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Lock keeper’s cottages

It was indeed a lockkeeper’s cottage. in fact, I rode past it on my bike a week or so ago. There was another set of lockkeepers cottage on that same stretch of canal.

As a kid my pal fell in the cut just there. The lockkeepers wife took him inside and help him dry out his clothes
 
Keith Berry stood on that bridge in 1986 and 1990 .... :)
oldMohawk said:
Canals have small changes over the years but the surroundings can have large changes.
A Keith Berry Photo from 1986
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A Keith Berry Photo from 1990 some improvements near the locks.
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The same place today.
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Click to expand...
 
In the the late 19th Century, lock keeper John Baizon, a relation of my late wife, had the lock keeper's cottage, which on the Census is shown as Chester Street, but I guess that is further along that same stretch of canal and I don't think it exists any more. I'm not familiar with the area - can anyone verify this please?

Maurice :cool:
 
In this c1933 aerial view, Chester Street runs from the top right corner to Dartmouth Street bottom left. The canal runs almost parallel to Chester Street towards top right and four locks can be seen in the area covered by this view. Difficult to see a lock keepers cottage but maybe a map might show where it was. This part of the canal connects to the Tame Valley canal near Salford Bridge.
Image1933.jpg
source 'britainfromabove'
Phil ... :)
 
sospiri said:
In the the late 19th Century, lock keeper John Baizon, a relation of my late wife, had the lock keeper's cottage, which on the Census is shown as Chester Street, but I guess that is further along that same stretch of canal and I don't think it exists any more. I'm not familiar with the area - can anyone verify this please?

Maurice :cool:
Click to expand...

There were two sets of Lockkeepers cottage on this section of canal, I think the other one, now gone was closert to where the GEC was
 
Do existing lock keeper cottages still house lock keepers ? Or is there some other arrangement ? Viv.
 
I don't know Viv, other than I know the waterways trust sold off a lot of canal side properties. They were of their time many used when the canals were busy with commercial freight really
 
Thanks for your comments, Phil & Mort. He was lock keeper at Chester Street from at least 1881 until 1896, when he died. Previous to that he had been lock keeper at the Lock House, Primrose Hill.

Maurice :-)
 
The OS Map published 1890 shows Witton Locks, on later maps it is referred to as Perry Barr locks. The spelling here is Deakin...

6B120EA8-6F7A-4DBB-9F86-3F919881054D.jpeg
 
There is one on the cut off argile st nechells.bit more modern now. as kids the lock keep did not like anyone on the tow path.
we climbed over the fence at spine cob.and walked along the cut.if we saw the keeper jim the lock.pngon his bike we would call "jimmy the lock" AND leg it quick. the scuttlebutt was (old tale) he would throw you in the water
:grinning:
 
mw0njm. said:
There is one on the cut off argile st nechells.bit more modern now. as kids the lock keep did not like anyone on the tow path.
we climbed over the fence at spine cob.and walked along the cut.if we saw the keeper View attachment 150793on his bike we would call "jimmy the lock" AND leg it quick. the scuttlebutt was (old tale) he would throw you in the water
:grinning:
Click to expand...

Well Pete, you are spot on about the lockkeepers keeping you off the tow paths. Most of the canal around Birmingham and the city centre were kept under lock and key. Signs on every bridge stating no trespassing etc.
 
The Tame Valley canal has a flight of 13 locks with lock 1 near the A34 Walsall Rd canal bridge. There are two lock keeper's cottages on opposite sides of the canal. No 86 on the right in this aerial view and No 85 on the left. One afternoon when I was 8 years old I was dragged inside No 86 by the lock keeper to receive a very severe shouting lecture about the dangers of playing on canal locks. My mates could run faster and got away. I became a bit tearful during the lecture and the lock keeper's wife took pity and gave me a large mug of tea and a dripping sandwich .... :)

Aerial view and cottage 86 may have been extended at the back, it looks larger than I remember.
Cottage86.jpg

Cottage No 85
unnamed.jpg

Cottage No 86
toplock-cottage-86.jpg
 
They look very well maintained, including the areas around the lock gates. In the last photo the house is up for sale. Viv.
 
Google searches show both cottages have been up for sale in recent years. Photos in the link below show that the cottages look well built particularly No 85. It seems that lock keepers were important and well looked after although they were in tied cottages. However the coming of the railways must have changed their conditions.
canalrivertrust.org.uk

Perry Barr

Located in a suburban area to the west of Birmingham, Perry Barr is a typical canal side location with several locks, a large lock cottage and a small yard with a workshop and parking spaces.
canalrivertrust.org.uk canalrivertrust.org.uk
 
oldMohawk said:
Google searches show both cottages have been up for sale in recent years. Photos in the link below show that the cottages look well built particularly No 85. It seems that lock keepers were important and well looked after although they were in tied cottages. However the coming of the railways must have changed their conditions.
canalrivertrust.org.uk

Perry Barr

Located in a suburban area to the west of Birmingham, Perry Barr is a typical canal side location with several locks, a large lock cottage and a small yard with a workshop and parking spaces.
canalrivertrust.org.uk canalrivertrust.org.uk
Click to expand...
oldMo hawk, that is a wonderful location. Given its size would that be for more than one family (keeper)?
 
Totally agree Richard. And it seems there are still quite a number. If the ones we’ve seen so far are anything to go by, they’re in pretty good shape too. Such an important part of Birmingham’s history, nicely maintained.

Perhaps the fact that they are off the beaten track and were in use until relatively recently as Lock Keeper accommodation has, perhaps, kept them relatively safe from the bulldozer.

I wonder how many there are ? I know there are also toll houses in places too. Great examples of canal history. Viv.
 
oldMohawk said:
The Tame Valley canal has a flight of 13 locks with lock 1 near the A34 Walsall Rd canal bridge. There are two lock keeper's cottages on opposite sides of the canal. No 86 on the right in this aerial view and No 85 on the left. One afternoon when I was 8 years old I was dragged inside No 86 by the lock keeper to receive a very severe shouting lecture about the dangers of playing on canal locks. My mates could run faster and got away. I became a bit tearful during the lecture and the lock keeper's wife took pity and gave me a large mug of tea and a dripping sandwich .... :)

Aerial view and cottage 86 may have been extended at the back, it looks larger than I remember.
View attachment 150796

Cottage No 85
View attachment 150797

Cottage No 86
View attachment 150798
Click to expand...
WOW!
 
Richarddye said:
oldMo hawk, that is a wonderful location. Given its size would that be for more than one family (keeper)?
Click to expand...
Hi Richard, my childhood memories of cottage No 86 are that it was quite run down and basic inside. Commercial use of the canals ended and British Waterways sold off canalside properties. My last visit to the canal was when I skated along it during the record cold winter of 1963 and another 'canal memory' I have is mentioned in another thread as below ...
oldMohawk said:
If a bad forging was made at Forgings & 'Guesswork' some people threw it into the canal next door. 1950's style 'quality control'. No one noticed until a private boat grounded and British Waterways had to drain that section and found a lot of forgings.
:)
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Here is a Tame Valley Canal Lock Keepers cottage with a story attached ...
jel said:
I’ve been looking for years for my grandads cottage on a map, and I can see it on this map! Wow, and the large bill board in the Garden. It’s just up from the Boards Head, the Garden ran to the end bungalow. How lovely to see it. Here is the only picture I have of it. Pagetts garage was to the left of the cottage, up the canal ramp and opposite.
Click to expand...
Lock Keeper Cottage.jpg
 
oldMohawk said:
The Tame Valley canal has a flight of 13 locks with lock 1 near the A34 Walsall Rd canal bridge. There are two lock keeper's cottages on opposite sides of the canal. No 86 on the right in this aerial view and No 85 on the left. One afternoon when I was 8 years old I was dragged inside No 86 by the lock keeper to receive a very severe shouting lecture about the dangers of playing on canal locks. My mates could run faster and got away. I became a bit tearful during the lecture and the lock keeper's wife took pity and gave me a large mug of tea and a dripping sandwich .... :)

Aerial view and cottage 86 may have been extended at the back, it looks larger than I remember.
View attachment 150796

Cottage No 85
View attachment 150797

Cottage No 86
View attachment 150798
Click to expand...

Great photos!
I don't like to admit this but, despite having lived in the area for about eighteen years and knowing where the canal goes under the Walsall Road, I can't really recall the cottages - maybe I just took the view for granted and didn't consciously notice!
 
These Lockkeepers cottage do come up for sale occasionally, but the Waterways Trust always put quite an onerous overage on the sale. These overages vary but tend to revolve around if you subsequently sell the place for a profit, then you must share a significant part of the profit with the waterways trust. As most of these overages last 80 years, it tends to put people off buying them.
 
Lock #85 Perry Barr the cottage is Grade II listed and is converted into 3 flats.

Lock #79 in Deykin Avenue (in post #1) is also Grade II listed,
historicengland.org.uk

LOCK KEEPER'S COTTAGE NUMBER 79 AT WITTON, TAME VALLEY CANAL, Non Civil Parish - 1075613 | Historic England

List entry 1075613. Grade II Listed Building: Lock Keeper's Cottage Number 79 At Witton, Tame Valley Canal. May include summary, reasons for designation and history.
historicengland.org.uk historicengland.org.uk

The lock itself is also Grade II listed : DEYKIN AVENUE 1. 5104 Witton B6 Lock at Witton north-west of Bridge on the Tame Valley Canal SP 09 SE 3/6 II GV 2. Circa 1840 narrow lock brick lined and stone dressed with curved and swept entrances. Conventional double and single gates. Important grouping with adjacent road bridge and Keepers Cottage.

Viv.
 
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