Description:
The Trent and Mersey Canal (T&M) was built to link the River Trent at Derwent Mouth in Derbyshire to the River Mersey, and thereby provide an inland route between the major ports of Hull and Liverpool. The Mersey connection is made via the Bridgewater Canal, which it joins at Preston Brook in Cheshire. In 1771 this map was published in the Gentleman's Magazine. The accompanying notes indicated how far the work had progressed, and how much was navigable - in miles - up to the town of Stone. As early as 1758 a survey was conducted by James Brindley, proposing a link from the Potteries through to the East coast port of Hull. Josiah Wedgwood was not only involved in developing the canal system but also promoted turnpike roads. By 1765, Wedgwood devoted much time to this task, rallying support, lobbying members of Parliament, and giving evidence in favor of the canal to a Parliamentary Committee. Navigation from the Trent River to the Mersey was fully opened in 1777. It rose 326 feet and crossed a major watershed. It included 109 road bridges, and five tunnels, amongst them a cut through Harecastle Hill. From the beginning it was intended to be a “Grand Trunk,” to which branches would be built and so connect together the major manufacturing districts of the region. A Plan of the Grand Canal from the Trent to the Mersey, engraved by John Lodge, from The Gentleman's Magazine, July 1771, ink on laid paper, unmounted, dimensions: OH: 19.5 cm x OW: 38.5 cm, One of a series of plans of English canals featured in Sylvanus Urban's Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Chronicle for the year 1771, this particular example showing the 'Grand Canal,' connecting the River Trent to the Mersey. The map encompasses the canal network of Derbyshire, Stafforshire, and Cheshire, and includes a distance chart from Preston Brook to the Derwent Mouth. John Lodge (fl. 1754-1796) was a British print and mapmaker, trained by Thomas Jefferys (c.1719-1771) and active in London. He worked almost exclusively on commissions, producing individual maps for a variety of historical and geographical books, travel accounts, as well as magazines and periodicals. His maps are clear and finely engraved, with subtle decorations. He is not to be confused with his son, John Lodge the younger, who would become a printmaker in his own right, after studying with his father in 1785. Condition: Pressed vertical and horizontal folds as issued. Trimmed close to platemark on left and right margins. Blank on verso.
Tags:
maps; industries Link to share this object record:
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