A 100-year-old Staffordshire timber merchant has supplied its biggest timber beams to date – via canal barge.
One 40ft and two 25ft-long spruce beams, imported from Germany’s Black Forest, were supplied by Etruria-based S Keeling & Co Ltd.
The length of the beams made them unsuitable for road transport, so they were transported along the Macclesfield Canal on British Waterways heritage working boat Malvern.
Each weighing more than a tonne, the beams had to travel through the four-mile long and reputedly haunted Harecastle tunnel to their destination at Lock 3, Bosley, where they were needed as guider beams.
Keeling drafted in machining experts due to the distinctive size requirement and the timber has received specialist treatment against rotting.
Director David Keeling said: “We are timber and sawmill specialists and are proud of our ability to tackle challenges of this nature with a dedicated approach.”
Heather Rowley, leisure and tourism officer for Peak & Potteries Waterway, said: “The appropriate location of the business near to the canalside and enthusiasm of David Keeling enabled us to fulfill our requirements for the product.”
