Benutzer:Boscastle/Staffordshire und Worcestershire-Kanal
Der Worcester-und-Birmingham-Kanal ist ein Narrowboatkanal, der Birmingham und Worcester in England verbindet. Er beginnt im Süden am Severn und endet im Gas Street Basin in Birmingham. Er weist eine Länge von 47 km und 58 Schleusen auf, darunter 30 in der Tardebigge Schleusenstaffel, eine der größten in Europa. Der Kanal überwindert einen Höheunterschied von Worcester nach Birmingham in Höhe von 130 m.
Geschichte
In 1791 erlaubte ein Parlamentsakt der privatfinanzierten Kanalgesellschaft £180,000 aus 1.800 Anteilen zu einem Preis von £100 für den Bau des Kanals zu erlösen. Weiter £70,000 durften unter den Anteilseignern oder durch Kredite erhoben werden, wenn weiteres Kapital erforderlich würde. Der Kanalgesellschaft wurde ebenso gestattet, den Landbesitzern am Kanal zu erlauben, Kanalhäfen und Warenhäuser zu errichten und zu unterhalten, und dort wo es die Landbesitzer eigene Aktivitäten vermissen ließen, selbst diese Einrichtungen zu schaffen, wo sie gebraucht wurden. Es waren bies 1815 mehrere weitere Parlamentsakte erforderlich, um den Kapitalbedarf für die entgültige Errichtung des Kanals beizubringen.
Der Bau des Kanals wurde überwacht von Josiah Clowes und John Snape. Die Kanalbauingeneure wechselten häufig unter ihnen waren Thomas Cartwright, John Woodhouse und William Crosley.
Construction of a barge-width (14 ft) canal began in 1792 from the Birmingham end, but progressed slowly. Selly Oak was reached in October 1795 and Kings Norton Junction by May 1796, meeting the new Stratford-upon-Avon Canal which had by then reached Hockley Heath. By March 1797 the 2726 yard (2493 m) Wasthill tunnel was open and the canal was trading to Hopwood. In 1807 the canal reached Tardebigge without the use of locks. The cost of building Vorlage:Convert locks was too great so the 56 locks down to Worcester were built to the narrow Vorlage:Convert specification, with the final two locks connecting to the Severn in Worcester m ing Vorlage:Convert to allo m river craft access to Diglis Basin. ,
The final 16 miles (26 km) was opened in December 1815. Plans to construct basins at Lowesmore and Diglis were abandoned.
The Dudley Canal Line No 2 was built through the Lapal Tunnel to meet the canal at Selly Oak in 1798. The tunnel, after repeated collapses was finally abandoned in 1917 leaving a short stretch navigable between Selly Oak and a brick works at California until 1953, after which it was drained and filled in.
A major user of the canal was the Cadbury chocolate factory at Bournville.
Birmingham terminus
For twenty years direct connection to the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) was prevented by the Worcester Bar, a physical barrier at Gas Street Basin, Birmingham designed so that the BCN would not lose water to the Worcester and Birmingham. Cargoes had to be laboriously manhandled between boats on either side. In 1815 an Act allowed the creation of a stop lock and the bar was breached. The Worcester and Birmingham raised their water level by six inches to minimise water loss and today the two pairs of lock gates have been removed. There were separate toll offices either side of the bar for the two canal companies. The bar still exists, with boats moored to both sides of it.
The commercial terminus in Birmingham was Worcester Wharf, a large complex extending from the bar along Bridge Street, Gas Street and Granville Street. Part of it now forms a water front to The Mailbox shopping and residential complex.
Heute
The canal is popular for leisure and has a number of narrowboat hire centres at Alvechurch, Worcester, Tardebigge, Dunhampstead and Stoke Prior.
The canal forms part of the Stourport Ring, which is one of the popular cruising rings for holiday boating.
Weblinks
- Route Map from canaljunction.com
- Birmingham City Council canal pages
- [http://www.catshill.com/wbcs/about.htm Worcester & Birmingham Canal Society
