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British Waterways

A

annp

New Member
dose anyone remember British Water Ways Samson Road in the 50's there was warehouses on site love to see any pictures
 
Sampson Road and that locale is mentioned many times, I believe, in this long thread.

Canals of Birmingham

Not much on the forum about the canals which played a big part in out lives Any Questions you have on the canals of Birmingham we will try to answer Here is a photo of a canal boatman touching up the paintwork on his barge in 1947 Bottom pic shows the old barge horse earning his living by...
birminghamhistory.co.uk birminghamhistory.co.uk
 
Sampson Road North Wharf- I did try to get some of the buildings listed, but Historic England and their predecessors were more interested in listing a pub in Northfield.

Whilst the wharf was developed in the 1870's for the cement and metallic bedstead trade. The main warehouses were built in the late 1930's as part of the Grand Union Canal Company plans for improved trade by canal boat. As the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company, they invested in a modern fleet of motor boats and butty boats that worked as pair between Birmingham and London or the Docks.
 
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“After the Grand Union Canal had been modernised in the 1930s the canal company greatly expanded its own carrying fleet and encouraged others to do so. One of their principal destinations was Birmingham Quay, better known as Sampson Road Wharf. In 1937 a new warehouse is being built in the back-ground. Mobile cranes and lorries speed the unloading and removal.”

Canals and waterways by Ware, Michael E, Publication date 1987.
 
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Narrow boats at work by Ware, Michael E, Publication date 1985

“As the Grand Union Canal Carrying Co expanded its carrying potential, the parent company had to expand its wharfside facilities. Sampson Road Wharf, or Birmingham Quay as it was often called, was typical. In 1938 a brand new warehouse was built where boats with perishable cargoes could unload under cover. The wharf around was modernised, new cranes purchased, and this bustling scene would have been typical. Rolls of corrugated cardboard are being unloaded from the butty Kew on the left. The rest of her cargo consists of cardboard boxes packed flat. In the foreground are the motorboat Baldock and the butty Banbury. Motorboat Stanton has been partly unloaded.
The two life buoys were a requirement if the boats were to trade out onto the tidal River Thames at Brentford.
Behind are the butty Ra and the motorboat Fornax.”
 
Last edited:
Pedro
For me there seems to be a problem with viewing this atatchment . I get a

"Oops! We ran into some problems .
The requested page could not be found."​

 
Found on Geograph website. Taken around 2002


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Sampson Road Wharf near Sparkbrook, Birmingham
The short arm adjacent to Camp Hill Top Lock, and the nearby warehouses were formerly a depot for the Warwick and Birmingham Canal. This was the northern limit for wider boats, traffic continuing to Birmingham being limited to a beam of seven feet. Currently the venue is used by a modern boat crew's sanitary station (off to the right). This cannot be accessed from the towpath side of the canal or the lock itself
 
A little bit more about Sampson Road wharf and the fight to prevent demolition in 2014.

Sampson Rd wharf buildings now directly at risk from an uncaring C&RT development team

Canal and River Trust are planning to demolish the buildings marked 1 & 2 on my overview image (see below) in January. These are steel framed buildings which constitute part of the collection of structures on this site and are a valuable asset to the completeness of this unique waterway site....
www.canalworld.net
 
Janet Hunt said:
A little bit more about Sampson Road wharf and the fight to prevent demolition in 2014.

Sampson Rd wharf buildings now directly at risk from an uncaring C&RT development team

Canal and River Trust are planning to demolish the buildings marked 1 & 2 on my overview image (see below) in January. These are steel framed buildings which constitute part of the collection of structures on this site and are a valuable asset to the completeness of this unique waterway site....
www.canalworld.net
Click to expand...
If you look at page 3 of the discussion about listing and saving the buildings the article describes the application as declined and gives a report as to why. It details a good history of the site and the buildings in question
 
waterways.org.uk

The Evolution of the Narrow Boat

The history of the narrow boat is intertwined with the history of the canal system. Narrow boats were originally built as working boats in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries for carrying goods on the narrow canals.
waterways.org.uk waterways.org.uk
 
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