The Worcester and Birmingham Canal is a
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 f ...
linking
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
and
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
in
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 ...
. It starts in Worcester, as an 'offshoot' of the
River Severn
, name_etymology =
, image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG
, image_size = 288
, image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle
, map = RiverSevernMap.jpg
, map_size = 288
, map_c ...
(just after the river lock) and ends in
Gas Street Basin in Birmingham. It is long.
There are 58 locks in total on the canal, including the 30
Tardebigge Locks
Tardebigge Locks or the Tardebigge Flight is the longest flight of locks in the UK, comprising 30 narrow locks on a stretch of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal at Tardebigge, Worcestershire. It raises the waterway , and lies between the Tar ...
, one of the longest
lock flights in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. The canal climbs from Worcester to Birmingham.
The canal also has connections with the
Stratford-upon-Avon Canal, and the restored
Droitwich Canal
The Droitwich Canal is a synthesis of two canals in Worcestershire, England; the Droitwich Barge Canal and the Droitwich Junction Canal. The Barge Canal is a broad canal which opened in 1771 linking Droitwich Spa to the River Severn at Hawfo ...
, it historically linked to the
Dudley Canal Line No 2
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 narrowbo ...
, until the route through the
Lapal Tunnel was abandoned in 1917.
History
The
parliamentary bill permitting its construction was passed in 1791 empowering the company to raise £180,000 (equivalent to £ in ), through 1,800 shares at a cost of £100 each. It also allowed them to raise a further £70,000, if needed, amongst themselves or by the mortgage of tolls and rates. The Act also permitted the company to allow landowners on the line to build wharfs and wharfhouse, and if they refuse to, the company are allowed to if needed. A further
Act of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliame ...
authorised the raising of £149,929 amongst themselves or through the creation of new shares. However, the company were unable to raise the full amount of money authorised by the second Act, and so another was passed allowing them to raise £49,680. Another Act was passed to obtain more money in 1808. This Act empowered the company to raise £168,000 through the creation of 4,200 shares at £40 each. A final Act was passed in 1815 after the company had purchased land for reservoirs, which was not permitted in the previous Acts. The Act permitted the company to sell the land and to pay a debt of £29,096 (equivalent to £ in ), to the treasurers by 29 September 1815 as well, otherwise it would be taken out of the proceeds raised from selling the land.
The canal was surveyed by
Josiah Clowes and
John Snape. Its engineers changed often, and included
Thomas Cartwright,
John Woodhouse and
William Crosley.
Construction of a double barge-width (14 ft) canal began in 1792 from the Birmingham end, but progressed slowly.
Selly Oak
Selly Oak is an industrial and residential area in south-west Birmingham, England. The area gives its name to Selly Oak ward and includes the neighbourhoods of: Bournbrook, Selly Park, and Ten Acres. The adjoining wards of Edgbaston and Harbor ...
was reached in October 1795 and
Kings Norton Junction by May 1796, meeting the new
Stratford-upon-Avon Canal which had by then reached
Hockley Heath. By March 1797 the 2726 yard (2493 m)
Wast Hills Tunnel was open and the canal was trading to
Hopwood. In 1807 the canal reached
Tardebigge
Tardebigge () is a village in Worcestershire, England.
The village is most famous for the Tardebigge Locks, a flight of 30 canal locks that raise the Worcester and Birmingham Canal over over the Lickey Ridge. It lies in the county of Worcest ...
without the use of locks. From
Worcester Bar
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Englan ...
to
Tardebigge top lock, the canal is at the
453 ft Birmingham Level. The cost of building locks was too great so the 56 locks down to Worcester were built to the narrow specification, with the final two locks connecting to the Severn in Worcester being to allow river craft access to
Diglis Basin.
The final 16 miles (26 km) was opened in December 1815. Plans to construct basins at Lowesmoor and
Diglis were carried out eventually.
The
Dudley Canal Line No 2
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 narrowbo ...
was built through the
Lapal Tunnel to meet the canal at Selly Oak in 1798. After repeated collapses, the tunnel was finally abandoned in 1917 leaving a short stretch navigable between Selly Oak and a brick works at California until 1953, after which it was drained and filled in. A campaign group, The Lapal Canal Trust, is working to restore it, with a diversion around the tunnel.
A major user of the canal was the
Cadbury chocolate
Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec ci ...
factories at
Bournville and Blackpole, Worcester.
Birmingham terminus
For twenty years direct connection to the
Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) was prevented by the ''Worcester Bar'', a physical barrier at
Gas Street Basin, Birmingham designed so that the BCN would not lose water to the Worcester and Birmingham. Cargoes had to be laboriously manhandled between boats on either side. In 1815 an Act allowed the creation of a stop lock and the bar was breached. The Worcester and Birmingham raised their water level by six inches to minimise water loss and today the two pairs of lock gates have been removed. There were separate
toll offices either side of the bar for the two canal companies. The bar still exists, with boats moored to both sides of it.
The commercial terminus in Birmingham was ''Worcester Wharf'', a large complex extending from the bar along Bridge Street, Gas Street and Granville Street. Part of it now forms a water front to
The Mailbox shopping and residential complex.
Birmingham West Suburban Railway
After the development of the new
Birmingham New Street
Birmingham New Street is the largest and busiest of the three main railway stations in Birmingham city centre, England, and a central hub of the British railway system. It is a major destination for Avanti West Coast services from , and vi ...
, a group of local business men noticed the resultant need for additional railway capacity south, through what were the under developed suburbs of south Birmingham and
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...
s of northern
Worcestershire. They therefore proposed development of a new branch railway, following the route of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal south to the
Birmingham and Gloucester Railway
The Birmingham and Gloucester Railway (B&GR) was the first name of the railway linking the cities in its name and of the company which pioneered and developed it; the line opened in stages in 1840, using a terminus at Camp Hill in Birmingham. It ...
to allow access to their new station at
Kings Norton.
Needing finance for construction of the BWSR, the newly formed
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...
became involved in the deal. An eventual agreement was reached with the then loss making canal company, who would be paid a rent for the land, which later became a guarantee of a 1% share dividend. The payments to the canal company and development began in 1873, and the line was running by 1875.
Originally the railway terminated at
Granville Street station and later the
Central Goods station and goods yard through a tunnel under the canal, both stations now demolished and built upon.
Today it forms a large part of the southern section of the
Cross-City Line
The Cross-City Line is a commuter rail line in the West Midlands region of England. It runs for from Redditch and Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, its two southern termini, to Lichfield, Staffordshire, its northern terminus, via Birmingham New ...
which runs in another tunnel under the canal adjacent to the
Holliday Street Aqueduct.
Today
At
Selly Oak
Selly Oak is an industrial and residential area in south-west Birmingham, England. The area gives its name to Selly Oak ward and includes the neighbourhoods of: Bournbrook, Selly Park, and Ten Acres. The adjoining wards of Edgbaston and Harbor ...
, a new aqueduct, the Ariel Aqueduct (named after the former
Ariel Motorcycles factory nearby), was constructed in 2011 to carry the canal over a new section of the A38.
The canal is popular for leisure and has
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, commer ...
hire centres at Alvechurch, Worcester, Tardebigge,
Dunhampstead
Dunhampstead is a small village in the English county of Worcestershire. It is located about 6 miles to the north-east of Worcester and around half a mile to the east of the M5.
The Worcester and Birmingham Canal passes through the village where ...
and Stoke Prior.
The canal forms part of the
Stourport Ring
The Stourport Ring is a connected series of canals forming a circuit, or canal ring, around Worcestershire, The Black Country and Birmingham in The Midlands, England. The ring is formed from the River Severn, the Staffordshire and Worcesters ...
, a popular cruising circuit for holiday boating. The ring takes in parts of four waterways, is long, and includes 105 locks. Another ring which includes the Worcester and Birmingham Canal is the
Avon Ring
The Avon Ring is a canal ring which is located to the south west of Birmingham in England, and connects the major towns of Stratford-upon-Avon, Evesham, Tewkesbury, Worcester and the southern outskirts of Birmingham. It consists of stretches of ...
, which is long with 129 locks, and also includes parts of four waterways.
See also
*
Canals of Great Britain
The canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a varied history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's ro ...
*
History of the British canal system
*
Bittell Reservoirs
*
Tardebigge Engine House
*
Wychall Reservoir
References
*
Joseph Priestley (1831) ''Historical Account of the Navigable Rivers, Canals, and Railways, Throughout Great Britain'', Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green*Ordnance Survey First Edition map
External links
Worcester Birmingham & Droitwich Canals Societymap of milestones along the Worcester Birmingham Canal (click a pin &/or zoom out for all GB)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Worcester And Birmingham Canal
Canals linked to the River Severn
Transport in Birmingham, West Midlands
Transport in Worcestershire
Tourist attractions in Birmingham, West Midlands
Canals in Worcestershire
Canals opened in 1815