See - there really was a lock at Trench Lock!

For most Telford folk these days the mention of Trench Lock probably conjures up images of the big Trench Lock traffic interchange, but turn back the clock and not only was there a canal lock, but also a small community on the borderlands of Hadley and Trench.

And here are the pictures to prove it. They come from the huge postcard collection of Bridgnorth collector Ray Farlow. While both the lock and the community have been erased by the march of progress, both are within living memory, although in the case of the lock only as a disused relic.

The postcard showing the lock, which was of the guillotine type in which the gate is lifted upwards - there's a glimpse of the gate, with the pulley wheel and lifting chains - was franked at Hadley on December 4, 1908, so obviously the image is no later than that. We are looking southeast, and you can make out a boat on the canal and traffic on the tramways. The road crossing the bridge in the foreground is Trench Road. The various industrial works must be Trench Iron Works on the right and in the distance Shropshire Iron Works and the Hadley & Trench Gas Works.

The canal curved round to the left, skirting Trench Pool - not visible - which was the reservoir for the canal system. Further around the corner out of sight is what is today the Blue Pig pub, but historically was known as the Shropshire Arms, and stood near the foot of the Trench inclined plane, which remained in operation until 1921, making it the last to operate in Britain.

Incidentally the postcard was addressed to a Miss Annie Jones at the Crown Hotel, Shrewsbury, who presumably either worked there or was staying there. The writer hoped her cold was better and said "we shall expect you on Sunday, all being well."

Apparently when plans were drawn up for the new Trench Lock traffic island in the mid-1970s there were hopes that what remained of the lock could be kept within the roundabout, but saving this particular part of Shropshire's industrial and transport heritage proved impractical and it seems to have been demolished in 1977.

Turning to the postcard showing the Trench Lock street scene, it is undated but looks to be roughly from the same time as the lock postcard. To get your bearings that's The Wrekin looming in the distance, and the modern KFC restaurant stands somewhere in the foreground on the left.

The long row in the mid distance on the left is Prospect Terrace, and there was a pub on the opposite side of the road to it called the Bull's Head. Nearer on the left, the building behind the second tree and with the three upper windows is the Barley Mow pub.

Those pubs may still be remembered by some older folk, but a third, called the Cottage Springs, closed so long ago that it is less likely to be recalled. It was one of those first buildings on the left, but it is not clear which. There's a strong suggestion that it was the very first, but on the other hand if you look closely there's what seems to be a sign of some sort on the frontage of the one immediately before the gap in the street scene.

When were these houses demolished? Perhaps readers can help with that. We do have a clue of sorts. The Star carried a story on July 6, 1972, telling how Mr Geoff Millington had paid £350 for a small terraced cottage at Trench Lock in 1964, but had been hit by a 60 per cent loss as Wellington Rural District Council had compulsorily purchased it for only £141. The accompanying picture showed the old cottage as a pile of rubble, but with other properties still standing at that time.