Cut and Rune: Wedgewood

Here I am Rune

Distance 3.9 miles

Total 542 Locks 17 Tunnels

Running total mileage 833.8 miles

Not a great mileage but an impressive number of locks which puts our ‘lock miles’ for the day at 11.9, so not so bad. One or two interesting points travelling through Stone, having read the town information board. The first photo is of the Workhouse Bridge which, oddly enough, leads to the old workhouse (photo 3).

Alongside Workhouse Bridge however is an interesting wood carving in memory of a murder/rape victim. The story relates to a canalboat called the ‘Staffordshire Knot’ which was owned by what is now a well-known removal company called Pickfords. The skipper was a 39 year old drunken bully called James Owen from Brinklow, his crew was a William Ellis, George Thomas and a cabin boy, Issac Mann. On or about 16^th June 1839 they also picked up a passenger, one Christina Collins from Preston Brook to carry to London for one shilling and sixpence. Since part of the cargo was rum,she pretty soon began to have trouble with this crew and complained to the Pickford Office at Stoke but since the London stagecoach had already gone she got back onto the boat again. She again complained of their antics at Stone and the canal clerk advised her to complain to Pickfords later on, she never got another chance. Near to Colwich Locks, not far from Rugeley she was raped and murdered by the crew and thrown into the canal wrapped in a chain. The lock-keeper at Colwich had heard a disturbance on Owen’s boat including a woman’s scream but Owen bluffed him of what had happened. The cabin boy, Mann, fearing for his safety had jumped ship after Hoo Mill lock and run back and told that Lock-keeper what had happened. The Lock-Keeper then informed the Police. Unfortunately by the time the Police got to the ‘Staffordshire Knot’ the crew had vanished as they had realised that the cabin boy had gone. It took several months to find these men but by April 1840 they had all been apprehended and after a trial Owen and Thomas were both hanged, Ellis was transported, apparently being the first to be arrested he had given a full written account of what had happened on the boat before the others. A sad but interesting tale, with acknowledgements to blackcountrymuse.com for the information.

So after leaving Stone we have travelled as far as Wedgewood ready to go through Stoke on Trent tomorrow. Took a walk from the canal to the Wedgewood factory, which is undergoing a lot of building work. There is a museum but at £10 plus another £2.50 to visit the factory itself, it seemed a bit of a lot just to look at some pottery. Visited the factory shop but nothing was of what I would call a reasonable price, and some of it was very unreasonable!! Not really my bag.