Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal

The Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal was a canal in England which ran from Nantwich, where it joined the Chester Canal, to Autherley, where it joined the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. Forming part of a major link between Liverpool and the industrial heartlands of the Midlands, the canal was opened in 1835, and merged with the Ellesmere and Chester Canal Company in 1845, which became the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company in the following year. Thomas Telford was the engineer for the project, although he became increasingly unwell as it progressed. He faced difficulties, due to the need for large cuttings through unstable rock and high embankments. These contributed to completion being three years later than expected, and a cost overrun of £300,000. Construction included the Newport Branch, to link to the Shrewsbury Canal. The main line was 39.5 miles (63.6 km) long and dropped 176 feet (54 m) through 28 locks between Autherley and Nantwich. The locks were mainly grouped into flights, and water was supplied by Belvide Reservoir, which was later enlarged, and is supplemented by the outflow from Barnhurst sewage treatment works. Difficulties with tolls led to the suggestion of a bypass around the short section of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal from Autherley Junction and Aldersley Junction, where the Birmingham main line begins, but the threat of losing all tolls led to the Staffordshire and Worcestershire reducing rates to a more reasonable level. The canal was profitable, and remained so until the mid-1960s. It is now used for leisure boating.