.
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We reached Stratford and Oxford and got to Cosgrove on the GUC and Sharpness by the Severn. One memorable Christmas cruise took us up the Llangollen when it was so cold even that canal froze over, and the Squirrel stove was practically glowing red with dampers full open. We were both keen on music and had got a good hi-fi system installed with speakers built in. A woodlined narrowboat is an acoustic dream and when moored up on our own Mahler at full wellie kept the ducks awake. One year we decided to ‘do’ the BCN and plodded up Perry Bar locks and along the Tame Valley. Ryders Green had been drained by the locals so had to be reset and I had ten trips down the weed hatch. When we finally limped into Gas St and moored up Louisa reasonably commented ‘right done that, now can we go somewhere nice.’ This idyll was brought to an abrupt halt when she died in 2002. I decided that single handed boating would be better with a smaller boat; this reasoning was totally inaccurate but at that time I also joined the branch committee so wasn’t being very rational. I sold Leonore (52’) and bought Coriolan (42’). Fans of Beethoven will recognize the boat names after his Overtures - I never reached Egmont. An early solo trip was down to an IWA National at Burton, where a canine illness caused a two day stopover at Red Bull; doing the Cheshire Hill singlehanded is interesting. After a few years Gilly and I got together so then a crew of one plus a dog became two plus two dogs. Trips together included a week in Liverpool’s Albert Dock via the Liverpool Link, and an abortive attempt to cross the Ribble Link (Engine overheating entailed a turn back and interesting re-entry into Tarleton tidal lock), as well as a few trips down the Anderton Lift to the Weaver, one of my favourite cruising destinations, and local excursions up the Llangollen and down the Montgomery. It is noticeable that as I got older my desire for long distance cruising lessened, again an indication that maybe one’s cruising days are limited. Well they are now over. I tell myself that we can always hire but think this may be self-delusion. It’s interesting that the total net capital outlay between buying Leonore and selling Coriolan is about £15,000, but that’s before allowing for inflation. What I have left is two windlasses for use in a lockwind, a collection of dog eared Nicholson guides and an anchor which decorates my front garden – plus a lot of memories. Pity about the lost log! Alan Platt
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WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THE ELLESMERE YARD?
Many readers will be familiar with Canal & River Trust’s historic maintenance yard at Ellesmere. After all, it’s more than 200 years old and many people who have boated the Llangollen Canal will have used its service facilities. But more than this, it is probably the last truly historic depot in the CRT estate that is still in use today for the purpose for which it was built. So as you can imagine, alarm bells started ringing in August, when we were alerted to posters appearing in Ellesmere town advertising a ‘drop in’ consultation to seek local residents’ views on future alternative uses for the yard. Some of our members, including our own Michael Limbrey, attended the Saturday consultation in a gazebo on Ellesmere Wharf. Reports suggested that local sentiment towards the yard was very positive, and a number of imaginative suggestions apparently were made to CRT’s consultant, including such uses as a pub or a micro-brewery. As Michael pointed out, these would mark a new departure for CRT’s well-being agenda! Unfortunately, though, I’ve had to use the word ‘apparently’ in the last paragraph because, nearly three months later, we’re still in the dark about what is going on. So far, as far as we know, neither IWA nor any other waterways or heritage organisation has been invited to submit views to the consultation. This writer submitted a question at the CRT West Midlands User Forum meeting in early October seeking clarification as to when we would be invited to contribute, and although reassured by the Region Director that an answer would be chased up, none has yet emerged. It is understandable that the operational context of the yard is changing, possibly hastened by changes in CRT’s working practices whether due to coronavirus or other factors. Indeed, CRT addressed matters such as this in one of the written answers to questions submitted during our recent online presentation with Richard Parry and Daniel Greenhalgh. They said: “No final decision on changes to our Estates portfolio has been made until things become clearer but we will almost certainly be looking to reduce our office numbers; operational yards (such as Norbury) will be subject to a separate review of how we adapt our operations for the future. If we can unlock value by releasing some operational office/ depot space it will help to fund our works to maintain the core waterways.” In the meantime, IWA’s Heritage Advisory Panel has said it will intervene in an effort to ensure that the important heritage aspects of the Ellesmere Yard remain front and centre in any review. Watch this space!
Michael Haig
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A GREAT ESCAPE AND A GREAT LEAP FORWARD Schoolhouse Bridge, Autumn 2020 It has so far taken four years to prepare to rebuild Schoolhouse Bridge: starting with the basic approval for the project itself, then preparing the design and getting that approved, and of course raising the money. Last December we realised that we really could not get all the necessary consents and arrangements in time to start in March 2020. That was lucky – Lockdown struck shortly after we had planned to start! So we told everyone we would like the formalities in place by the end of March 2020. That didn’t happen either – but I am confident we will complete everything soon. We said we would start the main work in March 2021 but first there would be some preparation this autumn. And this autumn we started! With a team of volunteers from the TRAMPS – the active Welshpool Adoption Group – SUCS members and others, two sessions saw the fencing of the areas of adjoining fields we shall use and the construction of the by -pass track for large vehicles which cannot use other routes. We also took delivery of a welfare cabin kindly passed on by the Pocklington Canal Amenity Society. All was of course run under construction site procedures overlaid with social distancing and other appropriate precautions. Days after we finished the Welsh ‘circuitbreaker’ Lockdown struck: as many of our team were from Welshpool they were obviously affected by the stay-at-home order. But we had finished by then, so that was lucky too! The work was all part of the preparation for next year’s main project. Other preparation has involved water and phone services across the bridge site. Openreach installed taller poles so their cable will be high out of the way of our machinery. The water main was a difficult one to crack and it took a while to get the arrangements in place. However we finally were able to book contractors to lay a new water main through the adjoining fields and the company to divert the water supply through it.
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That sounds simple but the contractors have to drill underground along a 3D route that slopes gently down to pass under the canal bed, and gently round the bridge site. Severn Trent then have to connect the new pipe to the existing main and shut off the ‘old’ pipe across the bridge site. All this, I might add, is costing something more than £50,000 over what we had originally expected, and that is one reason why we are still keen to raise funds. This year we lost so many events we hoped to take the Appeal to but fortunately many regular donors have continued their support, and of course we have the IWA’s generous grant from the Tony Harrison Legacy. We are confident we can fund the project, if necessary by borrowing (with consent) funds given for other purposes or with a loan from the generous donor who has supported the project from the start – that means we shall have to carry on fund-raising while the bridge is being built, and afterwards if necessary. In the meantime, one piece of good news is that Tudor Griffiths Group will be supplying materials for the bridge at cost. Mr Griffiths himself has been interested in the restoration for a long time: he volunteered when Waterway Recovery Group was restoring Aston Locks and the new Aston nature reserves are on land leased from him. The plan is to start the reconstruction of the bridge in the spring. We hope that some or all of the team that helped this year will return. We are always on the lookout for more volunteers, especially anyone with construction site experience – though that’s not essential. As it is a small site we shall operate small teams undertaking concentrated spells of volunteer work between the specialised tasks by contractors. With enough volunteers we would not Could you drive a roller or digger? need everyone on site every day. This could be valuable experience for a younger person looking to build up a CV, or an opportunity for someone between jobs or retired or approaching retirement.
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Photo © Macrete (Ireland) Ltd showing the bridge structure (though Schoolhouse Bridge will be smaller than this)
This sketch showing a narrowboat passing under the bridge gives a good idea of the scale of planned Schoolhouse Bridge works
The essential feature of the Schoolhouse Bridge project is that – unlike other canal restoration bridge projects – it must be finished in less than twelve months from now so we are not asking for a long-term commitment. And what could be more exciting than the installation of the new arch in just a single day? Do you know anyone who would be interested in one of the most exciting projects of 2021? Do get in touch. Michael Limbrey contact@restorethemontgomerycanal.uk
Footnotes
There’s an unusual highway formality: the public’s right to use the highway extends, we are told, over the full width of the present embankment. However, as the new bridge will be narrower, we have to apply for an order stopping the highway rights across the air where the embankment used to be. Notices will have to be posted: could someone volunteer to stand there to explain the reason to puzzled passers-by? After Schoolhouse Bridge will be a new bridge as a farmer’s crossing 200 yards below Crickheath Bridge. We have already received a substantial donation for this (but we might have to use it if we don't raise all we need for Schoolhouse Bridge). CRT’s agreement with the farmer means it has to be a fixed bridge. We had thought of an arch like the one to be used at Schoolhouse Bridge or a flat-deck bridge like many further south on the canal. Now a culvert has been suggested – we used to call them Armco and have so far resisted them on the Montgomery. It might be cheaper and more suitable for volunteers to construct. What would it look like? You may know the ‘new’ summit tunnel at Galton Bridge, Smethwick. Perhaps there is not much that is ‘heritage’ about such a structure (though interestingly a culvert in Ireland has been faced with conventional bridge portals). Is this what you thought a new bridge on the Montgomery Canal would look like?
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BRAIN OF MONTY QUIZ 2020 Spring cleaning finished, cupboards and bookcases sorted, work boxes tidier than they have ever been and the shed with everything in its place? So now you must be looking for something to do. The Brain of Monty quiz is the perfect solution with clues (from the 2018 quiz) like West Bank of the Seine and Adored and Followed around by Nigel and Nellie you can have hours of fun! Apart from the prestige of winning the coveted title of 'Brain of Monty 2020' for which you will need perfect vision, you could also win the £25 prize, all for just £1. Why not give it a go and join the elite group of 'Brain of Monty' enthusiasts? The proceeds will go towards the restoration of the two miles of the Montgomery Canal from Crickheath to Llanymynech as part of the Restore The Montgomery Canal! appeal. The winner will be announced in December on www.restorethemontgomerycanal.uk PLEASE PLEASE HELP US Are you willing to sell copies of the quiz now that you are allowed to meet with a few friends and family? It would be fantastic if every member of the Branch could buy/sell just 5 copies. If you are willing please send: SAE (A5 16 x 23cm) plus £1 for a single copy or SAE (as above) plus £5 and sell the other copies to family and friends or SAE plus £1 and a donation to help the canal restoration From past experience £1 coins travel easily through the post, suitably wrapped. However notes and cheques are far safer. Cheques should be made payable to: Restore the Montgomery Canal and sent to: Brain of Monty Quiz, Wyndcliff, Pen-y-Garreg Lane, Pant, Oswestry, SY10 8JS Yes we really do need your help to reach the target of selling 1000 copies especially as all the canal events have been cancelled so far this year. Just think of what your contribution will do for the restoration project. A big thank you to everyone who responded to the request in the Spring edition of this magazine; your support it much appreciated. Closing date for entries is 1st December 2020 Dawn Aylwin
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PLANNING A CRUISE?
The information below from CRT may be useful if you are planning a cruise in or near our branch area.
Winter Stoppages
A full list of Canal & River Trust’s planned 2020/21 winter stoppages can be downloaded from https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/media/ report/winter-notices.pdf
Frankton Locks
Winter 2020 Season Opening Times: 9 am - 12 noon daily (6 Nov 2020—31 March 2021) Booking is required 48 hours prior to passage. A return passage must be booked a maximum of 14 days after entry on to the Montgomery Canal. Please arrive at the locks anytime between 9am and 12 noon. There will no passage outside of the opening times. If you have any questions, then please call on 0303 040 4040
Harecastle Tunnel
Winter 2020 Season Opening Times: (1 Nov 2020—28 Feb 2021). From 2nd November until 23rd December 2020 and 4th January until 28th February 2021, booking slots for passage are available on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays only, at the following times:North to South – 8am & 10am / South to North – 9am & 11am Christmas and New Year Period The tunnel is open from 8am to 12noon on 28th, 30th December and 2nd January. Customers must book before 3pm on 23rd December to guarantee a passage booking. For bookings or enquiries email EventsNorthStaffs@canalrivertrust.org.uk or call 0303 040404040.
Anderton Boat Lift
Winter 2020 Season Opening Times: (2 Nov 2020—31 March 2021) The lift is only open on Mondays and Fridays between 10am and 2.30pm. There will be 5 passages of 2 narrowbeam boats on each open day in each direction. NOTE: The lift will be closed for annual maintenance between Mon 30 Nov and Fri 14 Dec with no passages available. Bookings can be made using your online account or call 0303 040404040.
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SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT THE MURDER OF CHRISTINA COLLINS
A few months ago a television programme was devoted to the story of the murder of Christina Collins on the Trent & Mersey Canal, and this was followed by an article in Waterways World. These prompted me to wonder whether anything important had been missed. The story is familiar. In the summer of 1839 Christina Collins (37) took a passage on a Pickfords boat from Preston Brook to London. The crew comprised James Owen (the captain, 39), George Thomas (27), William Ellis (28) and William Musson (a boy). There was much evidence that they had been drinking excessively and that Owen and Thomas, in particular, had been harassing Christina. Wooden sculpture installed at Stone in 2012 to commemorate Christina Collins https://alittlebitofstone.com/2012/04/23/murderfeatures-in-new-exhibition/
This recent photo by Mike Haig suggests the statue could use some TLC!
They claimed that she went ashore at Colwich Lock to walk the towpath, leaving her luggage on board. Thomas and Owen were seen on the towpath at Brindley Bank, just south the aqueduct over the Trent near Rugeley, by William Hatton, a passing boatman; they asked him whether he had seen a woman, and he said he hadn’t. The Pickford’s boat went on, and at Wood End Lock the captain reported that their passenger was missing. Meanwhile Thomas Grant, another passing boatman, had found Christina in the water at Brindley Bank. The three men were charged with murder; all were convicted and sentenced to hang, but Ellis’s sentence was reduced on appeal to transportation for fourteen years.
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Pickfords fly-boats had four crew because they worked continuously between wharves, day and night, on a timetable. Horses were changed regularly. At that time of year, sunset was about 8.40pm and sunrise about 3.40am; in addition, twilight lasted about 50 minutes. There would have been little moonlight, as it was only a crescent moon. The reports do not mention the weather. Witnesses reported the timing of the boat’s passage as follows, though it must be borne in mind that these times are not necessarily accurate: Preston Brook Stoke Stoke Stone Aston Lock Sandon Lock Hoo Mill Lock Brindley Bank Wood End Lock
depart arrive depart pass pass pass pass stopped arrive
7.30 pm noon 4 pm 8 pm 8.30 pm 9.50 pm midnight 1.30 am 5.30 am
Saturday Sunday Sunday Sunday Sunday Sunday Sunday Monday Monday
15 June 16 June
Monday
17 June
17 June
And the other significant time: Christina found dead
5 am
It is therefore possible to analyse the sections of the journey: Preston Brook to Stoke
38 miles
41 locks 16½ hours
Stoke to Stone
8 miles 8 locks 4 hours
Stone to Sandon
4 miles 2 locks about 2¾ hours
Sandon to Hoo Mill
5 miles 2 locks about 2¼ hours
Hoo Mill to Brindley Bank
5 miles 3 locks 1½ hours
Brindley Bank to Wood End
8 miles no locks
4 hours
The first section seems to have been done remarkably quickly. If the speed in the pounds averaged 3mph — about right for a relatively lightly-laden fly-boat in normal circumstances — this left an average of only 5¾ minutes for each lock. This is plausible because most of the locks are in flights so with a large crew the locks could be prepared in advance: Wheelock to Red Bull has 26 locks in 6½ miles; the Stoke flight has 5 locks in just under a mile. However, there are two long tunnels, Preston Brook and Harecastle, which would slow the journey. After Stoke the timings were more leisurely but not unreasonably so, except for the last part, from Brindley Bank to Wood End. But if they had already murdered Christina, why did they delay?
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The accused were not able to give evidence in criminal trials until 1898, as it was assumed that all guilty people would perjure themselves. William Musson, the boy, was reported as saying that Ellis was asleep at the time of the murder — he had heard him snoring — but this evidence seems to have been ignored, possibly it being thought that Ellis had coerced him to say it. However, his being asleep was plausible as in this lock-free section it would be normal for one or two of the crew to be resting. Ellis’s conviction was certainly unsound. If Musson actually used the words ‘at the time of the murder’, it would imply that he was aware that Christina had been murdered by Owen and Thomas. One would think this was the crucial evidence, but the reports do not comment on it. The television programme made much of the surgeon’s statement that death was caused by ‘suffocation and drowning’, inferring that these were two separate stages, thus it was certainly murder. However, at the time this was a common form of words used for death by drowning. The programme did not mention one potentially significant piece of background information. The London & Birmingham Railway opened throughout for passengers and goods on 24 June 1838, creating a line continuous from London to Manchester. This had an immediate effect on Pickfords’ fly-boat service. Payments to the Oxford Canal Company (an intermediary stage on the long-distance services) fell by a third in 1839; by 1841 Pickfords’ national boat fleet had been reduced by a quarter. The boatmen must have realised how precarious their continued employment was. Perhaps this made them reckless — they knew they were likely to be sacked anyway, so there was no real penalty for getting drunk. And getting drunk may have led to murder. So, were Owen and Thomas guilty? Although I think they probably did murder Christina, the evidence was too weak to pass the modern test in criminal cases of ‘beyond reasonable doubt’. But the justice system was very different in the nineteenth century — as was life. Peter Brown
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