Hidden gems of north west canal history will open their doors to the public soon. A 200 year old repair yard and two boat lift toll houses will be open to the public on Heritage Open day, Saturday the 12th of September.
The Ellesmere Yard is a well preserved example of a canal maintenance yard dating back to the early 1800s.The yard will be of interest to canal enthusiasts and families alike with a wide range of activities on offer. Visitors will be able to see inside some of the grade II* listed buildings and tours of the site will be available. Helping to bring the yard alive will be resident blacksmith Rowan Taylor who will be giving demonstrations using traditional techniques and producing bespoke items for sale. The site has kept its historic links and is still in use today as the operating base for the Canal & River Trust’s team who look after the Llangollen and Montgomery Canals.
For younger visitors there will be ‘Canal & River Trust Explorers’ activities including the chance to build your own canal! Visitors will also be able to see Saturn, the restored horse-drawn Shropshire Union fly-boat, which was originally built more than 100 years ago to travel non-stop, day and night, carrying perishable goods along the canal. See the Saturn website for more about her history and travels.
The Ellesmere yard will also be open on Sunday 13th September, coinciding with the annual Ellesmere Festival weekend. A free water taxi will run along the canal from near the Tesco store in Ellesmere to the site. Car parking will also be available in the field next to the yard on Birch Road. The site is walking distance from Ellesmere town centre.
Refurbished toll houses, notice new lime mortar pointing and new slates. New floors and drainage were laid.
Two toll houses at the Anderton Boat Lift will be open to the public for the first time on Heritage Open Day, Saturday 12 September, when there is also free entry to the visitor centre. The toll houses at the world’s first boat lift have just been refurbished, allowing visitors to step back in time and experience what it was like to book a boat passage a hundred years ago. The £90,000 restoration project carried out by the Canal & River Trust was jointly funded by public donations to the Trust and the Saltscape Partnership, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. We’ve more about the Anderton Boat Lift here.
The Trust plans to furnish the two tiny buildings as they would have appeared early last century and staff are appealing for the public’s help to send in old photos of the toll house and boat lift, and any memories or stories about the lift. Anyone with old photos or stories to share should get in touch with the Trust via email on enquiries.northwalesborders@canalrivertrust.org.uk or telephone 0303 040 4040.
Information and Anderton photo from CRT news releases. Illustrations based one of Eric Gaskell’s canal linocuts.
