|
… an
introduction
Prior to the industrial
revolution transport had been mostly confined to packhorses and wagons, or
unreliable river navigations that despite rudimentary modifications and lockage
were still at the mercy of the weather for much of the year.
The advent of the industrial
age exposed the need for a system of mass transportation to satiate the demands
of the new order. It had to be reliable, efficient and cheap. But above all it
had to be on a huge scale. Widely regarded as the inspiration for a frenetic
period of waterways construction now referred to as ‘Canal Mania’ the
Bridgewater Canal owes its existence to Francis Egerton 3rd Duke of Bridgewater
who, together with his agent John Gilbert and millwright James Brindley
sought to solve the problem of transporting coal from his father’s mines at
Worsley near Manchester. The result was a lock-free canal, the first section of
which opened in 1761. The Bridgewater Canal proved a fantastic success
and other canals rapidly followed.
The name of Brindley was
subsequently widely associated with many early canals. It was he who proposed a
visionary ‘Grand Cross’ scheme of interconnecting the rivers Mersey, Humber,
Severn and Thames by means of artificial waterways, a scheme that approached
fulfilment in 1777 with the completion of the Trent & Mersey Canal.
The Staffordshire &
Worcestershire Canal (SWC) is the brainchild of the energetic Brindley. It runs
for 46½ miles between Great Haywood, where it meets with the Trent & Mersey
Canal, and Stourport, where it locks into the River Severn. 31 of its 43 locks
raise it some 292 feet from the river to a 10-mile summit between Compton Lock
and Gailey before the remaining 12 locks lower the line to Great Haywood
Junction.
The canal was built using
Brindley’s contour method in which the waterway wherever possible followed the
natural level or contour of the land. This method kept navigational artefacts
such as locks, tunnels and aqueducts to a minimum but did mean that the overall
distance travelled was greater than necessary, with corresponding additional
costs. Some half a century later the engineer Thomas Telford almost
single-handedly redefined canal construction by his brash confidence in taking
his canals in as direct a route as possible. Consequently the overall distances
travelled were reduced dramatically, as epitomised by his modifications around
the Birmingham Canal Navigations where, for example, the distance between
Birmingham and Wolverhampton via Brindley’s original twisting course was reduced
by about seven miles by Telford’s ‘New Main Line’. Simplistic comparisons
between the two great men are, however, not entirely appropriate since the
earlier construction was of a time when large centres of population were not so
common and the convoluted route allowed outlying settlements access to the new
transport medium which they otherwise would not have enjoyed.
Prior to the arrival of the
SWC the confluence of the River Stour and the River Severn was denoted by the
diminutive hamlet of Lower Mitton. With the advent of the Staffordshire &
Worcestershire canal the hamlet witnessed a dramatic expansion; the burgeoning
new development took the name of Stourport after an alehouse in the old village
and this was later extended to include reference to both rivers as Stourport
On Severn. Stourport is thus one of a handful of towns that owes its very
existence to the arrival of a canal.
From the time the canal’s
enabling Act was passed in May 1766 construction was rapid. Few major
obstructions were encountered and the line was complete within six years. It was
an immediate financial success offering a direct route from the northwest to the
south via the industrial Midlands, a role it exploited almost undisturbed until
the arrival of the Birmingham & Liverpool Junction Canal (now part of the
Shropshire Union network) in 1835. The newcomer offered an alternate, more
direct, route to the River Mersey from Autherley, where it met with the SWC and
the northern section of the SWC beyond Autherley suffered particularly in
consequence. The Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal Company responded to this
with crippling tolls on the short stretch between Autherley and Aldersely, where
the line via Wolverhampton accessed the Birmingham Canal Navigations, and it was
only the threat of other companies conspiring to build an aqueduct as a
by-pass that the Company relaxed its grip. The situation remained unsettled and
the threats were repeated over the next few years with the SWC Company
inevitably yielding each time.
The power station at
Stourport was instrumental in the SWC remaining profitable until well into the
20th Century and a major cargo was coal from the pits at Cannock. The
closure of the power station in 1949 was a serious blow and although commercial
carrying continued on the Autherley-Aldersley section until the 1960s the
canal’s trading days were effectively over.
SWC was classified under the
Transport Act 1968 as a ‘cruiseway’ and in 1969 the entire length was declared a
Conservation Area. As a result many of the canal’s historical artefacts have
survived and in some cases undergone substantial improvement. Plans for
Stourport include a major regeneration of the riverside area and some of the
ancient canal basins are being reclaimed.
Some of the canal’s other
artefacts are particularly noteworthy. Bratch Locks are a glorious
example of the canal builder’s skills and are unique on Britain’s waterways.
They comprise a set of 3 individual locks that are not a ‘staircase’ but are set
so close together that it is impossible for boats to pass between the locks. The
secret of the operation is the side pounds. Tixall Wide, at the northern
end, is an idiosyncratic solution to the local landowner’s condition that his
view must not be blighted by a canal. Clifford Thomas, owner of Tixall Hall (now
lost) insisted the canal be disguised so instead the line here more resembles a
lake than a channel. The northern end of the summit level is marked by Gailey
Roundhouse. Built around the 1800s and formerly used by the lock keeper the
example at Gailey is the last of these distinctive buildings to remain intact on
the SWC. It is now a shop.
At Pratt’s Wharf (Bridge
10A) a single lock once enabled boats to access the River Stour and the
Wilden Ironworks. Negotiating the Stour in flood, or ‘going down the brook’ as
the boaters called it, must have been a terrifying experience. The lock closed
around 1949.
Stourton Junction sees the
Stourbridge Canal spur off from the SWC via four locks on its journey to the
Birmingham Canal Navigations. The Town Arm of the Stourbridge Canal is
now home to Stourbridge Navigation Trust (SNT) and Fellows, Morton &
Clayton (Trips) Ltd.
To the north of
Wolverhampton the Hatherton Branch once linked with the Cannock Extension Canal,
and hence the Birmingham Canal Navigations, via Churchbridge Locks. It is
currently undergoing restoration.
Near Stafford, the River
Sow was connected around 1806 via a lock and a short stretch of canal
directly into the town of Stafford itself. Long abandoned, there are proposals
to restore this stretch. A short distance to the south of the Sow, the
Hazelstrine Branch was small section connecting with a brickworks. It is now
home to Stafford Boat Club.
The Staffordshire &
Worcestershire Canal passes almost exclusively through rural or semi-rural
landscape; even when it broaches Wolverhampton it does so by merely skirting
around the edges. It is a splendid example of an early canal and is arguably one
of the prettiest in the country. This, together with its easy access to the
River Severn and the rest of the system, makes it very popular both for boaters
and towpath users alike.
Graham
Fisher MBE |
