The private Donnington Wood Canal carried coal, limestone, and ironstone from mines and quarries to industries in the area and beyond. To the northwest of plantation an inclined plane carried wagons on rails between upper and lower sections of the canal and gave its name to the woodland.
In 1891, Forbes’ survey described the plantation:
The lower part of this wood consists almost entirely of Oak with a little Larch and Scots fir with underwood. The trees are about forty years of age, a number of which may be cut. The portion above the canal has been recently thinned, but a quarter of an acre of Willow rods etc in the East corner are ready for cutting.
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Paul Tidy’s excellent series about the tub boat canals of the Telford area includes the inclined plane about 3 minutes in to this episode: