Birmingham and Fazeley Canal
Birmingham and Fazeley Canal History
1782
A canal was proposed which would connect the Wednesbury coal fields just north of Birmingham to the Coventry
Canal. The Trent & Mersey, Oxford and Coventry companies fully supported the proposal as the new route
would also be used to finally complete an unfinished portion of the Coventry Canal which was preventing a
through route from Manchester to London. However, the neighbouring Birmingham Canal company bitterly opposed
the scheme as it already had a lucrative coal carrying business in Wednesbury using its own Wednesbury
Canal.
The new canal was proposed to run from Wednesbury to Fazeley, the Coventry company agreed to
make a connection from the end of its existing line at Atherstone to Fazeley where it would meet the new canal.
The new company would then continue its line to a half way point between Fazeley and Fradley where the Trent
& Mersey Company would complete the connection to Fradley Junction. This rare multi-canal effort was known
as the Coleshill Agreement.
1783
Major battles were fought in Parliament, with the 4 companies involved in the Coleshill Agreement on one side
and the nearby Birmingham Canal Company on the other. In the end it was the Birmingham Company who won and it
took over the Coleshill Agreement.It proposed a route using the existing Wednesbury and Birmingham canals to
the centre of Birmingham and then a brand new canal would continue the route to Fazeley.
The new canal would need a long flight of over 20 locks to
climb down from the north eastern side of the Birmingham plateau with around
a dozen more locks spread throughout the rest of the journey to Fazeley.
The new route was named the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal and
the company took on the new name of "The Birmingham and Birmingham &
Fazeley Canal Company".
The eminent John Smeaton was appointed as engineer on the
new Birmingham & Fazeley route.
He was also employed to solve congestion problems on the
Birmingham Canal near the point where the Wednesbury Canal met it.
1789
The Birmingham & Fazeley was complete but through traffic was not yet possible as sections of the other
canals in the Coleshill Agreement were not ready. In particular, the lethargic Coventry Company had to be
cajoled into keeping its part of the agreement.
1790
The Coleshill Agreement was completed and the Birmingham & Fazeley was officially opened. Instantly it was
a roaring success in terms of boats passing through, boats could now travel from Birmingham to London or to the
north via the new route. Previously the only routeto London was via a long trek around Wolverhampton to the
river Severn (though other rival routes were being built) and then via the new Thames & Severn Canal. The
Coleshill Agreement shortened the route to London by 52 miles!
1794
The Birmingham and Birmingham & Fazeley Canal Company had the good sense to shorten its name. (The cost of
putting their logo on all their warehouses must have been costing a huge amount in paint alone)!! The company
went for the opposite extreme and renamed themselves BCN, which of course stands for Birmingham Canal
Navigations.
1799
The Warwick & Birmingham Canal opened connecting Warwick to the ever growing industrial areas of the
Midlands. The new route entered Birmingham on the south east side of the town, dropping through 6 locks into
the town centre at Digbeth Basin. At its terminus a short connecting arm named the Digbeth Branch was built
travelling just ½ a mile north west, up through 8 locks to join the Birmingham & Fazeley. Within a year the
Warwick & Birmingham Canal became part of a route to London which cut another amazing 89 miles off the
journey between London and the Black Country. This took a lot of traffic away from the canals in the Coleshill
Agreement though the new route made the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal even busier in central Birmingham.
1844
The BCN Company had a virtual monopoly of the waterways in the Black Country. As well as the Birmingham &
Fazeley, Birmingham Main Line, Walsall and Wednesbury canals, they also now owned the Wyrley & Essington
Canal and were soon to amalgamate with the Dudley Canal. Extensions were constantly being built and many
sections were modernised.
As the 1840's went on an amalgamation with a railway company became unavoidable. In most
areas of Britain railway companies were either forcing the closure of canals by taking away their trade or were
simply buying the canals and closing them down. However, this was not the case in Birmingham and the BCN
actually grew and improved under railway control. The take-over deal allowed the canal company to keep control
until the waterways began to make a loss.
While most canals in the country were suffering from lack of boats, the BCN were having
problems due to too many boats. The Farmers Bridge Flight in central Birmingham was completely overloaded, in
March 1841 4,877 boats past through the flight. The lock flight had been built with duplicate locks (a parallel
flight) to allow traffic to move in both directions but even this was not enough. As well as the intended coal
from Wednesbury the flight was serving through boats from Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall, Worcester, Coventry,
the Potteries and London.
The company opened the Tame Valley Canal and Birmingham & Warwick Junction Canal to
provide a bypass for boats using the northern BCN. Both of these connected with the Birmingham & Fazeley at
Salford Junction. Following this the Birmingham & Fazeley carried fewer boats but the BCN as a whole
continued to make a healthy profit for a further 25 years.
1868
With trade beginning to drop the railway company (London & North Western) took control of the BCN. The
reasons for the loss of profits were numerous but the major factor was the decline in coal as the Black Country
mines were becoming exhausted. Also, new factories etc. were not being built on the congested sites around the
canals but along new roads and near to the railways. The railway company did not seek to close down the
Birmingham & Fazeley Canal however, they kept it open and well maintained. The BCN continued to hold its
own against all other forms of transport though the World Wars and the decline of Black Country coal slowly but
surely reduced the canal's trade. Following WW2 the whole of the BCN was nationalised, goods were still being
carried on the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal but there were certainly no traffic congestion problems any
more.
1966
Coal carriage ended leaving only a small amount of other trade on the canal. By this time a small amount of
pleasure craft had begun to use the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal.By this time much of the inner-city sections
were run down, warehouses were derelict, formerly busy arms were closed and blocked off and the canal was often
full of rubbish.
1968
The infamous 1968 Transport Act listed the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal as a "cruiseway" which meant it would
be kept open for pleasure craft but not developed for commercial use. At this time there was still a small
amount of commercial carrying though this ended during the early 1970's.
1970's
The country's first ever inner-city canal redevelopment took place on the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal at the
top of the Farmers Bridge Flight. Cambrian Wharf was cleaned up and stripped of its derelict buildings. A new
pub was opened and moorings were created for pleasure boats.
1998
The Birmingham & Fazeley Canal survives today though the landscape around the canal has dramatically
changed since it was built in the 1780's. Farmers Bridge flight is now hidden among old warehouses, new office
blocks and high bridges. The duplicate lock flight is now closed but the flight is well used by pleasure
boats.
The towpath had always been strictly out of bounds to the general public in working days,
access points were not well known and the canal in general was hidden from public view. During the early 1990's
the towpath was re-paved and access points were clearly sign posted.The towpath now provides an excellent
inner-city traffic-free route for walkers, joggers and cyclists. The northern sections of the canal are much
more rural and the mixture of countryside, historic town--scape and modern day city-scape provide a very
interesting boat ride or walk.
Back to top
Birmingham and Fazeley Canal Route
The Birmingham & Fazeley Canal begins at Cambrian Wharf in Birmingham City Centre. On
foot this can be reached by walking a few yards north on the towpath from the bridge on King Edward's
Road.
The original route of the Birmingham (main line) Canal also used to pass through Cambrian
Wharf, swinging north east for a few hundred yards to its terminus at Newhall Basin in the town centre.
However, the line to Newhall Basin has long since been filled in and the Birmingham Canal
now ends where the Birmingham & Fazeley begins. Cambrian Wharf was the first ever inner-city
redevelopment of a canal side area. It was refurbished during the early 1970's.
Old closed off areas were opened out, warehouses and buildings were restored and a new pub
with a canal theme was built. The area proved very popular and paved the way for many inner-city canal schemes
which are currently under development in the mid 1990's.
Just past Cambrian Wharf the long Farmers Bridge lock flight begins its climb down from the
Birmingham plateau. Thirteen narrow locks head north east, usually hidden well away from the view of the
general public but now accessible along the re-paved towpath. There was once a duplicate lock flight at Farmers
Bridge, these have since been blocked off though most of them can still be seen. High walls, massive old
warehouses, and new office blocks surround the canal, putting it into a deep and sometimes dark concrete
cutting.
At one point a tower block sits right over the canal, a lock is hidden in the gloom beneath
the foundations. In another spot the massive wide arch of Snow Hill railway bridge covers the canal in what
seems almost like a cavern.Famous buildings also surround the canal along this stretch, the new International
Indoor Arena is close to Cambrian Wharf, the Science Museum is at Newhall Bridge and Birmingham's Telecom Tower
(a copy of the much larger one in London) stands high over the canal during the whole descent.
All the way down the flight the remains of old basins and arms can be detected by looking
out for humps in the towpath. Beneath these humps were openings through which boats past, sometimes into
covered loading areas within buildings, some into long branches stretching away from the main line. One such
branch was Whitmore's Arm which headed north east from a junction between locks 7 & 8. William Whitmore
& Sons were Ironfounders who have big connections with the history of canals.
It was here that a unique boat lift was made for the Somersetshire Coal Canal - although
subsequently never used. The company also created a machine for weighing boats. The science museum has been
built on the first part of the arm nearest to the main line though the towpath bridge survives.Behind the
science museum the arm's line can be traced from George Street and Charlotte Street. Both of these roads have
humps in them where they cross the arm and an old warehouse stands between the two roads. Having past under
George Street the arm turned south west into the triangle created by George Street, Graham Street and Newhall
Hill.
Back on the main line Farmers Bridge Locks stretch for about ¾ of a mile in total. A level
section runs for a further ½ mile to Aston Junction. Here, the Digbeth Branch leaves heading south east while
the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal continues north under a cast iron footbridge made at Horseley (of course) in
1828. Aston Junction can be accessed on foot from Aston Road and Mill Street.
The short Digbeth Branch connects the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal to the Grand Union
Canal (formerly the Warwick & Birmingham Canal). The branch contains a flight of 6 locks, a large basin and
two short tunnels, one created by numerous railway sidings overhead. Quite a lot of the branch has recently
been redeveloped, old building were removed and the towpath rebuilt. Newer, "eye-pleasing" industrial units
have been built alongside the branch.
Immediately after Aston Junction are the 11 Aston locks, 8 together in the first ¼ of a mile
and then 3 more about ¼ of a mile further on.The canal is more open here with new roads all around rather than
the tall buildings of the city centre. Access to the lock flight can be gained from Rocky Lane (B4144). From
the bottom lock it is just ½ a mile further to Salford Junction.
On route the canal passes 3 former arms which led into factories. There is a park near the
canal at Salford Junction but it is on the far side of the A5127 which runs parallel to the canal. This area
was probably once quite rural, a large open space, nothing but grassland - just perfect for Spaghetti Junction!
Motorways now criss-cross overhead in a tangle of concrete while the Tame Valley Canal leaves to the west and
the Birmingham & Warwick Junction Canal leaves to the south east. The easiest access in terms of parking
and walking can be gained from the bridge on Long Acre (B4132).
After the junctions of Salford and Spaghetti the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal heads east
past power stations and industry while jammed between the M6 and the A38. One industrial building completely
straddles the canal for about 150 yards and at Bromford a large junction crosses right above the canal.
At Tyburn the A38 crosses over on Butlers Bridge, factories on the canal side try to cut the
waterway from view though the Cincinnati Works have opened their grounds up with landscaped lawns running to
the water's edge. At lunch time in summer the workers picnic alongside the waterway. Shortly after Chester Road
(A452) Minworth Top Lock is reached. Over the next mile 2 more locks are past, the bottom one being close to
another A38 crossing point at Cater's Bridge.
Access to this lock can be gained from Dicken's Bridge on Oakhayes Crescent in Minworth. A
mile further on is Curdworth though the village is hidden from view as the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal
enters a short cutting followed by the 57 yards long Curdworth Tunnel. On the far side is open country with the
urbanism and industrialism of Birmingham left behind for good. The canal swings to the north with nothing but
farm fields all around. Only the 11 locks and a few country lanes crossing over on humped bridges break the
isolation. Near the top of the descent (at Marston Lane Bridge) the M42 swings close for a short time.
A mile further on is a tiny settlement named Bodymoor Heath which has a pub by the side of
lock 9. Another ½ mile on is a rare swing bridge though it is usually kept open. Alongside the bottom lock is a
large area of water made up by flooded gravel pits. This area is among the nicest on the whole canal
network.
Access can be gained to the lower sections of Curdworth Flight from Broadmoor Heath Bridge
close to the penultimate lock. After the bottom lock there is nearly 2 more miles of isolation before the
fairly busy A4091 runs right alongside the west bank of the route.Shortly after the main road appears, the
canal comes to one of the strangest structures anywhere on the inland waterways system, Drayton Manor
Footbridge.
Constructed in a Gothic style, it has twin battlement towers on either side, inside of each
is a spiral stairway up to the bridge which crosses the cut just above head height. The whole structure is
painted white and gives the feeling from a distance that you are approaching a mighty fortress or Spanish
castle.
It seems that no one remembers why it was ever built! Right along side it is the second (and
last) swing bridge on the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal which (like the first) serves a farmer's field.
Straight after the footbridge the canal begins to see houses and then a massive warehouse looms alongside just
before the Roman Watling Street (old A5) crosses overhead - the canal has now reached Fazeley.Immediately after
Thomas Telford's busy road bridge is Fazeley Junction where the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal
unofficially.
The Coventry Canal heads off east (towards Coventry) and west (towards Fradley) though
officially the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal continues to the west along what we now call the Coventry Canal.
This section was the part of the Coventry Canal which the Birmingham Canal company agreed to build as part of
the Coleshill Agreement in 1783. (For details of this section, see the Coventry Canal).
Back to top
| 