Shugborough and the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal

June 28th, woke up to rain but it soon cleared.  We continued down the Trent and Mersey Canal, passed Sandon and Weston-Upon-Trent, through similar countryside, meeting a lot of boats, 5 and a half miles and 2 locks to Great Haywood Junction, at the meeting of the Trent and Mersey Canal with the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal and the junction of the Trent and Sow Rivers.  There is a huge marina and boatyard there as well.

Adjacent to the canals is the Shugborough Park and Mansion and we moored the boat at the start of the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal and walked the short distance to this Park and Mansion, across the river at the junction of the Trent and Sow Rivers via, the historic Packhorse Bridge with 14 arches, 100 yards long, unique and built in the late 16th century.

Historic Packhorse Bridge into Shugborough from the canal.

The 14 arches under the 100 yard Packhorse Bridge

View of Junction of Rivers Trent and Sow from Packhorse Bridge

Shugborough was originally part of the estate of the Bishop of Lichfield during the Middle Ages and the house had been surrounded by a moat.  It was sold to William Anson in 1642, a successful lawyer and the central part of the mansion, as it now is was built by his grandson, William Anson from 1656 to 1720.

Front of Shugborough Mansion

The surrounding land was acquired and open parkland was created on the flood plain surrounding the house, totalling 1,000 acres.  Many monuments were built on the parkland by the Ansons, including the Doric Temple, The Tower of the Winds and Triumphial Arch and Chinese House and bridge copied from the finest architecture in Greece, Rome and China.

Doric Temple and Dogwood Tree

The Chinese House and Bridge

The Mansion was improved by Thomas Anson who inherited it in 1789 and his son, Thomas William Anson, the 1st Earl of Lichfield in 1831, was the architect of the next wave of large scale developments at the estate.  The development included a walled garden. a model farmstead, an improved and expanded mansion house that boasts the classical portico and a number of classically  designed labourer's cottages.  The estate ran like a well-oiled machine, producing its own butter, flour, cheese, meat and hops, while cultivating figs, pineapples, grapes and vines in its much-admired walled garden.  Gentry from across the country travelled to the estate to tour the modern architecture, technology and functionality pioneered here in the heart of Staffordshire.

Back of Shugborough Mansion from the banks of the River Sow

It has continued to be in the hands of the Anson family, through good and bad times,  with some of the contents of the mansion sold in 1841 to pay a gambling debt of the Earl's, was left empty for some years and then continued to by run by successive Earl's until in 1966, on the death of the 4th Earl of Lichfield, the estate was offered in part payment of death duties and is now owned by the National Trust and administered and financed by the Staffordshire County Council as part of a 99 year lease. Lord Patrick Lichfield, the 5th Earl, (the Queen's cousin) continued to use his private apartment in the mansion until his death in 2005.  He was a world renowned photographer and continued to assist in the development of Shugborough as it is today.  The 6th Earl of Lichfield, Thomas Anson does not now play an active part in Shugborough and is living in the south of England.

Another view of the back of the Shugborough Mansion.

We walked around the extensive gardens, explored the entire mansion, including some of the 35 rooms that made up the private apartment.  This included a lot of Lord Patrick Lichfield's own photography, plus all the beautiful furniture and paintings in the mansion itself.

Shugborough Mansion Formal Dining Room

View out of the large windows at the back of the Mansion towards the River Sow

We continued to walk down to The Tower of the Winds and to the array of buildings that make up the model farm.  This is still run as a working farm with a water wheel mill grinding the flour, a dairy shed and cheese making, various types of sheep and long horned cattle are farmed on approx. 900 acres. 

The Tower of the Winds

The top storey of The Tower of the Winds

We ran out of time to visit the walled garden and see through the Servant's Quarters and the Museum in this area, maybe another time !!!  It is a wonderful part of history and beautifully presented with lovely grounds and trees.

Shugborough Servants Quarters, where the Museum is situated

Back on the boat we travelled a short distance down the canal to Tixall Wide, a wider part of the canal and moored for the night on the side of the canal. 

Start of the Staffordshire and Worcester Canal at Great Haywood

Tixall Wide

The evening was lovely, warm and calm and the sunset was beautiful.

Sunset over Tixall Wide

Next morning, the 29th June we left Tixall Wide with a view of the Tixall Gatehouse on the banks of the canal, the original Tixall house was demolished in the 1920's.

View of Tixall gatehouse from Tixall Wide

I conquered the last lock on the canal to Milford where the boat was moored securely on a safe part of the canal. 

Tixall Lock, the last lock I went through on the canal

View of countryside around Tixall and along the canal.

We caught a bus with all our luggage to nearby Stafford and then took the train back to Gloucester, it took 2 hours to cover the distance to Gloucester as it took 3 weeks to by boat !!!

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience on the narrow boat and feel privileged to see so much of the beautiful countryside that is not seen from the road and to learn so much more about the history of the areas we passed through.