Hall Green Branch
Encyclopedia
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
in east Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England. It runs for one mile from Kidsgrove
Kidsgrove
Kidsgrove is a town in the borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England, near the border with Cheshire. It forms part of The Potteries Urban Area in North Staffordshire, along with Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme. It has a population of 24,112...
to Hall Green, where it makes an end-on junction with the Macclesfield Canal
Macclesfield Canal
The Macclesfield Canal is a canal in east Cheshire, England, one of the six that make up the Cheshire Ring.-Route:The canal runs from Marple Junction at Marple, where it joins the Upper Peak Forest Canal, , southwards , before arriving at Bosley.Having descended the 12 Bosley Locks over the course...
at Hall Green Stop Lock.
Whilst originally built by the Trent and Mersey Canal
Trent and Mersey Canal
The Trent and Mersey Canal is a in the East Midlands, West Midlands, and North West of England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities—east of Burton upon Trent and west of Middlewich—it is a wide canal....
Company, is often considered as part of the Macclesfield Canal
Macclesfield Canal
The Macclesfield Canal is a canal in east Cheshire, England, one of the six that make up the Cheshire Ring.-Route:The canal runs from Marple Junction at Marple, where it joins the Upper Peak Forest Canal, , southwards , before arriving at Bosley.Having descended the 12 Bosley Locks over the course...
in modern maps and guidebooks.
At Poole Lock aqueduct, the canal crosses over the Trent and Mersey Canal
Trent and Mersey Canal
The Trent and Mersey Canal is a in the East Midlands, West Midlands, and North West of England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities—east of Burton upon Trent and west of Middlewich—it is a wide canal....
main line, which it joins, after a further half mile, at Harding Junction. This junction is about three quarters of a mile from Harecastle Tunnel
Harecastle Tunnel
Harecastle Tunnel is a canal tunnel on the Trent and Mersey Canal at Kidsgrove in Staffordshire. It is made up of two separate, parallel, tunnels described as Brindley and the later Telford after the engineers that constructed them. Today only the Telford tunnel is navigable...
, northern portal.
Hall Green Stop Lock
The stop lock at Hall Green, which has a 6 inch fall from the Macclesfield to the T&M, was originally built as two chambers end to end, to allow for either canal to be higher. The second chamber fell into disuse when the weir level on the top pound of the Trent and Mersey Canal was permanently lowered after nationalisation to improve the air draft in Harecastle Tunnel.Whilst the fall of the lock may appear trivial, it cannot be taken out of use (as many stop locks have), because lowering the bottom pound of the Macc would lead to draft problems on the Macclefield (which is a fairly shallow canal), and raising the top pound of the T&M would lead to air draft problems on the T&M through Harecastle tunnel. Indeed, as Harecastle continues to sink, the weir level may be lowered further, leading to an increased fall at this lock.
See also
- Canals of the United KingdomCanals of the United KingdomThe canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a colourful history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's role for recreational boating...
- History of the British canal systemHistory of the British canal systemThe British canal system of water transport played a vital role in the United Kingdom's Industrial Revolution at a time when roads were only just emerging from the medieval mud and long trains of pack horses were the only means of "mass" transit by road of raw materials and finished products The...