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Team “The Workers” Virtual BCN Challenge 2020 Cruise Log


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We headed on to Bentley Canal at Wednesfield Junction. Technically about 100 metres of this canal still exists. It was another later addition to the network to connect the Wyrley & Essington with the remainder of the BCN network, very straight and running broadly west to east while descending from the Wolverhampton to the Walsall levels. The ten locks were at the western end descending through iron works and chemical plants never too far away from the (mostly) Midland Railway’s Walsall to Wolverhampton railway line. That’s what used to cross the Wyrley & Essington Canal where the reflective arch now sits. Remarkably there’s another railway in a tunnel directly below the same spot.

 

For the fan of urban canals the loss of the Bentley is significant because it seemed to encapsulate so much of the character of the BCN in it’s short length.

 

The Bentley closed a decade before I was born so for me that essence of the BCN was in seeing the balance beams of the upper flight at Perry Barr heading away up the hill picked out in black and white against the greys and browns of a part industrial, part-derelict and part suburban landscape under a warm summer evening sky while on our way to somewhere more salubrious on the M6.

 

Even in places like Perry Barr and Oldbury that still exist the environment has changed and doubtless if the Bentley was still there it wouldn’t be quite the same canal we lament. Think of a Star City with locks. Maybe it’s not such a bad thing to have some of it preserved in memory. A late built canal that will remain forever young.

 

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On Capt Ahab’s Canal Hunter episode he detects water running in a culvert beneath the bed at the lower end of the canal. I suspect he knew it was there all along because if I can find the following photo I am sure he did.


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The eastern end of the canal joins the Anson Branch about a quarter of a mile north of that branch’s junction with the Walsall Canal at a place called Anson Branch Junction. There’s a Ronseal wood preservative plant nearby (maybe).

 

We had no time for the branch as we’re heading down the Walsall to our overnight mooring and you’ll be pleased to know I’ve someone to call on this evening. Although I had a shock earlier in the week when another team nearly beat me to it. 


 

 

Edited by Captain Pegg
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3 hours ago, tree monkey said:

What that fine gentleman Mr Pegg fails to mention whilst he is chatting to all his interesting mates, is the down and dirty side of the BCN, I must admit to feeling a little used here, we picked up a blade full at the narrows at somewhere called Horseley Fields narrows, no discussion, no debate he literally threw me in.

Anyway here's the proof

 

 

 

 

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Anyway I'm off to find a dry towel and a drink

Well apparently on top of the indignity of being hoofed into the cut to drag this load out I should have described in detail the actual contents just because that Rose woman has demanded it, some sort of challenge, at least that what I've been told, anyway just to keep the nag happy...

 

1, life ring, useless things tbh, I mean the remains of the chap who was still hanging onto this one didn't seem to find it that useful anyway.

 

2, massive, massive, massive blue tarp, bloody things should be banned if you ask me, this was was tied really tightly around the previously mentioned chaps torso and it still got wrapped around the blade.

 

3, at least 2 cheap shirts, obviously boaters because they still stank of diesel. 

 

4, 2x excel coal bags, oddly they each had a lump of concrete in with old wellys set in it.

 

5, lots of that nasty cheap polypropylene rope, terrible stuff to tie knots in.

 

6, a very large, very grey bra, this has become a bit wierd tbh, every bladeful I clear there is a very large, very grey bra.

 

7, an oddly specific book about how to discipline a rusty beagle.

 

8, an oddly specific book about how to discipline muppets

 

9, lots of shiny cheap faux leather wear and a studded dog collar.

 

10, a chimney sweep brush thingy with a lot of mucky white fur stuck on it.

 

Anyway I'm off for a drink

 

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Tonight we’ve moored at Toll End Junction on the Walsall Canal. There is little remaining trace of the actual junction but it’s evident from the profile of the offside bank of the main line, which still forms a winding hole, and a pipe bridge over the former course of the Toll End Communication Canal. The winding hole is visible in the photo below and marks the location of the junction which was on the left hand bank.


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Photo credit: Richard Vince from Geograph

 

Once we’re tied up I’m off to follow up a lead I’ve deduced based on a vague name Mrs Lomas gave me. That first involves walking back up the canal nearly a mile and a mile to Bull’s Bridge at Moxley.

 

When I get there I call up 1851 and head along Bull Lane to find the home of James Neal. I know he’ll be there because it’s census day and he’s recorded as being at ‘Moorcroft’ with wife Ann, two sons and two daughters. Mr Neal and his eldest son both have their occupation listed as “Boatman”. Moorcroft appears to be a group of houses around a road junction and as I approach I start to wonder how I’m going to find the right house. I’m pretty conspicuous and I then think about what I am going to say to him even if I do find the right house. I haven’t really thought this through in my haste. I can’t tell him Mrs Lomas sent me because she won’t be born for another 50 years.

 

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So reluctantly I head back toward the canal. When I get there a boat has tied up near the iron works. On seeing me the boatman calls to me and asks sharply what I’m doing on the towpath. I remember it’s still the past and I shouldn’t be here so I tell him I’m with a boat at Toll End and have been to see a boatman called James Neal but we wasn’t there.

 

“Well he won’t be, he hasn’t been there for years” says the boatman. Puzzled, I check the Automat Sehnsucht discreetly to see if I called up the right year and find it says 1881. “So you know him?” I ask the boatman. “Yes. He’s my wife’s uncle. I think he were the first o’ the family on to the boats, came up from Banbury. Lots of ‘em followed ‘im. And they followed him up ‘ere too. A bit like me I guess. He’s still about, boating.”

 

I ask the boatman his name and he says “Mr William to you, son”. “Bill Grantham to them that know me.”

 

 

Edited by Captain Pegg
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So, thanks to Mr Grantham I have some useful information. It’s time for some research as once again I’ve encountered someone with a name that’s still known around the canals today.

 

In the 1881 census William Grantham is recorded with his wife Ellen, one year old son George, and nephew Henry aged 7 on board a boat in the parish of All Saints, Moxley. From the census description it is highly likely this is at Bull’s Bridge. His nephew is presumably present to help work the boat and would mostly be engaged leading the horse. It is not clear if Mr Grantham is employed or working on his own account but boat registration records tend toward his being an employed boatman.

 

His place of birth is transcribed as Lower Heaven, Nottinghamshire as that is what the written entry appears to say. Not surprisingly this is an error. He was actually born in the Grantham family’s original home village of Lower Heyford on the south Oxford Canal either in late 1854 or early 1855.

 

He married Ellen Neal in Banbury in 1877 and by 1885 had registered two boats of his own at Banbury - Britannia and Hannah - that he worked on the Oxford Canal with his family and with the assistance of his brothers.

 

He died in 1921 and was probably a boatman right up until that time.

 

Through his son William born in 1882 he was the grandfather of Bill Grantham, Doris Collins and Sarah Franks. All well known boating folk from the 20th century.

 

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The water looks a bit low this morning. Wonder why?

 

Work will be delaying our start time again today but we have to set off in time to get to the pub. It’s at Tipton so only an hour or two away from here. Does anyone know the licensing laws in 1841?

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It looks like the Beerhouse Act of 1840 will be in force which allows the selling of alcohol as long as the seller is resident in the premises used.  No mention of opening times in the Act though.  The first Beerhouse Act in 1830 appears to have abolished tax on beer and extended opening hours allowing opening from 4am to 10pm so we should be ok.

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32 minutes ago, Captain Pegg said:

The water looks a bit low this morning. Wonder why?

 

Work will be delaying our start time again today but we have to set off in time to get to the pub. It’s at Tipton so only an hour or two away from here. Does anyone know the licensing laws in 1841?

Its a bank holiday tomorrow, pubs will be shut.  Oh hang on VE day has not happened yet, I'm confused.

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35 minutes ago, john6767 said:

Its a bank holiday tomorrow, pubs will be shut.  Oh hang on VE day has not happened yet, I'm confused.

Bank holiday, not a pub holiday. The clue’s in the name. Not sure public holidays existed at all in 1841. And anyway we’re going there today.

 

JP

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So it’s another lunchtime start but thanks to Rob-M’s research we know the pub will still be open when we arrive. Our first stop today will be at the Hen & Chickens, Canalside, Tipton.

 

We set off along the grandly named Toll End Communication Canal passing disused mine workings and behind some houses, it feels as though we’re a little remote from the surroundings and that feeling is compounded when we find that Tipton Cemetery adjoins the southern bank of the canal.

 

We’ve worked up four locks, the last two having a right angled bend between them to facilitate a junction with what was originally the Tipton Green branch of the Birmingham Canal but now forms part of the through link. A remaining section of the dead end branch has already been lost.

 

We’re at the site of what was the Horseley Iron Works. You may be familiar with that name on wrought iron canal bridges and thought they must have been made in Wolverhampton. Well this place is called Horseley too and it’s here they were made until the company moved in 1865. Such bridges have a near iconic shape and are symbolic of canals not just in Birmingham but beyond. Here’s two well known ones.

 

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Three more locks bring us up to the Birmingham level. We’ve been travelling in 1890 but as we leave the last lock we dial up 1820 on the Automat Sehnsucht. We’re about to cross the site where the Birmingham Canal’s new main line will cut through the Tipton Green branch in a decade’s time and we don’t want to get caught between a boat and its horse in crossing.

 

Once we’ve ‘crossed’ the new main line we dial up 1957. We’re heading up the last three locks of the Tipton Green canal and are between the houses as though we’re on a local street. The top two locks are part of a streetscape and possibly more integrated with their surroundings than anywhere else on the canal system. It’s a strange but enjoyable feeling but I sense we’re being watched.
 

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The whole scene has been redeveloped today although the line of the canal remains and a footpath passes directly through a lock chamber on the closed line, reflecting the function of the former canal as a thoroughfare.

 

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We’ve now arrived at Tipton Green Junction, time to tune in to 1841 and head for the pub.

 

 

 

Edited by Captain Pegg
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Whilst at Tipton Green I take the opportunity to visit 1933 and take a look at the new Tipton Public Baths which have just been built between Queens Road and Manor Road, not that far from the canal side.  As a youngster I used to visit these baths for a swim when we had a stop over at Coronation Gardens.  The baths were demolished in 2014 to make way for a modern care home.

 

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Picture from: www.historywebsite.co.uk/articles/Tipton/20thCentury.htm

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Today I’ve got the story sorted ahead of the visit. We’re mostly going for a drink and a nose. But first we need to recalibrate, it’s 1851 rather than 1841. It’s good to check research.

 

The Hen & Chickens is at the side of the canal on the other side of Owen St bridge to the Fountain Inn. It’s quiet when we arrive, it’s the middle of a working day, and a working day in this day and age is a lot longer than it is today. I remark on it to the barman, “you should come back later” he responds, with a hint that he didn’t just mean it would be loud.

 

There’s more noise coming from elsewhere in the pub than the bar, causing the barman to remark that “there’s sixteen of us living ‘ere.” When I ask if the barman is part of the family he tells me he’s lodging there and helping out in between jobs as a boatman. We introduce ourselves and tell him we are on a boat. He introduces himself as Henry Perry.

 

The occupations of boatman and publican were often combined - although not necessarily at the same time - and the landlord of the Hen & Chickens is a case in point. Joseph Turton was more of a boatman than a publican and his stint at the pub was short. His two eldest sons were also boatmen and living in the pub at this time.

 

Henry Perry is presumably some relation of William Perry, the Tipton Slasher, but the person of interest here is Martha Turton and we know we’re not going to meet in her in the pub because she’s only 9 years old. Before she’s 20 she’ll be married and have embarked on life as a boatwoman.

 

So we finish our drinks and return to the boat to continue on our journey and we’ll return to Martha’s story later.

 

 

Edited by Captain Pegg
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From Tipton we headed straight for the Dudley Tunnel. Before our passage we turned back time without the Automat Sehnsucht by sneaking in the back door of the BCLM for fish and chips and a pint at the Bottle & Glass. Far from the first time that’s been done.

 

There are two restrictions at the Dudley Tunnel. The first is size and the second is means of propulsion. Now while the former has been stated by Challenge HQ as being a modern problem I’m not sure about the latter. So we’re going to leg it through. We’re not turning back time because we have no worries that Vulpes fits, and we’re not even certain it hasn’t sneakily been through under power. Maybe they had a letter from the Clerk to the Company authorising it.

 

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One surprising thing we learnt about legging in a narrow tunnel like Dudley is that you need to steer. Otherwise you’ll drag the stern end down one side and make it hard. On the tiller your head really is close to the top. Hard hats required.

 

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You also need an area suitable for lying down and getting purchase onto the walls. Teamwork helps here.

 

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And here’s the view off the back of the boat (genuinely, you can see the tiller pin).

 

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And just in case you think the role of the navigation officer is easy in a tunnel, think again.

 

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Edited by Captain Pegg
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On completion of Dudley Tunnel we decided to cruise for a while before descending Parkhead locks so we took a trip back through the late 19th century on the Pensnett branch. The branch followed the same course as the Dudley Canal but at a higher contour until it’s last few 100 yards. Between the two it was all ironworks. This was heavy industry at its heaviest, all noise, heat and dirt. The Covid masks were a necessary precaution.

 

For a bit of industrial variety there was a colliery at the end of the branch and there were railway sidings everywhere we looked. We enjoyed it so much we turned round and did it all again. Fascinating, but just cruising through it probably shortened our lives. Don’t ask about the workers, unfortunately in those days few, if any, did.
 

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The Wallows, Pensnett Canal. Photo credit: BCLM

 

Next it was down Parkhead locks and we had to stay in the late 19th century to claim all the lock points on offer by descending through five locks. Blowers Green lock is of course one lock that combines the fall of two former locks that were affected by mining subsidence.

 

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Blowers Green bottom lock (from Black Country Canals by Paul Collins. Photo: Alan T Smith collection)

 

Next was a sharp turn onto the Two Locks line which was a fairly new canal in 1890 having been built just over 30 years earlier as a short cut between the The Vine at Brierley Hill and the Old Swan at Netherton. It also shortened the journey between the Dudley No 1 and No 2 canals by at least a mile. Unfortunately four years after our passage it sank in its own water, according to local myth.

 

We rejoined the Dudley No 2 and made tracks for our overnight mooring. Once again we passed ourselves. This time on our own home mooring at Netherton.


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We decided to head back to the 1840s for a trip through Bumblehole and Bushboil. Then further on and back in the present we thought we had encountered a foundering fellow participant but after having helped them out of the bridge hole in the hope of extra points we realised it was an imposter. Should have left the buggers there and time travelled round them. 

 

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We continued to Hawne Basin through the gloopy waters of Gosty Hill going slower under power than we legged through Dudley Tunnel and arrived at Hawne Basin where we hoped to find our missing crew member @Dave_P

 

 

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Edited by Captain Pegg
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Back to earlier and the story of Martha Turton.

 

The Turton’s were a family of boaters who appear to have come to the canals from the Compton and Wightwick area of the Staffs & Worcs Canal just to the west of Wolverhampton.

 

Martha Turton was born in Compton in 1841 and was married by the age of 17 to boatman Richard Bignall Neal. He was the son of James Neal who we learnt about yesterday evening.

 

Martha would spend her entire adult life as a boatwoman being recorded variously in Cheshire, the Potteries and even the Erewash Canal.

 

Her husband Richard was always listed as an employed boatman in census records. However in 1901, after she was widowed in 1897, Martha herself is listed as the owner of the boat ‘Noah’s Ark’ and as an employer. The boat is worked by Martha, her son James and niece Eliza. Also aboard is grand daughter Sarah Ann Littlemore.

 

Fifty winters proved one too many for Martha and she died of severe bronchitis in the cabin of her boat at Stockton Brook in February 1909.

 

She was the mother of Mrs Sarah Ann Littlemore, husband of Stephen Littlemore, owner boatman of Middlewich. Sarah Ann Littlemore also raised a family as a boatwoman although latterly she and her husband did move off the boats.

 

One of that family was Alice Littlemore, born in 1902, who became Mrs Samuel Lomas and was able to raise her family on land while retaining a connection to the canals.

 

Mrs Lomas died at Tettenhall in 1984, literally one bridge down the canal from the place her grandmother had been born 143 years previously. Yet in between were three generations of journeying the canals of Cheshire, Staffordshire and beyond involving immense and essentially unpaid toil in the name of service to the way of life of the canals.

 

 

Edited by Captain Pegg
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