Canal Stables And Sawpit House

The Canal Stables and Sawpit House are service buildings associated with the Trent and Mersey Canal, currently owned by British Waterways. The sawpit building likely dates back to around 1777, featuring early architectural elements, while the stables are probably from the early 19th century. The structures are constructed of red brick and have 18th-century slate roofs with diminishing courses on the sawpit house and later thin slates on the stables.

The sawpit house is a single-storey building with two window bays and two-light casements. It has a double ledged and braced door on strap hinges, supported by sandstone hinge blocks, located under a chamfered beam at the east gable end. The gable displays exposed purlins and barge boards, with a lead ridge. Inside, there is a brick-built saw pit that runs the full length of the building, measuring approximately 7.5 meters long, 1.5 meters wide, and 1.8 meters deep, which was used for cutting lock gate beams. The roof features a collar truss with a short king post and two chamfered purlins.

The stables consist of two truss bays and include a single storey and loft. There is a feeding passage with a boarded door set in a rebated brick opening, topped by a gauged elliptical arch with a stone keystone. This door is also on strap hinges with stone hinge blocks. The stable entry has double doors similar to the feeding passage door, with the elliptical arch springing from the upper hinge blocks. Between the doors is a small wood window with a hopper light in the upper section, and above it, at the loft level, is a circular pitch hole with a stone surround. A small window at the east gable overlooks the sawpit building's roof. The gables feature patterns of breather holes, and the projecting brick verge and eaves treatment suggest an open pediment style. The ridge is covered with blue clay tiles. Inside, the roof has a single king post truss without struts, and there are no remaining internal features that indicate the building's original use.