Content © Staffordshire &
Worcestershire Canal Society
1959-
Map © Sparrow Publishing.
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21/05/2009
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The Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal Society (SWCS) is one of the longest established and most respected canal societies in the country. Its remit is essentially to protect and promote the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal (SWC) for the benefit and enjoyment of all.
The origins of the Society lie in the period after the second world war when leisure time became a new innovation and the potential of our canal system was not recognised then by the government, who in a report of the Bowes Committee in 1958, suggested that the future of the SWC should be as a water channel with all lock gates removed.
The Society was formed in 1959 to prevent this happening and as the constitution reads,
“The Aims of the Society shall be to advocate the development and maintenance of the waterway and the promotion of the waterway to its fullest uses in conjunction with other Midland Navigation”
Much of its, successful campaigning for greater use of our local waterways has been with the associated navigation, i.e. the Stourbridge and Dudley Canals, and it was delighted to see these navigation included in the Cruiseway category in the Waterways Act of 1968, to be available for leisure purposes for all time. It was also responsible for getting the whole length of the SWC designated a ‘Conservation Area’, the first of its kind to recognise the historical importance of a canal.
It will be seen that much of the work of the Society is to ensure the total use of the canal by as many different users as possible, certainly not just ‘boaters’ and along the waterway it has installed lock name boards, a boundary post, finger posts at junctions and mooring facilities at several suitable points, to continue the process of retaining and adding to our heritage.
Recently it has started out on installing traditional seating in the form of old
lock beams at busy towpath sites to mark the achievements of its past members; at
present there are about 300 active members each one receiving a copy of the in-
Other activities include arranging Spring, Summer and Autumn gatherings on the canal, constant campaigning, with oversight to ensure the correct development of the canal and it environs, and supporting other waterway organisations in their events.
Members are distributed all over the world and new members are always welcome, if only to show support for the important conservation work that the Society does. Single Membership only costs £13 per year and an application form can be downloaded from this site.
Alan Smith – Vice President
Celebrating 50 Years 1959 -