Description: In the picture can be seen the roof of London Road High Level Station (Great Central) in the foreground. Eastcroft Gasworks are also in right foreground. A canal from Cromford along the Derwent Valley to connect up with the Erewash canal at Langley Mill was given parliamentary approval in 1789. This meant further markets for Erewash Valley coal were opening up. Increasingly Nottingham collieries looked as though they were going to be at a disadvantage and it seemed that the Erewash pits would flourish at their expense. Eager to ensure the town didn't miss out, a number of Nottingham men called a public meeting in October 1790 to discuss the possibility of constructing a rival to the Erewash which would run from the Cromford canal to Nottingham and on into the Trent. Those at the meeting apparently thought the proposal highly beneficial and elected a committee of nine to pursue the matter. William Jessop was asked to act as engineer and select the best route between Nottingham and Langley Mill. He was also requested to survey the land across Beeston Meadows for a branch canal to the Trent from Lenton. Lord Middleton (descendent of the Willoughby family, of Wollaton Hall) evidently had his own ideas on the way that the canal should go. It is not clear what these were but we do know that Jessop considered they would be impractical on account of the need for deep cutting and tunnelling. His own proposed line, however, didn't meet with Lord Middleton's approval. Jessop had suggested that the canal go round the western side of Wollaton Park. Lord Middleton said he would oppose the whole venture unless the canal was made to run along the eastern boundary (co-incidentally past his own colliery!), even though this would mean an additional expense of about £2,500. The line of the canal was moved accordingly. Work on the canal's construction began on July 30th 1792. Jessop became ill and so a local man from Wollaton, James Green, took over the job, with Jessop acting as a supervisor. Exactly one year later the first section of the canal from Trent Bridge up to the town wharves was officially opened. By April 1796 the entire length of the canal had been completed. From the river Trent, through Nottingham to Lenton, then running northwards towards Wollaton Colliery. It then turned westwards towards Trowell and Cossall up to Langley Mill, where it joined the Cromford just above that canal's junction with the Erewash, the Nottingham canal was fourteen and three quarter miles long. The route selected required the construction of twenty locks. The first was at the Trent and the second just below the Castle Rock. The next three were in Lenton - one by Abbey Street, the second just beyond Derby Road and third positioned half way between the Derby and Wollaton Roads. On the far side of Wollaton Road was the sixth lock, the first in a flight of fourteen which took boats up to the summit of the canal just beyond Wollaton, after which it ran level all the way to Langley Mill where a set of stop locks were positioned. By latter part of the 19th century the canal could no longer compete financially with the railways. In 1928 the company announced that commercial traffic would cease on all but the City section of the canal and in 1937 it finally abandoned the canal. With no one to care for it, the Nottingham canal became overgrown and gradually silted up. The Water level was prone to rise after heavy rain and that on occasion that would flood the adjoining land. After receiving frequent complaints, Nottingham City Council agreed in 1952 to purchase that portion of the disused canal that came within the City boundary. Infilling and culverting began in 1955. The section of canal from Lenton Chain to Derby Road was eventually commandeered for the re-routing of the river Leen. Elsewhere, once it was filled, the land was built upon and virtually nothing now remains to indicate where the Canal used to run, apart from small sections around Trowell and Cossall which are maintained as nature reserves and for fishing. Boots Plc gives this account of the early history of the now common stores. Jesse's father, John Boot was born in Radcliffe-On-Trent in 1815 and his early life was spent as an agricultural labourer on local farms. It was a poor area and John Boot became involved in chapel affairs and local schemes to improve living conditions within his community. Herbal remedies were popular with the labouring poor, who could not afford the services of a physician. John Boot's mother had used herbs for healing and he may also have been familiar with remedies published in John Wesley's herbal Primitive Physic. In 1849, with the assistance of his father-in-law and the support of the local Methodist community, John opened The British and American Botanic Establishment at 6 Goose Gate, hoping to provide physical comfort to the needy, as well as a reasonable living for his family. When Jesse Boot reached the age of 21 he became a partner in the business, which then began to trade under the name of M & J Boot, Herbalists. He was determined to cut his prices and asked customers to pay cash rather than offering them credit. Jesse Boot advertised extensively and began to sell an ever wider range of stock; 'over 2,000 articles' as one advert claimed. In 1877 Jesse took sole control of the shop and with takings of £100 a week, he became one of the busiest shopkeepers and the largest dealer in patent medicines in Nottingham. The business needed more space. In 1881 a property at 16-20 Goosegate fell vacant. With financial support from several local business contacts, Jesse Boot took on a lease, and converted the building into a new shop. It contained the retail and wholesale shops, workshops, stockrooms, offices and living accommodation. In 1883 Jesse established the business as a private company, Boot and Company Limited, with himself as chairman and managing director.