Description:The photograph shows the junction of the Trent & Mersey Canal (to the right) with the Caldon Canal (left) at Etruria.
On the right is the summit lock (lock 40) of the Trent & Mersey Canal, which at the time of the photograph had a roof.
Here canal tolls were collected. The toll collection office and a warehouse are the buildings between the canals. the roof was demolished in the 1960s. The 94 mile canal was opened in 1777, owing much to the enthusiasm of Josiah Wedgwood and the engineering of James Brindley. Between the canals is a graving dock which was used to measure the draught and mark loading lines on narrow boats. This too had a roof at one time, the evidence is on the warehouse wall. The Caldon Canal ran 18 miles from Etruria to Froghall and was opened in 1779. From Etruria it passes out of the city through Hanley.
The tall chimney alongside the summit lock has been demolished. The chimney in the middle distance behind the warehouse belongs to the Etruscan Bone & Flint Mill (Jesse Shirley's Mill), now the Etruria Industrial Museum.