The

Birmingham Canal Navigations Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) is a network of canals connecting Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and the eastern part of the Black Country. The BCN is connected to the rest of the English canal system at several junctions. It was owned and oper ...

(BCN), a network of narrow

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

s in the industrial midlands of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, is built on various water levels. The three longest are the Wolverhampton, Birmingham, and Walsall levels.

Locks Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

allow boats to move from one level to another. Heights given are nominal elevation above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

feet The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made ...

relative to the Ordnance Datum Liverpool.

533 ft Essington Branch

A former branch of the

Wyrley and Essington Canal The 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. ...

, the Essington Branch was abandoned before 1904 and is now filled in. It was the highest level on the BCN.

511 ft Titford Summit

The highest canal currently in BCN, 1 mile of which remains navigable. It was fed from the 18th century

Titford Reservoir The Titford Canal () is a narrow (7 foot) canal, a short branch of the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) in Oldbury, West Midlands, England. Authorised under the ''Birmingham Canal Act 1768'' which created the original Birmingham Canal, ...

(now under Junction 2 of the

M5 motorway The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...

) originally by feeder, and since 1837 by the

Titford Canal The Titford Canal () is a narrow (7 foot) canal, a short branch of the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) in Oldbury, West Midlands, England. Authorised under the ''Birmingham Canal Act 1768'' which created the original Birmingham Canal, ...

. A feeder from the Tat Bank Branch (also known as Spon Lane Branch) supplies water to

Edgbaston Reservoir Edgbaston Reservoir, originally known as Rotton Park Reservoir and referred to in some early maps as Rock Pool Reservoir, is a canal feeder reservoir in Birmingham, England, maintained by the Canal & River Trust.Environment Agency public regist ...

491 ft Brindley's Smethwick Summit

A historical level, no longer existing. The highest level designed by

James Brindley James Brindley (1716 – 27 September 1772) 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 Born i ...

for his Birmingham Canal (

BCN Old Main Line The BCN Main Line, or Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line is the evolving route of the Birmingham Canal between Birmingham and Wolverhampton in England. The name ''Main Line'' was used to distinguish the main Birmingham to Wolverhampton rout ...

). Removed by

John Smeaton John Smeaton (8 June 1724 – 28 October 1792) was a British civil engineer responsible for the design of bridges, canals, harbours and lighthouses. He was also a capable mechanical engineer and an eminent physicist. Smeaton was the fir ...

's design in 1790.

473 ft Wolverhampton Level

Edgbaston Reservoir outflow high level valvehouse 05

A total of 41.7 miles navigable without locks: *

Wolverhampton top lock to Smethwick locks, 11.6 miles * Walsall Branch Canal to Walsall top lock, 0.4 miles *

15.4 miles, + branches: **Lord Hay's Branch (now dry) ** Cannock Extension Canal, 1.8 miles navigable **Daw End Branch to Rushall top lock, 5.3 miles **Anglesey Branch, 2.5 miles *

Wednesbury Oak Loop The Wednesbury Oak Loop, sometimes known as the Bradley Arm, is a canal in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN), and was originally part of James Brindley's main line, but became ...

, 1.9 miles *

Engine Arm The Engine Arm or Birmingham Feeder Arm near Smethwick, West Midlands, England, is a short canal which was originally part of a feeder tunnel for a pumping engine. When the Smethwick flight of locks were reduced from six to three, the pumping e ...

, 0.5 miles *

Dudley Canal The Dudley Canal is a canal passing through 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 ...

to Parkhead locks (including

Dudley Tunnel Dudley 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. ( Standedge Tunnel is the longest, at , and the Higham and Strood tunnel is now ...

), 2.3 miles

453 ft Birmingham Level

Edgbaston Reservoir outflow low level valvehouse 94

A total of 49.2 miles at this level (21.2 miles of which is on the BCN) navigable without locks. *

BCN Main Line The BCN Main Line, or Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line is the evolving route of the Birmingham Canal between Birmingham and Wolverhampton in England. The name ''Main Line'' was used to distinguish the main Birmingham to Wolverhampton rout ...

, 10.8 miles navigable **BCN Old Main Line, south of Smethwick Locks **BCN New Main Line - Birmingham to Tipton Factory Bottom Lock, Island line, New Line at Smethwick * Newhall Branch to Farmer's Bridge Junction, 0.2 miles *

Gower Branch Canal The Gower Branch Canal is a half-mile canal at Tividale in England, linking Albion Junction on the Birmingham Level (453 feet above sea) of the Birmingham Canal Navigations, and Brades Hall Junction (sometimes written ''Bradeshall Junction' ...

to Brades Hall locks, 0.5 miles *

Netherton Tunnel Branch Canal Netherton Tunnel Branch Canal, in the West Midlands county, England, is part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations, (BCN). It was constructed at a 453–foot elevation, the Wednesbury or Birmingham level; it has no locks. The total length of the b ...

, 2.4 miles to Windmill End Junction *

Wednesbury Old Canal Wednesbury Old Canal is part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) in West Midlands (county), England. It opened in 1769, and although parts of it were abandoned in 1955 and 1960, the section between Pudding Green Junction and Ryder's Green ...

and

Ridgacre Branch The Ridgacre Branch is a canal branch of the Wednesbury Old Canal, part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations, in the West Midlands, England. It opened in 1828, to serve collieries and iron works, and was disused by the 1960s. Except for its b ...

, 1.4 miles navigable * Dudley No. 2 Canal from Parkhead locks (Blower's Green) to

Hawne Basin Hawne is a residential area approximately one mile from Halesowen town centre in the county of West Midlands, England. It includes Newfield Park Primary School, Earls High School and Halesowen College. There is a mix of private and council hous ...

(originally to Selly Oak), and

Bumble Hole Branch Canal The 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 Dudl ...

, 5.9 miles navigable. *

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 d ...

Connecting canals, not part of the BCN, but using this level: *

Worcester and Birmingham Canal The Worcester and Birmingham Canal is a canal linking Birmingham and Worcester in England. It starts in Worcester, as an 'offshoot' of the River Severn (just after the river lock) and ends in Gas Street Basin in Birmingham. It is long. There ar ...

to Tardebigge top lock, 17 miles * Northern Stratford-upon-Avon Canal from

Kings Norton Junction Kings Norton Junction () is the name of the canal junction where the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal terminates and meets the Worcester and Birmingham Canal at Kings Norton, Birmingham, England. History The Worcester and Birmingham Canal was ...

to Lapworth Top Lock, 11 miles

441 ft Dudley No. 1

, 1.8 miles navigable without locks.

408 ft Walsall Level

A total of 13.4 miles navigable without locks. *

Walsall Canal The Walsall Canal is a narrow () canal, long, forming part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations, and passing around the western side of Walsall, West Midlands, England. Route The canal runs from Ryders Green Junction where it meets the Wednesbu ...

(Ryders Green bottom lock to Walsall Town Wharf), 6.5 miles, + branches: **Ocker Hill Tunnel Branch (private moorings), 0.2 miles navigable. **Gospel Oak Branch, 0.1 miles navigable. **

Bradley Branch The Bradley Branch or Bradley Locks Branch was a short canal of the Birmingham Canal Navigations in the West Midlands, England. Completed in 1849, it included nine locks, and had a number of basins which enabled it to service local collieries a ...

, part (abandoned) **Bilston Branch (abandoned) **Willenhall Branch (abandoned) **

Anson Branch The 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. The canal is only partially wate ...

(abandoned) *

Tame Valley Canal The Tame Valley Canal is a relatively late (1844) 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 The canal runs from Tame Valley Junct ...

to Perry Barr top lock, 5.7 miles. * Rushall Canal (Rushall junction to Rushall bottom lock), 0.9 miles.

Reservoirs

To keep the canals topped up with water,

reservoirs A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including control ...

were built to collect water from streams. These had to be above the relevant canal levels, often some distance away. The small

(Titford Pool), as well as feeding the

supplies its surplus water to

along a feeder through

Smethwick Smethwick () is an industrial town in Sandwell, West Midlands, England. It lies west of Birmingham city centre. Historically it was in Staffordshire. In 2019, the ward of Smethwick had an estimated population of 15,246, while the wider bu ...

. Water from Edgbaston Reservoir feeds the Birmingham Level at the adjacent

Icknield Port Loop The Icknield Port Loop (originally the Rotton Park Loop) is a loop of the eighteenth-century-built Old BCN Main Line canal in Birmingham, England, about west of the city centre, which opened to traffic on 6 November 1769 and in some definitio ...

, and once fed the Wolverhampton Level via a long feeder (now overgrown and dry) along the top of a raised embankment along Telford's BCN New Main Line to the

. Water is also supplied by

Chasewater Chasewater is a reservoir located in the parish of Burntwood and the district of Lichfield in Staffordshire, England. Originally known as Norton Pool and Cannock Chase Reservoir, it was created as a canal feeder reservoir in 1797. The reservoi ...

and

Netherton Reservoir Netherton Reservoir - otherwise known as Lodge Farm Reservoir or locally known as The Rezza is a canal feeder reservoir in the Netherton district of Dudley, England. It opened in 1838, and is now used for watersports, as well as supplying wa ...

Water pumping

Edgbaston Reservoir boat house and paddle gear on dam

Water was a precious resource, spent each time a lock was emptied as a boat changed level. Steam pumps were employed at many flights of locks to pump water back to a higher level, for example, the

Smethwick Engine The Smethwick Engine is a Watt steam engine made by Boulton and Watt, which was installed near Birmingham, England, and was brought into service in May 1779. Now at Thinktank, Birmingham Science Museum, it is the oldest working steam engine and ...

. *Back pumping at locks **Ashtead **Titford **Perry Barr **Walsall **Dudley Parkhead *Back pumping between levels **

Ocker Hill Ocker Hill is a residential area of Tipton in the West Midlands conurbation, West Midlands of England. Details It is situated in the northern part of the town, on the main A461 road between Dudley and Wednesbury. The area was first developed du ...

**Smethwick Summit ***Spon Lane engine (1778–1790) pumping Wolverhampton level to 491 ft Summit level, closed by Smeaton's removal of the Summit level ***

(1779–1898) pumping Birmingham level to 491 ft Summit level, pumping to Wolverhampton level after Summit lowered. It was replaced in 1892 by two centrifugal engines in a new pumphouse north of Brasshouse Lane Bridge, Smethwick. *Pumping to reservoirs **

(Rotton Park) ** Chasewater Reservoir (Cannock Chase) ** Lodge Farm Reservoir (Netherton) **Sneyd Reservoir (Bloxwich) *Water was also pumped out from many coal mines into the canal system.

References

* * *Mileages extracted from Nicholson's Waterways Guides vols. 2 & 3, and www.canalplan.org.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Water Levels Of The Birmingham Canal Navigations Birmingham Canal Navigations