 Having completed the Wombridge Canal and the Ketley Canal with its inclined plane in 1788, Reynolds, who was by now an innovative ironmaster aged 30, set his sights on a canal from the Donnington Wood Canal to the River Severn.He enlisted the help of various others, including his father Richard Reynolds, John Wilkinson, and Granville Leveson-Gower, who held various titles including Earl Gower and Marquess of Stafford.Reynolds, senior, contributed £6,000, Wilkinson £5,500, Leveson-Gower £2,000, while Reynolds himself contributed £1,000.