STOURPORT is getting set to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the birth of a pioneering engineer who helped shape the town.

Brindley 300 will see a host of events being held this weekend, on September 10 and 11, to mark the birth of engineer James Brindley.

It was Mr Brindley who decided that the tiny village of Mitton was the best place for the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal to join the River Severn, making Stourport the only town to be built because of a canal.

In Stourport, Mr John Fennyhouse Green was the surveyor who actually went out, measured and plotted Brindley’s canal basins in a level field next to the river.

Visitors will get the chance to meet Mr Brindley, played by live interpreter Andrew Ashmore, and Mr Green - played by historical surveying expert Geoff Shaw.

At 12noon, Mr Brindley will lead a Grand Opening of the Canal Basins from the vantage point of the Tontine Gardens.

Mr Green will attend with his pack-horse and surveying equipment and will give a special demonstration of 18th Century surveying techniques.

Local businesses, schools and groups have decorated Brindley Boats in time for Heritage Open Days.

The boats will be displayed in the Tontine Gardens Saturday and Sunday and will then be on display in Stourport Library for a month. People are invited to vote for their favourite and prizes will be given for the best decorated boats.

The boats have been made by Kidderminster charity ‘Twigs’ and the event is sponsored by Stourport Forward, the Town Centre Forum and the Stourport’s Town Centre Manager.

Eliza Botham of Stourport Forward said: “We’re really excited about seeing all the different boats – businesses and groups have come up with their own whacky ideas and I don’t think any two boats will look the same!

“The event will be a chance for people to discover new things about their local area, and have fun in the basins. The Wharf, The Windlass, Olivers coffee boat and The Angel pub will all be open during the weekend, offering a great range of refreshments.”

There will also be children’s activities in the gardens and opportunities to meet Mr Brindley and Mr Green during the afternoon.

In addition to the 18th Century flavour at the Tontine, there will be a focus on the 1930s, with working boats Bramble and Scorpio on display in the lower basins.

Alarum Theatre Company will be performing a double bill of poetry and music at the boats and Bewdley Bards will be performing a selection of their own new poems about Stourport Basins and Bramble, specially commissioned for the event.