Description:The inner part of the canal basin at Froghall Wharf. The canal and a boat can just be seen in the bottom right hand corner. Limestone is being loaded from tramway wagons or from the large bank of stone on the left. The Caldon Canal opened in 1779 and links Froghall to the Trent and Mersey Canal at Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent. The canal also ran in the opposite direction from Froghall to Uttoxeter until this section closed around 1849.
The Caldon Canal carried coal, ironstone and limestone. The limestone industry was well established in the Churnet valley during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and limestone mined from quarries in the Cauldon Low area was transported via a tramway to Froghall Wharf to be carried on the canal or to be used at the adjacent lime kilns. There are also more lime kilns by the canal at Consall.
Limestone was one of the raw materials that contributed to the industrial development of the region. It was used in iron making as a flux in furnaces and could also be converted to lime by burning. ‘Quicklime’ was used to make mortar and plaster for the building trade, in agriculture it was used as a fertiliser and as ‘slaked’ lime for making whitewash.