North Staffordshire Canals

Sir Nigel Gresley’s Canal was an early example, and he secured an advantageous Act of Parliament to bring coal into Newcastle Under Lyme. So, when others wished to connect the town to the Trent & Mersey Canal they were prevented from profiting from much of the coal trade, rather undermining their business model.

The Burslem Branch was built to service the ceramics industry and was closed quite late in canal terms (1962).

The Uttoxeter Canal, extending from the southern reaches of the Caldon Canal was an early casualty of the march of technology and was sold to become a railway bed. Much of it can only be traced by LIDAR now.

Canals covered

  • Sir Nigel Gresley’s Canal

  • Newcastle Under Lyme Canal

  • Uttoxeter Canal

  • Burslem Branch Canal

Want to download the map to help you explore?

Here are two Google Maps that you can download for your personal use. (You will need to zoom in a lot to see the detail).

The map titled RSL shows canal as single lines, that titled RPL shows them as polygons that can be clicked to show more detail. Clicking the square brackets at the top right corner of the map will open it in your ‘Google My Maps’. See the ‘Explanatory Notes’ page for more detail.

SIR NIGEL GRESLEY'S CANAL

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Nigel_Gresley%27s_Canal

https://www.thepotteries.org/waterways/n_c_gresley.htm

BURSLEM BRANCH CANAL

https://www.burslemport.org.uk/guide/what-was-the-burslem-branch-canal

https://www.rchs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Burslem-Canal-Notes.pdf

https://waterways.org.uk/waterways/discover-the-waterways/burslem-branch-canal

https://www.burslemport.org.uk/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burslem_Port_Trust