Ellesmere and Chester Canal
1772 The original Chester Canal was constructed to run from the River Dee near Seal and Road, to Nantwich in south Cheshire; it opened in 1774.
In 1805, the Wirral section of the Ellesmere Canal was opened, which ran from Netherpool (now known as Ellesmere Port) to meet the Chester Canal at Chester canal basin. [1]
1813 The Ellesmere Canal merged with the Chester Canal, forming the Ellesmere and Chester Canal company. These canals now are part of the Shropshire Union Canal network.
Thomas Telford delegated Alexander Easton to supervise the construction of the Middlewich Branch of the Ellesmere and Chester Canal, and of some locks and a dock at Ellesmere Port.
1844 The Ellesmere and Chester Canal Company began discussions with the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal about amalgamation
1845 An Act of Parliament was passed that authorised the merger. The larger Ellesmere and Chester Canal Company was formed.
Part of the Ellesmere Canal is now known as the Llangollen Canal; part forms a section of the Montgomery Canal; and another part forms a section of what is now called the Shropshire Union Canal[2]