were each given half-a-crown (12.5p) to spend. The final cost of the canal was around £320,000, only £25,000 more than the original estimate. The summit level, above Bosley Locks, was constructed at an elevation of , on a level with the Peak Forest Canal. At Bosley, twelve locks dropped the level to almost that of the Trent and Mersey, but there is a stop lock at the junction with their Hall Green Branch, with a fall of just , which ensured that the Trent and Mersey did not lose any water to the new canal. When originally built, the chamber was very long, and both companies installed a set of lock gates, enabling them both to collect tolls. Each company built a cottage overlooking the locks, the Macclesfield Canal constructing theirs of stone, while the Trent and Mersey used brick. A long overflow above the locks channels surplus water to the Trent and Mersey Canal, as stipulated by the amendment to the 1827 Act. Only one set of gates is still in place, and this is the set that was originally the Macclesfield Canal lock. Early years At the annual general meeting, held in July 1833, there was good news to report. Crosley had left the employment of the canal company on 24 June, but had produced a detailed report on the condition of the works before he left, in which he stated that there was no observable settlement in the embankments, the stonework of the locks, bridges and aqueducts was still good and showing no signs of failure, and the reservoir at Bosley had been filled to the top of several occasions, without any sign of leakage. Edward Stanley, the chairman of the management committee, reported that trade was brisk, and that 98,201.5 tons of cargo had been carried in the first full year of operation (March 1832-March 1833), generating an income of £6,117. Even a reduction in the rates being charged, to bring them in line with other canals, had not resulted in an appreciable fall in income. The company had built six wharfs, and was building a seventh at Bosley, four of which also had warehouses. In addition, ten houses had been built, for use by various members of staff, and offices had been constructed at Macclesfield. The company had bought the land for a second reservoir at Sutton and had already built the feeders to link