The Shrewsbury Canal opened in 1797, linking the county town to the local canals of East Shropshire and included a bridge at Wappenshall on the Estate. In 1835 the Newport Branch of the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal opened, running from its new Norbury Junction to Wappenshall to create a junction there. Unusually the wharf warehouses were built and owned by the Estate, a decision taken by the Duke of Sutherland himself against James Loch‘s advice. The Estate continued to manage the wharf until 1850 when it was leased by the canal company and then managed directly, but as a result detailed monthly records of goods transported survive in the Lilleshall collection in Shropshire Archives from this first period.
The site consists of a large basin, the original Thomas Telford skew bridge, a transhipment warehouse over a section of the canal so loads could be hoisted vertically up into the warehouse, and a smaller warehouse probably also designed by Telford. Transhipment was required because the Shrewsbury Canal linked to local tub boat canals which were too small for standard narrow boats.
The canal closed in 1965 despite campaigns to preserve it at the time and the properties were sold off. Eventually Wappenshall Junction was saved from redevelopment for housing in 2009 when Telford and Wrekin Council purchased it and gave the Shrewsbury and Newport Canal Trust (SNCT) a 125 year lease.
In 2025, a huge amount of conservation and development work by SNCT volunteers will come to fruition as the site opens with visitors’ and cafe.
This photos were taken in 2022 during some of the restoration work, showing the original bridge and basin.
