Date for BWB opening of Bradley/closure of Ocker Hill?

[agg221]

This should be a really easy thing to find as it is within living memory, but it is surprisingly difficult to track down actual dates for when BWB closed Ocker Hill and relocated to the new purpose-built workshops at Bradley.

 

I can find plans and correspondence relating to the design of Bradley through 1958/59. I can also find correspondence relating to plans for stanking off the Bradley line in 1960. However, the Engineer's Reports file for Ocker Hill allegedly runs up to1964.

 

Can anyone put any real dates to this transition?

 

Thanks

Alec

[agg221]

No ideas? I thought @Heartland or @Pluto might know?

 

Alec

[Heartland]

The closure of Ocker Hill was part of the British Waterways Board vision for modernisation and their intention to close waterways with little use. The bill for closing the sections from Bloomfield along Wednesbury Oak to Rotten Brunt and Bradley Locks was before the House of Commons in 1960. As observed the Waterways Archive has plans for new Workshops in Bradley Lane. These workshops had to be complete or nearly complete by October 1960 when the third new hydraulic dredger barge was delivered from the Essex Makers. These new barges were much more efficient than previous methods used and were part of the transition to the age where leisure boaters were increasing and commercial traffic was in decline in this region.

 

Despite closure notices there was a transition of time between Ocker Hill and Bradley and dates for all the work being transferred to Bradley seems to have been in the early 1960's. 

 

It was a busy time for transport enthusiasts to record the closure and there was a time when the waterways remained until being infilled at different times. 

 

[David Mack]

1 hour ago, Heartland said:

The bill for closing the sections from Bloomfield along Wednesbury Oak to Rotten Brunt and Bradley Locks was before the House of Commons in 1960

Which rather begs the question; if the Wednesbury Oak Loop was so little used that the eastern half was to be closed, why not build the new workshops at a location on a (then) well used canal, and close the whole of the loop?

[Francis Herne]

On 01/09/2024 at 17:13, David Mack said:

Which rather begs the question; if the Wednesbury Oak Loop was so little used that the eastern half was to be closed, why not build the new workshops at a location on a (then) well used canal, and close the whole of the loop?

A large portion of the Wolverhampton Level's water supply was (and is) from the pumps at Bradley which draw from disused mine workings. The canal would have had to remain as a feeder, and keeping it navigable is convenient for maintenance.

[agg221]

On 01/09/2024 at 14:39, Heartland said:

The closure of Ocker Hill was part of the British Waterways Board vision for modernisation and their intention to close waterways with little use. The bill for closing the sections from Bloomfield along Wednesbury Oak to Rotten Brunt and Bradley Locks was before the House of Commons in 1960. As observed the Waterways Archive has plans for new Workshops in Bradley Lane. These workshops had to be complete or nearly complete by October 1960 when the third new hydraulic dredger barge was delivered from the Essex Makers. These new barges were much more efficient than previous methods used and were part of the transition to the age where leisure boaters were increasing and commercial traffic was in decline in this region.

 

Despite closure notices there was a transition of time between Ocker Hill and Bradley and dates for all the work being transferred to Bradley seems to have been in the early 1960's. 

 

It was a busy time for transport enthusiasts to record the closure and there was a time when the waterways remained until being infilled at different times. 

 

Apologies for the delayed response - somehow I completely overlooked your post.

 

Information much appreciated. It helps to fill in gaps and give a better understanding of why certain documents refer to Ocker Hill rather later than I would have anticipated. It also helps with putting a limit on the date window for certain documents, improving accuracy on when particular boats were where.

 

Alec

[Heartland]

I believe the location of the pumping engine at Bradley was instrumental to the choice of location.

 

The actual site formed part of the Bradley Ironworks which belonged to John Wilkinson