Wyrley & Essington branch canal

[winja]

I had never heard of the Nook Colliery at Chelyn Hay either

[springy]

<snip>

WHICH BOOK ??????? <snip>

 

Jim Evans' book "Essington", I have a copy somewhere but can't put my hands on it.

(I'm pretty sure its in "Essington" as opposed to his other book "The People of Essington")

 

springy

[winja]

Sh t I have got " The People of Essington" but couldn't get a copy of the other one Have been trying for years ... never mind it stopped me cheating

Edited February 19, 2014 by winja

[Heartland]

Winjas photo of the coal drops looks like Hamstead Colliery on Tame Valley Canal. Is it?

 

As to the Jim Evans list, I shall add the answers tomorrow. You all have 1 day to comment

 

Ray Shill

[winja]

According to "Cheslyn Hay Those Fleeting Years" it is the Nook Colliery and "The Terminal Basin of The Wyrley Branch"

[winja]

Well Here goes

 

1 Hilton Main

2 Essington Wood

3 Bradley Hall (High Hill)

4 Ashmore Park

5 Pemm Colliery

6 Coppice Farm

7 Castle Bridge or Ashmore Wharf Colliery

8 Allens Rough Farm

9 Allens Rough

10 Spottlebrook or Oaks

11 Sneyd

12 Essington Farm

13 Springhill No 14

14 Springhill

15 Cannock Lodge

16 Norton Cannock No2

17 Yew Tree

18 Landywood

19 Broadway

20 Holly Bank

21 Essington Farm No2

22 Mr Parrys Pit

[Heartland]

Jims Index to Map

 

The list almost compares, although he had not put a name against 13

 

1. Hilton Main Colliery
2. Holly Bank Colliery
3. High Hill Colliery (Bradley Hall)
4. Nutty Slack Colliery
5. Ashmore Park Colliery
6. Miles Meadow Colliery
7. Castle Bridge Colliery
8. Beacon (?) Colliery
9. Allen’s Rough Colliery
10. Old Spottlebrook Colliery
11. Redframe Colliery
12. Sneyd Colliery
13. (?) Colliery
14. Springhill Colliery
15. Norton Cannock Colliery
16. Fair Oaks Colliery
17. Yew Tree Colliery
18. Landywood No 3 Colliery
19. Pool Hayes Colliery
20. Essington Wood Colliery
21. Essington Farm Colliery
22. Struggling Monkey Colliery

Ray Shill

[Tony K]

A few miles further east 'down the canal'............

 

 

The Gilpin Arm at Pelsall

 

 

[Tony K]

This topic hss been quiet for some time....

 

David have you had the opportunity to visit the Gloucs museum to see the plans of the pump/valve house yet?

 

You also mentioned you had the chance to purchase them once - are they still available to buy?

[Heartland]

CRT have moved the records at Gloucester to Ellesmere Port. The reference may be traceable on line though.

 

Regarding the image of the Gilpins Arm, I assume that it is in the Newlands Colliery area, or was it across the main road on the Common where it terminated.

 

Ray Shill

[Tony K]

• Hi Ray
• I'll stand corrected, but always believed the wooden walkover bridge in the picture above was the one I've highlighted in red of this cut from the 1883 OS map

[Tony K]

Ps - thanks for advising of the transfer of the records

[Heartland]

Yes Tony,

 

I suspect it may be there as well. I understand this part was used as a feeder to the W& E

[MrDGWalters]

Tony,

 

No, I didnt get chance unfortunately. I will check and see if these are still available to purchase.

 

If you check out the new digitised archive at the Canal River Trust there are some photos related to Sneyd:

 

http://collections.canalrivertrust.org.uk/results

 

David.

[Laurence Hogg]

Interesting shot of lock one with gates intact, only photo I have ever seen: http://collections.canalrivertrust.org.uk/bw192.3.1.33.1.10

[AMModels]

It says the photo has been retouched, from the reflections in the water I think it may be around the gates and beams area the retouching has taken place. In the series tagged Sneyd there is a shot of the canalside cottages on the towpath side, first time Ive seen them standing

[Laurence Hogg]

It says the photo has been retouched, from the reflections in the water I think it may be around the gates and beams area the retouching has taken place. In the series tagged Sneyd there is a shot of the canalside cottages on the towpath side, first time Ive seen them standing

 

Negative fade badly corrected in the lock mouth, don't know why they bothered. All the paddle gear is intact on the lock so this would indicate the flight was still usable.

[MrDGWalters]

Just an update regarding the Pumping Station at Sneyd Reservoir...

 

I visited family down in Devon last week and was speaking to somebody whom used live on the Mossley Estate and vividly remembered the canal and reservoir circa 1950's/1960's.

 

We got chatting about the locks and the landmarks that have made this stretch of the W&E so mysterious. We quickly got onto the subject of the Pumping Station and it was a complete surprise when I was told that there was much more to the building back in the mid/late 50's through to the early 60's.

 

I was told that the building looked more like an house and had walls coming off the main back wall we have seen in the earlier picture posted here on the forums. This would make sense as the picture posted here reveals several little notches and holes where there would have quite rightly been partitioning walls coming forward. I was also told that that there were several arch shapes that looked like they could have been fireplaces.

 

Sadly there were no photographs to back this up but I was told that they knew the residents in the nearby houses (which are still near to the road on Vernon Way - I think there are two; white in render colour) and would have definitely had photographs of the area. Not entirely sure these residents would be living here now though.

 

One last discussion raised the subject of Sneyd House (the old BCN offices). The person told me that they once found some letters in the derelict building which were addressed to a woman and made references to meeting up somewhere (basically love letters) - again sadly, they never kept them.

 

It was an interesting conversation and good to hear that the Pumping Station could be remembered in a much different way than I can remember in the 1980's.

 

David.

Edited August 17, 2015 by MrDGWalters

[Heartland]

When following the subject of branch canals, the Anglesey Branch deserves a mention. It was originally made as a feeder from the reservoir, but was not made wide enough for boat traffic. It was reconstructed to serve the Cannock Chase Collieries. This work involved straightening and part of the feeder course was different from the branch canal when built.

[tarboat]

I have scanned a few more shots that were taken of the Sneyd Branch when I visited in March 1984.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RLWP]

When following the subject of branch canals, the Anglesey Branch deserves a mention. It was originally made as a feeder from the reservoir, but was not made wide enough for boat traffic. It was reconstructed to serve the Cannock Chase Collieries. This work involved straightening and part of the feeder course was different from the branch canal when built.

 

Something to have a look on Google Earth for

 

Richard

[AMModels]

Hope you dont mind TB these bring back so many memories I have to comment on a few

I have scanned a few more shots that were taken of the Sneyd Branch when I visited in March 1984.

 

 

^^ It was from here a few years earlier Len Wilson took a load of us school kids for a trip on USK and left me steering when he found out who I was. scared isnt the word.

 

 

^^ this open cast mine towered over my school days and the guy living in this house didnt like kids anywhere near his land, which was a magnet for us of course. The canal was like this all the way round to Broad Lane. Except for the length of Vernon way which was paved it could have been filled with water and back in use.

 

^^ this was the top lock and what we walked past every day to get to school, as you can imagine jumping it was a test of youth, pre Sneyd school being built there was some sort of wooden footbridge across the top of the lock which led to Sneyd house as we called it, and the dare was to head down into the cellar and touch the back wall. Not good when it was filled with rubbish and ankle deep water.

^^ Abbey junior school in the background, this looks like the works to culvert the whole length from by the school up to Broad lane, up til then you really could see the towpath and bed of the canal in full profile when dry.

 

^^ this is the view from Broad Lane down the canal behind my mates houses, the tree in the distance used to have a rope swing on it which we would spend hours on happily swinging above old cookers, fridges and all sorts of dumped rubbish. Didnt affect the wildlife at all, caught so may frogs and newts in this canal you wouldnt believe, they couldnt fill it in these days as there was a massive colony of great crested newts in it.

 

 

The other side of Broad Lane now, walk under the bridge and cross the bed of the cut and there was a motocross circuit we could sneak into by the big jump.

^^ this is the other side of the bridge looking towards the coal loading station for the railway, huge dumper trucks would transport the coal across Broad Lane and into this huge thing which would load the wagons for taking it on to power stations in Rugeley I think.

 

Thanks for that blast from the past really enjoyed those photos.

[tarboat]

Hope you dont mind TB these bring back so many memories I have to comment on a few

Thanks for that blast from the past really enjoyed those photos.

 

The view of the bridge is taken from the far side towards the opencast and looking back towards Broad Lane. I then turned around to take the shot looking towards the fence and the opencast. At the time British Rail was replacing the bridge and had already lifted in a new span on the other side. Below is the view from the Broad Lane side.

 

 

 

And the three images that were linked to on Flickr.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tony K]

Thanks for relating your discussions David and for the pictures Tarboat

 

Just changing tack slightly, whilst perusing the Essington Branch locks on the 1883 OS map I noticed the word 'magazine' - presumably associated with the nearby coal shafts....?

 

Can anyone enlighten/educate me?

 

[Derek R.]

A pure guess, but how about for the storage of explosives for blasting?