Long lost branch at Hockley Heath?

[magpie patrick]

Just spent a night in Hockley Heath, and on the wall of my room was an OS map of 1888 which seemed to show a branch following wharf lane, so this morning I drove out along wharf lane to the canal and found that the winding hole is rather larger than it needs to be, suggesting it was once a junction. Pictures of the map and junction below. 

 

The branch, if it was such, might have been half a mile long, judging by the OS map of 1888.

 

I know nothing more than the above, can anybody add anything?

 

(Not to be confused with the small dock at the Wharf Inn, which is nearby)

[RLWP]

There's something in one of the Pearson's about it. ISTR something to do with a tramway too

[David Mack]

Yes, it was an arm which ran up to the Stratford Road, as shown on the old map. I had a look at this years ago. It was then still traceable as a shallow ditch through the fields alongside Wharf Lane. There is still a house at the terminal wharf, and a couple of cottages on the corner of Spring Lane with gardens on the old canal line.

 

The line is very clear on Google Maps. 

 

The winding hole is on the site of the original junction, but is not exactly an original remnant. It was dug out in the early-mid 1970s by the owner of Holwill Fibreglass Craft who then occupied the boatyard the other side of the bridge (now Swallow Cruisers - who originally occupied  the arm behind the Wharf pub at Hockley Heath).  I seem to recall the digging of the winding hole and the history of the arm made it into the local paper at the time.

[pete harrison]

7 minutes ago, David Mack said:

The winding hole is on the site of the original junction, but is not exactly an original remnant. It was dug out in the early-mid 1970s by the owner of Holwill Fibreglass Craft who then occupied the boatyard the other side of the bridge (now Swallow Cruisers - who originally occupied  the arm behind the Wharf pub at Hockley Heath).  I seem to recall the digging of the winding hole and the history of the arm made it into the local paper at the time.

I can certainly remember the trip boat CEPHEUS from Earlswood turning at this location 

[magpie patrick]

9 hours ago, David Mack said:

Yes, it was an arm which ran up to the Stratford Road, as shown on the old map. I had a look at this years ago. It was then still traceable as a shallow ditch through the fields alongside Wharf Lane. There is still a house at the terminal wharf, and a couple of cottages on the corner of Spring Lane with gardens on the old canal line.

 

The line is very clear on Google Maps. 

 

The winding hole is on the site of the original junction, but is not exactly an original remnant. It was dug out in the early-mid 1970s by the owner of Holwill Fibreglass Craft who then occupied the boatyard the other side of the bridge (now Swallow Cruisers - who originally occupied  the arm behind the Wharf pub at Hockley Heath).  I seem to recall the digging of the winding hole and the history of the arm made it into the local paper at the time.

 

11 hours ago, RLWP said:

There's something in one of the Pearson's about it. ISTR something to do with a tramway too

Interesting stuff - I need to do a little more research and find a reason to go back to Hockley Heath, or at least spend an hour there en route to somewhere else

[RLWP]

I have the wrong location, I was thinking of this one:

 

http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=18&lat=52.3586&lon=-1.7985&layers=168&b=1

 

Richard

Edited July 6, 2018 by RLWP

[Heartland]

Yes, there are two branches at Hockley Heath. The branch to the old turnpike does have a house there and in 2008 I had some correspondence with the owner. I/ We of the RCHS West Midlands Branch had our AGM at Warwick, that year and we did visit the junction point and look at the line of the canal. The terminus was known as Lapworth Wharf. Details of this wharf are recorded by me in Working Boat, Midland Canal Carriers Vol 1 p56. Trade to Lapworth Wharf was principally coal. The basin at Hockley Heath was the original terminus of the  Stratford upon Avon Canal. In theory this waterway was open for barge traffic and there was one barge registered to John Wall that could navigate to Hockley Heath or Tardebigge on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal. All other craft were narrow and these included the craft that brought coal owned by the Hockley Boat Company. The entrance to this first wharf is spanned by a side bridge.

[Sea Dog]

On 06/07/2018 at 07:55, magpie patrick said:

I need to do a little more research and find a reason to go back to Hockley Heath

That's easy - there's a McLaren dealer and a Rolls Royce dealer opposite a pub.  How many more reasons do you need?

[roland elsdon]

its a rough place

[Sea Dog]

2 minutes ago, roland elsdon said:

its a rough place

Rolls-Royce dealerships do seem to attract the riff raff. 

[roland elsdon]

Yes they couldnt afford to give me a part exchange acceptable on the old skoda..

[pete harrison]

2 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

That's easy - there's a McLaren dealer and a Rolls Royce dealer opposite a pub.  How many more reasons do you need?

Back in 1998 we ('steilsteven', me and two others) were moving a pair of boats from Reading to Ellesmere Port and we were unfortunate with a fuel return pipe failing within the Petter PD2. We were fearful of the unbalanced fuelling damaging the crankshaft and we persevered as far as Hockley Heath where the car dealer at that time was a Jaguar franchise. All we needed was a little braising but the look on the face of the Jaguar dealer workshop Foremen was a sight to behold, and for me a realisation that these workshops no longer had the capability to do this kind of work. Needless to say the pub served us well whilst we sourced a replacement part from Stourbridge and a friend ferried it across the midlands.

[magpie patrick]

3 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

That's easy - there's a McLaren dealer and a Rolls Royce dealer opposite a pub.  How many more reasons do you need?

[Derek R.]

3 hours ago, pete harrison said:

(snipped) All we needed was a little braising but the look on the face of the Jaguar dealer workshop Foremen was a sight to behold, (snipped)

Bit of deja-vu there. Cruising the Leeds & Liverpool in the late eighties our PD2 cracked a braze on the fuel line - middle of nowhere. Trotted off along a lane and found a yard working on repairing cement mixer drums on lorries back of a small farm. "Anyone here do a little brazing?" - "Well, we normally weld heavy stuff, but give it 'ere". Ten minutes job done, wouldn't take payment. What were the chances!

[RLWP]

19 minutes ago, Derek R. said:

Bit of deja-vu there. Cruising the Leeds & Liverpool in the late eighties our PD2 cracked a braze on the fuel line - middle of nowhere. Trotted off along a lane and found a yard working on repairing cement mixer drums on lorries back of a small farm. "Anyone here do a little brazing?" - "Well, we normally weld heavy stuff, but give it 'ere". Ten minutes job done, wouldn't take payment. What were the chances!

The one of the last bits of pipe brazing I did was for a boat on the North Stratford

[Derek R.]

My farmer mate often gets the gas out to fix his pipework on the Matbro. There's some skill about if you know where to look.

[Graham Davis]

This site is normally very accurate about historical railways, and it doesn't show anything in the immediate area:
http://www.RailMapOnline.com/UKIEMap.php?lat=52.34640&lng=-1.77930&zoom=14

As an aside the site also now has an excellent canal mapping section!

[Richard T]

When we had a share in a boat we had a braze fail on the gearbox oil cooler at Torksey. RCR came out and took it to the local HGV garage had it repaired and back in the baot in an hour. Its just knowing the places that are willing to do odd jobs!!