The port outline as exists today was formed by 1816, when the 12 canal basins had been excavated. But the warehouses around them were extensively reconstructed as trade developed, so that by 1820 the larger structures with the sunburst windows which exist today, had replaced the earlier buildings. The wharfs and associated warehouses each had designated functions, which included: coal; timber; iron; cheese; corn; and salt. Other business which developed alongside the port included: boat builders; ropewalks; stables; offices, including the head office site of the Trent and Mersey Canal; plus workers cottages and owner's houses. Two families particularly made their fortunes: the Soresburys with rapid horse-drawn 'fly boats' on the Trent; and the Suttons with their barges and narrow boats.