Walsall Top Lock

[AMModels]

Ive asked a few times for information about the area around Walsall top lock where Ernie Thomas had his yard so I thought Id try to illustrate where I was talking about.

 

 

 

A - Hildicks arm, as I understand it this was the arm into Hildicks iron works. They had a small fleet of boats including one 'Walsall Queen' which is now in the hands of WCBS awaiting restoration. AKA 'Queen'

 

B - Is the short arm into his yard which could have been the original line of the canal until the locks were built to connect to the Walsall canal, there were three or four joeys buried here when it was infilled.

 

C - Is the location of the gantry crane used to fetch his boats in and out of the water to be worked on many a boat met its end under this crane a few ex steamers for scrap. I would love to see photos anyone has of this crane at any point in its existence.

 

D - This was a short wet/dry dock filled in but still there with the end showing the entrance concreted off and wall built on top.

 

E - Ernie Thomas' house where he could watch the comings and goings both on the yard and at the top lock next door where it wasnt unusual to see 20-30 boats waiting for their turn with bouts of fisticuffs settling arguments over whose turn it was.

[Laurence Hogg]

Ive asked a few times for information about the area around Walsall top lock where Ernie Thomas had his yard so I thought Id try to illustrate where I was talking about.

 

 

 

A - Hildicks arm, as I understand it this was the arm into Hildicks iron works. They had a small fleet of boats including one 'Walsall Queen' which is now in the hands of WCBS awaiting restoration. AKA 'Queen'

 

B - Is the short arm into his yard which could have been the original line of the canal until the locks were built to connect to the Walsall canal, there were three or four joeys buried here when it was infilled.

 

C - Is the location of the gantry crane used to fetch his boats in and out of the water to be worked on many a boat met its end under this crane a few ex steamers for scrap. I would love to see photos anyone has of this crane at any point in its existence.

 

D - This was a short wet/dry dock filled in but still there with the end showing the entrance concreted off and wall built on top.

 

E - Ernie Thomas' house where he could watch the comings and goings both on the yard and at the top lock next door where it wasnt unusual to see 20-30 boats waiting for their turn with bouts of fisticuffs settling arguments over whose turn it was.

Hi Andy, all correct and "B" is the original line but went a little further and was wider, there about ten boats buried. I have a pal who has photos of the crane will get them to you when I have them. The dry dock was filled in with rubble.

[AMModels]

Did it run right up to Old Birchills and stop at the road there cos there were loads of tenements built on that green area the other side of the road werent there. I remember the arm being all rubble filled when we were there in the early 80's and digging down once or twice to try and find a boat thinking of myself as some kind of archaeologist...needless to say I never found anything except the rough end of the gaffers tongue when he saw me digging up his yard.

[AMModels]

sorry to kickstart such an old topic but has anyone heard anything about Queen and how the WCBS is progressing with their yard and restoration projects?

[Paul H]

They're a good way through the major rebuild of Runcorn Hazel. I think queen has simply been "stabilised" by bolting ply and tin through the hull.

They received major funding for Hazel and if restoration of Queen ever happens it'll need the same.

Chris Leah the driving force of the WCBC posts on facebook as Ashton Boatman and he or someone else as Hazel Rejuvinated

Paul

Edited October 2, 2012 by Paul H

[Laurence Hogg]

This view shows the dry dock just infilled, the Enterprise tug just out of service and the Thomas house which started life as a typical BCN cottage pair, note the American car in the drive, Ray Thomas was a fan of American vehicles. On the day this picture was took which I think was early 1972 my (ex) wife and I were offered the tug for £1000, we had just put a deposit on ahouse so passed the offer by.

 

[AMModels]

Nice photo Laurence, that crane is a lot smaller than I remember tho

[Derek R.]

With those supports I wouldn't rate that as being able to lift much more than a Ton. Perhaps it was just for a gate - which it appears to be slung to. Maybe a bigger one has seen the scrappy?

[Laurence Hogg]

Thats not the main crane, the main crane is out of shot on the left and was past the dock building, it could lift a tug out put it on the roller trucks and it could be got into the workshop in a very short time. There were two arma coming out over the canal with the hoists on.

 

Heres a stonkingly rare shot of the inside of the main workshop, boat on the right I believe is "Apollo"

 

[AMModels]

hehehe yeah I was pulling your leg, we were the last ones to use the big crane it being condemned and cut down the week after (maybe a tad more but not much) we used it to put Falcon back in the cut after caulking and blacking. I did think but it wasnt confirmed that those big doors on the end of the workshop would have been for boats to go through, were the ones at the other end to take the boats out into the yard towards the house or just to allow large materials to be delivered? I used to spend ages messing with the chains on the crane lifting the cradles up n down and running them in and out.

 

Another great photo mate, you should write a book or even stick em on a dvd

Edited October 2, 2012 by AMModels

[Laurence Hogg]

hehehe yeah I was pulling your leg, we were the last ones to use the big crane it being condemned and cut down the week after (maybe a tad more but not much) we used it to put Falcon back in the cut after caulking and blacking. I did think but it wasnt confirmed that those big doors on the end of the workshop would have been for boats to go through, were the ones at the other end to take the boats out into the yard towards the house or just to allow large materials to be delivered? I used to spend ages messing with the chains on the crane lifting the cradles up n down and running them in and out.

 

Another great photo mate, you should write a book or even stick em on a dvd

Andy,

These photos are the ones used in the BCN Films (now out as DVD's) series I produced in the 1990's. all still available.

[AMModels]

Kick starting this old discussion again apologies, Hildick and Hildick who on the first post above had an arm into their works; through discussion with a descendant of the Hildicks it turns out they built or had built a small fleet of boats with which to deliver their goods, apparently this was because they were having trouble getting canal transport for their goods. It was around 1917 that this happened and maybe the war was a consideration, at that time it was stalemate on the western front and war production must have been taking over everything, Hildicks were iron and steel tube manufacturers so I imagine they would have had quite a bit of production aimed towards the war effort.

My query is regarding the boats they had as far as I have been able to discover they had Walsall Queen which has been mentioned before in the thread, this was paired with Sybil and both were sold to Harvey Taylors in 1924, they also had Colin and Iris of AHT but they came via Nicholsons a firm in the London area. According to Chris Leah of WCBS Hildicks also had a motor called Queen of the Ocean, now was this boat renamed Colin at some point or was QotO another boat and presumably she would have had a butty as well? Hopefully someone with access to the BCN registers will be able to shed some light on the matter for me.

[archie57]

Hildicks and Hildicks "Queen of the Ocean" was in fact a butty, which together with their motor "Whitehall" was sold to John Boyes of Hillmorton in about 1923. "Queen of the Ocean" was later traded in for the "Victoria" at Tooleys and on John Boyes death in 1935 were sold to Harvey Taylor, becoming the "Leon" and "Rose"

[AMModels]

Hello Archie, welcome to the forum. Thanks for that information, could I ask if I can use it on my website and if you have any other information you'd be willing to share? Anything else you can tell me about hildick's fleet would be great, if you are willing I imagine I shall be asking a fair few questions of you if you stick around.

[archie57]

Feel free to use it as you wish! Afraid I can't tell you anything more about H&H though. I do have a rather poor photo of the "Whitehall" in John Boyes' ownership which I would post if I knew how!

[AMModels]

Feel free to email it to me if you can, you will find my email address on www.ammodels.co.nr and I can post it on here on your behalf.

[Heartland]

The arm shown to serve Hildick's premises, where is there a reference to this being there? BCN Distance tables show Hildicks works, the tube works, that is as on the Walsall Canal, near Pleck. Those distance tables show the arm, reffered to, serving the BCN pumping engine, which ceased to be used once Birchills Power Station commenced pumping water from the Ansons Branch

 

Ray Shill

[AMModels]

Im pretty sure you are right Ray, the discussions with the family all mention the Pleck works and nothing at all about Hildick's. The arm did serve the iron foundry on the site of this I believe; on the old maps of the area the basin is shown adjacent to the iron works from 1885 through to the post war maps, I can't see any marks to say a pumping engine was there though, is there other evidence besides the bcn tables to back this up?

[davidg]

Archie should be along in a minute to comment on this photo:

 

[AMModels]

cracking picture thanks to you both for posting it.

[jake_crew]

Looks just like Bulbourne dry dock.

 

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTRwJQZLQQQJ3TgoZe3sSGXff9KdQ6R33lXO0jhf2ZgkQYgZfSM

 

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?um=1&safe=off&client=firefox-a&sa=N&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hl=en&tbm=isch&tbnid=qVexwjPXOrEQ8M:&imgrefurl=http://www.flickriver.com/places/United%2BKingdom/England/Bulbourne/search/&docid=Cy2zWsqUPIxPbM&itg=1&imgurl=http://farm8.static.flickr.com/7025/6453340987_37cb141df4.jpg&w=500&h=334&ei=ibVJUoa9CfH20gXdhYB4&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:19,s:0,i:140&iact=rc&page=2&tbnh=183&tbnw=259&start=15&ndsp=19&tx=124&ty=118

 

In fact it really does look like Bulbourne.

Edited September 30, 2013 by jake_crew

[AMModels]

Looks like it to me.

[Heartland]

Well, it certainly is not Walsall Locks, as they were single. Thomas Townshend built them. Hildick & Hildick are listed in trade directories as at the Pleck and I have checked the trade directories up to 1932. The pumping engine house was located beside both the iron foundry (originally known as Birchills) and the canal cottage (which is up for redevelopment) and the Boatmans Mission.

 

Ray Shill

[archie57]

Many thanks to davidg for posting this photo. It is indeed at Bulbourne, but shows former Hildicks and Hildicks motor "Whitehall" with its butty "Victoria" in the ownership of John Boyes

[AMModels]

Well, it certainly is not Walsall Locks, as they were single. Thomas Townshend built them. Hildick & Hildick are listed in trade directories as at the Pleck and I have checked the trade directories up to 1932. The pumping engine house was located beside both the iron foundry (originally known as Birchills) and the canal cottage (which is up for redevelopment) and the Boatmans Mission.

 

Ray Shill

Ray I wasn't doubting you, I know you are meticulous in your research. I was pointing out that it didn't show on any of the old maps I have found and asked whether there was other evidence besides the distance tables. The fact that a full size basin and bridge were built would suggest to me that it was also used as a basin for the iron foundry which as you say was adjacent.

Regarding Hildick's as I said I agree with you, the evidence sent to me by the family and the relayed conversation all talk of the foundry being in Pleck and not Birchills as was thought (at least by a few of us).

 

Many thanks to davidg for posting this photo. It is indeed at Bulbourne, but shows former Hildicks and Hildicks motor "Whitehall" with its butty "Victoria" in the ownership of John Boyes

 

Thanks for taking the time to send the pic through Archie, do you know where the boats for Hildick's were built?