Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal
From Wyfopedia
The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal starts from the River Severn at Stourport and goes through Wilden, Kidderminster, Wolverley, Cookley and Caunsall before leaving the Wyre Forest area and entering Staffordshire. The total length of the canal is 46 miles (74 km) from the River Severn to Great Haywood where it joins the Trent and Mersey Canal.
Although built between 1766 and 1771, the canal was only fully opened in 1772 but it was operational in Kidderminster by 1770. It was engineered by James Brindley as part of his Grand Cross plan for waterways connecting Hull, Liverpool and Bristol.
In 1959 the canal was considered for closure, but through the efforts of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal Society it was saved.
There are still sections of the Canal within Wyre Forest that require further renovation. At Pratt's Wharf (miss-named Platts Wharf by the Ordnance Survey) on the main line of the canal is a remaining section of the canal that originally joined it with timber mills in Wilden. It was chiefly used to carry timber to a steam Saw Mill in Wilden. Later it was used to transport coal and iron to the Wilden Works. <ref>Stourport-on-Severn Civic Society. Newsletter No 41. June 2005. </ref>
[edit] References
<references/>
[edit] External links
| This article, or part of this article is also referred to in Wikipedia: |
| See: Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal |
