History of the Shropshire Union Canal

Unlike railways, which tended to lose their individualism, many canals kept their own names even after nationalisation. Nevertheless the grouping of waterways under a common umbrella occasionally belies their origins.

The Shropshire Union Canal, or 'Shroppie', is a case in point. The name originally applied to an extensive network of over 200 miles of waterways once owned by the Shropshire Union Railways & Canal Company, including what are now known as the Llangollen Canal, the Montgomery Canal, the Shropshire Union Main Line, the Shropshire Union Middlewich Branch plus various other arms and branches, many of which are long lost.

The Shropshire Union Main Line from Autherley to Ellesmere Port is based on Telford's Birmingham & Liverpool Junction Canal between Autherley and Nantwich, opened in 1835, and incorporates the wider Chester Canal that had opened from Nantwich to Chester in 1774. The Wirral Line of the Ellesmere Canal continued the route to Netherpool, later to become Ellesmere Port, and the short Dee Branch afforded access to the River Dee at Chester. The Middlewich Branch at Barbridge connected this network with the Trent & Mersey Canal.

Within a few years of the Birmingham & Liverpool Junction Canal, opening the threat from railways was already looming large and individual companies began working together. The Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company was formed in the 1840s with the intention of moving into rail freight by building tracks along the canal beds. Fortunately, the proposal never materialised and the waterway remained generally profitable until the company abandoned canal carrying after World War I. By the time of a catastrophic breach in the Shropshire Union's Montgomery line in 1936, traffic had already begun to dwindle: but trade including metal, coal, chocolate and oil derivatives remained substantial on the main line, and continued beyond the 1960s.

What is now the Shropshire Union Canal survived the transition from commerce to leisure and is a popular holiday route. It remains largely rural and the towpath forms part of several long distance walks. The Llangollen Canal is now considered a canal in its own right and has become one of the busiest pleasure waterways on the network, especially in the high season. The Montgomery Canal, once hopelessly lost, is being restored and several miles of navigation have already been reinstated.