Ellesmere Yard

Ellesmere Yard: Heritage Retold

I’ve worked with Sue Ball (Media and Arts Partnership) on a number of projects over the years, and Ellesmere Yard was one of my favourites. Playing right into my love of history and heritage, this is a fascinating site, and I was excited when Sue brought me on board to capture, not just these early events, but also to document the buildings and artefacts.

These initial events looked at ways to increase awareness of the yard, training of volunteer tour-guides, as well as a few open days where members of the public could get a look. Other activities included;
– Sessions around the potential of the land around the yard (looking at Permaculture, wildlife surveys, and other on-site practical exercises)
– Exploring how to use the canal for future events, such as paddle boarding, bridge building, towpath surveys, etc
– An open doors workshop where members of the public were invited to share their ideas for future uses of the yard, it’s land, and it’s buildings.
– Creative exploration of the heritage and artefacts from the site

A Little Bit About Ellesmere Yard

Dating from around 1806, Ellesmere Yard was the office and workshops of the Ellesmere Canal Company where engineers William Jessop and Thomas Telford were employed in the golden age of canal and bridge building. It is now the UK’s only remaining operational canal maintenance yard. Consisting of a variety of workshops, stores, offices, and a dry dock, the site has some areas that are in need of repair, which the Ellesmere Yard project (supported by the Canal & Rivers Trust) aims to help with. At the edge of the site, overlooking the waters of the Llangollen Canal, is Beech House, which it is said that Telford used as his office during the construction of the canal.