Where I am

[Heartland]

Braithwaite and Sons had taken the contract for repair and reconstruction of the Thames & Severn (3 1/2 miles) in December 1901. The agreement that was subsequently reached was the supply of clay by the council. So the trucks were probably council leased or owned on the narrow gauge railway. The quality of clay was questioned by the contractor and that led to arbitration in Court in 1904.

 

Whilst the canal opened in 1904, there were further problems and further closures, not the best result for keeping trade.

 

[Victor Vectis]

 

I've seen this photo before (copied from Geoff Dowling's Flickr pages) and loved it.

Didn't realise there is a canal parapet in the background, where those people are leaning.

Gobsmacked to realise it's only a few yards from where I've tied up the boat on more than one occasion.

Shouldn't be too difficult for our photo detectives to identify the location.

[Heartland]

Andrew Barclay four couple saddle tank and a ladle waggon, nice pub there once and the street is called Level Street ----- why ?

 

No doubt Victor has steeled himself for any replies that relate to a tree circumference ?

 

And for beer beer etc the pub has gone

 

And, whilst people reflect another for the grey cells and a substantial tree growing on the canal  bed!

 

 

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

2 hours ago, Heartland said:

the street is called Level Street ----- why ?

because of level crossings? 

It’s hard to tell, is the bloke with his back to us holding a long pole of some sort that’s painted white at either end ?

stopping traffic to allow the engine across. 
Were there several places along here where traffic had to be stopped to allow goods or whatever to pass between factories /foundaries?

 

If you hadn’t said Level Street I would never have connected Brierley Hill. 
 

 

2 hours ago, Heartland said:

And for beer beer etc the pub has gone

😢

 

Eta: looking again it’s a pole with white flags. I think?

Edited April 20 by beerbeerbeerbeerbeer

[Stroudwater1]

On 20/04/2024 at 13:54, Heartland said:

 

 

And, whilst people reflect another for the grey cells and a substantial tree growing on the canal  bed!

 

 

That could be up near Chalford on the Thames and Severn canal? It’s Cotswold stone/ limestone structure of the supporting wall, house and some of the bridge by the looks of it. @IanM would I’m sure  locate it better than I can. 

[Victor Vectis]

 

Yes!

Difficult to reconcile the 'before' and 'after' photos.

It might be dirty and grimy but I know which one I find the more interesting.

I reckon the bloke standing in the road might be the rope runner or crossing man holdind a 'stop' flag for the road traffic.

I love that 'before' photo. It just seems to be more real than the sterile and sanatised 'after' image.

(Photo again from Geoff Dowling)

[IanM]

12 hours ago, Stroudwater1 said:

That could be up near Chalford on the Thames and Severn canal? It’s Cotswold stone/ limestone structure of the supporting wall, house and some of the bridge by the looks of it. @IanM would I’m sure  locate it better than I can. 

It is the Thames & Severn but further east from Chalford. It’s Daneway Bridge with the wharf cottage on the right. Beneath the bridge is the infilled Daneway lock which currently serves as the car park for the Daneway Inn. It’s the last lock up to the summit with Sapperton Tunnel not far away. 

[Heartland]

Yes regarding the Daneway.

 

It is the canal bed very recently cleared of vegetation. It presents a better view of the wharf and the entrance to the side basin

 

A CRT image shows the location before closure-

 

Now this image from the 1990's shows a barge wide canal which was close to an earlier river navigation

 

 

It would be of interest to identify those on the working boat,

 

 

As to Brierley Hill, the name Level was given to a drain or mine adit into the hillside. Here the adit brought out ironstone and coal and gave its name to the Old Level Furnaces and the New Level Furnaces

 

Later Round Oak ironworks was developed by Richard Smith agent to the Earl of Dudley. Later still the ironworks became a steel works which lasted until the 1980's when the works closed and were redeveloped as the Merry Hill Centre. In our age the Posdisriminators would clap with glee as to removal of the nasty polluters now gone. At the time it was a sad loss for jobs.

 

 

[Richard T]

 

Where might this be??

[Heartland]

I did wonder if this was Nottingham Canal having seen images of barges such as these in an RCHS collection

[Richard T]

25 minutes ago, Heartland said:

I did wonder if this was Nottingham Canal having seen images of barges such as these in an RCHS collection

Correct - it is the Nottingham Canal at Wollaton

[Heartland]

This image for example

 

 

Hugh Compton Collection in this case

 

Regarding

 

Any ideas ?

 

This canal had narrow bits and wide bits and along the main line a short section of river was incorporated and they also later did the same with two other parts of their network. One of this latter group closed to canal traffic in January 1848.

 

Edited April 23 by Heartland

[David Mack]

On 22/04/2024 at 13:19, Heartland said:

Now this image from the 1990's shows a barge wide canal which was close to an earlier river navigation

 

 

It would be of interest to identify those on the working boat,

This is Large Woolwich narrow boat Fulbourne approaching Weston Lock on the eastern Trent and Mersey Canal on 23 September 1996. The steerer is the then part owner of the boat, Stuart Anderson, accompanied by Jan.

[Heartland]

Yus I was on the hire boat behind

 

Steve Crook and I had gone out from Water Travel, Wolverhampton with the intention of going on a week trip to Shardlow. This was our second week trip out with that firm. These trips and with other hirers helped with illustrations in subsequent canal books.

 

Other trips on Hecla also helped, but getting used to the traditional controls on Hecla was very different to a hire boat.

 

Hire boat controls could with some hirers provide a useful speed. In 2006 we had a Shire Cruiser trip to Sheffield and on going up from Rotherham we accompanied a group of boaters with whom we moored at Rotherham. That group wanted to keep us behind them as Sheffield Basin had limited accommodation, after all we were the lowest of the low, hire boaters, not realising our experience with boating. Not every body can afford to buy and keep a boat. Before setting off we told the lead boat we would take water at the lock. After the water stop we then went full speed past them and went to the head of the boats for Tinsley Locks and reached Sheffield Basin first.

 

 

 

Edited April 24 by Heartland