| Pelsall Junction | |
|---|---|
 Pelsall Junction with the Cannock Extension Canal commencing under the bridge to the right | |
| Specifications | |
| Status | Open |
| Navigation authority | British Waterways |
| History | |
| Date completed | 1863 |
Pelsall Junction in context | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pelsall Junction (grid reference SK018044 ) 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.
The Wyrley and Essington Canal passed through the site of Pelsall Junction as a result of a change of plan while the canal authorised by their first Act of Parliament was still being built. The original Act, obtained in 1792, was for a canal from collieries at Wyrley and Essington to Wolverhampton, where it would join the Birmingham Canal Navigations at Horseley Fields Junction. There was also to be a branch to serve Walsall, ending near to the present site of Birchills Junction. However, a second Act was obtained in 1794, which made the Walsall branch into the mainline and authorised its extension to the east, passing through Pelsall to reach Brownhills, where there were more coal mines, and then descending through thirty locks to the Coventry Canal at Huddlesford Junction. The new mainline was completed by May 1797, although there were initial problems with water supply, which were resolved in 1800 with the construction of a large reservoir at Chasewater. [1]
Following the amalgamation of the Wyrley and Essington with the Birmingham Canal Navigations in 1840, [2] a number of extensions to the system had been made, which had proved successful, and the Cannock Extension Canal was one of the second batches of extensions begun in 1854. It ran from the Hednesford coal fields to the Wyrley and Essington Canal at Pelsall Junction and was completed in 1863. [3] When it opened, a branch with a flight of thirteen locks at Churchbridge linked it to the Hatherton Branch of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. [4] The canal and hence the junction was an important commercial route until 1961, when the battle with subsidence caused by the mines it served was lost. The section north of Watling Street was abandoned in 1963, [5] and the junction now serves a quiet backwater, with boatyards at the old Brownhills colliery basins and just to the south of Watling Street. [6]
The Wyrley and Essington Canal runs east to west at the junction, with the towpath on the southern bank. To the east, the canal is level for 5 miles (8.0 km) to Anglesey Basin, on the edge of the Chasewater Reservoir. At Catshill Junction, the Daw End Branch of the Wyrley and Essington turns off, and if level for 5.3 miles (8.5 km) to Longwood Junction, which is 7.9 miles (12.7 km) from Pelsall Junction, and where the Rushall Canal starts. To the west, the canal is level to Horseley Fields Junction, 12.7 miles (20.4 km) away, and the BCN Main Line which it joins continues on the same level in both directions. [7] The water level is 473 feet (144 m) above sea level, and this level is known as the Wolverhampton Level, to distinguish it from other parts of the Birmingham Canal Navigations which are at the Birmingham Level of 453 feet (138 m). [8]
The Cannock extension canal has a towpath on the eastern bank, and is level for just 1.5 miles (2.4 km), beyond which it is filled in. [7] A cast-iron bridge spans the eastern arm of the junction to connect the towpaths. It consists of two side-girders, each cast as a single piece, but with a latticework of saltire crosses in the ironwork. A walkway of iron plates joins the two side-girders, which rest on brick abutments. The bridge dates from the construction of the Extension Canal, and is a grade II listed structure. [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 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.
Aston Junction is the name of the canal junction where the Digbeth Branch Canal terminates and meets the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal near to Aston, Birmingham, England.
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.
Smethwick Junction is the name of the canal junctions where the Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line Canal from Birmingham splits into the BCN Old Main Line and the BCN New Main Line near to Smethwick, 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
