 Northern entrance to Shrewley Tunnel | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Location | Shrewley, Warwickshire, England |
| Coordinates | 52°18′09″N1°41′15″W / 52.302598°N 1.687555°W |
| OS grid reference | SP213672 |
| Status | Open |
| Waterway | Grand Union Canal |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1799 |
| Owner | British Waterways |
| Technical | |
| Length | 433 yards (395.9 m) |
| Towpath | No (Separate tunnel) |
| Boat-passable | Yes |
Shrewley Tunnel is a canal tunnel near Shrewley, Warwickshire, England, which opened in 1799. It became part of the Grand Union Canal in 1929.
The Warwick and Birmingham Canal Company obtained an Act of Parliament in March 1793, which authorised the construction of a 22.6-mile (36.4 km) canal from the Digbeth Branch Canal of the Birmingham Canal Navigations to Warwick, where it would end at Saltisford Wharf. The plans showed three tunnels, at Shrewley, Rowington and Yardley, but as construction progressed, the last two became deep cuttings. This was not an option at Shrewley, as the route passed under the village. The plans also specified that the tunnel would be suitable for boats but not barges, implying that it would have been suitable for 7-foot (2.1 m) narrow boats, common on the Birmingham system, but not for wider craft. However, construction of the Grand Junction Canal, which would provide a link to London, was started at a similar time, and the committee wisely took the decision in April 1794 to increase the width of the tunnel to 16 feet (4.9 m), allowing wide barges to pass through it. The width of the bridge holes was similarly increased to 21 feet (6.4 m) in May. [1]
The tunnel is 433 yards (396 m) long, [2] built of brick and is wide enough for two narrow boats to pass each other, although it has no towpath inside. It officially opened on 19 December 1799 when the rest of the Warwick and Birmingham Canal was completed, although no trading took place until the following March. [3] It became part of the Grand Union Canal in 1929 following the amalgamation of the canal company with several others, including the Grand Junction.
There are actually two tunnels: at the northern portal, the towpath splits off and rises on a ramp and then enters a tunnel of its own, until it reaches the road which crosses the tunnel; having crossed this the path then descends on another ramp to reach the southern portal. The interior of the tunnel is unusually wet and this has led to the creation of flowstone formations.
The tunnel runs from the south-east to the north-west. From the northern portal, the canal is level for 6.5 miles (10.5 km) to the bottom of a flight of five locks at Knowle, which raise the level of the canal by 41.8 feet (12.7 m). Kingswood Junction, which connects to the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal occurs about halfway along this stretch. To the south, the canal is level for around 1.7 miles (2.7 km) to Hatton Top Lock, the first of a flight of 21 locks which drop the level by 146.5 feet (44.7 m) to reach Warwick. [4] [5]
| Point | Coordinates (Links to map resources) | OS Grid Ref | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| North portal | 52°18′14″N1°41′22″W / 52.303871°N 1.689460°W | SP211673 | |
| Mid-point | 52°18′09″N1°41′15″W / 52.302598°N 1.687555°W | SP213672 | |
| South portal | 52°18′05″N1°41′08″W / 52.301325°N 1.685650°W | SP214671 |
The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal is a canal in the south Midlands of England. The canal, which was built between 1793 and 1816, runs for 25.5 miles (41.0 km) in total, and consists of two sections. The dividing line is at Kingswood Junction, which gives access to the Grand Union Canal. Following acquisition by a railway company in 1856, it gradually declined, the southern section being un-navigable by 1945, and the northern section little better.
The Birmingham and Fazeley Canal is a canal of the Birmingham Canal Navigations in the West Midlands of England. Its purpose was to provide a link between the Coventry Canal and Birmingham and thereby connect Birmingham to London via the Oxford Canal.
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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.
Kingswood Junction is a canal junction where the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal meets the Grand Union Canal at Kingswood, Warwickshire, England.
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.
The Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal was a canal in England which ran from Nantwich, where it joined the Chester Canal, to Autherley, where it joined the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. Forming part of a major link between Liverpool and the industrial heartlands of the Midlands, the canal was opened in 1835, and merged with the Ellesmere and Chester Canal Company in 1845, which became the Shropshire Union Railways and Canal Company in the following year.
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Media related to Shrewley Tunnel at Wikimedia Commons