History at Stoke on Trent

 Cruising into Stoke on Trent.....

The weather forecast was bad for this afternoon so we only planned a short journey through the 1 3/4 mile long Harecastle Tunnel built in the 1820's on the recommendation of Thomas Telford.  After the tunnel the canal passes some useful moorings by the attractive Westport Lake, where we often stop, and then onwards through old industrial areas to Stoke's canal centre at Etruria named after Josiah Wedgwood's factory which stood nearby. We moored here at lunchtime.




 1820's steam engine in operation....

The promised rain was heavy but only lasted a few minutes so when it had cleared we walked to the industrial museum.  The main attraction there is Jesse Shirley's bone and flint mill where these materials and stone were ground to make bone china clay for the pottery industry.  It was opened in 1857 and continued working until 1972.  The grinding mill is powered by an 1820s steam beam engine (it was 30 years old when first used in the mill)  thought to be one of the oldest working examples in the country and possibly the only one still connected to the machinery for which it was installed.  Luckily for us this weekend was one of the few each year where the engine is operated.  It was fascinating to see this mostly original ancient engine running smoothly, especially when one considers it was built by hand nearly 200 years ago during the same period as the canals.