The Gower Branch Canal is a half-mile

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 ...

Tividale Tividale is a district of the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, West Midlands. It straddles the borders of the towns of Dudley, Tipton, Oldbury. History Tividale Park has been known as Derygate (Deer Gate) Park; it can be traced back as f ...

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 ...

, linking Albion Junction on the

Birmingham Level The Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN), a network of narrow canals in the industrial midlands of England, is built on various water levels. The three longest are the Wolverhampton, Birmingham, and Walsall levels. Canal lock, Locks allow boats t ...

(453 feet above sea) of 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 ...

, and Brades Hall Junction (sometimes written ''Bradeshall Junction''This alternative is found only in the guides edited by David Perrott and published by Nicholson.) on the BCN's older Wolverhampton (473 ft) level, via three

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 ...

, the Brades Locks, at the Southern, Brades Hall end. It has a

towpath A 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. This mode of transport ...

on its eastern side and is crossed by only one road, the A457, just north of the middle lock. The branch is suitable for

narrowboat A narrowboat is a particular type of canal boat, built to fit the narrow locks of the United Kingdom. The UK's canal system provided a nationwide transport network during the Industrial Revolution, but with the advent of the railways, commerc ...

s of up to 70 foot length and 7 foot

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

. It facilitated travel between the

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 ...

and the

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 ...

, without the need for a long detour to Tipton or Smethwick and back.

History

The branch was authorised by the ''Birmingham Canal Act'' of 1768 but was not completed until 1836.

Features

Photographs

File:Brades Lock 01.jpg, Looking up Brades Lock. File:Brades Lock 02.jpg, Middle section of Brades Lock. File:Brades Lock 03.jpg, Looking down Brades Lock from the junction bridge. File:Brades Lock 04.jpg, The instructions for using a staircase lock. File:Brades Lock lower gate.jpg, The lower lock gate of Brades Lock showing the bridge sign. File:Birmingham Wolverhampton canal at Albion Junction Gower Branch.jpg, New Mainline Canal at Albion Junction.

References

Bibliography

External links