| Ogley Junction | |
|---|---|
 The towpath bridge over the Lichfield Canal at Ogley Junction | |
| Specifications | |
| Status | Open |
| Navigation authority | British Waterways |
| History | |
| Date completed | 1800 |
Ogley Junction (grid reference SK056060 ), 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 (which led to the Coventry Canal at Huddlesford Junction, near Lichfield).
The line of the Wyrley and Essington Canal which passes through the site of Ogley Junction was part of a revised plan for the canal. As originally authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1792, it consisted of a main line from collieries at Wyrley and Essington to the Birmingham Canal Navigations at Horseley Fields Junction, near Wolverhampton, with a branch to Birchills, to the north of Walsall. Before construction was completed, a second Act obtained in 1794 authorised a large extension to the east, running from Birchills Junction, where a short stub to the original terminus remained, through Pelsall to Brownhills, where there were coal mines, and then dropping through thirteen locks to Huddlesford Junction. [1] Huddlesford was on the line of the Coventry Canal, although that section had been built by the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal, under a deal which they had negotiated to ensure that there were routes which were likely to guarantee that the new canal was profitable. [2] The old main line, from Sneyd Junction to Wyrley, became a branch. The new main line was opened throughout in 1797. [3]
There were some initial problems, one of which was water supply, and this was aggravated by the failure of the reservoir dam at Sneyd in 1799. However, the situation was resolved when a new reservoir was built at Chasewater in 1800. [3] The reservoir fed water into the canal at the site of Ogley Junction, but the feeder was not navigable, and so was not a junction at the time. It became a junction around 1863, when the Marquess of Anglesey started to sink coal mines near to the reservoir, and the feeder was made wider, so that boats could reach Anglesey Basin to service the mines. [4]
The Wyrley and Essington Canal became disused east of Ogley Junction and was abandoned by Act of Parliament in 1954. [5] Subsequently this stretch has been named the Lichfield Canal and is under restoration. A small stub of the original line exists to the east of the junction, which provides some moorings. [6]
Most of the Wyrley and Essington Canal was level, and connected to the 473 feet (144 m) Wolverhampton Level of the Birmingham Canal Navigations. From the junction, the Anglesey Branch heads to the north west for 1.5 miles (2.4 km), passing under Anglesey Bridge almost immediately, and then crossing a railway track on an aqueduct, to reach Anglesey Basin. [7] [8] To the south, the canal is level for 6.2 miles (10.0 km) to Longwood Junction via the Daw End Branch, where it joins the Rushall Canal, or for 16.2 miles (26.1 km) along the main line to Horseley Fields Junction and the BCN Main Line to Wolverhampton and Birmingham. [7]
The branch to Lichfield and Huddlesford heads east, and the start of the canal is spanned by a grade II listed cast iron bridge. Each side of the elliptical arch is made from two castings, which are bolted together in the centre, and one of them carries the inscription "Horseley Ironworks 1829". [9]
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.
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.
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.
The Bentley Canal is an abandoned canal that was part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations. A very short section still exists where it joins the Wyrley and Essington Canal in Wolverhampton. From there it headed generally southeast through Willenhall and Walsall and connected with the Anson Branch and thus the Walsall Canal. The main line opened in 1843, with the Neachell Hall Branch following two years later. The branch closed in 1953 and the main line in the early 1960s.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN), a network of narrow canals in the industrial midlands of England, is built on various water levels. The three longest are the Wolverhampton, Birmingham, and Walsall levels. Locks allow boats to move from one level to another.
The Walsall Canal is a narrow canal, seven miles (11 km) long, forming part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations, and passing around the western side of Walsall, West Midlands, England.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Bromford Junction is a canal junction at the foot of the Spon Lane Locks where the Spon Lane Locks Branch meets the BCN New Main Line near Oldbury in the West Midlands, England.
