The main photograph, taken shortly before the breach in 1961, shows the old Co-op bakery, with the flour hoist where bags were raised up from narrowboats. Fishing in that vicinity was always good due to the spillage as the cargoes were unloaded. To the left of the hoist, there are windows at water level where the ladies who made the oatcakes used to dangle their feet into the water on hot days.
The second image shows the area shortly after the canal breached. You can clearly see the height of the canal wall where it had been repeatedly build up due to subsidence. The water in this area was at least 8 feet deep, twice that of a typical canal elsewhere.
The smaller image shows a group of the first Burslem Port supporters outside the disused Co-op Bakery buildings in the late 1990’s. These buildings were progressively demolished, with the Co-op Bakery itself the last to be lost, in 2017.
This silent video shows boats being unloaded outside the bakery in 1921. Thanks to Ray Johnson of Staffordshire Film Archive for allowing us to share this clip.
