Perry Barr top lock and keepers cottage No 86

The Tame Valley Canal is a relatively late (1844)

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 ...

in the West 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 ...

. It forms 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 opera ...

. It takes its name from the roughly-parallel River Tame.

Geography

The canal runs from

Tame Valley Junction Tame Valley Junction (), also known as Doe Bank Junction, is a canal junction at the western limit of the Tame Valley Canal where it meets the Walsall Canal, south of Walsall, in the West Midlands, England. History The Walsall Canal eventua ...

where it joins 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 Wednes ...

near

Ocker Hill Ocker Hill is a residential area of Tipton in the 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 during the first half of t ...

and Toll End, and terminates at

Salford Junction Salford Junction () is the Junction (canal), canal junction of the Grand Union Canal, Grand Union and Tame Valley Canals with the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal. It is in the north of the administrative city of Birmingham, England and historical ...

where it meets the

Birmingham & 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 ...

and the

Grand Union Canal The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another ends in Birmingham, with the latter ...

. It is long and has twin

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 w ...

s throughout. Between Tame Valley Junction and Rushall Junction it goes under the

West Midlands Metro The West Midlands Metro (originally named Midland Metro) is a light-rail/tram system in the county of West Midlands, England. Opened on 30 May 1999, it currently consists of a single route, Line 1, which operates between the cities of Birmi ...

near

Wednesbury Wednesbury () is a market town in Sandwell in the county of West Midlands, England. It is located near the source of the River Tame. Historically part of Staffordshire in the Hundred of Offlow, at the 2011 Census the town had a population of 3 ...

and crosses over the former

Grand Junction Railway The Grand Junction Railway (GJR) was an early railway company in the United Kingdom, which existed between 1833 and 1846 when it was amalgamated with other railways to form the London and North Western Railway. The line built by the company w ...

(now part of the

Chase Line The Chase Line is a suburban railway line in the West Midlands region of England. It runs from its southern terminus, Birmingham New Street, to Walsall, and then Rugeley in Staffordshire, where it joins the Trent Valley Line. The name of the ...

) by aqueduct, near

Tame Bridge Parkway railway station Tame Bridge Parkway is a railway station in the north of the borough of Sandwell, in the West Midlands, England, close to the boundary with Walsall. The station is operated by West Midlands Railway. It is situated on the Walsall Line north ...

(an unusual case of the railway pre-dating a neighbouring canal). It passes over 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 ...

near the interchange with the

M6 motorway The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 and the western end of the A14 at ...

(M6 junction 8) and joins the

Rushall Canal The Rushall Canal is a straight, , narrow canal suitable for boats which are wide, forming part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) on the eastern side of Walsall, West Midlands, England. Route The Rushall Canal runs from Rushall Junct ...

Rushall Junction Rushall Junction (or Newton Junction) () is the southern limit of the Rushall Canal where it meets the Tame Valley Canal in the West Midlands, England. It opened in 1847, when the Rushall Canal was built to create connections between the Bir ...

, inside the triangle formed by the motorway junction. East of Rushall Junction the canal passes under another arm of the M5. At Hamstead the remains of a

wharf A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths ( mooring locati ...

can be seen, This served the former

Hamstead Colliery Hamstead Colliery in Hamstead (then Staffordshire, now West Midlands), England, produced coal between 1878 and 1965, by mining the South Staffordshire 'Thick' coal seam. It suffered a major fire in 1908 in which 26 men died. History The Ha ...

. Further east, there are two more aqueducts (Spouthouse Lane and Piercy, the latter over the Old Walsall Road), and a deep cutting in 200-million-year-old sandstone, under Freeth Bridge (now restricted to pedestrians and bikes only) at

Tower Hill Tower Hill is the area surrounding the Tower of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is infamous for the public execution of high status prisoners from the late 14th to the mid 18th century. The execution site on the higher gro ...

. There are no

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 ...

on this section, which is at the Walsall Level, but it passes over eight aqueducts within five miles (seven of which are original). The thirteen Perry Barr Locks, where the level drops 106 feet, start just beyond the A34. The original lock keepers cottages remain. Between locks 1 (the top lock) and 2 the canal is crossed by the

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 I ...

Perry Barr Locks Bridge, a cast-iron foot bridge with brick pillars, dating from 1844. In the adjacent Perry Park, after lock 7 and near

Alexander Stadium Alexander Stadium is a track and field athletics stadium in Perry Park, Birmingham, England. It hosted the athletics and opening/closing ceremonies of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Other events held there include the annual British Grand Prix ...

, is Perry Reservoir, a feeder reservoir completed in 1880Environment Agency public register of Large Raised Reservoirs, as at 2 November 2020, via and fed by Holbrook, a tributary of the Tame that rises near

Barr Beacon Barr Beacon is a hill on the edge of Walsall, West Midlands, England, very near the border with Birmingham. It gives its name to nearby Great Barr (the Beacon borders the Pheasey area of Great Barr) and to the local secondary school Barr Beacon ...

. From there, the canal passes under the M6, and then down the remaining Perry Barr locks. Between locks nine and ten is the site of Perry Barr Wharf, extant in the 1950s but now filled in. The canal passes under the M6 twice more, including Gravelly Hill Interchange (Spaghetti Junction), shortly after which it terminates, at Salford Junction.

History

The

was authorised by

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 ...

in 1839 and built by the

. Construction started in 1841 and it opened on Wednesday 14 February 1844. Its

engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the li ...

were James Walker and

Alfred Burges Alfred Burges (1796–1886) was a British civil engineer. He was apprenticed to the civil engineer James Walker, and in turn trained several other engineers including Sir Joseph Bazalgette. Walker and Burges were responsible for railways, brid ...

the company engineers. The resident engineer was Mr. Horne, the contractors were Treadwell, Jackson and Bean for the principal part of the works, and Mr. Townshend for the portion near Tipton.

Features

Notes

References

External links