Worcester and Birmingham Canal
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/Worcester_%26_Birmingham%2C_%26_Droitwich_Canal_map.png/290px-Worcester_%26_Birmingham%2C_%26_Droitwich_Canal_map.png)
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The Worcester and Birmingham Canal is a canal linking Birmingham and Worcester in England. It starts in Worcester, as an 'offshoot' of the River Severn (just after the river lock) and ends in Gas Street Basin in Birmingham. It is 29 miles (47 km) long. There are 58 locks in total on the canal, including the 30
The canal also has connections with the
History
Worcester and Birmingham Canal Navigation Act 1815 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
![]() 55 Geo. 3 . c. lxvi |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/Gas_Street_Basin_towards_Mailbox.jpg/220px-Gas_Street_Basin_towards_Mailbox.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/Worcester_Birmingham_Canal_Locks.jpg/220px-Worcester_Birmingham_Canal_Locks.jpg)
The
The canal was surveyed by
Construction of a double barge-width (14 ft) canal began in 1792 from the Birmingham end, but progressed slowly.
The final 16 miles (26 km) was opened in December 1815. Plans to construct basins at Lowesmoor and Diglis were carried out eventually.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Worcester_and_Birmingham_Canal_signpost.jpg/220px-Worcester_and_Birmingham_Canal_signpost.jpg)
The
A major user of the canal was the
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
Birmingham West Suburban Railway
After the development of the new Birmingham New Street, 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 villages 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 to allow access to their new station at Kings Norton.
Needing finance for construction of the BWSR, the newly formed Midland Railway 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.[3] 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 which runs in another tunnel under the canal adjacent to the Holliday Street Aqueduct.
Today
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/Day_30_-_West_Midlands_Police_-_View_from_Above_1_%288428681775%29.jpg/220px-Day_30_-_West_Midlands_Police_-_View_from_Above_1_%288428681775%29.jpg)
At Selly Oak, 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.[4]
The canal is popular for leisure and has narrowboat hire centres at Alvechurch, Worcester, Tardebigge, Dunhampstead and Stoke Prior.
The canal forms part of the Stourport Ring, a popular cruising circuit for holiday boating. The ring takes in parts of four waterways, is 74 miles (119 km) long, and includes 105 locks. Another ring which includes the Worcester and Birmingham Canal is the Avon Ring, which is 109 miles (175 km) long with 129 locks, and also includes parts of four waterways.
See also
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Canals of Great Britain
- History of the British canal system
- Bittell Reservoirs
- Tardebigge Engine House
- Wychall Reservoir
References
- ^ a b UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ "The Lapal Canal – Project Summary". Lapal Canal Trust. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
- ^ "Timeline - Railways in King's Norton". kingsnorton.info. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
- ^ Elkes, Neil (28 December 2010). "Giant trucks wheel Selly Oak rail bridge into place". birminghammail.co.uk.
- Shill,Ray (1999). Birmingham's Canals. Sutton. ISBN 0-7509-2077-7.
- 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 Society
- map of milestones along the Worcester Birmingham Canal (click a pin &/or zoom out for all GB)