Birmingham Canal Navigations Society, the BCNS

Junctions of the BCN.....Phil Clayton

Part Three

In 1983 the BCN Society, under the then Chairman John Phillips, undertook to signpost the main junctions. The first post was erected on the island at Old Turn Junction (then known as Farmers Bridge Junction but we won't go into all that again!) on May 21 st, 1983 and was soon followed by many others. The most recent was at Horseley Fields in Wolverhampton, which appeared in the summer of 2004. The BCNS's Explorer Scheme was set up to encourage people to visit those junctions which have, over the years, been graced with the slender signposts erected by the Society.

This series of articles intends to have a fresh look at the junctions, see what has changed in the intervening years and, hopefully, to encourage others to go out and become Explorers themselves. The scheme is still in operation and details are available from the coordinator, Phil Clayton, address:-211 Marsh Lane, Wolverhampton WV10 6SA.

The junctions were all numbered in the BCNS Signpost Trail booklet published and this series will follow that order.

See below at the foot of this article a copy of the information minus photographs and original contained in the booklet. This is just one idea of how to see all the junctions, half the fun is working out your own route. So if you wish to start you have something to go on with.... Web Ed

Use the Photo Gallery in Views around the BCN to see the area described after reading

There was a host of junctions in either direction from Tame Valley Junction along the Walsall Canal. Many of them serve no real function any longer but are worth noting. The re-opened Lower Ocker Hill Branch has already been mentioned. It was first fully opened to navigation in 1805 though it had been constructed twenty years earlier to supply water to the Wednesbury Oak Loop by way of a tunnel, pumping engines and shafts at the other side of the hill. The pumps drew the water up sixty feet onto the long embankment of the Ocker Hill Branch which fed it into the Wolverhampton Level at Summer Hill.

Half a mile north or so of Tame Valley Junction the Gospel Oak Branch ran off to the south west. Opened in 1800, it ran for three eighths of a mile and was originally conceived as a link to the Wednesbury Oak Branch. The link was never completed as the Bradley Locks were built instead. The first couple of hundred yards from the junction are still in water and popular with the local fishermen.

Less than half a mile brings the traveller to Moorcroft Junction where the Bradley Branch, descending through locks, met the Walsall Canal. This was built in 1798 through three locks as far as Bradley Hall and was completed in 1849 to join the Wednesbury Oak Branch at Bradley. It was closed in 1961. The section nearest the junction, up to the bottom lock, is still in water though full of reeds. Just by the junction Moorcroft Wood, a former colliery and blast furnace site, is like a
een oasis with its ponds, nest boxes and paths. One wooded walkway, through a henge of slag, is particularly appealing.

Th Broadway Arm, on the opposite side of the canal couple of hundred yards north of Moorcroft, has vanished altogether under an industrial estate; indeed it had been truncated to a mere basin before 1900. It is worth a mention here because it was the end of the original section of the Walsall Canal built in 1785 and thus there was a junction of sorts here when the rest of the Walsall opened in 1799.

Both the Bilston and Willenhall Branches were disused and largely filled in by the turn of the twentieth century although they were not officially abandoned until 1953 when each was just a short stub. The junction of the Willenhall Branch with the Walsall Canal is still recognizable by the concrete baulk across the former entrance.

The next former junction was where the Anson Branch ran off to Reedswood and opened in 1830.

Walsall Junction

The final junction on the Walsall Canal has had a chequered history recently, being closed for several years before its reopening in the mid 1990's. Closed because of the limestone workings underneath Walsall, it remained in the stoppage notices as closed Until Further Notice for several years until a glimmer of hope showed when it appeared as Jan 1994 and later Mid 1994. The reason was subsidence caused by the old mines beneath. Under this particular bit of Walsall the strata was conformed in such a way that there was a mine on top of another one. This, together with the robbing of supporting pillars towards the end of the mines lives made the area particularly susceptible. In filling with colliery waste mixed with hardening agent formed a solid mass thus preventing further subsidence.

During the last two years of the eighteenth century two canals came to Walsall. The Wyrley & Essington's branch meandered to Birchill's Wharf in 1798 and the Birmingham Canal's Walsall Branch reached Town Wharf the following year. For traffic to travel from Birchills to Walsall, a journey of just over half a mile, meant a diversion of nearly twenty miles round by Wolverhampton. The Walsall Locks Branch was one of the BCN's gap filling exercises, undertaken shortly after it had amalgamated with the W&E Company. The Branch opened for traffic in 1841, the eight ocks dropping the canal from the 473 foot contour to the 408 foot level. According to the Ordnance map of 1854 there were sveral basins and wharves along the Town Arm between the junction and its terminus. Corporation Wharf served the gas works which stood on the peninsula between the two canals, while others were named Albion, Providence and Old. Much of the old infrastructure of the area has been demolished while the New Walsall Art Gallery has appeared at the end where the Branch has been widened out to form a basin.

Birchills Junction

The Wyrley & Essington Extension Canal was authorised in 1794 and opened three years later, joining the Birchills Branch to the Coventry Canal at Huddlesford. The junction now stands in an area of landscaped open ground though a hundred years ago the grassy stretch to the north of the junction was occupied by iron furnaces. Opened in 1855 by the Highway Brothers, Thomas and Charles, by 1868 the works were run as the Walsall Iron Company by G & J Jones. By the last year of the nineteenth century the furnaces were blown out. In 1907 a new concern, Birchills Furnace Ltd, took over and the works continued in existance until the early 1930's. Passing through the junction on the way down to Walsall just over a year ago, we did'nt know who was more surprised, the dozen or so boats on the Wolverhampton Boat Clus's Commodore's Cruise or the dozen or so anglers around the junction bridge. A dozen or more years ago 'Marsh Harrier' was shot at by a youth with an air rifle along here - he missed - and I surprised the crew by leaping off the boat, starting to give chase then changing my mind and climbing over a fence to visit a skip containing carpet sample books. Well, we were fitting the boat out at that time and had a patchwork carpet for some time ! The BCNS signpost has stood at the junction for 20 years.

Continuing along the Curly Wyrley and travelling through Leamore an interesting couple of minor junctions may be spotted on either side of where the canal crosses the former LNWR branch between Walsall and Cannock on a fine cast iron aqueduct. While the aqueduct (by Lloyd's, Fosters & Co., Engineers of Wednesbury, 1856) was being built, the canal would have followed its orginal loop which would then have been cut off in order to make the railway cutting.

On completion this left the two short arms. The canal eventually leaves behind the urban areas of Bloxwich and heads north out into the countryside. Only a concrete baulk remains to mark the junction with Lord Hay's Branch. This ran off at Fishley and was a one and a quarter mile stretch ending in two basins at Newtown. The branch opened in 1800 to serve coal mines and lime kilns and was abandoned in 1954. Another half mile across Pesall Common and the next junction is reached.

Thank you Phil for this very interesting series. If you have not completed The BCN Explorer do give it a go. You don't need a boat! You can walk, cycle, get around the BCN in whatever way you like just get to all the signposts! You'll know the BCN after that!"
Give Phil a ring he'll sort it out with you. telephone: 01902 780920.....B.P Ed

For those interested below is a copy (minus Photographs and a map) of the text of the Signpost Trail.It has been altered slightly as the original document is a few years old now.... Web Ed

Signpost Trail

Introduction

In 1983 the B.C.N.S under the guidance of John Phillips, Chairman at the time, undertook to Signpost the junctions of the BCN. Being a very complicated system, many boaters and walkers tended to stick to the Main Line to avoid getting lost. It was felt that given an indication of their destination they would be encouraged to explore the little used branches and loops which are a feature of the BCN.

This booklet issued by the Society is designed to show you some of the signposts, via Kevin Maslins first class photographs, at the same time give you some ideas for cruising, with a route round the BCN designed to take in the whole system. Perforce some parts are repeated, but you can pick up the route where ever you join the system.

All the signposts, a list appears on the reverse of the fold out map, were manufactured orginally by the Royal Label Factory (Ceased trading in 2001, patterns now held by another company) and in 1983 cost around Ł400 each, paid for mainly by the BCNS with the occasional Sponsor. (We wish they cost that much today, ie double that and add a bit more). Typically they stand 14 feet above ground level, with a steel post and aluminuim cast arms.

A few practical words about the use of the guide, junctions are given Way Point numbers. Distance/Locks/Time are shown, for example as 1/8/3. (parts of a mile are treated as decimals ie half a mile= 0.5) Followed by some relevant remarks. OPTIONS, if taken, will push you down some arms or take you to the joining extremities of the system. The only real answer is GO AND SEE FOR YOURSELF

Finally it is recommended that you use this booklet in conjunction with a BCN guide , like Pearsons BCN Canal Companion or the many others to give you in depth information.

CANAL or CANAL JUNCTION	WAY POINT	MILES/LOCKS/TIME	REMARKS
Digbeth Branch Canal: Bordesley Junction	1		Start really on the Grand Union, but it feels and looks like the BCN
to Aston Junc	2	1/6/2	Via Digbeth Junction and thro Ashted tunnel
Birmingham & Fazeley Canal
Aston Junc	2
to Salford Junc	3	1.75/11/3	Spaghetti Junction from a different viewpoint
Tame Valley Canal
Salford Junc	3
to Rushall Junc	4	5/13/5	Locks & Motorways
to Tame Valley Junc	5	3.5/0/1	Cuttings & Banks
Walsall Canal
Tame Valley Junc	5
to Walsall Junction	6	5.5/0/2	Into Town Arm,Art Gallery,Wharf P.H
Walsall Junction	6		Visit Leather Museum
to Birchills Junc	7	1/8/3	Ditto
Wyrley & Essington
Birchills Junc	7
to Pelsall Junc	8	5/0/2	Old Colliery Country
			OPTION at Pelsall Jcn Cruise Cannock Extension to Norton Canes Docks. Wind at North end. Return distance approx 3.5 miles.
to Catshill Junc	9	2.75/0/1	Useful Supermarket Brownhills
			OPTION at Catshill Jcn. Cruise Anglesey Branch to Chasewater. Wind at North end. Return distance approx 4 miles.
Daw End Branch
Catshill Junc	9
to Longwood Junc	10	5.25/0/2	Urban Contour Canal
Rushall Canal
Longwood Junc	10		Boat Services
to Rushall Junc	4	2.75/9/4
Tame Valley Canal
Rushall Junc	4
Tame Valley Canal	5	3.5/0/1	Crosses Motorway and railways on aqueducts on your second trip along this section.
Walsall Canal
Tame Valley Junc	5
to Ryders Green Junc	11	1.5/8/3	Shops at Locks 8-7
			OPTION Cruise to End of Ridgacre Branch. Canal used to go to Black Lake. Winding Hole now just before New road that cuts across canal ending navigation. Opposite road canal continues past Pub etc. Good walk to see rest of canal. New Metro line with station (Black Lake) crosses cut off section of canal. Total distance cruise and walk approx 3 miles from Ryders Green.
Wednesbury Old Canal
Ryders Green Junc	11
to Pudding Green Junc	12	1.25/0/1	Heavy Industry
New Main Line Canal
Pudding Green Junc	12
to Bromford Junc	13	.75/0/.5
to Smethwick Junc	14	2.25/0/1	Take the low road from Bromford not Spon Lane Locks
Old Main Loop Line Canal
Smethwick Junc	14
to Engine Branch Junc	15	.5/3/1	Cross the Aqueduct and cruise to the end of the Engine Arm. Winding Hole at end plus services.
to Spon Lane Junc	16	1.5/0/1	Note Bridge and Tunnel
to Oldbury Locks Junc	17	1/0/1	Follow motorway
Oldbury Locks Junc	17		OPTION Join the Titford Canal to the Pools. 2 miles, 6 locks approx time about 5hrs back to junction. Pumphouse has services and moorings.
to Brades Hall Junc	18	1.25/0/1	Oldbury Town centre on your right. Large Supermarket
Brades Hall Junc	18
Gower Branch
to Albion Junc New Main Line Canal	19	0.5/3/1	Via only Staircase lock on BCN
to Dudley Port Junc	20	1/0/2
to Windmill End	21	3/0/1	Under Old Main Line then into Netherton Tunnel
Dudley No 2 Canal
Windmill End Junc	21		Pubs Abound
			OPTION (and again you should take)from Windmill down to Hawne Basin and return, thro Gosty Hill Tunnel, twice, and to Coombeswood Canal Trust (AWACC member). Approx 6 miles allow 3hrs. An over night stop?, visting boats are always welcome to stop overnight in the basin. Longer stops by appointment only.
to Park Head Junc	22	3/0/1
Dudley No 1 Canal
Park Head Junc	22
to Delph Top Lock	23	2/2/2	See Merry Hill, Shop, wind and return to Park Head.
		7/27/9	OPTION continue on to Stourbridge Canal, dirverting up the Town Arm to Stourbridge and joining the Staffs and Worcs Canal at Stourton. Then return to Park Head Junc.
to Tipton Junc	24	3/3/3	Assume Dudley Tunnel open and your boat can pass under gauge at mouth.
		7.5/3/3	OPTION and the more likely route. If tunnel unnavigable you will have to return to Dudley Port Junc via Netherton Tunnel and then to Tipton via Factory Locks or return via Gower Branch to Bradeshall Junction and then to Tipton Junc. Which ever way at Tipton Junc follow sign for Stourbridge and end up in Black Country Museum. Allow a full day at Museum.
Old Main Line Canal
Tipton Junc	24
to Factory Junc	25	1/0/.5
to Deepfields Junc	26	1.5/0/1	Thro Coseley Tunnel
		2/0/2	OPTION from Deepfields cruise to Bradley BW Workshops along Wednesbury Oak Loop Line. Wind and return to Deepfields.
to Horseley Fields Junc	27	3/0/1	Pass Chillington Wharf an Interchange basin still in water with shed still over basin
			OPTION continue from Horseley Fields to Wolverhampton down the 21 locks to Aldersley Junction on the Staffs & Worcs. Then return back up the locks again to Horseley. Hard work but you will travel through an area twice with countryside to main line railways and everything between, architecturally, industrially and archeologically.
Wyrley & Essington Canal or the Curly Wyrley
Horseley Fields Junction	27
to Birchills Junc	7	7/0/2	Services at Sneyd. At first straight but soon after Wednesfield lives up to it name
Walsall Canal
Birchills Junc	7		Large Supermarket nearby on site of old Power Station at Reedswood
to Walsall Junction	6	1/8/3	Past site of boatmans mission at top lock.Services
to Tame Valley Junc	5	7/0/2	Thro old indusrial area and new spine roads
to Ryders Green Junc again	11	1/8/2
to Pudding Green Junc again	12	1.25/0/3	You are by know a real BCN Veteran. Join the Main Line and head towards Birmingham and Bromford Junc again
Main Line Canal to Bromford Junc	13	.75/0/1	OPTION at Bromford go up the Spon Lane locks only to wind at the top and return to Bromford. Only if you must do every lock flight.
to Smethwick Junc again	14	2.25/0/1	Galton Tunnel under Engine Arm Aqueduct
to Western End Soho loop: Winson Green Junction	30	1/0/.45	OPTION cruise Soho Loop past Winson Green Prison and Hockley Port( Entire loop given Waypoint 28)
to Rotten Park Junction	31	.75/0/.05	Canal between Junctions straight as a die.
			OPTION cruise Icknield Port Loop past Rotten Park reservoir to Sandy Turn a junction with the Main Line having niether a signpost or waypoint number.(Entire Loop given Waypoint 29)
to Old Turn Junction	32	1.25/0/2	Thro the bit of modern Brum you see on the posters
			OPTION cruise Oozell Street Loop between towering apartment blocks back to Ladywood Junction (again no sign or waypoint)
			OPTION cruise thro brum with all off the new sites and bits of old brum still left. Gas Street Basin is on your right, a shadow of its former self with only a small community of boats left. Wind on the sharp bend as you enter the Worcs and B'ham canal.(BBC Studios over look this area in Mail Box Complex) Return to Old Turn.
Birmingham and Fazeley Canal
Old Turn Junction	32
to Aston Junction	2	1.5/13/4	Drops down between buildings and the tall ex GPO tower
			From Aston either return to Bordesley Junction via Ashted Locks or proceed down the Aston Flight of locks, both routes covered before. YOU HAVE RETURN TO WHERE YOU STARTED AND HAVE CRUISED THE BCN.