The
Parliamentary Act for the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal was
passed in 1766, the same year as the act for the Trent & Mersey
Canal. The Staffs. & Worc. was designed by James Brindley as part
of the Grand Cross linking
the Thames, Trent, Severn and Mersey. It is 46 miles long and links the
River Severn at Stourport with the Trent & Mersey Canal at Great
Haywood.
It was opened in 1772, the year that Brindley died.
The Tixall section starts at Brindley's Aqueduct and
finishes
just before the junction with the Trent & Mersey at Great
Haywood.
After the aqueduct,
the canal passes under Holdiford road to Tixall Lock, the final lock on
the
canal, number 43.
The quay opposite
the Lock Cottage was used to transport the stone quarried at Tixall,
with a
derrick crane larger than the current imported replacement.
There is a small bridge
under the private road leading to Lock Farm, and the canal then passes
to Tixall Wide, a long, broad reach created to enhance the view from
Tixall Hall.
The towpath at
Tixall Wide passes alongside the edge of Raw
Bones Meadow, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, or SSI,
especially noted for its marsh flora and wading birds.
The final bridge leading
to the water meadows, is called the swivel bridge, although now it is a
simple brick arch.
The canal then leaves Tixall
before joining the Trent and Mersey canal at Great Haywood.