Wyrley & Essington branch canal

[Derek R.]

I'm guessing Sneyd House was the farmhouse at Sneyd Farm. No pictures, but a map of same in the advertisement for Sneyd Colliery and Brickworks.

http://www.thepotteries.org/advert_wk/065.htm

 

Another about life around Sneyd Green:

http://www.thepotteries.org/city_limits/017.htm

 

Sneyd Colliery, some pictures but doubt Sneyd House is there:

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/coalface/collieries/sneyd.htm

 

Streetview shows what might be one of the old colliery buildings HERE, (the older building behind the 'Wardle' one) And there's a resemblance to that same building HERE,

 

Nothing else coming up from this search.

 

Edit for spelling.

Edited October 21, 2012 by Derek R.

[Laurence Hogg]

I'm guessing Sneyd House was the farmhouse at Sneyd Farm. No pictures, but a map of same in the advertisement for Sneyd Colliery and Brickworks.

http://www.thepotteries.org/advert_wk/065.htm

 

Another about life around Sneyd Green:

http://www.thepotteries.org/city_limits/017.htm

 

Sneyd Colliery, some pictures but doubt Sneyd House is there:

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/coalface/collieries/sneyd.htm

 

Streetview shows what might be one of the old colliery buildings HERE, (the older building behind the 'Wardle' one) And there's a resemblance to that same building HERE,

 

Nothing else coming up from this search.

 

Edit for spelling.

 

Derek, WRONG Sneyd, WRONG town, The Wyrley and Essington Sneyd is in Bloxwich bordering Willenhall.

 

Another feature in this area was Sneyd House, it was here that the BCN Committee moved during the 1940's to avoid the wartime bombing that targeted central Birmingham. Has anybody come across images of this building

 

Ray Shill

 

The ruins were next to the top lock but little remained when I was young.

[Derek R.]

Well there's a novelty!

[AMModels]

Lol the number of times Ive googled Sneyd and ended up looking at somewhere nr stoke is unbelievable especially when you consider I lived there most my childhood and went to school on the site of Sneyd House, sometimes I end up looking at the map and my mind is trying to fit things into it before I realise theyve got me looking at the wrong place.

 

Sneyd house was a playground for us as kids growing up, it was a wreck when I knew it but my memories of the place are it had a central doorway at the front with windows either side and three up stairs, not much frame left back then tho. It also had a cellar which was the subject of much betting amongst us as to who would go down there and touch the back wall, once someone had gone down the rest of the kids would throw whatever was at hand at the house to scare the bejeesus out of me erm, them.... And it worked alright.

 

It was set back from the canal bed about 30-40ft and looked over the canal, it got removed totally when the landscaping for the school took place there was nothing at all left not even foundations. Ive never seen a photograph of it but there must be one out there somewhere, there would be these days with UrbExers everywhere.

 

I would also love to see any pics of the pumphouse as it must have been a very impressive structure in the area, another thing to note is the position of the Sneyd Public house it was in the middle of fields miles from anywhere except the canal; I dont know the date of the last load along the branch but my great grandfather worked along there but before 1930 and my grandfather didnt and he started boating about 1932 as a mate in holidays and as a boatman in 1934-35 full time; despite there not being a clientèle it survived thru til the 1960's when the big estate was built backing on to it.

[Heartland]

I did put a picture of lock 2 in West Midlands Canal Through Time that Amberley published in July. I have also some other images that the late Jim Evans gave me that were taken of the pump house at Sneyd.

 

Ray Shill

[Laurence Hogg]

I did put a picture of lock 2 in West Midlands Canal Through Time that Amberley published in July. I have also some other images that the late Jim Evans gave me that were taken of the pump house at Sneyd.

 

Ray Shill

Ray, can you post some pivtures up would love to see them.

[AMModels]

I did put a picture of lock 2 in West Midlands Canal Through Time that Amberley published in July. I have also some other images that the late Jim Evans gave me that were taken of the pump house at Sneyd.

 

Ray Shill

 

 

Ray, can you post some pivtures up would love to see them.

 

 

Same here would be great to see it in any state, Laurence is there any trace of it left now? I know tree growth must shield it from the road, it almost did so by the time I left school.

[Heartland]

Need to scan the images first, not the best quality. If Laurence will help, will send them to him first.

 

Ray Shill

[Laurence Hogg]

Same here would be great to see it in any state, Laurence is there any trace of it left now? I know tree growth must shield it from the road, it almost did so by the time I left school.

Andy,

I have just been speaking with Barry Lycett who lived close to the locks on the main rd.

I think Sneyd house was gone by the early 1970's with just the remains of the drawbridge left in place, he agrees with me that the wall with arches set into it between locks 3 & 4 certainly looked like the remains of some sort of building, maybe a pump house or valve house. Today that wall is probably under the landscaping of the site, now all thats left is a couple of holes and a length of conduit (see captain Ahabs blog for pictures). Neither of us remember a pump house and the one shown on old 1902 OS map which states BCN Pump house is at the South end of the resevoir between locks 2 & 3 right on the corner of the dam. It seems to dissapear on a 1963 map and on subsequent ones I have viewed is not described as a pump house. Barry is fairly sure that there was no traffic on the canal in the early 1950's but the BCN offices were still in use.

Is your memory of the BCN house in the field below the dam? Neither of us are old enough to remember the pump house.

[AMModels]

I can date the walls and the cellar of Sneyd house to 1977-1979 they were still standing then along with the remains of the drawbridge (some sort of low level bridge anyway) it was sited approx 10-30 metres from the head of the lock and as I said before set back roughly 30-50ft from what was the canal edge. We moved onto the estate in 1977 and the work on Sneyd school began in 79 with the clearing of the site, where it was is now a flat featureless area behind the caretakers cottage approx 10 ft below the level of the top pound and approx 20ft inside the link fencing around the site (probably replaced with razor wire and spike strips by now). The are around where it stood contains a lot of clay, it was levelled into the field and wasnt very good at draining away, I used to walk across this on my way out of school via a 'short cut' it led over the bed of the canal and later the filled in lock.

Vernon way ran from Sneyd road/lane (never could remember which was which) down to the pub then curved round to the school running about 10-25 metres from the foot of the lock; the wall of the pump house as I recall was about 400 metres down from the pub on the embankment of the reservoir. It stood about 15ft high built of orange brick with numerous protrusions and rebates including piers in the wall similar to strengthening you see on long wall runs, it was roughly 50ft long and backed onto the embankment directly; the wall was set back from the road roughly 30-40ft with the ground in front of it level enough for a group of travellers to set up camp on it for about 8 weeks in 82-83 ish.

 

The building I refer to as the pump house was situated between locks 2 and 3 and was definitely set at the south end of the reservoir as was, which was a lot larger than we see today; I suggest that the coping stones we see in some pictures are actually the tops of a weir/wall/overflow which ran along the canal side edge of the reservoir and into which was set sluices to allow water to be run into the canal; I am not sure how the pump house was used as the reservoir was above the level of the pump house and the pound it sat along. Could it be that the pump house was used to pump excess water into the reservoir for storage in times of glut? or was there a conduit which ran to the pound above lock 5 which the pump house supplied?

 

I doubt we will ever know the answer to those last ones without plans or excavation archaeology around the remaining wall of the 'pump house'.

[Laurence Hogg]

Below is a map of Sneyd resevoir from Old Maps, it is the 1902 version 1 2500 which names the pumping station. The arm coming in from the Wyrley level (still partly traceable) is shown in darker blue, the pumping station is shown in pink along with Sneyd house and offices. The wall was between locks 3 and 4 which had the arches in it, but the crossing extant in the 1980's was not the draw bridge which is clearly shown next to top lock. Both Barry Lycett and nyseldf remember these features but not the pump house, on latter OS maps it is gone. Lets hope Ray can post those pictures up.

 

[AMModels]

Thanks for the pic Laurence confirms most of what I said, Sneyd House is just above lock 5 and close to the canal, as you say the bridge brickwork I remember must have been connected to the head of the lock as the 'draw bridge' is over the tail of the lock not the head as I thought; the pump house is approx 400 yds from the pub and is between the 2nd and 3rd lock, being 5 in the flight according to the same map when viewed on old maps site.

 

There may be some remains of the overspill (arm from Wyrley level) still be in situ the closer to the 'pump house' you get, as there was a dip visible between the top of the earthworks and the reservoir water level in its modern depleted state and there may even be pipework shown on the 1914-1919 1:2500 map of the same area available on the same site, on said map there is an overspill at the extreme south end of the reservoir which ran into the canal just below lock 2 which is under Sneyd Lane/Vernon Way junction these days, actually a closer look at the overspill run off shows it also takes any excess water between locks 2 and 3 and feeds that down into the lower pound, necessity being the mother of invention.

 

Tracing the route of Vernon Way shows just how complete the destruction of the locks was, following the line of the canal from the site of lock 2 through to the pub then turning sharp left at the end of the reservoir passing over the site of the rain gauge and following the edge of the reservoir round to the M6 underpass.

 

 

 

ps. thanks for pointing me towards that site this'll be another day 'wasted' looking at old stuff on the net

[Laurence Hogg]

Actually although the image is black and white and lower res than today the 1945 google earth image proves the resevoir was out of use then as the reduced water level we see today is the exactly the same in that image. No sign of any boats either.

[MrDGWalters]

I am really enjoying reading this thread after I Googled 'Sneyd Reservoir Valve Pump Engine' (to which I have been Googling for some time now). I think I may have spoken to some of you previously through different pathways - eBay, FlickR etc.

 

I lived on the Mossley Estate from 1972 (the year I was born) and spent many a happy hour playing around the Sneyd Reservoir and Canal, albeit a dangerous place I lived to tell the tale

 

I have very vague memories of the canal before it was filled in and covered with what is now Vernon Way, but I do remember the bottom and top lock plus the strange building (valve house).

 

We used to use the valve house (aptly named 'The Castle') as a HQ when we played tracker or soldiers around the reservoir. It was a red brick structure, very run down at the point when I used to play there and the key feature was the large arch or arches? (can't remember how many arches exactly but I know there was at least one). There was no visible entrance into the valve house you could get to the top by a small path (very steep) and I vaguely remember some steps at one end? At the top of the valve house (I am presuming it was a valve house) there was a circular arrangement that looked like it could have been a chimney or overflow which if you look at the pics at Ahab's and my FlickR pics valve house are those loose remnants that are now strewn around the foliage. The channel or inlet channel or inlet is still at the top of the embankment which I presume allowed water back into the canal?

 

I also remember the original Sneyd Inn which is now replaced with a more modern building.

 

My Father and Brother in Law both remember the canal and reservoir very well but sadly have no photos. My parents moved onto the Mossley in the 1950's and my Brother in Law would remember the canal during the 1960's.

 

It is great to have read some of the posts here and it has actually been the best resource of information about the area I have found so far.

 

I too am hoping to see those pics of the valve house appear here very soon as it will complete or almost complete some of the history I have been trying to gather over the last year or so of the area.

 

Apparently there are plans of the valve house stored at Gloucester Canal Museum, I have had the opportunity to purchase copies of these in the past but may pay a visit instead to see the originals.

 

This is a very exciting thread, let's see if we can unravel the mysteries surrounding this area.

[MrDGWalters]

Need to scan the images first, not the best quality. If Laurence will help, will send them to him first.

 

Ray Shill

 

 

I can help to scan the photos if you wish, I have access to some professional equipment as I am a lecturer at a College.

 

I will of course return photos safely and securely if you wish to proceed.

 

David.

[MrDGWalters]

Any new developments on this, I have agreed to scan photos if this would help???

 

Would really like to see images of the Valve House, I can so vividly picture it in my head - maybe I should do an artists impression and really utilise my skills I have a new message in my inbox but cannot access it...

 

thanks.

[matty40s]

Any new developments on this, I have agreed to scan photos if this would help???

 

Would really like to see images of the Valve House, I can so vividly picture it in my head - maybe I should do an artists impression and really utilise my skills I have a new message in my inbox but cannot access it...

 

thanks.

Hi, you probably need to make a couple more posts to access and make messages, if you reply to this message, you will need another to succeed. It really is fascinating , some of the history on here and the depth/breadth of knowledge astounding. i don't know much about the BCN , but enjoy these posts avidly.

[MrDGWalters]

Hi, you probably need to make a couple more posts to access and make messages, if you reply to this message, you will need another to succeed. It really is fascinating , some of the history on here and the depth/breadth of knowledge astounding. i don't know much about the BCN , but enjoy these posts avidly.

 

Thank you, much appreciated.

 

Thank you, much appreciated.

I am still willing to scan images if needed.

[MrDGWalters]

Has anybody purchased Ray Shill's New book 'Wyrley and Essington Canal Through Time'.

 

I have just placed my order and are looking forward to reading it, I know Ray

said he had some photos of the Sneyd Canal and Reservoir, I'm hoping

they will be in the book.

[pearley]

Has anybody purchased Ray Shill's New book 'Wyrley and Essington Canal Through Time'.

 

I have just placed my order and are looking forward to reading it, I know Ray

said he had some photos of the Sneyd Canal and Reservoir, I'm hoping

they will be in the book.

According to Amazon not due until 18 February, not that I'm likely to buy from them

 

Regards

Pete

 

Just off the W & E!

[KevMc]

According to Amazon not due until 18 February, not that I'm likely to buy from them

 

Regards

Pete

 

Just off the W & E!

Wasn't that a week ago ?

[pearley]

Wasn't that a week ago ?

I've been a month adrift for days!

 

Went to Brownhills as a convenient place to meet my sister on 24th only to re-read the email to see it is 24th MARCH!

 

 

With the Birmingham mainline closed at Coseley due to a landslip and trees falling across the canal, hopefully the W & E and the Walsall will get a little bit more use over the next couple of weeks.

 

Regards

Pete

Edited February 26, 2013 by pearley

[Heartland]

The book is out now, and is to be followed by the East Midlands Book. The images re Sneyd Reservoir, several came fro the late Jim Evans and some were taken by his daughter for a project. I will see if I can scan the ones sent to me for general use.

 

Ray Shill

[Capt Ahab]

I had to go over to Norton Canes Docks today so stopped off at Vernons way on the return, I could not find this "bridge", what I did find looking suspiciouly like it (see link above) was the entrance to the top of lock 1 oppositte Vernons way. Recent work has installed safety railings around this infilled lock, yes I did say INFILLED!!

 

Have you noticed how much lower the top end of lock No1 is compared to its bottom? Its got to be at least three feet lower, which must mean a lot of settlement and may account to the extensive cracking in the bottom wing walls.

Andy

[Tony K]

Have been reading this topic with great interest, having lived on the Mossley Est during the 60s and early 70s. The Sneyd and adjoining sections of the W&E canal were also our playground for many years - the 'fort' (pumphouse), the 'lions den', clambering down the culverts/pipework at the southern end of the reservoir.

 

 

Dug out this photo from circa 1974 of myself and young brother in what we called the 'lions den' Sadly its badly faded, but gives some idea of the depth at that time....