On 24 March 2006, Neil Stanton unveiled a plaque at Wharf Cottage, Bramley, Surrey, to commemorate the cottage's association with his descendants and the Wey & Arun Canal. Wharf Cottage was originally a toll office for the Wey & Arun Canal; the first tolls were collected there on 18th December 1815. The Stanton family was closely associated with the canal in Bramley throughout its active commercial life; Neil Stanton can trace his ancestry back to his 4 x great-grandfather James Stanton (senior), the first superintendent of the canal.

When Neil Stanton started to research his family history, he had no idea of any canal connection, but a long trail led to Wharf Cottage, which Neil was surprised and delighted to find was now at the start of a road called 'Stanton's Wharf'. Unveiling the plaque, Neil remarked that his 3 x great-grandfather (James Stanton (junior), who also served as superintendent of the canal until 1857) had married the daughter of Charles Baverstock, lock-keeper at Rowner Lock (near Cranleigh), 'so canals seem to have been embedded in my genes'.

Neil Stanton speculates that James Stanton (senior) might actually have built the cottage, since census records show that he was a bricklayer before the canal opened. Apart from Neil, seven other members of the Stanton family attended the unveiling ceremony, some of whom had never been in touch before. The Wey & Arun Canal Trust are indebted to the present owners of Wharf Cottage, Mr & Mrs Roger Thoday, for their enthusiastic support.

Introducing Neil Stanton, Peter Foulger, Chairman of the Wey & Arun Canal Trust, remarked that Bramley was the key to reconnecting the canal with Britain's national waterways system. This was the long-term aim in which the Trust had so far invested 35 years of effort, some £3 million and many thousands of hours of volunteer effort.

The Wey & Arun Canal Trust's current activities include a £1.2 million project to tunnel underneath the main High Street in Loxwood, West Sussex; clearance work on a new section just outside Elmbridge near Cranleigh in Surrey, and site surveying work in Bramley itself. More information on all these projects can be found on the Trust's website.

Background information on the Stanton family:
Neil Stanton's 4 x great-grandparents were:
James Stanton (senior) (1783-1848) - superintendent of the canal and lock-keeper at Bramley
Sarah (nee Pledger) Stanton (1784-1855)
Their sons were:
James Stanton (junior) (1806-1858) - 3 x great grandfather of Neil Stanton, who succeeded his father as superintendent
William Stanton (1810-1871) - lock-keeper at Bramley and superintendent from 1867 to 1871, who died at Wharf Cottage, leaving a legacy of £1,000, the interest from which was distributed to the poorer people of Bramley each Christmas.
Esther (nee Baverstock) Stanton (1807-1868) was the wife of James Stanton (junior)