Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal

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Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal

legend Great Haywood Jn Trent and Mersey Canal River Trent aqueduct 43 Tixall Lock River Sow aqueduct Baswick Lock and weir River Sow Navigation Stafford wharf Railway bridge 98 A34(T) Radford Bridge Hazlestrine Branch 40-42 locks (3) M6 motorway 39 Longford Lock 38 Penkridge Lock 37 Filance Lock, Penkridge 33-36 locks (4) 79 A5(T) Gailey Bridge 32 Gailey Top Lock Hatherton Branch (feeder) Railway bridge 70 A449(T) Brinsford Bridge M54 motorway Autherley Jn Shropshire Union Canal Railway bridge Aldersley Jn BCN Main Line 62 A41 Tettenhall New Bridge Summit pound (10 miles) 31 Compton Lock 59 A454 Compton Bridge 29-30 Wightwick locks (2) The Pool resr and feeder 27-28 Dimmingdale + Ebstree locks (2) 26 Awbridge Lock 23-25 Bratch locks (3) 22 Bumblehole Lock, Wombourne 20-21 Botterham staircase locks (2) 17-19 Marsh/Swindon/Hinksford locks (3) 16 Greenforge Lock Ashwood marina + NCB arm 15 Rocky Lock 14 Gothersley Lock Stourton Jn Stourbridge Canal 13 Stewponey Lock 31A A458 Stewponey New Bridge Dunsley Tunnel (25 yd) 12 Hyde Lock 11 Kinver Lock, Dunsley 10 Whittington Lock Cookley Tunnel (65 yd) 9 Debdale Lock 8 Wolverley Lock 7 Wolverley Court Lock River Stour aqueduct 6 Kidderminster Lock 16 A456 St Marys Ringway 13 A442 Round Hill bridge 5 Caldwall Lock Severn Valley Railway 4 Falling Sands Lock lock to River Stour Wilden Ironworks Railway Basin railway bridge 6 A451 Gilgal bridge 5 A451 Lower Mitton bridge 3 York Street Lock, Stourport Stourport basins 2 Narrow staircase + broad lock Stourport basins 1 Narrow staircase + broad lock River Severn

The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a narrow navigable canal in the Midlands of England, passing through the counties of Staffordshire and Worcestershire.

It runs for 46 miles (74 km) from the River Severn at Stourport in Worcestershire to the Trent and Mersey Canal at Haywood Junction by Great Haywood.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Creation 1.2 Development 1.3 Competition 1.4 Decline 1.5 Restoration 2 Linked canals 3 References 4 See also 5 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Creation

James Brindley^[1] was the chief engineer of the canal, which was part of his Grand Cross plan for waterways connecting Hull, Liverpool and Bristol.

The canal was authorised by an Act of Parliament which was passed on 14 May 1766. This created The Company of Proprietors of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal Navigation, who were empowered to raise an initial £70,000, with an additional £30,000 if needed, to finance the construction of the canal.^[2]

The canal was competed in 1771 for a cost which exceeded the authorised capital, and opened to trade in 1772. It was a commercial success, with trade from the "Potteries" (the towns making up modern-day Stoke on Trent) travelling southwards to Gloucester and Bristol, and trade from the Black Country travelling northwards to the Potteries via the junction from the Birmingham Canal at Aldersley.^[1]

[edit] Development

The Company obtained a second act of parliament on 9 June 1790, which allowed it to raise another £12,000 to make improvements to the River Severn immediately below Stourport as far as Diglis, to improve navigation to and from the canal.^[2] At Stourport there were four basins, which were connected by broad locks, to allow broad-beamed Severn Trows to enter them from the river. Goods could then be transshipped from the canal narrow boats to the trows for onward shipment to Bristol.^[1]

[edit] Competition

Trade declined when the newer Worcester and Birmingham Canal opened in 1815. This canal provided a more direct route between Birmingham and Bristol. To remain competitive, the company extended the hours during which locks could be used, until they were available 24 hours a day by 1830. Another setback occurred when the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal opened its new route to Chester and Merseyside, connecting with the canal at Autherley Junction. This took much of the traffic from the section to Great Haywood. Faced with a high volume of trade using the half-mile stretch between Aldersley and Autherley Junctions, the company levied very high tolls.^[1]

In order to resolve the situation the Birmingham Canal Company and the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Company jointly promoted an act of parliament to authorise a short canal which would have left the Birmingham Canal at a higher level than the junction, crossed the Staffordshire and Worcestershire by an aqueduct, and then dropped down by a series of locks to join the Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal north of Autherley junction. The canal company decided to reduce its tolls rather than lose the trade altogether. Further concessions were obtained by the other two canal companies by threats to resurrect the plans on two subsequent occasions.^[1]

[edit] Decline

Despite the competition, and later competition from the railways, the canal company paid dividends to its shareholders until the turn of the 19th century, although profits fell steadily from the 1860s. It remained independent until the canals were nationalised in 1947.^[1] During its latter years, the major trade was in coal, which was carried from Cannock to a power station at Stourport. The power station closed in 1949, and after that, the only commercial traffic was on the stretch between Autherley and Aldersley Junctions.^[3]

[edit] Restoration

In 1959 the canal was planned to be closed, but was saved through the efforts of a volunteer group - the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal Society. The canal was re-classified as a cruiseway in 1968, and all of it was declared to be a Conservation Area the following year. This has resulted in historical buildings and structures being retained and improved sympathetically.^[3]

[edit] Linked canals

The canal is linked (in order, from the Severn) to:

• Stourbridge Canal at Stourton Junction
• BCN Main Line at Aldersley Junction
• Shropshire Union Canal at Autherley Junction
• Hatherton Canal, (currently derelict but with proposals for restoration) at Hatherton Junction

The canal today forms part of the Stourport Ring, which is one of the popular cruising rings for leisure boating.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Canals of Great Britain
• History of the British canal system
• Thomas Dadford

[edit] External links

• The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal Society

v • d • e River Severn, UK Counties Powys (Montgomeryshire) · Shropshire · Worcestershire · Gloucestershire · Monmouthshire · Bristol · Somerset · Newport · Cardiff · Vale of Glamorgan Flows into Severn Estuary · Bristol Channel Settlements Llanidloes · Newtown · Welshpool · Shrewsbury · Ironbridge · Bridgnorth · Bewdley · Stourport · Worcester · Tewkesbury · Gloucester · Berkeley · Chepstow · Avonmouth Major tributaries River Vyrnwy · River Tern · River Stour · River Teme · Warwickshire Avon · River Wye · Bristol Avon · River Usk Linked canals Staffordshire and Worcestershire · Worcester and Birmingham  · Droitwich · Herefordshire and Gloucestershire · Thames and Severn · Coalport · Gloucester and Sharpness · Stroudwater Navigation · Coombe Hill Major crossings Welsh Bridge · English Bridge · The Iron Bridge · Severn Bridge · Over Bridge · Severn Tunnel · Second Severn Crossing · Aust Severn Powerline Crossing (all) Longest UK rivers: 1. Severn 2. Thames 3. Trent 4. Great Ouse 5. Wye 6. Tay 7. Spey 8. Nene 9. Clyde 10. Tweed 11. Eden 12. Dee

Coordinates: 52°48′N 2°00′W / 52.8, -2