Shardlow Part 01 - The Inland Port
w/e 17 May 2015
All of this week's pictures were taken with a Kodak DX6490
Shardlow

There are not many places in England further from the sea than Shardlow but at one time of day the village was a considerable inland port on the River Trent and evidence of its former glory still exists although much has now been turned over to the leisure and tourist industries. In this occasional series we will dip into the village now and again to learn more of its historical significance but also just to enjoy the pleasant scenery in this part of south Derbyshire.

Trent and Mersey Canal

Our first look at the village is a short loop taking us from London Road, the main road through the village, along the towpath of the Trent and Mersey Canal returning via Wilne Lane. This is the view north of the canal from the bridge on London Road. The former warehouse on the right is Grade II listed.
An Inland Port

Referred to in times gone by as Rural Rotterdam or Little Liverpool, many warehouses, mills and other buildings connected with industry remain along this part of the canal and businesses still thrive maintaining, repairing and restoring narrowboats for today's clientele.
Lockgate Stoves

Mile PostMany of the old buildings in Shardlow are Grade II listed. The former warehouse where the Pendennis narrowboat is moored is now the home of Lockgate Stoves, a manufacturer and supplier of marine diesel stoves which provide heating for all types of narrowboats, houseboats and barges. It is not only buildings that enjoy listed status as a cast iron canal milepost across from Lockgate Stoves is also Grade II listed. This was produced by Rangeley and Dixon in 1819 and has a panel inscribed "R and D Stone 1819". It was erected as part of a series of mileposts on the Trent and Mersey Canal. and bears two inscriptions saying "SHARDLOW" on the east side and "PRESTON BROOK 92 MILES" on the west.
As we walked along the towpath admiring the moored vessels (below left) and passing the time of day with other people, we paused and commented about the slow pace of life on the waterways with the owner of a small boat (below right).

NarrowboatCaptain & his MateWe then spent the next twenty minutes or so chatting and putting the world to rights before the Captain's mate emerged from below deck with two currant buns in a bag which she duly presented to us with her compliments. We enjoyed them later back at home with a coffee and wished the gentleman's mother an early 94th birthday greeting for the following weekend for whom the baking session was taking place. The couple were on their way from near Tewkesbury to Nottingham for the birthday party.

Residential Conversion

Resuming our stroll along the towpath the next old building opposite appears to have been tastefully converted for residential purposes.
The Malt Shovel

Shardlow is well served with pubs and restaurants for the benefit of boaters, visitors and villagers alike and seen here beyond the Leonora is the Malt Shovel Inn which was built in 1799 and still retains its original beams and floors.
Wilne Lane Bridge

The towpath now passes under a road bridge and continues towards the River Trent and that is perhaps somewhere we can walk another time but on this occasion we climbed the steps onto Wilne Lane.
The New Inn

Looking back from the bridge gives a good view of another popular canal side pub, the New Inn which, according to its website but not shown on the British Listed Buildings site, is also a listed building.
The Lawn

Walking along Wine Lane towards London Road we passed The Lawn, an old building which, from the stone panel between the upper windows, we discovered was built in 1795 and enlarged in 1893. From its age we would have expected this too, to have been a listed building but despite there being over fifty in Shardlow, this does not appear to be one of them.
Navigation Inn

At the end of Wilne Lane though on the corner of London Road, the Navigation Inn most definitely is. The public house is a late eighteenth century structure with later alterations including a twentieth century single storey addition to the east.
Broughton House

On the opposite corner stands the Grade II listed Broughton House. Built in the early nineteenth century for Sutton family who were merchants who helped develop Shardlow as an inland port. The house contains many of its original features. Broughton House was the home of the family before they purchased Shardlow Hall in 1826.
Forward to Part 02

Home Page
Back to Shardlow Index
Special Features Index

Terms & Conditions of Use
This website is copyright but licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence.
Please credit the photographer Garth Newton, or add a link to these pages.