The Weaver Navigations
The River Weaver runs from its source near Peckforton Castle to Weston Point Docks at Runcorn, where it empties into the Manchester Ship Canal. Its course passes through the Cheshire towns of Nantwich, Winsford, Northwich and Frodsham.
In the fifteenth century there was no legal right to passage along the Weaver and from Frodsham Bridge it was "Every man within his own limits". This meant a person could take a boat as far as they could until encountering obstruction to navigation; from that point they had no right to pass further.
The Weaver was dredged and improved in 1721 for 21 miles north of Winsford to allow the transportation of salt, chemicals, china clay (for use in the Midlands/Potteries) and finished ceramics (bound outwards for Liverpool and beyond). These improved stretches deviated from the normal course of the river in places and are called the Weaver Navigation.
The Weaver Navigations are a result of my exploration of the River Weaver and the area that surrounds it.
The Weaver Navigations