Shardlow Heritage Centre - Working Port - about this 18th century canal transhipment port

ShardlowHeritage CentreTheWorking Port 1770 - 1948

SETTINGTHE SCENE

Memoriesfrom the 1830's
1852Plan of the Port
TheCanal Company at Shardlow	(not yet written)
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Memoriesfrom the 1830's -
" I then findmyself on the old coach road once more and will this time steer my coursetowards Derby as there are at least a few people there that I am desirousto see, and I know who will be equally well pleased to see me. ButI must pause here for a minute as this used to be the centre point of attractionin fact the business quarter of the village, here all the day through mightbe heard the creaking of cranes, the rattling of chains, the falling oftimbers, the shouts of the boatmen and wharfmen and all other noises associatedwith a busy little commercial port. In addition to this there wasthe sounds of hammer, axe and saw of the carpenters, the sound of the anviland also the well known noise of the boat builders, the sail manufactoryalso being close by, and when all these were stilled in the silent hoursof night it was yet not altogether hushed into silence for the whole nightthrough at short intervals might be heard the rattling of the coach wheelsupon the road and the merry notes from the bugle horn of the guard of stagecoach or the red coat of the Mail, on the Canal the same for the fly boatsof Pickford kept on in like manner through night as well as day and frommany of those seemingly illiterate men might be heard discoursed the sweetestof music which in the night time was delightful to hear.

In front ofme as I stand is the old warehouse in which was the Clock and the bellwhich was rung to give notice to the men to commence and to leave off work,and also the lock and the Inn and the stables for the horses." - GeorgeGilbert's unpublished memoirs written 1882 about his early life in Shardlowas an apprentice blacksmith in the 1830's.

view from theIdle Bridge on the old coach road

Canal, Basin and WarehouseDevelopment - overview
The Trent and Mersey Canal was builtthrough the years 1766 - 1777. The section through Shardlow was completed1770.
The earliest map we know ofis a 1778 plan of the complete T & M Canal, in book form, andthe section for the north end of the canal survives (British Waterways)but we have so far been unable to locate the other half that includes Shardlow.If found, this would give a valuable insight into how much of the portwas created when the canal was first built. The earliest map we have ofthe port is 1816 and shows about a dozen warehouses and 12 canal basins.So by 1816 all the canal basins that we know of had been constructed butsome of the dozen warehouses were later replaced, and additional ones werebuilt. All those with the distinctive sunburst windows were built post1816. There was a similar warehouse with sunburst windows on the DerbyCanal in Derby with the date stone 1820.

"The Trent and Mersey Canal runsthrough the village and joins the river Trent about 1/2 mile below. Onits banks and branches are several extensive coal and timber wharfs witha large warehouse for iron, another for cheese, corn and salt and othercarrying establishments. For many years this was an improving place, butsince the opening of the Midland and other railways the business of thisplace has been gradually declining."
Harrison's Directoryof 1860 (Derbyshire)

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1852PLAN and key

1.	The Canal Tavern	21.	Soresby's warehouse and dockyard
2.	Shardlow Lock and Lockhouse	22.	The Maltings - built 1799 as a brewery
3.	'B' warehouse	23.	Coal Wharf - owned by Charles Cope
4.	'A' Warehouse	24.	New Inn - owned by Mary Cope - providedaccommodation for boatmen
5.	The Limes - offices of the T &M Canal Co (demolished)	25.	Cowlishaw's Row, since renamed LongRow
6.	The fishponds of Shardlow Hall	26.	Soresby and Flack's wharf, showingthe grain warehouse next to which a steam corn mill was later sited
7.	Salt warehouse, Cottages & housesbuilt by Thomas Sutton	27.	Corn warehouse on the site occupiedby the Trent Brewery from 1860 to 1970's
8.	Idle Bridge - named after boatmen'waiting for work'	28.	Coal wharf and the Lawn(s)
9.	Cottages and shop (demolished whenLondon Road was widened)	29.	Soresby's wharf including warehouses,stabling and offices
10.	Iron Warehouse, blacksmith's shopetc. belonging to Thomas Soar and James Sutton (demolished in 1890's)	30.	the Soresby family home (built 1770's),now the Lady in Grey restaurant
11.	Two docks, nailshop, paint and tarshed etc. belonging to James Sutton (all gone)	31.	the Ropery, owned by James Sutton,later run by the Henshall family
12.	'C' warehouse - c. 1820	32.	the Ropewalk
13.	Derwent House - one time officesof the Trent Navigation Company - 1794	33.	the Navigation Inn built by ThomasSutton 1778/1779
14.	Row of canal workers cottages	34.	Broughton House built by ThomasSutton in the 1790's and occupied by James Sutton the elder until his deathin 1830 and then by James Clifford, his friend and agent - and later partnerof James Sutton junior
15.	'D' warehouse - 1816	35.	Wharf occupied in the early yearsof the port by the Soresby's and later (by the 1850's) by the Sutton'sconsisting of a 1780's? long warehouse and an 1820's rectangularwarehouse with sunburst windows
16.	'E' warehouse - 1792
17.	The Iron Warehouse
18.	2 cottages; one the home of theGilbert family, whose son George wrote memoirs in 1882
19.	Soresby's Wharf
20.	The Firs (built in the 1790's) -owned by the Soresby family