The Tipton Green Branch and Toll End Branch (or Toll End Communication Canal) were narrow canals comprising part 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 ...

near

Tipton Tipton is an industrial town in the West Midlands in England with a population of around 38,777 at the 2011 UK Census. It is located northwest of Birmingham. Tipton was once one of the most heavily industrialised towns in the Black Country, w ...

(formerly in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

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 ...

. These canals no longer exist.

History

The Tipton Green Branch was completed around 1805 with 3 locks and a length of quarter of a mile. The Toll End Branch was authorised by

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

in 1783 (along with the

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 ...

, Broadwaters Canal, and several other branches) to provide access to a proposed new coal mine. Work was started from the Broadwaters Canal (now part of the

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 ...

) but halted in 1784 for eight years, being completed as a closed branch with two locks in 1801. In 1806 it was decided to extend this branch to the Tipton Green Branch with further locks, and in January 1809 the Toll End Communication Canal was completed making the length 1 ³/₈ miles. In 1829 Thomas Telford's

BCN New 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 ...

(Island Line)cut across the Tipton Green Canal, forming Watery Lane Junction, and creating a de facto Tipton Green Locks Branch of three locks and a Toll End Locks Branch of seven locks. From the later 20th Century Caggy's Boatyard occupied the basin at Watery Lane Junction. The

Horseley Ironworks The Horseley Ironworks (sometimes spelled Horsley) was a major ironworks in the Tipton area in the county of Staffordshire, now the West Midlands, England. History Founded by Aaron Manby, it is most famous for constructing the first iron stea ...

operated their first foundry from a site between the two branches where many iron bridges, including the

Engine Arm Aqueduct The Engine Arm Aqueduct near Smethwick, West Midlands, England, was built in 1825 by Thomas Telford to carry a water feeder, the Engine Arm, from Edgbaston Reservoir over the BCN New Main Line canal to the adjacent and parallel Old Main Line. It ...

(1825), two

roving bridge A roving bridge, changeline bridge, turnover bridge, or snake bridgeWilliam George Victor Balchin, ed., ''The Country Life Book of the Living History of Britain'', 1983, , p. 109 is a bridge over a canal constructed to allow a horse towing a bo ...

s at

Smethwick Junction Smethwick Junction is a junction on the Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster Line. With Galton Junction, northbound trains on the West Coast Main Line's Rugby-Birmingham-Stafford Line can join the Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster L ...

(1828) and

Galton Bridge The Galton Bridge is a cast-iron bridge in Smethwick, near Birmingham, in central England. Opened in 1829 as a road bridge, the structure has been pedestrianised since the 1970s. It was built by Thomas Telford to carry a road across the new mai ...

, were cast. Having suffered from a century or more of declining traffic due to the advent of trains and then motor vehicles, the

Tipton Green Tipton Green is the central area of Tipton, a town in the West Midlands of England. It was heavily developed for heavy industry and housing during the 19th century, as Tipton was one of the most significant towns during the Industrial Revolutio ...

Branch became disused in 1960, and the Toll End Branch in 1966, after some of the locks along the canal became immovable.''Historical Map of the Birmingham Canals'', Richard Dean, M. & M. Baldwin, 1989, The locks and canals were infilled in 1968. The Tipton Green locks were lined with houses which were built around the mid 19th century, but these were demolished around the time of the canal's closure. The brick base of one lock on the Tipton Green canal, however, remains in existence, forming part of a public footpath that followed the course of the canal and was opened in about 1975. One part of the

Toll End Toll End is a residential area of Tipton in the West Midlands of England. It was developed during the 19th century during the Industrial Revolution which saw previously rural Tipton developed as one of the most prolific manufacturing and mining ...

canal has since been occupied by the car park of a factory in Toll End Road. There is also an "open" drain along the route of the canal at the back of Tipton Cemetery, but apart from this the canal has been almost obliterated. Almost all of the bridges are still in existence, apart from the bridge on Bridge Road which carried the road under the Toll End Canal. This bridge was replaced with a flat road several years after the canal was filled in.

Route

References

*Ordnance Survey Six Inch Series (1:10,560), Map SO99SE, 1955 *''Historical Map of the Birmingham Canals'', Richard Dean, M. & M. Baldwin, 1989, {{DEFAULTSORT:Tipton Green And Toll End Canals Birmingham Canal Navigations Tipton Canals in the West Midlands (county) Transport in Staffordshire Canals opened in 1805 Canals opened in 1809 1805 establishments in England

History

Route

See also

References