Stourbridge Extension Canal
Encyclopedia
The Stourbridge Extension Canal was a short canal built to serve a number of mines in the Kingswinford
area of Staffordshire
in England
. Although connected to the Stourbridge Canal
, it was independent from it. It opened in 1840, and was abandoned in 1935. A short section of it is still used as moorings for boats using the Stourbridge Canal.
was constructed by Lord Dudley, but there were further plans for both canals and railways to the area of Shutt End. In 1836, the Stourbridge, Wolverhampton & Birmingham Junction Canal was proposed. This would have started near Fens Pool on the Stourbridge Canal and run via the mines and a long tunnel to Bloomfield Junction on the Birmingham Canal Navigations
. This did not meet with general approval, with opposition from Lord Ward and various canal companies, and so the Stourbridge Extension Canal Company was formed, and the Act of Parliament
obtained in 1837 only authorised the first part of this grand plan.
Construction of the canal began in June 1837 with William Fowler as the engineer, who was replaced by Benjamin Townshend in September 1838. The canal was all on one level, with a stop lock at its junction with the Stourbridge Canal, and the total length of the canal was about 2 miles (3.2 km). Completed in 1840, the canal was a success, with good amounts of iron ore and limestone being carried to blast furnaces, and finished iron and coal being exported to the wider region.
was active in the area, and in 1845 applied for an Act of Parliament to authorise a number of routes, one of which would run along the banks of the canal. An agreement was reached, whereby the Railway Company would buy the canal if the Act was granted. It was, and the canal passed into the hands of the Railway Company on 27 March 1847. Unlike many such takeovers, the canal was not immediately run down, as it provided a source of income to the new company, and indeed traffic increased. By the 1850s, the canal served two brickworks, four collieries, and six ironworks, which operated a total of seventeen blast furnaces.
When the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway became part of the Great Western Railway
, the canal also had new owners. Despite its short length, and the fact that much of the traffic travelled less than a mile on the canal, the canal still made a profit, and it was not until the early 1900s that traffic started to decline. The canal was finally abandoned in 1935.
on the north bank of the stub in 2004.
Kingswinford
Kingswinford is a suburban area in the West Midlands.Historically within Staffordshire, the area is mentioned in the Domesday Book its name relates to a ford for the King's swine - Latin Swinford Regis. The current significance is probably in tourism, education and housing...
area of Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Although connected to the Stourbridge Canal
Stourbridge Canal
The 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...
, it was independent from it. It opened in 1840, and was abandoned in 1935. A short section of it is still used as moorings for boats using the Stourbridge Canal.
History
In the 1820s, a number of coal mines opened up in the Kingswinford area, which was just to the north-west of the Fens branch of the Stourbridge Canal. Although a survey was carried out for a canal to service the mines, no definite proposals emerged. A railway from the Staffordshire and Worcestershire CanalStaffordshire 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....
was constructed by Lord Dudley, but there were further plans for both canals and railways to the area of Shutt End. In 1836, the Stourbridge, Wolverhampton & Birmingham Junction Canal was proposed. This would have started near Fens Pool on the Stourbridge Canal and run via the mines and a long tunnel to Bloomfield Junction on the Birmingham Canal Navigations
Birmingham Canal Navigations
Birmingham Canal Navigations is a network of navigable canals connecting Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and the eastern part of the Black Country...
. This did not meet with general approval, with opposition from Lord Ward and various canal companies, and so the Stourbridge Extension Canal Company was formed, and the Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
obtained in 1837 only authorised the first part of this grand plan.
Construction of the canal began in June 1837 with William Fowler as the engineer, who was replaced by Benjamin Townshend in September 1838. The canal was all on one level, with a stop lock at its junction with the Stourbridge Canal, and the total length of the canal was about 2 miles (3.2 km). Completed in 1840, the canal was a success, with good amounts of iron ore and limestone being carried to blast furnaces, and finished iron and coal being exported to the wider region.
The Coming of the Railways
The canal was barely open, when the railways posed a threat. The Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton RailwayOxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway
The Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton railway was a company authorised on 4 August 1845 to construct a railway line from the Oxford and Rugby Railway at Wolvercot Junction to Worcester, Stourbridge, Dudley, and Wolverhampton, with a branch to the Grand Junction Railway at Bushbury...
was active in the area, and in 1845 applied for an Act of Parliament to authorise a number of routes, one of which would run along the banks of the canal. An agreement was reached, whereby the Railway Company would buy the canal if the Act was granted. It was, and the canal passed into the hands of the Railway Company on 27 March 1847. Unlike many such takeovers, the canal was not immediately run down, as it provided a source of income to the new company, and indeed traffic increased. By the 1850s, the canal served two brickworks, four collieries, and six ironworks, which operated a total of seventeen blast furnaces.
When the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway became part of the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
, the canal also had new owners. Despite its short length, and the fact that much of the traffic travelled less than a mile on the canal, the canal still made a profit, and it was not until the early 1900s that traffic started to decline. The canal was finally abandoned in 1935.
Today
Most of the canal was filled in after its abandonment. A trading estate covers most of the northern end of the Sandhill Branch, and housing has been built over the middle section. A short stub, from the Brockmoor Junction with the Stourbridge Canal to the stop lock at Bromley has been retained in water, and mooring facilities with a boundary fence were constructed by British WaterwaysBritish Waterways
British Waterways is a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom, serving as the navigation authority in England, Scotland and Wales for the vast majority of the canals as well as a number of rivers and docks...
on the north bank of the stub in 2004.
See also
- Canals of Great Britain
- History of the British canal systemHistory of the British canal systemThe British canal system of water transport played a vital role in the United Kingdom's Industrial Revolution at a time when roads were only just emerging from the medieval mud and long trains of pack horses were the only means of "mass" transit by road of raw materials and finished products The...