Canal History walk

Last week's History Society walk along the canal to the north and south of Audlem revealed many interesting facts as well as providing a fascinating insight into the construction of the last of the major canals.

Many will have noticed the building photographed here and assumed it was a stable block. If so, ask yourself how the horses would have got back to the towpath. That was the question posed by canal expert Graham Dodd who led the expedition.

Rather than housing horses, the building, constructed in 1914, housed a stonemason, a carpenter and a blacksmith, all providing services related to the maintenance of the canal and the narrow boats working it.

Most on the walk were also surprised to hear that Bridge House, at the Bagley Lane bridge, used to be a bakery servicing the canal traffic.

Graham was asked why grey paint was used so much on the locks. Apparently, at the end of the Great War, the Royal Navy had huge supplies of battleship grey paint which they were happy to sell off. The canal company bought large supplies and a tradition was underway.

The left-hand side of the building that now houses the Shroppie Fly once included an upstairs chapel for the narrow boat crews. Even more surprising was the information from a local resident on the walk. The building was used during the Second World War as a store for a vital wartime commodity – thousands of tins of salmon.

We don't know if the brand of salmon was John West but a member of the group mused whether this is why that part of the local canal is occasionally called the middle cut!

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