winja

Anyone know which boats will be heading south and when

I look forward to hearing from Woody 21 again, where have you got to Roland ?

Nansen, Enterprise and the second boat waiting to be sprinkled

although Nansen was at Anglesey Basin that day Didn't there used to be a centre wheelhouse ice breaker stationed at Pelsall ( I think it was named "Byrd" )

The Tug was Enterprise Not Nansen

Has it been Sold yet ?

Well Here goes 1 Hilton Main 2 Essington Wood 3 Bradley Hall (High Hill) 4 Ashmore Park 5 Pemm Colliery 6 Coppice Farm 7 Castle Bridge or Ashmore Wharf Colliery 8 Allens Rough Farm 9 Allens Rough 10 Spottlebrook or Oaks 11 Sneyd 12 Essington Farm 13 Springhill No 14 14 Springhill 15 Cannock Lodge 16 Norton Cannock No2 17 Yew Tree 18 Landywood 19 Broadway 20 Holly Bank 21 Essington Farm No2 22 Mr Parrys Pit

Wednesfield 1901 showing Lock Keepers Cottage in Well Lane, still pretty industrialised even then, but things could only get worse ....

According to "Cheslyn Hay Those Fleeting Years" it is the Nook Colliery and "The Terminal Basin of The Wyrley Branch"

Sh t I have got " The People of Essington" but couldn't get a copy of the other one Have been trying for years ... never mind it stopped me cheating

Nothings changed we used to get yobs shooting catapults ( is that how you spell it ? ) back in the 50's round the Coalpool area also Rough Wood, Devils Elbow etc .... by the way Tony where abouts is the Hornets Nest , I'll give that bit a miss next time I'm out

I had never heard of the Nook Colliery at Chelyn Hay either

You will have to cheat, are there any mines missing or is Mitre Colliery marked in wrong place. When trying to find Naboths Thingy I was surprised at how many pits there were, I lived for some years on Perry Hall Estate and never heard of Perry Hall or Castlebridge Collieries also the number of pits around Kitchen Lane and High Hill Essington not to mention Cheslyn Hay and Gt Wyrley WHICH BOOK ???????

I bet if it was still like that now there would be more than a few boy racers using the tow path as a racing track

Whats the betting it looks like a prefab when you find one !!!!!!!!! Where was Benjamin Wood Living in 1911 ? HOW DID BOTH ITEMS END UP TOGETHER ???

This is the view from Coalpool Bridge, the canal house I mentioned would have been close to where the people are fishing , this is 1999 and the house wasn't there then

Found this pic showing the Toll House ... it looks big enough to see ... HOW THE HELL DID I MISS IT

Sorry for unsharp photo but I had bought the camera for 6d from a jumble sale and was trying it out ... it shows (or doesn't as the case may be ) Tom Wood on Christopher James at Wednesfield he had dropped the loaded boats at the top lock and was coming back thro Wenesfield Stop to pick up the empties for us to take back to Lane Head ... this is about 1957 / 8 there is no sign of the toll house you mention on the out side so it must have been on the towpath side..... I'm trying very hard but I just can't remember it Roland I cant remember you ever going down the locks to the Weldless , so you must have started going down after I left ...Do you remember any of the following of your Dads crew Billy Dunn.... Stanley Moore .... Tommy Chapman .... Johny ? dont know his other name but he caught a fully loaded boat on the sill of the top lock and sunk it ( I bet Rol was pleased ) and David Webb (Webby) I remember you being at the yard at Lane Head, I think some of your friends used to come with you including a lad from "The United Kingdom" ?

Yes Here Marks the spot

Yes it was at the top of the locks at what is now Bentley Bridge .. it was built on a steep drop so that the front looked like a bungalow and the rear looked like a house with an upstairs and downstairs ( forgive me if I'm mistaken but wasn't there a similar building at Coalpool ?

It SHOULD still be there NOW

From another angle

Benjamin Wood was 71 in 1901 the census shows him working as a Lock keeper, he must have been pretty fit !!!! There was a Lock keeper living there in the 1950s but I think he only looked after the Locks from Wednesfield top to the Weldless Tube Works

Sorry my text has gone ... this is lock keepers cottage by Lock 4 on Bentley Canal next to Well Lane Bridge Wednesfield

It was on the Bentley canal by Well Lane Bridge, I'm prety sure Laurence Hogg has got a picture of it on his video " The Wyrley Route "