Birmingham Canal Navigations
Encyclopedia
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
s connecting Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
, and the eastern part of the Black Country
Black Country
The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...
. The BCN is connected to the rest of the English canal system at several junctions.
At its working peak, the BCN contained about 160 miles (257 km) of canals; today just over 100 miles (160 km) are navigable, and the majority of traffic is from tourist and residential narrowboat
Narrowboat
A narrowboat or narrow boat is a boat of a distinctive design, made to fit the narrow canals of Great Britain.In the context of British Inland Waterways, "narrow boat" refers to the original working boats built in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries for carrying goods on the narrow canals...
s.
History
James Brindley
James Brindley was an English engineer. He was born in Tunstead, Derbyshire, and lived much of his life in Leek, Staffordshire, becoming one of the most notable engineers of the 18th century.-Early life:...
from the, then, edge of Birmingham, with termini at Newhall Wharf (since built over) and Paradise Wharf (also known as Old Wharf) near to Gas Street Basin
Gas Street Basin
Gas Street Basin is a canal basin in the centre of Birmingham, England, where the Worcester and Birmingham Canal meets the BCN Main Line. It is located on Gas Street, off Broad Street, and between the Mailbox and Brindleyplace canal-side developments....
to meet the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal
The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a narrow navigable canal in the English Midlands, passing through the counties of Staffordshire and Worcestershire....
at Aldersley
Aldersley
Aldersley is a small suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is north-west of Wolverhampton city centre, within the Tettenhall Regis ward...
(north of Wolverhampton).
The Birmingham and Fazeley Canal
Birmingham and Fazeley Canal
The Birmingham and Fazeley Canal is a canal of the Birmingham Canal Navigations in the West Midlands of England. Its purpose was to provide a link between the Coventry Canal and Birmingham and thereby connect Birmingham to London via the Oxford Canal....
, from Birmingham to Tamworth, followed in 1784 with the Birmingham Canal Company merging with the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal Company immediately, to form what was originally called the Birmingham and Birmingham and Fazeley Canal Company. This cumbersome name was short-lived, and the combined company became known as the Birmingham Canal Navigations from 1794, as the network was expanded.
Levels
The BCN is built on three main levels, each with its own reservoirs. O.D.Ordnance Datum
In the British Isles, an Ordnance Datum or OD is a vertical datum used by an ordnance survey as the basis for deriving altitudes on maps. A spot height may be expressed as AOD for "above ordnance datum". Usually mean sea level is used for the datum...
, the Birmingham Level; O.D., the Wolverhampton Level; O.D., the Walsall Level
These levels are linked by locks at various places on the network.
There are also stretches on their own levels.
- The Titford CanalTitford CanalThe Titford Canal is a narrow canal, a short branch of the Birmingham Canal Navigations in Oldbury, West Midlands, England....
and its branches were built at 511 feet (155.8 m) O.D., linked to the Titford Reservoir (Titford Pool). A feeder supplies water to the Edgbaston ReservoirEdgbaston ReservoirEdgbaston Reservoir, originally known as Rotton Park Reservoir and referred to in some early maps as Rock Pool Reservoir, is a canal feeder reservoir in the Ladywood district of Birmingham, England...
. - A short section of the BCN Old Main Line, at SmethwickSmethwickSmethwick is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands of England. It is situated on the edge of the city of Birmingham, within the historic boundaries of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire....
Summit, was built at 491 feet (149.7 m) O.D.. Pumps at either end were built to pump water used by the locks back to the summit - one at Spon Lane locks, and one at Smethwick locks: the Smethwick EngineSmethwick EngineThe Smethwick Engine is a steam engine made by Boulton and Watt; brought into service in May 1779.Originally, it was one of two engines used to pump water back up to the summit level of the BCN Old Main Line canal at Smethwick, not far from the Soho Foundry where it was made...
. When the summit became too busy John SmeatonJohn SmeatonJohn Smeaton, FRS, was an English civil engineer responsible for the design of bridges, canals, harbours and lighthouses. He was also a capable mechanical engineer and an eminent physicist...
designed a scheme where it was lowered by 18 feet (5.5 m) to the Wolverhampton level, eliminating six locks and providing a parallel set of locks at Smethwick which improved traffic throughput. It also linked to the general Wolverhampton Level supply of water.
The canals of the BCN
- BCN Main LineBCN Main LineThe BCN Main Line, or Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line describes the evolving route of the Birmingham Canal between Birmingham and Wolverhampton in England....
(originally known as the Birmingham Canal) from Aldersley JunctionAldersley JunctionAldersley Junction is the name of the canal junction where the Birmingham Main Line Canal terminates and meets the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal near to Oxley, north Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England....
(north of Wolverhampton) to Gas Street BasinGas Street BasinGas Street Basin is a canal basin in the centre of Birmingham, England, where the Worcester and Birmingham Canal meets the BCN Main Line. It is located on Gas Street, off Broad Street, and between the Mailbox and Brindleyplace canal-side developments....
(at the Worcester Bar in central Birmingham), using some of the Old Main Line canal.- Old Main Line, originally terminating in Birmingham at two wharfs now built upon: Old Wharf (adjacent to Gas Street Basin) and Newhall Wharf.
- New Main Line, a revised route for the Birmingham Canal, double towpathTowpathA towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge...
ed, largely progressing in straight lines using cuttings and tunnels.
- Bentley CanalBentley CanalThe Bentley Canal is an abandoned canal that was part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations. A very short section still exists where it joins the Wyrley and Essington Canal in Wolverhampton...
- Birmingham and Fazeley CanalBirmingham and Fazeley CanalThe Birmingham and Fazeley Canal is a canal of the Birmingham Canal Navigations in the West Midlands of England. Its purpose was to provide a link between the Coventry Canal and Birmingham and thereby connect Birmingham to London via the Oxford Canal....
(from Old Turn JunctionOld Turn JunctionOld Turn Junction is a canal junction in Birmingham, England, where the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal meets the Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line Canal....
(by the National Indoor ArenaNational Indoor ArenaThe National Indoor Arena is a large indoor arena and is owned by the NEC Group. It is situated in central Birmingham, England and was opened in 1991, as the largest indoor arena at the time in the UK...
), eastwards to the Coventry CanalCoventry CanalThe Coventry Canal is a navigable narrow canal in the Midlands of England.It starts in Coventry and ends 38 miles north at Fradley Junction, just north of Lichfield, where it joins the Trent and Mersey Canal...
at Fazeley JunctionFazeley JunctionFazeley Junction is the name of the canal junction where the authorised Birmingham and Fazeley Canal terminates and meets the Coventry Canal at Fazeley, near Tamworth, Staffordshire, England....
)- Digbeth Branch CanalDigbeth Branch CanalThe Digbeth Branch Canal in Birmingham, England is a short canal which links the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal at Aston Junction and the Grand Union Canal at Digbeth Junction in Digbeth....
- Digbeth Branch Canal
- Bradley Locks Branch
- Dudley CanalDudley CanalThe Dudley Canal is a canal passing though Dudley in the West Midlands of England. The canal is part of the English and Welsh connected network of navigable inland waterways, and in particular forms part of the popular Stourport Ring narrowboat cruising route....
- Bumble Hole Branch CanalBumble Hole Branch CanalThe present day Bumble Hole Branch Canal and Boshboil Branch surround Bumble Hole, a water-filled clay pit, in Bumble Hole and Warren's Hall Nature Reserve, Rowley Regis, West Midlands, England. They formed a looped part of the original Dudley No...
(part of a bypassed loop) - Dudley Canal Line No 1 (see also Dudley TunnelDudley TunnelDudley Tunnel is a canal tunnel on the Dudley Canal Line No 1, England. At about long, it is now the second longest canal tunnel on the UK canal network today....
) - Dudley Canal Line No 2 (about half dewatered; see also Lapal TunnelLapal TunnelThe Lapal Tunnel is a disused canal tunnel on the five mile dry section of the Dudley No. 2 Canal in the West Midlands, England....
; Netherton ReservoirNetherton ReservoirNetherton Reservoir - otherwise known as Lodge Farm Reservoir - is a canal feeder reservoir in the Netherton district of Dudley, England....
) - The Two Locks Line (infilled)
- Bumble Hole Branch Canal
- The Engine ArmEngine ArmThe Engine Arm or Birmingham Feeder Arm near Smethwick, West Midlands, England, is a short canal built by Thomas Telford in 1825 to carry water from Rotton Park Reservoir to the Old Main Line of the BCN Main Line Canal....
- Gower Branch Canal - linking the Birmingham and Wolverhampton levels, via three locks, at Tividale.
- Netherton Tunnel Branch CanalNetherton Tunnel Branch CanalNetherton Tunnel Branch Canal, in the English West Midlands, is part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations, . It was constructed at a 453–foot elevation, the Wednesbury or Birmingham level; it has no locks. The total length of the branch canal is and the canal tunnel is long.Netherton Tunnel was...
- Rushall CanalRushall CanalThe Rushall Canal is a straight, short , narrow canal forming part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations on the eastern side of Walsall, West Midlands, England.-Route:...
- Soho Branch Loop Line (an old circuitous route cut off by Telford's improvements, originally with a branch, the Soho Branch to Soho Wharf, serving the Soho ManufactorySoho ManufactoryThe Soho Manufactory was an early factory which pioneered mass production on the assembly line principle, in Soho, Smethwick, England, during the Industrial Revolution.-Beginnings:...
) - Spon Lane Locks Branch (between Bromford JunctionBromford JunctionBromford Junction is a canal junction at the foot of the Spon Lane Locks where the Spon Lane Locks Branch meets the BCN New Main Line near Oldbury in the West Midlands, England....
and Spon Lane JunctionSpon Lane JunctionSpon Lane Junction is the original junction of the Wednesbury Canal and the Birmingham Canal, near Oldbury in the West Midlands, England.The 1768 Act of Parliament which authorised the building of the Birmingham Canal to Wolverhampton included a lucrative branch to the coal mines of Wednesbury,...
on the Old Main Line - 3 locks, part of the original Wednesbury Canal, not to be confused with Spon Lane Branch, another name for Tat Bank Branch on the Titford Canal) - Titford CanalTitford CanalThe Titford Canal is a narrow canal, a short branch of the Birmingham Canal Navigations in Oldbury, West Midlands, England....
- Tame Valley CanalTame Valley CanalThe Tame Valley Canal is a relatively late canal in the West Midlands of England. It forms part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations. It takes its name from the roughly-parallel River Tame.-Geography:...
(a later canal cutting off some northern meanders) - Walsall CanalWalsall CanalThe Walsall Canal is a narrow canal, seven miles long, forming part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations, and passing around the western side of Walsall, West Midlands, England.-Route:...
(a more modern canal connecting the main line with Walsall and forming a big northern loop with the Wyrley and Essington Canal)- Anson BranchAnson BranchThe Anson Branch is a short canal in the West Midlands, England. It runs for just over one mile from its junction with the Walsall Canal near Forster's bridge. It forms part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations....
- Walsall Branch Canal (Town Branch)
- Anson Branch
- Wednesbury Oak LoopWednesbury Oak LoopThe Wednesbury Oak Loop, sometimes known as the Bradley Arm, is a canal in the West Midlands, England. It is part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations ....
(part of the original Old Main Line, now incomplete) - Wednesbury Old CanalWednesbury Old CanalWednesbury Old Canal is part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations in West Midlands , England.Wednesbury Old Canal leaves the main line Birmingham level at Pudding Green Junction and passes through a completely industrial landscape. At Ryders Green Junction the Walsall Canal begins its descent down...
- part of the original Wednesbury Canal- Ridgacre BranchRidgacre BranchThe Ridgacre Branch is a canal branch of the Wednesbury Old Canal, part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations, in the West Midlands, England....
- Ridgacre Branch
- Wyrley and Essington CanalWyrley and Essington CanalThe Wyrley and Essington Canal, known locally as "the Curly Wyrley", is a canal in the English Midlands. As built it ran from Wolverhampton to Huddlesford Junction near Lichfield, with a number of branches: some parts are currently derelict...
(bought by the Birmingham Canal Navigations in 1840)- Anglesey Branch
- Birchills Branch
- Cannock Extension CanalCannock Extension CanalThe current Cannock Extension Canal is a 1.8 mile canal in England. It runs from Pelsall Junction on the Wyrley and Essington Canal, north to Norton Canes Docks and forms part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations....
- Daw End Branch Canal
- Lord Hay's Branch (Lords Hayes Branch) (abandoned)
Linking canals
- Coventry CanalCoventry CanalThe Coventry Canal is a navigable narrow canal in the Midlands of England.It starts in Coventry and ends 38 miles north at Fradley Junction, just north of Lichfield, where it joins the Trent and Mersey Canal...
(at Fazeley JunctionFazeley JunctionFazeley Junction is the name of the canal junction where the authorised Birmingham and Fazeley Canal terminates and meets the Coventry Canal at Fazeley, near Tamworth, Staffordshire, England....
) - Grand Union CanalGrand Union CanalThe Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles with 166 locks...
(connects at Salford JunctionSalford JunctionSalford Junction is the name of the canal junction where the Grand Union Canal and Tame Valley Canal meet the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal north of Birmingham, England....
and also Bordesley JunctionBordesley JunctionBordesley Junction is a canal junction where the Grand Union Canal splits near to Bordesley, Birmingham, England.The southern arm is the main line of the Grand Union to London. The north-east arm was originally the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal leading to Salford Junction and on to the...
(originally Warwick BarWarwick BarThe Warwick Bar conservation area is a conservation area in Birmingham, England which was home to many canalside factories during the Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries....
) - Staffordshire and Worcestershire CanalStaffordshire and Worcestershire CanalThe Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a narrow navigable canal in the English Midlands, passing through the counties of Staffordshire and Worcestershire....
(at Aldersley JunctionAldersley JunctionAldersley Junction is the name of the canal junction where the Birmingham Main Line Canal terminates and meets the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal near to Oxley, north Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England....
) - Stourbridge CanalStourbridge CanalThe Stourbridge Canal is a canal in the West Midlands of England. It links the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal with the Dudley Canal, and hence, via the Birmingham Canal Navigations, to Birmingham and the Black Country.-History:The Stourbridge and Dudley canals were originally proposed as a...
- Worcester and Birmingham CanalWorcester and Birmingham CanalThe Worcester and Birmingham Canal is a canal linking Birmingham and Worcester in England. It starts in Worcester, as an 'offshoot' of the River Severn and ends in Gas Street Basin in Birmingham. It is long....
(connects the BCN Main Line at the Worcester Bar, (alongside Gas Street BasinGas Street BasinGas Street Basin is a canal basin in the centre of Birmingham, England, where the Worcester and Birmingham Canal meets the BCN Main Line. It is located on Gas Street, off Broad Street, and between the Mailbox and Brindleyplace canal-side developments....
), southwards, to the River Severn at Worcester)
Associated features
- ChasewaterChasewaterChasewater is a 3-square-kilometre reservoir in the parish of Burntwood, in the district of Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. Originally known as Norton Pool, it was created as a canal feeder reservoir in the 18th Century and remains the largest in use in the region today.-History:Work on...
(feeds Wyrley and Essington Canal) - Edgbaston ReservoirEdgbaston ReservoirEdgbaston Reservoir, originally known as Rotton Park Reservoir and referred to in some early maps as Rock Pool Reservoir, is a canal feeder reservoir in the Ladywood district of Birmingham, England...
, originally called Rotton Park Reservoir, itself fed from Titford Reservoir (feeds Birmingham Old and New Line)
Engineers
- James BrindleyJames BrindleyJames Brindley was an English engineer. He was born in Tunstead, Derbyshire, and lived much of his life in Leek, Staffordshire, becoming one of the most notable engineers of the 18th century.-Early life:...
- Thomas DadfordThomas DadfordThomas Dadford, Senior was an English canal engineer, as were his sons, Thomas Dadford Junior, John Dadford and James Dadford.He probably originated from Stewponey or Stourton near Stourbridge. He started as one of James Brindley's many pupil-assistants, in which capacity he worked on the...
- John SmeatonJohn SmeatonJohn Smeaton, FRS, was an English civil engineer responsible for the design of bridges, canals, harbours and lighthouses. He was also a capable mechanical engineer and an eminent physicist...
- Thomas TelfordThomas TelfordThomas Telford FRS, FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...
- James WalkerJames Walker-Politics:*James Walker , English MP for Exeter*Sir James Walker, 2nd Baronet , British MP for Beverley*Jimmy Walker , born James J...
Society
The BCN Society is a registered charity (number 1091760) formed in 1968, which exists to conserve, improve and encourage a wide range of interests in the BCN. It publishes a quarterly journal. Boundary Post. From 1983, it erected signposts at most of the canal junctions on the BCN.See also
- The Smethwick EngineSmethwick EngineThe Smethwick Engine is a steam engine made by Boulton and Watt; brought into service in May 1779.Originally, it was one of two engines used to pump water back up to the summit level of the BCN Old Main Line canal at Smethwick, not far from the Soho Foundry where it was made...
- Transport in BirminghamTransport in BirminghamBirmingham is a major transport hub, due in part to its location in central England. Public transport in the city is overseen by the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive whose public brand is Centro/Network West Midlands.-Railways:-History:...
- Stourport RingStourport RingThe Stourport Ring is a connected series of canals forming a circuit, or canal ring, around Worcestershire, The Black Country and Birmingham in central England...
- WaterscapeWaterscapeWaterscape was set up in the summer of 2003 and is British Waterways leisure website, supported by the Environment Agency and the Broads Authority as an official information and leisure resource for inland waterways within the UK....