Tarmac has helped with the installation of a replica milepost close to Uttoxeter in Staffordshire which helps mark out the route of the former 13-mile long Uttoxeter Canal.
The route is now open for walkers from the Wharf area of Uttoxeter to Oakamoor (10 miles) but it is hoped that it can be extended the full 13 miles to Froghall Wharf in the future.
This post is one of 12 mileposts recently installed between Froghall Wharf and Uttoxeter (only one of the originals remained) in a project spearheaded by the Caldon and Uttoxeter Canals Trust. The 125kg cast iron milepost was produced using a copy of the original pattern which was lent to the Trust by the National Waterways Museum in Ellesmere Port.
The voluntary work was led by Tarmac’s Infrastructure Business, whose team is currently putting the finishing touches to a £30 million project commissioned by Staffordshire County Council, to build a new junction and bridge on the A50 Growth Corridor in Staffordshire.
The installation of the post, situated close to Beamhurst near Uttoxeter, was undertaken using heavy-duty lifting equipment and was installed with the help of Alpha 1, Staffordshire County Council, Amey, JC Balls and P&M Paving.
Rob Chattoe, project manager – Tarmac Infrastructure, said: “We are delighted to have been able to work with the Trust and others on this fantastic heritage project. Once completed, the mileposts will be a great reminder of the canal’s glorious past and their role in keeping trade flowing across the country.”
Philip Balfour, a member of the Caldon and Uttoxeter Canals Trust (CUCT), added: “The Trust is extremely grateful to Tarmac and its partners for their support and the part they have played in helping us to realise one of the Trust’s objectives of creating a milepost walk following the line of the old Uttoxeter canal. We very much enjoyed working with all those involved.”
The Uttoxeter Canal was opened in 1811 and ran for 13 miles from a junction with the Caldon Canal at Froghall down to a terminus in Uttoxeter. It was closed in 1849 when the canal company was bought out by the North Staffordshire Railway company and the canal was superseded by a railway.
The milepost was cast by JW Shenton, a foundry in the West Midlands and was painted by Trust volunteers. The mileposts are replacements for those lost when the canal closed in 1849.
