The Shropshire pub which became the centre of Victorian canal-mania

However on September 10, 1792 the pub then known as the Royal Oak was the scene as more than a £1million was raised in a day to achieve the dream of connecting Ellesmere with the town of Nerherpool.

Much has changed since.

The pub became the Bridgewater Arms in 1820 after the Duke of Bridgewater, one of the backers of the canal.

Most locals know the Ellesmere Hotel as The Bridge and it was only on the 1990s the pub took its current name, the Ellesmere Hotel.

Mark Griffiths purchased the hotel in 2009 and along with his son Luke, have completely renovated the hotel, with a bar, 80 seat restaurant and 18 en-suite rooms.

There is a lovely selection of over 50 gins, 30 rums and a whisky assortment while real ale from local breweries such as Three Tuns and Magic Dragon ensure the locals and travellers alike are never short of options.

Locals at the Ellesmere Hotel.

However the pub is so steeped in history that it hard to begin to tell the tale of the building.

Research from Martin Holdcroft has cast a light on the past and the pub's past, including an advertisement for the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct asking iron masters to hand their proposals to the Royal Oak for Thomas Telford to view.

Local artist and customer Lucy Rose Williams has drawn a colourful mural in the pub's smoking shelter of the aquaduct to underline the pub's links to the landmark.

The mural at Ellesmere Hotel.

However it is the pub's role as the place where £1m was raised in a day which remains its legacy.

An account of landlady Mrs Price was reproduced in the week following the monumental fundraiser

She said: "That was the best pair of days trading I ever did when I was at the Royal Oak.

"The promoters of the Ellesmere Canal used to meet in the big room at my hotel, so naturally they chose it for the meeting when the public were invited to buy shares.

"Each share cost £100: £5 deposit and £95 to buy later. I thought we’d be busy that Monday - but I had no idea just how busy!

"That was the year of the Canal Mania. Everyone knew how much the Bridgewater Canal had made – and the Duke of Bridgwater was one of the backers of our canal.

Pontcysyllte aqueduct. Picture: Marcus Roberts.

"People thought canals were an easy way of making money. Pay a deposit, and sell the shares at a profit. Not that everyone wanted the shares to make a quick profit – many of the promoters were the big local landowners like the Earl of Powis and his son, Lord Clive, Lord Hill of Hawkestone. John Kynaston Powell and the Duke of Bridgewater himself.

"They were mainly interested in bettering communications for their estates, so that their tenants could use limestone to improve the land, increases their crops and get their products to market easier and cheaper. Not that these gentlemen weren’t interested in money: bigger profits for their tenants meant higher rents for themselves."

A plaque commemorating the great fundraiser.

Miss Price also shared her memories of Ellesmere being the epicentre of canal speculation with the town flooded by people from the Midlands seeking to strike it rich.

She added: "The people from away were mainly speculators expecting easy money. We had a lot from the east Midlands, Leicestershire in particular, I remember. I don’t know why.

"They flooded into our little town on the Sunday, wanting beds for the night. My hotel was soon full, as were the inns which let rooms; many other houses took people in for the night too. I heard that latecomers were offering three guineas for a bed.

"The roads were crowded and there was such a demand for stabling. The visitors were hungry and good drinkers too. Yes, I certainly made money.

Views of Ellesmere Canal. Picture by Joanna Hughes.

"The subscription list opened at 11am on Monday morning, and by the time it closed six hours later, something like a million pounds had been promised.

"This was more than double what was needed – or so they thought then - and later the committee worked out a method of scaling down the applications. About 1,500 people came into my room on that day to buy shares. I’m glad I didn’t buy any, though I admit I was tempted – because it was years later before the meagre dividend were paid out."