page_title: Llangollen Canal
section_title: Hurleston to Frankton Junction
hierarchical_section_title: Llangollen Canal / Route / Hurleston to Frankton Junction
caption_attribution_description: English: Bridge "Wrenbury Lift #2" Manual-lift bridge just north of Wrenbury in Cheshire, over the Llangollen Canal to allow passage of boats underneath. Sometimes these are chained to the ground to prevent casual lifting, when require releasing with the aid of a windlass.
context_page_description: The Llangollen Canal is a navigable canal crossing the border between England and Wales. The waterway links Llangollen in Denbighshire, north Wales, with Hurleston in south Cheshire, via the town of Ellesmere, Shropshire. The name, which was coined in the 1980s, is a modern designation for parts of the historic Ellesmere Canal and the Llangollen navigable feeder, both of which became part of the Shropshire Union Canals in 1846.
  The Ellesmere Canal was proposed by industrialists at Ruabon and Brymbo, and two disconnected sections were built. The northern section ran from Ellesmere Port on the River Mersey to Chester, where it joined the Chester Canal, and opened in 1795. Work on the southern section began at Frankton, with a line southwards to Llanymynech, and subsequently, a second section was built westwards towards Trevor. This involved crossing the Afon Ceiriog and the River Dee, which was achieved by building two vast aqueducts, using iron troughs to contain the water. The Ceiriog was crossed at Chirk, and Chirk Aqueduct opened in 1801, to exploit local supplies of iron and coal.
context_section_description: The canal at Hurleston Junction rises from the Shropshire Union Canal main line, through four adjacent locks, with a total rise of 34 feet 3 inches (10.44 m). The canal had been an early pioneer in the use of iron lock gates, instead of the more traditional wooden ones, and this material was first used on the locks at Frankton in 1819. The four locks here have a mixture of wooden and metal gates. All were built by the engineer J Fletcher around 1805. Lock 1 has metal lower gates, and a wooden upper gate, while gates at both ends of lock 2 are made of metal. The metal gates on both locks were replaced in 1974. Locks 3 and 4 have a single metal gate at the upper end, and wooden mitre gates at the lower end. Like many of the structures on the canal, they are grade II listed structures.
  Beside the locks is Hurleston Reservoir, which has a capacity of 85 million imperial gallons (390 Ml). It is supplied with water that flows down the canal from Horseshoe Falls at Llantisilio, and is used both for drinking water and to supply the main line of the Shropshire Union Canal.
  Water enters it through a side channel with sluices and a weir, just above lock number 4. The treatment works on the west bank is now operated by United Utilities, and was given a £6 million upgrade in 2003.
  Just beyond the A534 Wrexham Road bridge is the entrance to Swanley Bridge Marina, on the west bank of the canal. It has moorings for over 300 boats, and is situated in 250 acres (100 ha) of farmland, which includes a 7-acre (2.8 ha) wood with nature trails. It opened in September 2006, and was built in response to a document published by British Waterways in the spring of that year, which outlined development opportunities for farmers and landowners adjacent to the canal.
  The two Swanley locks raise the level of the canal by another 12 feet 10 inches (3.91 m), and by the upper lock is the grade II listed Swanley Hall, a red-brick farmhouse parts of which date from the early 16th century. Baddiley Hall, which has three storeys and an attic, and dates from the late 17th century, is set some distance back from the canal. In its grounds is the grade I listed parish church of St. Michael, the chancel of which dates from 1308, while the nave dates from 1811. Both are separated from the canal by a scheduled monument site, containing the earthworks and buried remains of an abandoned medieval village. The three Baddiley locks follow, with a combined rise of 19 feet 8 inches (5.99 m).
  After passing Wrenbury Hall, on the west bank, the canal turns to the west, and is crossed by the Wrenbury Church lift bridge, the first of three lift-bridges in the village. It is formed of timber planks fixed between wooden beams, and the bridge deck is hinged at the northern end. A weighted counterbalance allows the bridge to be opened, and the structure is grade II* listed. Wrenbury lift bridge, No. 20, is automated, with push-button controls. It is operated by use of a British Waterways key, and involves closing barriers and stopping traffic on a sometimes-busy road. Wrenbury Wharf is next to the bridge, where the former mill building has been reused by a boatyard, and a nearby warehouse has become a pub.
  At Grindley Brook, the canal was crossed by the defunct Whitchurch and Tattenhall Railway. The railway and the nearby Grindley Brook Halt railway station closed in 1957, and goods traffic ceased in 1963, but the massive embankments and bridge remain. Immediately afterwards, the canal passes through three locks and a three-chamber staircase lock, attended during summer months by a lock keeper. The six locks raise the level of the canal by 38 feet 11 inches (11.86 m). After another mile (1.6 km), there is a lift bridge just before the entrance to the Whitchurch Arm, which served the town of Whitchurch. Part of it remains open, and is used for moorings. The section from the main line to Sherryman's Bridge was opened on 6 July 1808, and in 1811 a further extension into the town reached Castle Well. The arm remained closed when the canal reopened in the 1950s, but Whitchurch Town Coun
caption: Wrenbury Church lift bridge is one of three in the village.
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