Congleton appears to be a pleasant little town with a thriving shopping street that has escaped the worst excesses of redevelopment, though currently suffering from a bad attack of bunting.

There are some nice Tudor…

and Mock-Tudor buildings.

Water power from the River Dane was important in the early industrial revolution when it was used by mills that spun imported silk fibers into silk thread. The weaving into fabric happened up the hill in Macclesfield.

The fortunes of the British silk industry over the years depended on the state of the relationship with Europe. France could produce silk more cheaply than Britain, as white mulberry bushes would grow there. They don’t do well in the British climate. Black mulberry bushes were grow here, and silkworms will feed on those but the silk is not as good quality. However, when Britain was at war with France, or just feeling protectionist and isolationist, silk from France would be heavily taxed, and it was economic for the British to import silk fiber from China and produce silk here.

As well as the history of the local silk industry, the museum in Congleton seems to have more than their fair share of buried treasure, with collections of coins and artifacts from the iron age…

… early and late in the Roman period…

… all the way up to the Civil War…

and the Restoration…

There’s a section on the world wars including a handy poison gas reference tool.

It looks like something that used to get given away free with the Beano.

I think my favorite item was the wooden dug out punt, probably from the Saxon period.

After lunch we headed off up the canal. Some of the bridges have a lovely spiral ramp on one side when the towpath changes to the other side of the canal.

That’s so that horses towing the canal boats could cross the bridge and then go underneath it without the tow rope getting tangles.

We almost picked up a hitch hiker.

We went up a flight of twelve locks and are now 518 feet above sea level. That’s pretty high for a canal boat. Rain is forecast for tomorrow, but if we can dodge the showers the fleshpots of Macclesfield await. We’re probably going to find out even more about the silk industry. I bet you can’t wait.