Staffordshire Worcestershire Canal
The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal (English: Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal) is a Narrowboat - Canal in the Midlands in England . The canal begins in Stourport-on-Severn in Worcestershire and ends 74 km in Staffordshire at the junction of Haywood Junction in Great Haywood / Staffordshire with the Trent and Mersey Canal .
history
Construction phase
James Brindley was the chief canal engineer for this canal, which was part of his plan to build a canal cross ( Grand Cross ) in England between the terminus Liverpool in the northwest and London in the southeast and between Bristol in the southwest and Hull in the northeast.
A parliamentary law passed on May 14, 1766 authorized the construction of the canal. With this the company was the owners of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. It was given the right to claim an initial amount of £ 70,000 from its shareholders and an additional £ 30,000 if the initial amount was found to be insufficient.
The construction of the canal was finished in 1771 and traffic was opened in 1772. Although the calculated construction costs were initially significantly exceeded, the canal was an immediate commercial success. This was mainly due to pottery from the so-called "Potteries" (today: Stoke-on-Trent ), which were shipped south to Gloucester and Bristol. In the opposite direction, goods were mainly transported from the Black Country , the industrial area around Birmingham, to Stoke-on-Trent.
development
Another parliamentary act dated June 9, 1790, allowed the Canal Company to improve the connection to the Severn at Stourport. There were four inland port basins, which could also be approached by the Severn-Trows, the type of freighter that was mainly used on the Severn, via two wider locks. In the port basin, the goods were then reloaded from the Trows to the smaller and considerably narrower narrowboats for further transport on the canal.
competition
Traffic and freight decreased particularly in the southern section of the canal when the Worcester-Birmingham Canal opened in 1815. The latter was on a more direct route between Birmingham and Bristol. In order to remain competitive, the opening times of the locks were initially extended step by step, until the locks were finally operational around the clock in 1830. Another setback was the opening of the Shropshire Union Canal, which ran from Autherley Junction to Chester. With that, the northern part of the canal also lost a large part of the freight traffic to Great Haywood on the Trent-Mersey Canal . Except for a 500 m long section between Alderley Junction and Autherley Junction, the canal was practically fallow. There the Staffordshire-Worcestershire Canal was and is the necessary link between the Birmingham Canal Network (BCN) and the Shropshire Union Canal. In order to generate sufficient income at all, the freight rates on this short section were continuously increased, until finally the Birmingham Canal Company and the Birmingham & Liverpool Junction Company threatened to close their canals by means of aqueducts across the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal connect. In view of the risk of losing the income from the last profitable canal section, the management decided to lower the freight rates again.
Decline
Even under the impression of competition with the railway ( see also: Earl of Dudley's Railway ), the Staffordshire-Worcestershire Canal Company nevertheless remained economically successful and paid dividends to shareholders until the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, with profits since decreased noticeably around 1860. The sewer company remained independent until the nationalization of the sewer network in 1947. In the last years of self-employment, the main freight traffic consisted of coal transport between the coal mine in Cannock and the coal-fired power station at Stourport. The latter ended operation in 1949. After that, there was only commercial freight traffic on the 500 m long section between Aldersley Junction and Autherley Junction.
restoration
In 1959 the canal was to be abandoned. However, a group of canal enthusiasts organized into the Staffordshire-Worcestershire Canal Society kept the canal from closing. In 1968 the canal was again classified as a regular inland waterway and a year later - compared to German law - it was listed as a historical monument. This ultimately led to the fact that historical buildings and canal facilities were preserved and repaired.
Connected canals and waterways
The canal is connected to the following other waterways:
- Severn at Stourport
- Stourbridge Canal at Stourton Junction
- BCN Main Line at Aldersley Junction
- Shropshire Union Canal at Autherley Junction
- Hatherton Canal , (a derelict canal awaiting recommissioning) at Hatherton Junction
The southern half of the canal forms a segment of the Stourport Ring , a circuit west and south of Birmingham that is popular among boat tourists.
The northern half of the canal forms a segment of the Four Counties Ring , also a popular circuit west and north of Birmingham.
