The Trent and Mersey canal, opened in 1777, was built to link the River Trent at Derwent Mouth (in Derbyshire) to the River Mersey. The second connection is made via the Bridgewater Canal, at Preston Brook in Cheshire. The idea of a canal connection from the Mersey to the Trent ("The Grand Trunk") came from canal engineer James Brindley. It was authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1766 and the first sod was cut by Josiah Wedgwood in July that year at Middleport. Less than eleven years later, the whole canal, including more than 70 locks and five tunnels, was open.

The Grand Trunk was a part of a larger visionary scheme of Brindley's to link the four main rivers of England - the Trent, Mersey, Severn and Thames - in a project known as the ‘˜Grand Cross'. The Trent & Mersey Canal provided the Northern Arm of the Cross (to the Mersey), and the Eastern Arm (to the Trent). It also provided the central ‘˜hub' of the cross, between Great Haywood and Fradley Junctions. The Western Arm, to the Severn, was built as the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal; whilst the Southern Arm, to the Thames, traversed the Coventry and Oxford Canals

The Staffs & Worcs Canal was competed in 1771 and opened to trade in 1772. It was a commercial success, with trade from the ‘˜Potteries' travelling southwards to Gloucester and Bristol, and trade from the Black Country travelling northwards to the Potteries via the junction from the Birmingham Canal at Aldersley. However, business quickly declined when the newer Worcester & Birmingham Canal opened in 1815, providing a more direct route between Birmingham and Bristol.

To remain competitive, the company extended the hours during which locks could be used, until they were available 24 hours a day by 1830. But yet another setback occurred when the Birmingham & Liverpool Junction Canal opened its new route to Chester and Merseyside, connecting with the canal at Autherley Junction. This took much of the traffic from the section to Great Haywood. Faced with a high volume of trade using the half-mile stretch between Aldersley and Autherley Junctions, the company levied very high tolls.

In order to resolve the situation the Birmingham Canal Company and the Birmingham & Liverpool Junction Company jointly promoted an Act of Parliament to authorise a short canal which would have left the Birmingham Canal at a higher level than the junction, crossed the Staffordshire & Worcestershire by an aqueduct, and then dropped down by a series of locks to join the Birmingham & Liverpool Junction Canal north of Autherley junction. The canal company decided to reduce its tolls rather than lose the trade altogether. Further concessions were obtained by the other two canal companies after threats to resurrect the plans on two subsequent occasions.

Despite the competition, and later competition from the railways, the canal company paid dividends to its shareholders until the turn of the 19th century, although profits fell steadily from the 1860s. It remained independent until the canals were nationalised in 1947. During its latter years, the major trade was coal carried from Cannock to a power station at Stourport. Following the power station's closure in 1949, the only commercial traffic was on the stretch between Autherley and Aldersley Junctions.

Haywood Junction or Great Haywood Junction is the name of the junction where the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal terminates and meets the Trent & Mersey Canal near to the village of Great Haywood in Staffordshire. Haywood Junction therefore became a major transport interchange. Just west of the junction the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal crosses the river Trent on a massive four span aqueduct built by James Brindley.