Simple Match Fishing Forum

http://www.stafford-riverway-link.co.uk/Gallery.html
Some good images of the waterways around Stafford and the history is quite interesting

Good link Paul

I bet Bill could tell we a tale or two about these............

Yes I live right on the edge of Riverway, I also remember the lock house at Baswich before it was demolished in the 1960s. I believe the old canal, from Baswich Basin (lock house) ran to just short of the green bridge in Stafford was filled in in 1922.
The lockhouse was occupied by a Mr Shaw; I have always called the basin (it is hardly a basin now) Shaw's Basin while others call it Baswich Basin, - it is on those pictures.

The old canal, ran for (1.5 miles approx) was very easily within walking distance for me. It was actually used to offload all manner of stuff from the Canal to the wharf by the old Stafford baths. Izaak Walton AA have had the fishing on the canal since 1899, they used to rent the water from the railways, payment was to Crewe Railway Sheds as I have a couple of old copies of receipts. Fishing was always from the field side of the canal then; it was against the law to fish from the towpath side, that was for the horses to tow the boats up and down. I can also remember that you needed a Hawkers Licence to even go down the towpath at one stage. The canal at Baswich, where the open match was the other week, was 5 feet deep in the middle and over 3 feet to the far bank; all the sections of the Staffs-Worcs around here were made to roughly the same spec.

Stafford Baths.
years back the Baths were called 'the leaning tower of Beazer'.
Contrary to virtual all local belief the Baths belonged to the Beazer family at one stage, (I actually remember Mr Beazer) hence the nickname

Bit more worthless info