The section that follows are from slides and photographs given to the Society by members and other lovers of the system. Many of us have taken photos of our travels over the years and have them securely filed in shoe boxes and other places gathering dust. Much of the recent history of our canals are recorded in this way, and the changes to the system since the late 60's to the present day has been great.
People get very excited about the history of the working days of the canals and fail to realize that recent changes in our life and time memory, are know the history for the next generation.
Many a stalwart of the movement who fought tooth and nail to save the system and recorded the system as they found it in the late 50's and 60's, have given us the wealth of knowledge and history that was the last few years of the working canal.
Since then the system has rapidly changed to give the canals the new lease of life that it enjoys today. This change has washed away many of the land marks and variety in canal landscape that drew many of us to the life in the first place. Much has been lost but has been record in photographs etc taken in the 1970's/80's and 1990's by all of us. We don't look upon this as history, but already its twenty to forty years ago and a totally different world to the new people coming on to the canals.
The following photographs are the first in what we hope will be a series of collections that cover the period from the 1970's.
The photos are from a collection of slides given to the society for safe keeping, covering just the BCN, and we believe that other societies may have similar slides that cover other areas.
Our section is a real treasure trove of social history that in years to come will be of great interest to those who follow us.
The format will be where ever possible, one or more photographs as it was, with alongside as it is today..
Click on any photograph to enlarge
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Lets start in Birmingham city centre and a number of almost aerial shots of the area and the canal corridor, taken from some of the tall buildings of the day in 1976. I will not be trying to get todays shots of the same area straight away, and some may be impossible as the views due to other buildings no longer exist, but watch this space.
The first photo shows the Fleet street area and the Farmers flight, with basements of many buildings that appear to have there cellars flooded as part of the side pounds, already derelict.
The then new factory type building on the right of the canal being the old science museum exhibit hall built to house the main line steam loco the 'City of Birmingham'
The area of the basements is today new high office and apartment blocks, the house has gone along with many of the other buildings on the opposite side of the canal.
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Today so many new tall buildings have sprung up that it is almost impossible to re produce the above shots from the original location and get a view of the canal.
The canal corridor has changed so much that it is difficult to find any datum points. But closure examination and a break in the new buildings next to the new white bridge reveals Fleet street with some of the original buildings still in place.
The rest is new having been completed only recently in early 2005. As can be seen by these shots and the ones below the buildings once again come right to the waters edge, with the side pounds on occasions disappearing under and into the bases of the buildings.
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Same area but closer up. The old canal side buildings seen in this picture have know all gone. The corridor has been built on and is to this day still being developed.
Most of the old buildings were of a commercial use, most by the time this photo was taken from the 15th floor of Brindley House had fallen into decay.
Fire sealed the fate of some, that led to development that swept ed up the remaining buildings. Many have been replaced with a mixer of both commercial and housing that has revitalized the corridor.
Shame that more of the original was not developed. And why the Science Museum moved from this location is a shame as the atom sphere it had has not been replicated in the new site at the Think Tank.
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In these two photographs the area around Newhall Street and the site of the old Science Museum is depicted. The Grey structure of the Engine House of the Museum still exists as does the balcony that over looked the canal and almost made the visitors to the museum look upon the canal as yet another exhibit.
This created an atom sphere around the locks that made working a boat up this section a joy. Sadly all gone, you are know over looked by call centre workers who do not seem to enjoy the spectacle as much as the hordes of children did during school visits.
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This shot is of the same area as above in 1975 but looking down the flight. The house seen before in other views and the surrounding buildings have today all gone replaced by office and apartment blocks.
The photo appears to have been taken from the towpath below the Summer Lane/Fleet street bridge area. It is difficult to get the very same spot as little remains to exactly place the position from which the photo was taken, just the size of the PO Tower in the back ground suggests that it is a little further down the flight.
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Another shot of the flight of locks looking down the flight, the factory over the side pound has long gone. The buildings that still exist today locate this shot as having been taken from the bridge at Summer Row at Fleet Street, known as Saturday Bridge. In the next photo being taken in 2005 we try to simulate the same view.
As can be seen the canal is once again today beginning to be closed in once again by the surrounding buildings, only having been opened up by the demolition of the 1970's.
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This view is from the top of the then Post Office Tower in 1976. It shows the area around the now Waterfront prior to its development, along with many of the buildings that then existed. The tall white student accommodation blocks still remain but the buildings behind them between the blocks and the white repertory theatre, have been swept away to construct the ICC complex.
The first was the council garages with the old Bingley Hall behind, also the modern car park in this shot has gone having been replaced with a even more modern example.
The rest of the know waterfront, the NIA, Symphony Hall and Court and the rest can be seen as just open waste land. Broad street runs up the left side of the shot to the top left corner, most of the buildings shown have know gone replaced by the Brindley Place complex.
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A view of the Cambrian Wharf area as it was, again showing the open land destined to be the NIA and the rest of the modern City Waterfront.
Taken from the top one of the white Tower blocks probably Cambridge Tower that still exist today, used mainly as student accommodation. Most of the old canal side buildings in the bottom right corner of the photo have gone having been replaced by modern apartments.
Many of the buildings behind have been replaced with modern commercial units and the whole of the area that is in the back ground of this photo coloured green, has been built on.
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The next aerial view is again from the PO Tower and is this time looking down the flight at Farmers to the bottom lock and beyond.
The then disused track of Snow Hill station is clear, today the route being both a reinstated rail track and the line of the Metro line into the new station.
Just to point out some of the buildings, just after the railway is the old YMCA building minus the painted muriel next to the lock. The white building in the centre is the old MEB building with the Salvation Army Hostel on the opposite side of the canal.
Barkers bridge can be seen just above as the canal goes to next bridge the A34 and then towards Aston Junction and the A38M.
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A view back from the bottom lock but one on the Farmers flight. Not much change here it seems, the buildings look the same, and most are externally but the use has changed.
In the more recent photo it can be seen that the buildings are now apartments, having reverted from commercial use, but the canal corridor stays intact, with the towpath surface appearing to be the only change.
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This view is of the pound above the bottom lock, again on the face of it not much has changed.
The canal corridor however has been tidied up the towpath re laid and more access from the surrounding streets, Livery Street via a spiral staircase made.
Again buildings have changed from commercial to apartments etc. Above the railway lines are again active with both trains and the Midland Metro.
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Again a view of the bottom lock area this time in 2005. The once YMCA Hostel has been turned into DHS accommodation with a painting adorning its side wall next to the bottom lock.
Again access to this area has been improved giving access to Constitution Hill, shops, restaurants and Metro Station. Indeed at every bridge exit and access can know be made, in the 1960's and 70's you could not leave the canal corridor for miles.
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This view from Dartmouth Bridge in the 1970's, just of the A38M traffic island (with the replica steam engine at its centre) shows industry both sides of the canal.
The more recent photo on a wet autumn morning, shows clearly that by 2004 the industry has been pushed back, hotels and gardens and more modern low level industrial units with an up graded towpath have taken their place.
This canal corridor is know at the heart of the "Heartlands" re development project.
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This view is probably the most photographed scene on the BCN and is of the area always referred to as Gas Street Basin. It once was capped by a church steeple towering above the rest of the buildings on Broad Street, that made this view almost the subject for the cover of a box of chocolates it was that pretty.
However pretty was never the old BCN strongest point but it was never the less much photographed. The area to the right of this shot was full of boats many lived on, the entire area being completely surrounded by buildings. Only access was thro a small arched door way from Gas street, the complete picture making this area a different world from the big city just over the wall.
When the area was re developed this world was shattered, the community of boats left the buildings knocked down and the area became almost bleak due to its exposure to the outside world.
In the first photograph the steeple is shown to be missing but the true bleakness can really be seen in the photo below.
Some would say that the new canal frontage in Brum for all its smartness has not the character of the former, but progress must bring change.
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The first of these photos from 1976 shows the bleakness of the basin when many of the buildings that had surrounded the canal had been knocked down.
The photo from today is not a reproduction of the same shot but is from the canal looking back to the spot from which the shot was taken. The area is know full of buildings again although for all its tidiness it does not feel as detached as it once was from the outside world.
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If you had never seen this 1974 view before it would be hard to envisage today. As can be seen in the 2005 photo both sides of the canal have been re built.
To the left the Conference and Symphony Hall complex and to the right Brindley Place with a new bridge connecting the complex to the many bars and restaurants.
Even the road above Broad street has not remained still, the buildings behind the facade have been modernized but retained their outside character, whilst behind hotels and the rest have sprung up.
The church spire that was once the back drop to any photograph is in the 74 photo but is sadly missing today.
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In this photograph in 1974, if you had stood to take it then turned around thro 360 degrees you would have seen only surviving perimeter walls to factories and other commercial premises left after demolition.
Today do the same and your eye would take some time to take it all in.
As in the 2005 photograph you would now see the NIA Stadium to the left of the bridge, to the right a waterfront pub with a terrace famous for having hosted Bill Clinton.
Turn again to your right and the Symphony Hall and restaurants in Brindley Place border the canal. Turn again past the Sea Life Centre to the junction with the Oozell Loop with its many new buildings, again past new blocks of apartments that stand opposite the NIA.
Oh and don't forget the island in the canal is new as well, with its BCNS sign post having replaced the old wooden one seen in the first picture.
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Todays view of the same area, if you look down from the Old Turn Junction end of the Oozell Loop, with the NIA behind us. The other photo is of the junction taken from the bridge that connects the Symphony Hall with the restaurant area of Brindley Place. Taken on a grey October day in 2005 and is unusually empty of boats.
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Again this 1976 photograph from the Lady wood end of the Oozell's Loop is of a completely different world from todays view. In 1976 the Loop swept past the low white building and then across the back of old disused factories, this photograph is empty of boats, many boats used to be moored here but were moved away years before the full development started.
Today both sides of the canal are now lined with tall apartments most with balconies over looking the canal.
A central ribbon of moored boats on new pontoons appear to be the only concession to the fact that this is an area where boats for years had been..
The low white building in the first photo is the only remaining item that links both views. It houses then and know a canal hire fleet, with many of the restaurant and trip boats that service the waterfront being based here.
One wonders how long it will survive with all this expensive life style around it.
The flat dwellers have already closed a local pub because it was too noisy, so how long will smokey chimneys and noisy diesel engines last in this setting.
Sorry on my soap box again but you wonder why people who buy into a canal orientated scene, seem to want to change the very thing they bought into?
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This view in 1974 of the Long boat pub,Cambrian Wharf, in the fore ground it has changed little. The type of boat dates the photo, very few fibre glass boats are seen these days.
The pub is still there as are the tower blocks behind, but the rest of the backdrop has changed.
In the 1970's photo you can just see a narrowboat next to the right of the pub in its ground. The Longboat in those days had a boat fitted out as a bar. The boat is believed to have been a working boat built in 1919. Became the Teal in 1954 when owneed by Willow Wren, registered Coventry no 550. Brought by Ansell's Brewery in the 1970's used as a bar and given the name Sqirrel. Sold again in the 1980's is still in existance having been renamed Grimsby.
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Again yet another section that has changed or rather is in 2005 still in the process of change. This view in 1982 is of Granville Wharf, just on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal near to the sharp bend after the Waterfront.
A bridge now spans the canal on the bend and connects the new Mail Box complex with the towpath from where this shot was taken. This side is presently being developed from a car park into yet more apartments, and the wharf area were the boats are seen is now yet more apartments.
The building seen on the right was the old Holliday Street Public Works department building that had been converted into an indoor and outdoor market and craft centre in an earlier development.
Today it is being converted into apartments, whilst on its canal side a BW water point is still present.
Behind the photographer today stands yet more apartments and the Mail Box complex, this area being shown frequently on any BBC Midlands Studio broadcast, as the complex houses the new studio's.
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Behind the photographer today stands yet more apartments and the Mail Box complex, this area being shown frequently on any BBC Midlands Studio broadcast, as the complex houses the new studio's. The Mail box being the building in the back ground that was converted from the old Birmingham Post sorting centre, into offices, restaurants and a shopping Mall to us a American expression.
A restaurant right on the sharp bend has a Gondola moored outside it, just what would the working boatmen of yester year have made of that craft.
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This view is again on the Worcester Birmingham canal taken in 1982 and is a view looking back at the section above from beyond the bridge with the red fire doors.
All of the factory type buildings and chimneys on the right of this view are split between the old Davenports Brewery and the rear of the Old Accident Hospital all of which were in Bath Row.
All have now gone to be replaced by yet more apartments, the hospital has been re located and the brewery closed down after a merger of a number of breweries years ago.
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The next few photographs are not strictly BCN as they are of the Birmingham and Warwick section of the Grand Union Canal. This canal runs between Salford Junction and the Bordesley area of Birmingham, the section connects the BCN to the Grand Union via , Knowle and then onto Warwick.
The section is strictly not the BCN, but its surroundings and character are to the traveller very much the same as it enters Birmingham.
The photograph taken in 1978 is of the bottom lock of the Camp Hill locks looking at Bordesley Junction, not much change here on the face of it in the 2004 photograph.
However the locks now sport wooden beamed gates and the tow path is much improved with some dredging also having been carried out to greatly improve the track. Pity that the graffiti on the structures has replaced the rubbish in the earlier photo.
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More photographs on the Birmingham and Warwick Junction section of the Grand Union Canal. From Bordesley Junction above, the canal goes straight on towards the City centre only to turn away again at Digbeth Junction, making the traveller climb the Farmers Flight from Aston Junction.
In the first very wet looking photograph taken in 1978 the area shown is the canal behind the Fazeley Street area where the offices and warehouses of the Thomas Moreton and Clayton empire still stand to this day.
The covered wharf shown is again as can be seen in the 2004 shot still there and the whole section has been dredged and tidied up.
The flood lock with its gates that swing shut if a sudden change in water level occurs has recently been renewed.
In 2005 plans are afoot to completely re develop this area so you recorders of history hurry down to record it as it is today before it changes completely(Article B.P section issue 170 about the proposed changes)
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This photo taken in 1977 is of the area at the rear of the canal warehouses spoken of above. The factories on the left have gone as has the tall chimney that was part of the Montague Street Public Works and rubbish disposal yard.
The furnace type structure on the right has gone and the whole of the tow path side that was in 1977 over grown is today re paved and tidy in comparison.
Today in 2005 the whole area especially on the right is due for yet more development and todays photo will be soon history. For this canal corridor is to be the centre piece in the 'East Side' development that it is hoped will do for this area of Brum what Brindley Place etc did for the City Centre.
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Yet another photograph of the same area in 1977. We are know closer to the railway bridge that has never had a train travel over it. The elevated brick structure is not connected to any other rail line being today an unofficial elevated nature reserve.
The editor has been up onto the top of the structure the only way up being over the roofs of adjacent buildings. (I will add here that I was on the roofs whilst working). The buildings shown in 1977 are the backs of both factories and warehouses, today the area has a wharf area around which are grouped more modern units housed in the old structures.
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In other parts of this site the Gun Proof House that backs onto this section of canal near the canal junction now known as Digbeth Junction has been referred to. Travellers by train coming into New street may have un knowingly pasted the canal junction whilst going through the rail junction known as Proof House Junction, that is above the canal.
Many will have seen the splendid Coat of Arms on the Proof house building next to the line. The following photographs are of the Coat of Arms, and, the building taken in 1977 from the inside the courtyard.
Today the same splendid structure is still on view.
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From Bordesley Junction if the traveller had turned right towards Salford in 1977, they would have entered a world formed by the back of factories and other industrial structures.
Today as we turn from the junction nothing at first seems to have changed, apart from the fact that the canal is deep and fairly rubbish free.
But soon the factories retreat and new housing lines the canal, at each bridge we can gain access to the rest of the world, whilst once we where barred from entering.
The towpath and the general area has been tidied up and we drop down locks that are easy to use as once again the factories close in.
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Again these two photographs separated by 28 years on the face of it appear the same. However the canal corridor around Garrison Locks is much changed, the towpath is today flat and level having an all weather surface.
On 1977 the towpath was narrow and riddled with pot holes, the canal was in places shallow and the general state of the track was worn.
Today the lock gear is newer and any gates that had metal beams have had the wooden beams restored.
Along the canal the surrounding buildings have been tidied up, its still mainly industrial but an air of order and tidy ness instead of industrial decay is apparent.
The corridor has also got greener with more trees and bushes every where, rail lines still cross the track but fewer goods trains trundle by replaced with smart new express trains.
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The area along this canal in 1977 the view was dominated when looking towards Salford by the cooling towers of Nechells Power Station. Today its all gone replaced as can be seen below by 'Star City'.
On this section in 1977 if you had turned round and looked back towards Bordesley the sky would have been filled with the Gas Ohmmeters of Nechells Gas Works, yet another structure today missing from the sky line.
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This photograph is of what was in 1977 the new lock keepers cottage on the Warwick section of the Grand Union Canal near to Salford Junction.
The cottage is still there very much the same but the rest of the area has changed greatly. Industry dominated the scene in the 80's but was in the process of retreat. Opposite the cottage was the site of the Nechells Power Station, today gone replaced by the entertainment complex of Star City.
The canal corridor is slowly being up graded but it will never completely lose its industrial feel.
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We now move away from Birmingham along the New Main Line and to Smethwick and the Engine Arm that crosses the New Line on the aqueduct just off the top of Smethwick Locks.
This photograph in 1976 is of the Engine Arm near to its terminus, the end being just past the building on the right with the balcony styled structure over the canal.
The rubbish in the Arm is only hinted at by the amount floating, like any iceberg much more lay below the surface. Boats ventured down here on explorer type cruises only leaving names and addresses and times of estimated arrival with loved ones.
No winding hole was at the end so a long reverse back along the Arm would soon find the rubbish even if you had found none in forward gear.
Today the Arm is clear of rubbish, with an amenity block and winding hole at the end, moorings now line the Arm many residential securing its future.
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These two photographs show the restoration and building changes over the years.
Galton Valley and the New and Old canals, the first photo in 1977 shows the Smethwick pump house looking sorry for itself all board up vandalized and minus its chimney. In the background signs of another world the furnace cupola of West Works, Midland Motor Cylinder, Middlemore Lane.
Then a very large employer and supplier of engine blocks to the world. In the 2004 shot the Cupola has disappeared from the sky line along with the factory and all the jobs, houses now crest the ridge over looking the Pump house.
A smart new chimney replicating the original, stands next to the fully restored Engine House with engine.
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In the photographs above just in distance on both canals can be seen the entrances to the two tunnels that take the canals under a new road built in the early 70's.
Both are not true tunnels being concrete tubes onto which was pilled the embarkment that carry's the road. The tunnel on the Main Line is called Galton Tunnel whilst the Old Line has Summit Tunnel.
The first of these photographs is of a boat trip taken some time after the construction in 1977 probably of Galton Tunnel. The embankment is devoid of vegetation whilst the latter photo from the other direction in 2005 shows that both the tunnels have now merged with the surrounding foliage.
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This black and white photograph undated and with no author shows the scene prior to the building of both tunnels and in particular Summit Bridge which must have carried the old road over the canal.
Today the road has changed but one thing still remains, considering where you are it is still remarkably rural in this location as the 2005 photograph shows.
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Today as in 1977 on leaving the Galton Tunnel above us is the famous Galton Bridge. The new road has hidden this structure from view as prior to the road construction the bridge could be seen from the Smethwick Pumphouse and dominated the valley.
In the other direction a railway bridge hid then and today a view of the bridge.
Today the railway line is joined by a new station complex that runs parallel with the canal and adds to the lack of impact that the bridge really deserves.
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This photograph of the Gower Branch from the top of Brades Locks in 1986 has appeared before on the site. It shows clearly the Oil Terminal that once stood along side the Main Line near to Albion Junction.
Today the same shot is minus the terminal with a Sikh Temple having been built on the land between the locks and the old terminal area. This canal retains its rural feel that it had even when industry was closer.
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These two photographs are of the Black Country Museum end of the Dudley Tunnel. The first taken in 1976 shows the tunnel entrance minus its height gauge and clearly showing that the structures on the left of the tunnel are the museum in its infancy.
The whole scene is dominated by the industrial structure on the top of the bank above the tunnel entrance.
The 2004 picture shows the tunnel entrance and the whole area as much more developed.
The buildings of the museum now take the place of the wall, twin towpaths give access to the tunnel mouth and the graffiti is gone.
Gone also regrettably is the factory and hence the industry above the scene but the general area today shows signs of its new purpose, leisure.
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Whilst at the Museum the following two photographs are of the very place during an opening rally in 1977. The large marque erected for the occasion is standing on land that today is full of buildings loving restored and that form the centre of the Museum.
It shows just how much has been achieved in the years since.
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Again more shots of the museum taken in 1985 of the work shop and docks area in the museum. The restaurant over looking the dock area cannot have been opened long in this shot.
Again today this area has filled with more exhibits of both buildings, boats and working industrial processes from our recent past.
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Another photograph of the boat dock area this time in 1983. Compare it with the 1977 photograph and you just how many buildings have been built in the six years.
The lift bridge shown earlier with the tent behind is in this shot is more or less in the central area of the photo.
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The following photographs are of the Factory Locks at Tipton. The first taken looking down the locks in 1980 and show factories on both sides of the flight.
The second photograph of the style of lock bridge on the flight with a rope gap on one side, shows industry in the back ground and the old buildings in Owen Street the main street in Tipton.
Today the industry has gone and Owen street has new shops and buildings.
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The next photo taken in 1980 is of the flight again looking up the locks and clearly shows how close the factories were to the canal.
The 2005 photo shows the demise of industry, the factory has gone, well established trees filling the gap. In the older photo the Beans foundry chimneys can be seen in the back ground, its still there but trees now shield it from view.
Note also that the factories behind the houses at the top of the locks clear in the earlier shot have gone.
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Away from Birmingham and on to the Wolverhampton Level at Coseley. To be precise the Wolverhampton Portal of Coseley Tunnel.
Not much change here to the canal structures, just the modern safety signs and escape routes required at all tunnels. The houses above have been tidied up and the trees and bushes appear bigger.
The tow path has been re surfaced and is now part of a cycle route, the bridge in the modern photo is not a new addition, the view in that shot being from a boat whilst the first was from the bridge.
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Top Lock at Wolverhampton: First photograph in 1979, shows a scene that in the main is little changed today. The lock is very much the same as are the cottages, and then opposite the cottages was a small hire fleet.
Today the hire fleet has gone replaced by moorings, the area around the lock & cottages has been tidied up with better paving and towpath. Pull back from the lock and the whole area has been turned into green oasis sandwiched between the Ring road and the railway line.
Landscaped gardens and trees complete the scene with access to the towpath being easy that makes the towpath and flight of locks a popular pedestrain byeway.
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The first photograph in 1980 is looking up the flight of locks on the 21 at Wolverhampton about half way down the locks. As can be seen factories again at this time came right up to the canal corridor with the canal wall ed and fenced off from the surrounding area.
The 2005 photograph is roughly the same area but looking down the locks, the large unit on the left is a rubbish disposal centre, but the other side of the canal is now missing both walls, fences and factories.
Like many industrail canals the factories have gone, in the main replaced by areas of public access with walkways and cycleways planted with scrubs and trees.
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Back to BCN Views Index
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We are now on the Dudley Canals at Blowers Green junction and in 1978 yet another Pump house in need of TLC. At about the time the first photograph was taken the pumphouse had been taken under the wing of the Dudley Canal Trust who at this time were heavily engaged in re opening the Dudley Tunnel.
Along with the Black Country Museum the Dudley Canal Trust opened up the whole area and made it a viable concern once again.
The 2005 photograph shows that once again the area has been tidied up, towpaths relaid, plants and trees everywhere and a pumphouse restored with the Dudley Canal Trust using it as a HQ.
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The Windmill Junction area in Netherton and again a photograph that seems to appear in every canal book or photo collection. Cobbs Engine House with chimney is know classed as an Ancient monument.
The first of the two photographs taken in 1976 appears to say little has changed in this area over the years. But today the area is much tidier with grass that appears to be mowed regularly, and again towpaths that have been improved. More trees help to make the junction and surrounding area much more people friendly and just out of shoot on the right in the 2005 photograph is a new visitors and nature trail centre.
The area was the site of several IWA National Rallies, and annually hosts the Black Country Boating Festival.
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Windmill area again but this time from the top of the hill overlooking the area. This view in 1970 of Cobb's Engine house is framed by heavy industry in the background.
The 2005 photograph again highlights the fact that heavy industry has gone replaced by warehouses and housing. But the area in the main has stayed the same with just the trees and bushes having grown bigger.
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Another Dudley Canal this time the Dudley No 2 at Gosty Tunnel. In the 1980 photograph the tug house at the Windmill End of the tunnel can be seen to be more intact.
Never a pretty building, being a wall with pressed concrete lintels for a roof it can be seen that this is one building that has not been restored and has vanished by 2005.
May be it should be restored, and made a solid structure? that cannot be vandalised, for at present the remaining channel is just a collecting area for rubbish.
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Back to the Oldbury/Titford area and the Pumphouse at the top of the Oldbury Locks, and our HQ. If you've visited this site before you will have seen the first photograph before. Taken in 1986 it shows the state the area and buildings had got into, the result of years of official neglect when no future could be seen for the Titford canal.
It only stayed open through the efforts of this society and Coombeswood and the fact that the cost of closing it completely was prohibative due to the fact that it aided the lane drainage system and a replacement system would be required.
So after years of going nowhere the miracle happen with BW using the society as an end user that unlocked money for the pumphouse which in turn released yet more money for the canal corridor.
Today the area is alive again with boats moored on the Tatbank Branch, an active society housed in the pumphouse and with a towpath and canal corridor that is more and more used by the local poeple as an amenditiy rather than an eyesore.
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But just in case everybody thinks that there are no more battles to be fought lets look at the Titford Pools at the head of the canal.
Photographs from 1978 show the pools full of boats at the then IWA National Rally, in the days when that rally was truely a campaigning event. Boats had to fight there way up the locks in those days but the pools were capable of hosting such an event.
Compare the Pools in 2003/4 trees planted in a nature reserve have fallen into the pool and blocked passage, drainage from the elevated motorway has badly silted up both pools but especially the small one at the end of the Portway Branch.
Few boats could today moor tightly against the coping stones of the towpath except in just a few places. The wrong way to set up a nature area is shown here to use trees that naturally mature and then fall into the water, throw down roots and then start the cycle of growth again.
This would eventually have destroyed the pools or was this a physical left over from the official policy in the 70's to close the canal.
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Today that approach cannot be directed at British Waterways, we may not see eye to eye on everything but the effort and money spent by them on this canal is considerable.
But the solution to the silting up of the Pools is yet to be addressed, the trees have and are being cut back and managed and any new planting must be thought though better.
The first photograph again from 1978 is of the Causeway Branch looking back from the motorway which is behind and above us towards the area where the canal joins the pools to the Portway Branch.
As in the previous photo boats could not moor as they did at the rally in 1978, and how the boats of today have changed. Fibre glass and wood where much more popular then and the size of boats was much shorter.
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As has been stated before at the rallies in the 70's and 80's a scaffold walk way was constructed under the motorway in the larger of the Pools from which the larger and historical boats moored off.
The first photograph is of this area and shows the walkway and the butty 'Gifford' with other working boats. This must have been taken before the latest restoration of Gifford, and would it not be great to see her back in these waters again?
But as you can see from the 2005 photograph of the same area the nature of the pools has changed. The area is today much more overgrown by trees and bushes, not a bad thing as the pools do look attractive, but the pedulam has swung too far and boats do not seem to have been considered.
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