Walsall Canal

The Walsall Canal is a narrow 7 foot canal, seven miles long, forming part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations, and passing around the western side of Walsall, West Midlands, England

1 Route
2 History
3 Points of interest
4 Gallery
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

Routeedit

The canal runs from Ryders Green Junction where it meets the Wednesbury Old Canal and the Ridgeacre Branch and immediately drops through the eight Ryders Green Locks to the 408 foot Walsall Level At Doe Bank Junction Tame Valley Junction it meets the Tame Valley Canal and the very short Ocker Hill Tunnel Branch, now private moorings, which fed water to the Ocker Hill pumps to replenish the Wolverhampton Level It passes northwards, past the junction of the derelict Gospel Oak Branch and under the Midland Metro line, passes the short Bradley Branch at Moorcroft Junction In this area it passes the huge iron gates of the Patent Shaft factory, which remain despite the factory's closure in 1980 It then passes the short Anson Branch which once led to the Bentley Canal, abandoned 1961 and under the M6 motorway just south of Junction 10 The very short Walsall Town Arm at Walsall Junction leads into Walsall itself while the main canal rises through eight locks to meet the Wyrley and Essington Canal at Birchills Junction

The canal starts at the Birmingham Level, descends 45 feet to the Walsall Level, then rises 65 feet to the Wolverhampton Level

Historyedit

The canal was built in four distinct stages It started life as the Broadwaters Extension to the Wednesbury Canal which opened in 1785 to serve collieries in Moxley This section was authorised as a detached part of the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal under that canal's original Act1

Meanwhile from the other direction, the Birchills Branch of the Wyrley and Essington Canal reached Bloxwich Wharf to the north-west of Walsall by 17982 Much of this branch from Sneyd Junction was later subsumed into the new mainline of the Wyrley and Essington, when that canal was extended towards Huddlesford, leaving about 700 metres of the Birchills Branch as a stub

What was by then known as the Birmingham, Birmingham and Fazeley Canal Company was authorised by the combined company's sixth Act of Parliament on 17 April 1794 to extend the canal from Broadwaters to Walsall It allowed the Company to borrow £45,000, with which to construct the canal to Walsall and three branches to serve iron-stone and coal mines in the locality, all to be completed within three years3 Construction began at Broadwaters and reached Darlaston by May 17984 The second phase of construction began in April 1798: excavation was completed in 1799 but the job remained unfinished in 18005

The canal was mapped by John Snape 1737–1816 in 1808 and this was to be his last known map6

The small gap between the Birmingham Canal Navigations line to Walsall and the Wyrley and Essington Canal's Birchills Branch was of concern to businessmen to the north of Walsall, whose access to the south was by a very circuitous route An independent canal to link the two was planned, but in 1839 the BCN agreed to build a connection7 The Walsall Junction Canal was completed in March 1841,8 its 06 miles containing eight locks and completing the through route

Points of interestedit

Point	Coordinates Links to map resources	OS Grid Ref	Notes
Ryders Green Junction	52°31′22″N 2°01′20″W / 525228°N 20221°W / 525228; -20221 Ryders Green Junction	SO985916	Wednesbury Old Canal
Toll End Junction	52°32′14″N 2°02′08″W / 525372°N 20356°W / 525372; -20356 Toll End Junction	SO976932	Toll End Communication Canal
Ocker Hill Tunnel Branch	52°32′22″N 2°02′09″W / 525394°N 20357°W / 525394; -20357 Ocker Hill Tunnel Branch	SO976934
Tame Valley Junction Doe Bank Junction	52°32′24″N 2°02′07″W / 525400°N 20354°W / 525400; -20354 Tame Valley Junction	SO976935	Tame Valley Canal
Gospel Oak Branch Junction	52°32′57″N 2°02′13″W / 525493°N 20370°W / 525493; -20370 Gospel Oak Branch Junction	SO975945
Moorcroft Junction	52°33′15″N 2°02′28″W / 525541°N 20411°W / 525541; -20411 Moorcroft Junction	SO972951	Bradley Branch
Anson Branch Junction	52°34′39″N 2°01′20″W / 525775°N 20221°W / 525775; -20221 Anson Branch Junction	SO986977	Anson Branch, leading to Bentley Canal
Walsall Junction	52°35′05″N 1°59′34″W / 525848°N 19928°W / 525848; -19928 Walsall Junction	SP005986	Short branch to Walsall centre
Birchills Junction	52°35′55″N 1°59′52″W / 525987°N 19979°W / 525987; -19979 Birchills Junction	SK002000	Wyrley and Essington Canal

Galleryedit

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Walsall Canal

From north to south:

Birchills Junction
Walsall Locks toll office and Boaters Mission
Circular weir at Walsall Lock No 5
Walsall Junction - the Town Branch
Walsall Canal by Spine Road
Gospel Oak Junction Walsall canal runs left and right
Tame Valley Junction - start of the Tame Valley Canal
Ocker Hill Tunnel Branch Junction now private
Ryders Green Junction - southern terminus

Referencesedit

^ Shill, Ray 2005 Birmingham and the Black Country's Canalside Industries Tempus Publishing ISBN 0-7524-3262-1 p33
^ Paget-Tomlinson, Edward 1993 The Illustrated History of Canal & River Navigations Sheffield Academic Press ISBN 1-85075-277-X p217
^ Joseph Priestley, 1831, Historical Account of the Navigable Rivers, Canals, and Railways, of Great Britain
^ Shill, Ray 2005 Birmingham and the Black Country's Canalside Industries Tempus Publishing ISBN 0-7524-3262-1 p44
^ Shill, Ray 2005 Birmingham and the Black Country's Canalside Industries Tempus Publishing ISBN 0-7524-3262-1 p45
^ A W Skempton 2002 A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland Thomas Telford ISBN 0-7277-2939-X
^ Shill, Ray 2005 Birmingham and the Black Country's Canalside Industries Tempus Publishing ISBN 0-7524-3262-1 p98
^ Broadbridge, S R 1974 The Birmingham Canal Navigations, Vol 1 1768 - 1846 David & Charles ISBN 0-7509-2077-7 p73

Pearson, Michael 1989 Canal Companion - Birmingham Canal Navigations J M Pearson & Associates ISBN 0-907864-49-X

External linksedit

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Place data as RDF

v e Birmingham Canal Navigations
Navigable	BCN Main Line Birmingham and Fazeley Canal Bumble Hole Branch Canal Cannock Extension Canal Digbeth Branch Canal Dudley Canal Engine Arm Gower Branch Canal Icknield Port Loop Netherton Tunnel Branch Canal Rushall Canal Soho Loop Spon Lane Locks Branch Tame Valley Canal Titford Canal Walsall Canal Wednesbury Oak Loop Wednesbury Old Canal Wyrley and Essington Canal
Unnavigable	Anson Branch Bentley Canal Bradley Branch Lichfield Canal Ridgacre Branch Tipton Green and Toll End Canals
Junctions	Aldersley Junction Aston Junction Birchills Junction Bromford Junction Catshill Junction Fazeley Junction Horseley Fields Junction Huddlesford Junction Ogley Junction Old Turn Junction Pelsall Junction Rumer Hill Junction Rushall Junction Salford Junction Smethwick Junction Spon Lane Junction Tame Valley Junction
Reservoirs	Chasewater Edgbaston Reservoir Netherton Reservoir
Tunnels	Dudley Tunnel Lapal Tunnel
Aqueducts	Engine Arm Aqueduct Stewart Aqueduct
Bridges and viaducts	Galton Bridge Parkhead Viaduct
Pumping stations	Smethwick Engine
Locks	Delph Locks
Basins	Gas Street Basin
Adjoining canals	Coventry Canal Grand Union Canal Pensnett Canal Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal Stourbridge Canal Worcester and Birmingham Canal
Other	Water levels of the Birmingham Canal Navigations