(The Canal Comes to Whitchurch: Last Page 8)

The canal was never important for the carriage of people.  In 1808 Samuel Turner and his copartners were given permission to put on a boat to convey passengers from Whitchurch to Chester and from Whitchurch to Ellesmere and Oswestry, but it is not known whether the experiment was tried — and if it was, it was certainly not successful.

The increase in population during the ‘canal era’ indicates the significance of the canal.  The total population of Whitchurch and Dodington townships increased from 3,251 in 1811 to 4,413 in 1841, an increase of 36%.  The increase at Dodington, where the terminus of the canal was situated, was 52%, perhaps indicating a shift in the ‘centre of gravity’ of the town towards the canal.  These figures may be compared with an increase of only 17% at Drayton, where the canal did not open until 1835.

Compiled by Peter Brown

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