Grand Union Canal | Shrewley Tunnel

Описание: Location - https://maps.app.goo.gl/96qjMw5AUDr72...

The Warwick and Birmingham Canal Company obtained an Act of Parliament in March 1793, which authorised the construction of a 22.6-mile (36.4 km) canal from the Digbeth Branch Canal of the Birmingham Canal Navigations to Warwick, where it would end at Saltisford Wharf. The plans showed three tunnels, at Shrewley, Rowington and Yardley, but as construction progressed, the last two became deep cuttings. This was not an option at Shrewley, as the route passed under the village. The plans also specified that the tunnel would be suitable for boats but not barges, implying that it would have been suitable for 7-foot (2.1 m) narrow boats, common on the Birmingham system, but not for wider craft. However, construction of the Grand Junction Canal, which would provide a link to London, was started at a similar time, and the committee wisely took the decision in April 1794 to increase the width of the tunnel to 16 feet (4.9 m), allowing wide barges to pass through it. The width of the bridge holes was similarly increased to 21 feet (6.4 m) in May.

Shrewley Quarry.
The sandstone for the Collegiate Church of St Mary in Warwick, particularly for its rebuilding after the Great Fire of 1694, came from local sources, primarily the churchyard itself and a nearby quarry at Shrewley.
Key details regarding the stone source:
Churchyard/Local Stone: Much of the church was rebuilt using stone quarried directly from the churchyard and other.
Shrewley Quarry: Due to the failure of the original, weaker "Warwick stone" in the tower, the rebuilt tower (completed around 1704) was constructed using a harder, pale Arden Sandstone sourced from quarries in Shrewley, west of Warwick.
Geological Type: The stone is Triassic in age, specifically from the Bromsgrove Sandstone Formation, often referred to as Warwickshire Sandstone or Arden Sandstone.
Repairs: Later repairs to the tower have involved similar locally sourced sandstone, as well as specific repairs using Woodkirk Sandstone.