Canal narrowboat at West End Village, Stoke

Canal narrowboat at West End Village, Stoke

The Newcastle-under-Lyme to Stoke canal was a 4 mile level canal from the Trent & Mersey Canal at Stoke to Newcastle-under-Lyme.

It was authorised by an Act of 1795 and completed in about 1800, part closed in 1921 and abandoned in 1935 - subsequently filled in.
It was very little used, except by Spode, Minton and Wolfe whose pottery works were adjacent to it's Stoke terminal. As a dividend earner, it was a disastrous failure.

Canal narrowboat at West End Village, Stoke - painted by artist Rob Pointon

photo: April 2011

"This optical illusion of a narrowboat being steered along a canal has been painted by Staffordshire artist Rob Pointon.

Viewed from certain angles the boat looks as thought it is bobbing along the canal under the guidance of the helmsman while two swans paddle past. But if the viewer takes a closer look, the picture is skewed out of recognition.

The permanent pavement art has been installed in the grounds of the £18 million West End Village, sandwiched between London Road and Foden Street in Stoke, and built by Staffordshire Housing Association (SHA).

The best vantage point to see the narrowboat in 3D is from the bridge in Corporation Street, standing at the bridge's central decorative strut. A second 3D picture has been added to a wall, to show a canal bridge and water. In the background is the lower parts of a building, of which the top half is genuinely visible above the real bridge in Corporation Street where the Newcastle Branch Canal used to flow.

The canal theme is a nod to the site's previous use as part of the canal. Inside the West End Village building grey tiles also map the route where the canal flowed."

Sentinel Newspaper - 27 April 2011

West End Village, Stoke

West End Village on the corner of London Road and Corporation Street, Stoke

Built on the site of the former Bilton Pottery Works, the complex offers assisted living - it was opened in January 2011.

the bridge in Corporation Street where both parapets have survived

1898 OS Map showing the Newcastle canal as it runs through Boothen -parallel with London Road

Purple square is the Monument to Timothy Trow (still standing)
Green Square is where there was a foot bridge over the canal near the Villas
Red square is where the canal went under Corporation Street (parapets still standing)

contents: 2011 photos