Hatherton Canal

Last updated

Hatherton Canal
Hatherton Canal Bridge 7.jpg
Accommodation bridge accessed from the Roman Way Hotel, at eastern limit of public access
Specifications
Locks21
Statuspart extant
History
Date of first use1841
Date completed1863
Date closed1949
Geography
Start pointCalf Heath
End pointChurchbridge
Connects to Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, Cannock Extension Canal
Hatherton Canal (with proposed new link)
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal
BSicon uSTRq.svg
BSicon uxKRZu.svg
BSicon uFABZq+lr.svg
BSicon uSTRq.svg
Arrow Blue Left 001.svg Autherley Jn, Hatherton Jn, Haywood Jn Arrow Blue Right 001.svg
BSicon uFABZgl+l.svg
BSicon uWHRFq.svg
Hatherton Basin - moorings
BSicon uSKRZ-Eu.svg
Junction Bridge, Kings Road
BSicon uFGATEd.svg
1
Calf Heath Bottom Lock
BSicon uddSTRr.svg
Moorings
BSicon uDRYHIGHf.svg
2
Calf Heath Top Lock, now dry dock
BSicon uexSKRZ-Eu.svg
Dog Bridge 1 (culvert)
BSicon uexSKRZ-Bu.svg
M6 motorway (no tunnel)
BSicon uexSKRZ-Eu.svg
Oak Lane, Scrawpers End Bridge 2 (lowered)
BSicon uexTEEnl.svg
BSicon uRESRr.svg
Feeder to Gailey Reservoir
BSicon uexSKRZ-Eu.svg
Saredon Mill Bridge 3
BSicon uexSKRZ-Eu.svg
Cross Bridge 4 (lowered)
BSicon uexSKRZ-Eu.svg
Catch (Cats) Bridge 5 (culvert)
BSicon uxWEIRr.svg
BSicon uexTEEnr.svg
Feeder from Saredon Brook
BSicon uexFGATEd.svg
3
Meadow Lock
BSicon uexSKRZ-Eu.svg
Bridge 7
BSicon ugENDExa.svg
Limit of walkable towpath
BSicon gSKRZ-Au.svg
A4601 road, Wedge Mill Bridge
BSicon gFGATEd.svg
4
Wedge Mill Lock
BSicon gFGATEd.svg
5
Joveys Lock
BSicon uLSTR+l.svg
BSicon uABZmgLr +g.svg
Start of bypass
BSicon uLSTR.svg
BSicon gFGATEd.svg
6
Brick Kiln Lock
BSicon uLSTR.svg
BSicon gFGATEd.svg
7
Rosemary Lock
BSicon uLSTR.svg
BSicon gFGATEd.svg
8
Walkmill Lock
BSicon ugddHSTRf.svg
BSicon uxgKRZu.svg
BSicon ugLKRZ.svg
BSicon gFKRZ.svg
BSicon ugHWHRF.svg
Hawkins Colliery and Great Wyrley Basins
BSicon uexnSTR.svg
BSicon uSKRZ-Bu.svg
BSicon gSTR.svg
Culvert 144 under M6 Toll
BSicon uRESRe.svg
BSicon uLSTR+l.svg
BSicon uLSTRr.svg
BSicon gSTR.svg
Hatherton (Walkmill) Reservoir
BSicon uLFGATEd.svg
BSicon gSTR.svg
6
Reservoir Lock
BSicon STRq.svg
BSicon umKRZu.svg
BSicon STRq.svg
BSicon gmKRZu.svg
BSicon STRq.svg
Chase Line railway bridge
BSicon uLSTRl.svg
BSicon ugHWHRF.svg
BSicon uLSTR+r.svg
BSicon gFABZgr+r.svg
Railway Basin
BSicon uLSTR+l.svg
BSicon uLSTRq.svg
BSicon uABZmgLr +g.svg
Proposed link to Lord Hayes Branch
BSicon uLSTR.svg
BSicon gSTR+GRZq.svg
Churchbridge Jn(S&W above, BCN below)
BSicon uLFGATEd.svg
BSicon gSTR.svg
7
New Lock + Churchbridge Branch
BSicon uSKRZ-Au.svg
BSicon gSTR.svg
David Suchet Tunnel under A5 roundabout
BSicon uLFGATEd.svg
BSicon gSTR.svg
8
Streetway Lock
BSicon uLSKRZ-Au.svg
BSicon gSTR.svg
A5 bridge
BSicon uLFGATEd.svg
BSicon gSTR.svg
9
Watling Street Lock
BSicon uLSTR.svg
BSicon gSTR.svg
BSicon gKHSTa.svg
Hednesford Basin, Cannock Extn Canal
BSicon uLSTR.svg
BSicon ugLOCKSd.svg
BSicon gSTR.svg
Churchbridge locks (13)
BSicon uLSTR.svg
BSicon gSTRl.svg
BSicon gFABZgr+r.svg
Rumer Hill Junction
BSicon uLFGATEd.svg
BSicon gSTR.svg
10
Holford Lock
BSicon uLFGATEd.svg
BSicon gSTR.svg
11
Gains Lock
BSicon uLABZgl.svg
BSicon uLSTRq.svg
BSicon uLSTRq.svg
BSicon uddSTRl.svg
Grove Basin + 2004 proposed new route
BSicon uLFGATEd.svg
BSicon uSTR.svg
12
Dark Lane Lock (2009 proposed new route)
BSicon uLFGATEd.svg
BSicon uSTR.svg
13
Pylon Lock
BSicon uLFGATEd.svg
BSicon uSTR.svg
14
Cadman's Lock
BSicon uLSTR.svg
BSicon uSTR+l.svg
BSicon uFABZqlr.svg
Pellsall Junction, Wyrley and Essington Canal
BSicon uLFGATEd.svg
BSicon uSTR.svg
15
Wash Brook Lock
BSicon uLFGATEd.svg
BSicon uSTR.svg
16
Golfers Lock
BSicon uLFGATEd.svg
BSicon uSTR.svg
17
Coliery Lock
BSicon gKHSTaq.svg
BSicon uLSTRl.svg
BSicon gSTRq.svg
BSicon uSKRZ-Yuq.svg
BSicon ugFABZgr+r.svg
Lord Hayes Branch Fishley Bridge
BSicon uSTRq.svg
BSicon uSTRq.svg
BSicon uSTRq.svg
BSicon uSTRr.svg
Arrow Blue Left 001.svg Birchills Jn. Catshill Jn Arrow Blue Right 001.svg

The Hatherton Canal is a derelict branch of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal in south Staffordshire, England. It was constructed in two phases, the first section opening in 1841 and connecting the main line to Churchbridge, from where a tramway connected to the Great Wyrley coal mines. The second section was a joint venture with the Birmingham Canal Navigations, and linked Churchbridge to the Cannock Extension Canal by a flight of 13 locks, which were opened with the Extension Canal in 1863. The coal traffic was very profitable, and the canal remained in use until 1949. It was formally abandoned in 1955, after which the Churchbridge flight and much of the Extension Canal were destroyed by open cast mining.

Contents

Plans for its restoration began in 1975 and the forerunner to the Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust was formed in 1989. Since then they have worked hard to protect and restore the canal, which was threatened by the route of the M6 Toll motorway. Negotiations eventually led to the provision of two culverts, one paid for by the Trust and the other by the road builders, which will be used in due course for the route of the re-aligned canal. In 2006, the engineers Arup produced a feasibility study for a replacement route for the destroyed section which would link to Grove Basin on the Cannock Extension Canal. Environmental concerns led to a second feasibility study being produced by Atkins in 2009, for a route which connected to the derelict Lord Hayes Branch on the Wyrley and Essington Canal. A short section near the junction with the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is navigable, and the cost of restoring the rest and building the new route to the Wyrley and Essington was estimated at £44.1 million in 2009.

History

The Hatherton Canal was built in two phases by two separate canal companies, over a period of some 20 years. The first part to be constructed ran from Hatherton Junction at Calf Heath on the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal to Churchbridge, and was built as a branch of the main canal by the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal Company. There had been proposals for a tramway following a similar route in 1798, to link to collieries owned by a Mr. Vernon near Wyrley. Plans for the tramway were borrowed by the canal company, and formed the basis for surveys in 1826 and 1830, but the branch as built followed a somewhat different route, and was surveyed in 1837. Unusually, an act of Parliament was not obtained for the work, and so all land required for the project had to be bought by agreement with the landowners. Negotiations were completed by 4 April 1839, at which point the company accepted an estimate of £12,345 from Robert Frost, and construction began. This phase was completed in April 1841, and a tramway from the terminus to Great Wyrley, which was used to transport coal, was completed the following year. Both the canal and the tramway were financed out of income, as the canal company was very profitable at the time, paying dividends to shareholders which had exceeded 25 per cent for over thirty years. The branch was called the Hatherton Branch after the company chairman, Lord Hatherton. [1]

The branch was about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) long, and rose through eight locks. [2] The second phase was a joint venture between the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal and the Birmingham Canal Navigations Company, who were at the time planning to build the Cannock Extension Canal, a branch of the Wyrley and Essington Canal which would serve coal mines in the vicinity of Cannock. An agreement was reached in 1854 to construct a flight of thirteen locks between the Hatherton Branch and the Cannock Extension Canal at Churchbridge. Although the cost of the land purchase was shared, the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal appear to have paid for the construction of the locks. They were built in 1858 and 1859, but were probably not used until 1863, when the Cannock Extension Canal was completed and opened. [3] This section opened up a useful route along the northern edge of the Birmingham conurbation. The total length of the two branches was around 4 miles (6.4 km). [4]

Traffic on the branch was considerable. Movements of coal down the Churchbridge flight were around 12,000 tons per month in 1902, [3] while in 1905 the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal carried 722,000 tons, or which 225,000 tons were coal, mainly from the Cannock coalfields. [5] Coal also contributed to the demise of the branch, as it was increasingly affected by subsidence from the mining in the 1940s. It ceased to be used by commercial traffic in August 1950 (with a single coal boat in February 1951), [6] and was abandoned in 1955. In the summer of 1952, a hire boat descended the canal, parts of which had been partly drained. [7] Parts of it, including the Churchbridge flight of locks, were subsequently destroyed by opencast coal mining, [8] and have since been re-developed. [9]

After closure, the first half mile at the western end adjoining Hatherton Junction was bought by Ernie Thomas. This included the first lock, and Thomas used the pound above the lock to stable his fleet of hire boats. In the 1960s, he modified the second lock, making it around twice as wide at the top, so that it could be used as a dry dock. A boat would enter the lock, which would then be filled. The boat would then be moved sideways into the enlarged shallow section and the lock emptied, leaving the boat on dry ground where it could be overhauled. Once the work was complete, the lock would be refilled, the boat moved back over the deep section, and then floated out when the lock was emptied. This section of canal was subsequently taken over by Phil Jones, owner of the Hatherton Marina boatyard, who continued to use the second lock as a dry dock. [10]

Water flows through the lock because the canal acts as a feeder for the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. The gates were replaced in 1987, but by 2024, the lock was leaking badly, both through the gates and through the brickwork. Rothen Group were employed to repair the brickwork and to replace the lockgates and paddle gear. The upper gate was replaced by a steel gate, while they manufactured a new set of mitred gates for the bottom end. The gates were constructed of oak, and were the first set of wooden gates that the company had produced. The result was a success, and has significantly reduced the time it takes to fill the lock when dry docking is required. [10]

Restoration

The idea of restoring the canal was first developed in 1975, as a result of legislation requiring planning authorities to produce county structure plans. The West Midlands structure plan included the concept of the restored canal as a linear park, and included a bypass to avoid the section destroyed by opencast mining. [11] Further threats to the route from the proposed Birmingham Northern Relief Road led to the formation of the Ogley and Hatherton Restoration Society in 1989, after the Inland Waterways Association held a rally at Pelsall to highlight the plight of the canal. The Society later became the Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust, [12] while the relief road became the M6 Toll motorway.

In 1995, motorway development again threatened the route, when plans for the proposed widening of the M6 motorway made no provision for the canal where the two crossed. The Trust had produced several papers which had been submitted to the planning enquiry for the road. [13] The Trust continued to negotiate with the agencies involved in the construction of the M6 Toll motorway, even though the cost of providing navigable culverts was likely to be between £2M and £3M, but when agreement was finally reached, the Trust raised £150,000 to pay for a culvert under the A5/A34 roundabout, and the main culvert under the motorway was funded by the government. [4]

The canal is now part of an active restoration project. As a result of a feasibility study, carried out between 2004 and 2006 by the consulting engineers Arup at the request of British Waterways, the proposed new route for the Churchbridge bypass would have run through new locks to a new junction at Grove Basin on the Cannock Extension Canal. However, this route proved to be unacceptable for a number of reasons, including the fact that the Cannock Extension Canal is a designated Special Area of Conservation, because it is colonised by a rare variety of floating water plantain. A second feasibility study, completed by Atkins in 2009, has now identified a route which would join the Wyrley and Essington Canal via the former Lord Hayes Branch instead. [14] This route would help satisfy environmental concerns, be preferable to local landowners, and reduce the number of new road bridges needed. [15]

Atkins estimated that the cost of rebuilding the canal, including construction of the new section to Lord Hayes Branch, would be £44.1 million. Although the route is slightly longer than that to Grove Basin, the cost was £4.6 million less, as the Grove Basin route involved a long cutting through land contaminated by spoil from Wyrley No.3 Colliery. [14] Both of the proposed routes incorporate the new culverts under the A5 road and the M6 Toll motorway.

Route

Marina and Locks 1 and 2 at Calf Heath Hatherton Canal Locks 1 and 2.jpg
Marina and Locks 1 and 2 at Calf Heath

The canal leaves the main line of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal at Calf Heath. There is a large marina on its north side, close to the junction, [16] after which a bridge carries a minor road over the canal, before it enters the first lock. Above the lock, a wider section provides additional mooring space before the second lock. This has been modified to include a ledge to one side, which provides dry dock facilities for the nearby boatyard. Exit from the top of the lock by boat is not possible. [17]

Beyond the lock, there is a section which could be dredged to return it to navigable condition, but the M6 motorway has been built across it. A culvert maintains the flow of water under the motorway, but is not big enough for navigation. However, the motorway embankment is high enough to allow the insertion of a navigable culvert. Just before the motorway was Dog Bridge, but this was demolished and the road it carried was realigned as part of the motorway construction. One possible solution would be to build a new lock beyond the road, to replace lock 2, and lower the level of the canal between. Beyond the motorway, Scrawpers End Bridge carries Oak Lane over the canal, but it has been lowered, leaving around 4 feet (1.2 m) of headroom. A replacement lift bridge might be required here. Next is the feeder from Gailey reservoirs, which has ensured that the channel has remained intact, since the water supplies the main line. [18]

Saredon Mill bridge is in good condition, after Trust volunteers rebuilt the parapets. Considerable work has been done beyond it to remove trees and reinstate the towpath, creating a useful walking route. Cross bridge has again been lowered, but carries sufficient traffic that a lift bridge is not an option. The channel is in water, and is almost navigable here. Cats Bridge was replaced by a culvert, after it suffered from subsidence. An accommodation bridge beyond it was demolished by the Trust, as it had cracked and sunk as a result of subsidence. It is unlikely to be replaced, since it no longer served a useful purpose. [19]

A weir on Saredon Brook supplies more water to the channel before it enters Meadow Lock, the structure of which is largely intact, although it suffered from subsidence before the canal closed. Trust volunteers have cleared the towpath above the lock, enabling walkers to reach a bridge located behind the Roman Way Hotel. Considerable work has been carried out on constructing an access ramp to the towpath and restoring the bridge, which often forms the backdrop to wedding photographs taken in the hotel grounds. Just beyond the bridge, another stream supplies water, but the canal bed is no longer owned by British Waterways after that point, and has been filled in. [20]

The A4601 crosses at Wedge Mills Bridge, but the original bridge and the lock were destroyed when the road was widened. Joveys Lock was quite shallow, and has been re-used as a course for the Wyrley Brook, which was diverted to accommodate a sewage works. The location of the next two locks, Rosemary's and Walkmill, which were also known as Bridgtown No. 2 and Bridgtown Top, now lies beneath an industrial estate. Great Wyrley Basin was located here, as was Hawkins Basin, which was connected to the canal be a channel which was crossed by a towpath bridge and a lift bridge, before it crossed the Wyrley Brook on an aqueduct to reach the 2-acre (0.81 ha) basin. The aqueduct was uncovered during the construction of the M6 Toll motorway, and was destroyed as part of that project. Reinstatement of the canal through this section will not be possible, and so a new route to the south of the original line is proposed, which has been protected by being included in the Local Plans of South Staffordshire and Cannock Chase District Councils. [21]

The land surface where the Churchbridge locks were located was stripped away by open cast mining in the 1950s, and the route of the canal has been obliterated. [8] Staffordshire County Council owns some land between the A5 road and the M6 Toll motorway, which has been identified as a suitable route for a new section of canal. [22]

Proposed new route

Fishley Lane Bridge on the Lord Hayes Branch, through which the new route will pass Fishley Lane Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 2102573.jpg
Fishley Lane Bridge on the Lord Hayes Branch, through which the new route will pass

From Churchbridge, the proposed new route follows the line of the A5, on County Council land, before turning to the south near the location of the northbound tollbooths on the motorway. It then follows the valley of the Wash Brook for around 1.9 miles (3.1 km), before a 1,000-yard (900 m) section which climbs to join the infilled Lord Hayes Branch about 330 yards (300 m) from its junction with the Wyrley and Essington Canal. This final section of the Lord Hayes Branch will be refurbished. [23]

Most of the locks on the route have a drop of 9.2 feet (2.8 m). [24] After Holford Lock and Gains Lock, the route turns to the east where a farm track will cross on a lift bridge. The route then passes along the north and east edge of a spoil tip associated with the Wyrley No. 3 Colliery, and crosses over the Wash Brook, which will be culverted at this point. [25] Following discussions with landowners, the canal will be located in a 10-foot (3.0 m) deep cutting to cross fields. Further on, embankments have been sized so that the excavated spoil can be used, without having to remove spoil from the site. A fixed bridge will then carry an access track over the alignment, after which the canal passes under Gains Lane. This will require the road surface to be raised by about 7 feet (2.1 m) to provide navigable headroom of 8 feet (2.4 m) below the bridge structure. The canal then crosses Wash Brook, which will be regraded for about 66 yards (60 m), to ensure a suitably-sized culvert can be constructed. Atkins have identified this section as the most critical, because of the proximity of the road and the brook. [26]

A public footpath between Gains Lane and Cadman's Lane crosses the route, and this will be partially re-routed along the towpath. A farm track then crosses a culvert, both of which will be altered to allow the culvert to pass under the canal without using an inverted syphon. A public footpath called Cadman's Lane will be diverted to cross the canal at the next lock. [27] Three locks follow, called Dark Lane, Pylon and Cadman's. Pylon Lock is so named because it is located close to a large electricity pylon. At Cadman's Lock a farm track will be routed over the tail of the lock, and an adjacent ditch will be routed under the canal at the top end of the lock, to maintain the water levels. The canal then crosses Cadman's Lane again, which will be diverted for some distance along the towpath, mitigating the problems caused by the fact that the lane is often flooded by the Wash Brook, and becomes impassable. Wash Brook Lock will include a bridge over its tail to allow Cadman's Lane to rejoin its original route. Beyond the lock, the canal will be built on an embankment, some 16 feet (5 m) high in places. [28]

The final section includes Golfers Lock, close to the Fishley Park Golf Range, and Colliery Lock, close to some shafts associated with the defunct Fishley Colliery. It then curves to join the Lord Hayes Branch to its junction with the Wyrley and Essington. Fishley Lane bridge crosses it, and could be refurbished, while the towpath is on the far side of the Wyrley and Essington, but the roving bridge which served the Lord Hayes Branch still exists. [29] While the towpath will normally be 10 feet (3 m) wide, Atkins have suggested that it should be 13 feet (4 m) wide in some places, and suitably constructed to provide access for 5-tonne crawler cranes, which have revolutionalised the replacement of lock gates where such access has been provided on the Shropshire Union Canal. [24]

Points of Interest

Historical Route

New route

See also

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal</span> Canal in the West Midlands, England

The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a navigable narrow canal in Staffordshire and Worcestershire in the English Midlands. It is 46 miles (74 km) long, linking the River Severn at Stourport in Worcestershire with the Trent and Mersey Canal at Haywood Junction by Great Haywood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wyrley and Essington Canal</span> Narrow canal in the Midlands, England

The Wyrley and Essington Canal, known locally as "the Curly Wyrley", is a canal in the English Midlands. As built it ran from Wolverhampton to Huddlesford Junction near Lichfield, with a number of branches: some parts are currently derelict. Pending planned restoration to Huddlesford, the navigable mainline now terminates at Ogley Junction near Brownhills. In 2008 it was designated a Local Nature Reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birmingham Canal Navigations</span> United Kingdom legislation

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 operated by the Birmingham Canal Navigation Company from 1767 to 1948.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chasewater</span> A lake in Staffordshire, England

Chasewater is a reservoir located in the parish of Burntwood and the district of Lichfield in Staffordshire, England. Originally known as Norton Pool and Cannock Chase Reservoir, it was created as a canal feeder reservoir in 1797. The reservoir was created to directly supply the Wyrley and Essington Canal and maintain levels in the 160-mile (260 km) Birmingham Canal Network. During a period of great industrial growth in the Black Country region the maintenance of water levels in canal infrastructure was essential and Chasewater was in great demand. As canals became less essential for transport of goods during the mid-20th century, the reservoir diversified and became a popular public amenity with activities such as water-skiing, sailing, wakeboarding and cycling. Chasewater is the third largest reservoir by volume in the county of Staffordshire and the largest canal feeder reservoir in the West Midlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lichfield Canal</span> English canal under restoration

The Lichfield Canal, as it is now known, was historically a part of the Wyrley and Essington Canal, being the section of that canal from Ogley Junction at Brownhills on the northern Birmingham Canal Navigations to Huddlesford Junction, east of Lichfield, on the Coventry Canal, a length of 7 miles (11.3 km). The branch was abandoned in 1955, along with several other branches of the Wyrley and Essington, and much of it was filled in.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lichfield Canal Aqueduct</span> Unused aqueduct over the M6 Toll in Lichfield, England

The Lichfield Canal Aqueduct is a potentially navigable aqueduct over the M6 Toll Motorway, just to the west of Lichfield and north of Birmingham, England. The aqueduct is un-watered; it was constructed at the same time as the motorway in anticipation of the restoration of the Lichfield Canal.

New Invention is a large estate around three miles (4.8 km) north of the town of Willenhall and four miles (6.4 km) east of the city of Wolverhampton in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England. It is halfway between Walsall and Wolverhampton on the busy main A4124 and A462 roads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anson Branch</span> Canal in West Midlands, England

The Anson Branch is a short canal in the West Midlands, England. It runs for just over one mile from its junction with the Walsall Canal near Forster's bridge. It forms part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannock Extension Canal</span>

The current Cannock Extension Canal is a 1.8-mile (2.9 km) canal in England. It runs from Pelsall Junction on the Wyrley and Essington Canal, north to Norton Canes Docks and forms part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations. Historically, it ran to Hednesford, and served a number of collieries, which provided the main traffic. It opened in 1863, and the northern section closed in 1963, as a result of mining subsidence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rushall Canal</span> Canal in the West Midlands, England

The Rushall Canal is a straight, 2.75-mile (4.43 km), narrow canal suitable for boats which are 7 feet (2.1 m) wide, forming part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) on the eastern side of Walsall, West Midlands, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Four Counties Ring</span>

The Four Counties Ring is a canal ring which links the four English counties of Cheshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire and West Midlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rushall Junction</span> Canal junction

Rushall 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 Birmingham Canal Navigations system and the Wyrley and Essington Canal, following the amalgamation of the two companies in 1840.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horseley Fields Junction</span>

Horseley Fields Junction is a canal junction at the western limit of the Wyrley and Essington Canal where it meets the BCN Main Line, at Horseley Fields east of Wolverhampton, in the West Midlands, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huddlesford Junction</span> Canal junction in Staffordshire, England

Huddlesford Junction is a canal junction at the original north-eastern limit of the Wyrley and Essington Canal where it met the Coventry Canal, near Lichfield, in Staffordshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ogley Junction</span> Canal junction in the English Midlands

Ogley Junction, on the Staffordshire county border near Brownhills, West Midlands, England, is a historic canal junction on the Wyrley and Essington Canal where the Anglesey Branch left the main line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catshill Junction</span> Canal junction in West Midlands, England

Catshill Junction is a canal junction at the northern limit of the Daw End Branch Canal where it meets the Wyrley and Essington Canal main line, near Brownhills, in West Midlands, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pelsall Junction</span> Canal junction in England

Pelsall Junction is a canal junction at the southern limit of the Cannock Extension Canal where it meets the Wyrley and Essington Canal main line, near Pelsall, West Midlands, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birchills Junction</span> Canal junction in the uk

Birchills Junction is the canal junction at the northern limit of what is now called the Walsall Canal where it meets the Wyrley and Essington Canal main line, near Walsall, West Midlands, England. It opened in 1798, but lasted for little more than a year, until it was re-opened in 1841 when a connecting link was built to the Birmingham Canal Navigations' southern route to Walsall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rumer Hill Junction</span> Canal junction in England

Rumer Hill Junction was a canal junction on the Cannock Extension Canal where the Churchbridge Branch left to join the Hatherton Canal. The junction, along with the northern section of the canal was abandoned in 1963. The Churchbridge Branch and Rumer Hill Junction were subsequently obliterated by opencast mining.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saredon Brook</span> River in Staffordshire, England

Saredon Brook is a small river in the English county of Staffordshire. The Environment Agency state that it is around 16 miles (26 km) long, although not all of that length is called the Saredon Brook on maps. The channel is classed as heavily modified, and its water quality is rated moderate.

References

  1. Hadfield 1985 , pp. 132–133
  2. LHCRT 2009 , p. 3 (History of the Wyrley and Essington section)
  3. 1 2 Hadfield 1985 , p. 279
  4. 1 2 "Hatherton Canal". Lichfield and Hatherton Canal Restoration Trust. Archived from the original on 2 October 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2009.
  5. Hadfield 1985 , p. 281
  6. Waterways Archive, file BW157/5/4/1/21
  7. John Liley, Journeys of the Swan.
  8. 1 2 LHCRT 2009 , p. 4 (History of the Wyrley and Essington section)
  9. Waterways, Issue 225, Autumn 2009, Inland Waterways Association
  10. 1 2 "Hatherton Canal gets first new lock gates in nearly 40 years". Waterways World. July 2024. p. 23. ISSN   0309-1422.
  11. Squires 2008 , p. 85
  12. Squires 2008 , p. 125
  13. Squires 2008 , p. 136
  14. 1 2 Atkins 2009 , p. 3
  15. Canal Boat magazine. July 2009. ISSN   1362-0312.
  16. Nicholson 2003 , pp. 130–131
  17. LHCRT 2009 , pp. 1–2
  18. LHCRT 2009 , pp. 2–3
  19. LHCRT 2009 , pp. 3–5
  20. LHCRT 2009 , pp. 5–6
  21. LHCRT 2009 , pp. 6–8
  22. LHCRT 2009 , p. 10
  23. Atkins 2009 , p. 5
  24. 1 2 Atkins 2009 , p. 8
  25. Atkins 2009 , pp. 9–10
  26. Atkins 2009 , pp. 11–13
  27. Atkins 2009 , pp. 13–14
  28. Atkins 2009 , pp. 15–16
  29. Atkins 2009 , pp. 17–19
  30. 1 2 Dean 1989

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Hatherton Canal at Wikimedia Commons

52°40′31″N2°05′38″W / 52.6754°N 2.0940°W / 52.6754; -2.0940 (Lock 2)