History | Canal Branch Arm circa 1778
"... the said parties shall, at their equal costs and charges make a Navigable Cut from the Caldon near Norton up to Norton Green thro' the lands of the said Francis Mear called the Paddocks, the Cowhay and the Eyes ..."
Caldon Canal
By the beginning of the 19th Century the pottery industry was making rapid progress, and the difficulty of getting its products to the ports was causing concern to the manufacturers, for the only transport was mostly by horse and cart over rough tracks. Josiah Wedgwood, the famous potter, and James Brindley the noted canal engineer built the Trent & Mersey canal from the Potteries to Liverpool.
Then followed the making of the Cauldon Canal from Leek to the Potteries. At the same time a feeder supply was engineered by the building of a reservoir at Knypersley Pool, through which flows the Trent and a controlled feeder to the canal along the valley to Norton Green.
Liftbridge Norton Green
1778 saw the construction of the branch canal from Norton Green adjoining the Caldon canal enabling easier transportation locally of materials & goods.
According to old records due to lack of construction money 'Liftbridges' - 'Drawbridges' were often built and were originally made from wood.
Norton Green Branch Arm
An arm of the canal came up to Mayer Street, Norton Green and much of the material used by the Cope's foundry came by barge and manufactured goods were able to leave by the same route. Large quantities of coal from the Ryecroft and the Cockshead Colliery were also shipped by canal. The Cottages by the canal were at this time the colliery offices and on renovation some valuable documents came to light. An excellent book entitled 'The Caldon Canal and Tramways' written by Peter Lead gives credence to the industrial importance of this waterway in our locality.
Early in 1777 the canal company was still buying land for the canal in the Shelton area and by 1778 construction of the canal had been carried forward sufficiently to start a number of other projects. One of which was the branch canal to Norton Green built by agreement between John Sparrow, John Hales and Francis Mear.
Map of Branch Arm
A diagram of the Norton Green branch of the canal also indicates tramways from the pits in the vicinity to the wharf at Engine Lock.
Coal was important traffic on the canal, especially from the collieries at Norton. The Norton Ironworks at Ford Green were established in 1886 by Robert Heath, which included the works of Norton Colliery, and a short branch canal was built from Foxley which brought limestone and ironstone to the works. The Foxley branch is often confused with the Norton Green branch built much earlier for the Cockshead Colliery Company. top
The above record was taken from a back issue of an 'Old Nortonian Society' newsletter written by Mr. Geoff Brammer, who at the time of writing them was the Hon. Secretary of the Old Nortonians Society. Sadly Geoff passed away in 2005. Geoff was a highly respected & well known character around the village & surrounding areas & generously contributed his time & energy to the local communities. He also took an interest in the local History and was also a teacher of Photography at the local college. We would like to thank Geoffs widow Mrs. Margaret Brammer who kindly offered the records for the purpose of this Community website.
'… the ghost of a burly bargeman, crushed to death in Engine Lock, still haunts the canal bank in an eerie light at the dead of night pulling a phantom barge full of iridescent limestone, through the mists of time. The silver bow waves dance and shimmer in the light of a hazy moon …'
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