The Engine Arm Aqueduct near

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 ...

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 ...

, was built in 1825 by

Thomas Telford Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE, (9 August 1757 – 2 September 1834) was a Scottish civil engineer. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotla ...

to carry a water feeder, the

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 ...

, from

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 ...

over the

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 ...

canal to the adjacent and parallel Old Main Line. It is a

Scheduled Ancient Monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

and is

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. It is a span structure consisting of a cast-iron trough supported by a single arch with five ribs, each consisting of four sections with bolted joints. The trough is supported on three of the ribs, with the adjacent towpaths being supported by cast-iron arcades of

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

-styled arches and columns. All cast-iron features were manufactured at 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 ...

in nearby

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 ...

. The waterway in the aqueduct is wide with the towpaths either side being in width each. The eastern towpath is paved in brick with raised strips for horses.''Civil Engineering Heritage: Wales and West Central England, (2nd Ed.)'', Roger Cragg, 1997, Thomas Telford () Image:Engine Arm Aqueduct channel.jpg, The top of the aqueduct Image:Engine Arm Aqueduct roving bridge.jpg, Roving bridge at the junction Image:Engine Arm Aqueduct east.jpg, Aqueduct approaching from the east

References

*''Canal Companion - Birmingham Canal Navigations'', J. M. Pearson & Associates, 1989, Canals in England Canals in the West Midlands (county) Transport in Sandwell Birmingham Canal Navigations Scheduled monuments in the West Midlands (county) Navigable aqueducts in England Smethwick Cast-iron arch bridges in England Grade II* listed buildings in the West Midlands (county) Grade II* listed bridges in England Cast iron aqueducts 1825 establishments in England Bridges completed in 1825 {{UK-canal-stub

See also

References