2023

SJ9152 : Stockton Brook Waterworks

taken 10 months ago, near to Baddeley Green, Stoke-on-Trent, England

Stockton Brook Waterworks
Stockton Brook Waterworks
Large derelict buildings are always a sad sight, sitting there waiting for somebody to find a use for them. Here the old waterworks at Stockton Brook, reflected in the Caldon Canal on a sunny morning, looks quite benign but in the moonlight from this spot it can seem very spooky indeed. The building dates from 1884 when a deep well was bored in order to pump water from the underlying millstone grit formations which then served the growing population of the pottery towns. It has been disused for many years as this view from 2007 shows: SJ9152 : Stockton Brook Waterworks, Stoke-on-Trent although there have been various development proposals. In 2003 it was reported that the site had been purchased from Severn Trent Water and that the new owners intended to open a restaurant, cafe, conference rooms or possibly a wedding venue. None of that happened and the works were offered at auction in 2018 with 'development potential (subject to planning)' and a guide price of £400,000; there was interest but the property failed to reach its reserve price.
The Caldon Canal

The Caldon Branch of the Trent and Mersey Canal was completed in December 1778, and opened in 1779, specifically as a transport facility for the limestone quarries at Cauldon, near Froghall. In 1797 a secondary branch was built from the original Hazelhurst Locks to Leek. By 1811 a further extension from Froghall led to Uttoxeter, a further 13 miles, but only lasted until 1845. By 1849 a railway had been built, some of the track using the former canal bed. This was also the fate of part of the original canal near Endon.
A major rebuild and rerouting process near Endon resulted in the raising of the level, and three locks being replaced by the three chamber staircase at Hazelhurst Wood near Denford by 1800. A further major rebuild near Hazelhurst was completed by 1841. This included abandoning the troublesome staircase, and creating three single new locks on another new cut, which led to a reusing of part of the original 1778 route, which then passed under a new aqueduct to accommodate the Leek Branch. Thus Hazelhurst Junction was relocated. That is an awful lot of expensive rethinking within the short time frame of just 63 years!

Due mainly to railways taking most of the trade, the canal became little used and almost unnavigable by the early 1960s.

The canal was reopened in 1974 following enormous amounts of work instigated by the Caldon Canal Society, its volunteers, and the British Waterways Board. The current seventeen miles from Etruria to Froghall are a particularly attractive canal for cruising, despite the seventeen locks ... well that isn't too many, is it? ;-)

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Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Stephen McKay and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Derelict, Disused Industry Canals Primary Subject: Works other tags: Waterworks Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
This photo is linked from: Automatic Clusters: · Conference Rooms or Possibly a Wedding Venue [5] ·
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SJ9152, 101 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Stephen McKay   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Monday, 15 May, 2023   (more nearby)
Submitted
Saturday, 20 May, 2023
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SJ 9126 5206 [10m precision]
WGS84: 53:3.9425N 2:7.9127W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SJ 9129 5203
View Direction
Northwest (about 315 degrees)
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Image Type (about): geograph 
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