Monday 3rd
September 2018
We began the day by clipping Harvey. A joint effort that neither of us
had been looking forward too. He had always been done professionally before. He
maybe doesn’t look as good but he looks OK and we were both surprised at how patient
he was, although we did think that he would have put up with virtually anything
because he does not get the same attention on the boat as he did when we lived
in a house.
The tiling above the cooker hob was finished by sealing the top edge
with silicone, it has turned out a success and looks good.
We both got changed, dressing nicely for once, and walked up into
Shardlow for our lunch, taking photos on the way. We are moored about ¾ mile
beyond the village itself.
Shardlow was an Inland Port long before the canals came. It’s close
proximity to the River Trent assured this. However, with roads being in a
primitive state, trade would only have served the immediate locality. The
building of the Trent and Mersey Canal in 1777 opened up much more of the
interior of the country to trade and linked the Trent and the Mersey to the
Midlands.
This would have brought much more trade to Shardlow, which would have
been a hub of activity, with cargoes being transferred from Trent barges onto
canal narrowboats for onward transportation and vice versa for incoming goods.
Along with this would have been many associated businesses. Boatbuilding and
repair, blacksmithing, stabling, ropeworks, brewing, warehousing to name a few.
Wherever you look in Shardlow there are reminders of its canal past
and many canal associated buildings. It is a fascinating place for anybody with
an interest.
Shardlow Heritage Centre, formerly a
Salt Warehouse and used by Henry Seddon's of Middlewich
Warehouse converted into luxury
apartments
Broughton House, formerly a Canal Managers
House
presently for sale at £795,000
The Heritage Centre is housed in what used to be a Salt Warehouse.
Many of Henry Seddon’s boats used to come here from Middlewich, for onward
transporting to the East Coast fisheries. I spoke to the woman who runs the
centre. She was a mine of information.
We had come for our lunch in the iconic Clock Warehouse to celebrate
our arrival in Shardlow. This is very much a focal point. Boats would have been
brought through the arch beneath the building so that cargoes could be handled under
cover. Obviously, the building has been somewhat modernised but does still retain
some of the original wooden beams. We had a very leisurely lunch and did not
return to the boat until 6:30 where we, for only the second time, sat down
together and watched some TV.
The iconic
Clock Warehouse, Shardlow
Weather: a hot day but dark clouds moving over early afternoon
bringing some heavy drops of rain. Then hot
again but more light rain late afternoon.
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