 And
then there was this old gate. It was a simple friendly
footpath gate by a bridge on the Montgomery Canal, at the top of a slope
up from the towpath. Now, in these days of public footpaths and public
access-by-right it is easily forgotten that quite recently all towing
paths were private property, part of the essential business structure of
canal transport and definitely not for the public to wander on at will.
In country areas I’m sure they always did but technically they were
always trespassing on private property, even if with the amiable
acquiescence of the canal company. In busy towns the rules might be more
rigidly enforced and those with memories of the Birmingham canals in
their last working days will remember that even then there were very few
places that one could get onto the towpath and many of those were kept
firmly locked. This was not just to keep people out but to keep any
loose boat-horses in and confined to their own canal world. It also
preserved the canal company’s rights of private ownership, by not
allowing the paths to become public rights of way by common use. On the
Shropshire Union in the early 1960s the company still maintained the
comical tradition of locking all their towpath gates on Christmas Eve
for twenty four hours to preserve their legal rights. At Norbury
Junction the gate was only ever used on that one day a year, but it was
of little inconvenience as you could walk round either side of it
anyway. |
 |
|
So an old gate from the private towpath to the
wider world has a broader historical significance than a simple
convenience for dog walkers. There was once a reason for that access,
but it is difficult to know now what that purpose was here at this
bridge at Trwstllewelyn on a narrow lane, apparently miles from anywhere
significant. As there is a slope up to the gate it was clearly intended
for horses, but why? Was there a farm wharf here, or stabling, or a pub
or shop, or a warehouse? Burnt lime for farmland might be the answer but
it is all such a long time ago. This waterway saw its last traffic
before the Second World War and nature and decay have had plenty of time
to soften what might have been a small industrial settlement into the
romantic rural idyll that I am enjoying so much today. The gate remains,
however, hanging slightly askew but still doing its job. |
 |
|
It is a paling gate, vertical boards nailed to
a strong diagonally-braced frame, all apparently in straight grained
larch except for the hanging post which is oak. All the framing joints
are tenoned together and pegged through with oak dowels, and each member
of the main frame is stop-chamfered to give that bit of extra grace and
comfort without sacrificing any strength at the joints. It was painted
grey or green once, perhaps both, but they have faded to a neutral
naturalness that sits quietly in the roadside weeds and ivy, as if in a
sentimental Victorian book illustration, or a romantic chocolate box
picture of a cottage garden. The iron hinges are rusty of course, but
still strong, and the ends are forged into a little linen-fold design to
taper the thickness down to the woodwork. And-- good heavens! what’s
this...? Half way along are stamped the initials SUCo for the Shropshire
Union Company that ran the canal from the 1850s until it closed.
Amazing! Surely this simple gate cannot have lasted that long? |
 |
|
Well, no, actually. Subsequent enquiries
revealed that a lot of these old gates on the Montgomery Canal have been
rebuilt over the years by the British Waterways company carpenters at
Welshpool, many re-using the old SU ironwork over again. This knowledge
pleases me even more in some ways, knowing that the skills and
craftsman’s attitude used for this humble job is actually quite recent
and not necessarily lost in the mists of time like so much other canal
craftsmanship. But this emotive one of mine is certainly getting on a
bit, twenty or more years judging by its condition, and will need
attention soon. Will today’s modern management allow that much
craftsman’s time to be re-invested in a simple gate again? Can they
afford to conserve such a subtle set of values which few people will
even notice, never mind mourn? Even here at Trwstllewelyn the signs are
not good. The old oak gatepost that it hangs from is still pretty sound
although it is clearly very old and could easily date back to SU days,
but its partner to which the gate closed against the bridge abutment has
gone. You can see where it was because the craftsman stone mason had cut
a neat recess in the stonework to accommodate it. Sadly it seems to have
been too much work to put it back properly and it has been replaced by a
tanalised fencepost driven into the ground alongside with a bit of a
bent wire hook to hold the gate shut instead of a proper iron latch.
Sad, but not yet irredeemable. If only we could concentrate on getting
the conservation correct on these tiny details perhaps the bigger
historic canal story would be safe for the future too. Our descendants
deserve it. |
 |
|
Tony Lewery
The Brow, Ellesmere
June 2005 |
