Description: Also known as Shardlow no. 2 lock
The Trent and Mersey Canal begins at the Bridgwater Canal within a few miles of the River Mersey, near Runcorn, and finishes at a junction with the River Trent between Shardlow and Sawley. It is just over ninety miles long. Shardlow, is one of England's best preserved canal towns and was once a thriving inland river and canal port. The canal is one of James Brindley's contour canals and was constructed between 1766 - 1777. The section through Shardlow was completed 1770. It was through this that the village began to develop. The canal was used to transport raw materials and goods such as pottery from Stoke on Trent. On completion of the canal Shardlow started to develop rapidly with the building of numerous warehouses including Steven's old corn warehouse and a salt warehouse which now houses the heritage centre. The earliest map we have of the port is 1816 and shows about a dozen warehouses and 12 canal basins. So by 1816 all the canal basins had been constructed but some of the dozen warehouses were later replaced, and additional ones were built. Harrison's Directory of 1860 gives the following quote...'The Trent and Mersey Canal runs through the village and joins the river Trent about 1/2 mile below. On its banks and branches are several extensive coal and timber wharfs with a large warehouse for iron, another for cheese, corn and salt and other carrying establishments. For many years this was an improving place, but since the opening of the Midland and other railways the business of this place has been gradually declining'.