Walsall Canal

The Walsall Canal is a narrow (7 foot) canal, seven miles 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 Wednesbury Old Canal and the Ridgeacre Branch and immediately drops through the eight Ryders Green Locks to the 408 foot Walsall Level. At Doe Bank Junction (Tame Valley Junction) it meets the Tame Valley Canal and the derelict Ocker Hill Tunnel Branch. In this area, it also passes the huge iron gates of the famous Patent Shaft factory, which still remain despite the factory's closure in 1980. It passes northwards, past the junction of the derelict Gospel Oak Branch and under the Midland Metro line, passes the short Bradley Branch at Moorcroft Junction, passes the short Anson Branch (which once led to the Bentley Canal, abandoned 1961) and under the M6 motorway just south of Junction 10. The very short Walsall Town Arm at Walsall Junction leads into Walsall itself while the main canal rises through eight locks to meet the Wyrley and Essington Canal at Birchills Junction.

The canal starts at the Birmingham Level, descends 45 feet to the Walsall Level, then rises 65 feet to the Wolverhampton Level.

History

The canal started life as the Broadwaters Extension to the Wednesbury Canal which opened in 1785 to serve collieries in Moxley. The canal was extended towards Walsall at the end of the 18th century. This construction was authorised by the sixth Act of Parliament obtained by the Birmingham Canal Navigations Company on 17 April 1794. It allowed the Company to borrow £45,000, with which to construct the canal to Walsall and three branches to serve iron-stone and coal mines in the locality, all to be completed within three years. [ [http://www.jim-shead.com/waterways/sdoc.php?wpage=PNRC0079#PNRC063 Joseph Priestley, (1831), "Historical Account of the Navigable Rivers, Canals, and Railways, of Great Britain"] ] The canal was mapped by John Snape (1737-1816) in 1808 and this was to be his last known map. [cite book|author=A. W. Skempton|title=A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland|year=2002|publisher=Thomas Telford|isbn=072772939X] It was linked to the Wyrley and Essington Canal in March 1841, [cite book |last= Broadbridge|first= S. R.|authorlink= |coauthors= |editor= |others= |title=The Birmingham Canal Navigations, Vol. 1 1768 - 1846|origdate= 1974|publisher= David & Charles|isbn= 0-7509-2077-7 p73] by the construction of the Walsall Branch Canal, which was 0.9 miles (1.4km) long. [Jane Cumberlidge, (1998), "Inland Waterways of Great Britain", 7th Ed., Imray Laurie Norie and Wilson, ISBN 0-85288-355-2]

Points of interest

Gallery

References

*cite book |last= Pearson|first= Michael|authorlink= |coauthors= |editor= |others= |title=Canal Companion - Birmingham Canal Navigations|origdate= 1989|publisher= J. M. Pearson & Associates|isbn= 0-907864-49-X

External links