Gnosall, The Wharf And Tunnel c.1955
Photo ref: G22304
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Photo ref: G22304
Photo of Gnosall, The Wharf And Tunnel c.1955

More about this scene

Work on the canal at Gnosall began in 1830. One of the main problems facing the engineers was that they would have to bore a 690yd tunnel at Cowley. However, the rock they were boring through kept crumbling away, leaving the engineer in charge, William Povis, little choice but to open it out and take the top off. In the end, the tunnel, which can be seen in the distance, was reduced in length to just over eighty yards.

An extract from Staffordshire Photographic Memories.

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Staffordshire Photographic Memories

Staffordshire Photographic Memories

The photo 'Gnosall, the Wharf and Tunnel c1955' appears in this book.

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A Selection of Memories from Gnosall

For many years now, we've been inviting visitors to our website to add their own memories to share their experiences of life as it was, prompted by the photographs in our archive. Here are some from Gnosall

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If this has sparked a memory, why not share it here?

I now live in Gnosall Mason Lawn after living on the cut for a number of years when I was forced off due to ill health. I was born in Brineton about 3 miles from Gnosall. I have lived on Masons Lawn now for about 4 years and it's ok.
The Boat is the name of the Inn on the left of the picture. As children we used to walk across the top of bridge wall and, as a further dare, across the pipes which ran just below the parapet, above the water.    Once, when I was serenely paddling the canoe back from Cowley Tunnel, a loaded barge came up behind me 'out of no-where'. It was MUCH BIGGER than I would have thought a barge could be, even if I had expected one, ...see more
We moved from the hamlet of Moreton/Bromstead to Gnosall, where my Dad worked, (based at the council wharf) in 1958, and Mason's lawn wasn't built then!  We used to have our bonfires on the site and, if 1963 was the year it snowed really heavily (and I believe it was) - we were still building snowmen and rolling massive snowballs there!