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Lock keeper’s cottages

Ah the reconstruction of the locks were part of a greater scheme, which I mention in my books Silent Highways.

The Grand Union Canal Company created their own carrying company and built up a group of interconnected transport companies that included crossing the channel. The advent of war prevented the full development of that route potential. There were men of vision involved in that scheme who were keen to avoid the growing use of road lorries.

The 1920's and 1930's saw two waterway improvement schemes; on the Trent and Grand Union. After the war there GU organisation was broken up, with the narrowboat fleet passing to the Docks & Inland Waterways, South Eastern fleet. British Waterways later came up with cross channel schemes tied up with the existing UK waterways, LASH & BACAT. The BACAT or Barge Aboard Catamaran was the most ambitious. Here special large barges would be hauled by tugs along the North Eastern Waterways to the Humber and then pass by Catamaran to the Netherlands and from their access the European Waterways network.

The dockers at Hull opposed this scheme and the trial was ended. This happened in the years of strong Union power (early 1970's) and whilst it highlights the union view of protecting jobs, a new transport system was destroyed at the same time. With it went the potential of new trade and new jobs. Nor did the dockers win, changing trading conditions saw much change at the ports. Had the BACAT system been allowed to continue, it may have become a pillar of the cross channel freight route.
 
Heartland said:
Ah the reconstruction of the locks were part of a greater scheme, which I mention in my books Silent Highways.

The Grand Union Canal Company created their own carrying company and built up a group of interconnected transport companies that included crossing the channel. The advent of war prevented the full development of that route potential. There were men of vision involved in that scheme who were keen to avoid the growing use of road lorries.

The 1920's and 1930's saw two waterway improvement schemes; on the Trent and Grand Union. After the war there GU organisation was broken up, with the narrowboat fleet passing to the Docks & Inland Waterways, South Eastern fleet. British Waterways later came up with cross channel schemes tied up with the existing UK waterways, LASH & BACAT. The BACAT or Barge Aboard Catamaran was the most ambitious. Here special large barges would be hauled by tugs along the North Eastern Waterways to the Humber and then pass by Catamaran to the Netherlands and from their access the European Waterways network.

The dockers at Hull opposed this scheme and the trial was ended. This happened in the years of strong Union power (early 1970's) and whilst it highlights the union view of protecting jobs, a new transport system was destroyed at the same time. With it went the potential of new trade and new jobs. Nor did the dockers win, changing trading conditions saw much change at the ports. Had the BACAT system been allowed to continue, it may have become a pillar of the cross channel freight route.
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Very interesting post, thank you. It's a pity those 'men of vision' were not listened to - especially given the expansion of lorry usage on our roads following Beeching's cuts and the reduction in rail freight.
 
janetelfer said:
Very interesting post, thank you. It's a pity those 'men of vision' were not listened to - especially given the expansion of lorry usage on our roads following Beeching's cuts and the reduction in rail freight.
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Jane, too many times we see have all seen this short sightedness end with NO winners!
 
Quite a few of the former lock keepers cottages on the Birmingham Canal Navigation have been demolished. A factor was the change from toll payment to licence fees, a system introduced in the 1960's. Such a change led to the closure of the Tipton Gauging station and reduced the need for staff to check on the boats. They still had to supervise the passage of a declining number of commercial craft, but with the increasing number of boaters using the canal, their role was different and gradually the lock cottages became vacant. Some like those in Ludgate Hill were abandoned.

This image is from the Arthur Watts Collection, CRT Waterways Archive and dates from 1961.

Lionel Street BCN.jpg


It shows a block of 4 cottages from the canal side. Two faced Ludgate Hill and another two faced the canal. They were numbered 49-51 inclusively. On the extreme right is the corner of another cottage (48) which faced the canal basin and had a builders yard behind it.

The numbering sequence carried on down to Snow Hill wharf, where the demolished Wharfingers house 52 was located and at Aston Junction 53, was another lock keepers cottage, which is also now gone.
 
Just noticed that I omitted a photograph 3 from my previous post. I remedy that error here. My apologies, and to make amends, here is another view from the 1930's.
 

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Heartland said:
The Bentley Canal was a canal made by the BCN to link the Wyrley & Essington Canal, at Wednesfield, with the Ansons Branch. It passed through Willenhall and provide the navigation link for Fletcher, Solly & Urwicks furnaces there. This image is at the top of the locks near Wednesfield. The final number for this cottage was 245.

I think one of the more attractive cottages is at the far end of Edgbaston reservoir, no 29

View attachment 151059
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This cottage is not looking so good now. This photo was taken earlier this year.29 Reservoir Road Edgbaston Birmingham photo Nicki Schiesse Harvey 2.jpg29 Reservoir Road Edgbaston Birmingham photo Nicki Schiesse Harvey 2.jpg
 
43 Ludgate Hill, I have an ancestor Charles Holdcroft who was a Blacksmith for the Birmingham Canal Company for nearly fifty years. He died in 1864 and lived at 43 Ludgate Hill. I assume 43 Ludgate Hill belonged to the Company. I would love to try and locate more of the history of both the address and the Company.
 
44 was a back to back group of homes and also there was 43. These properties belonged to Birmingham Canal Company. By 1901 two homes in the 44 address were occupied by canal lock keepers but 43 was rented to non waterways workers. There is a Facebook group called "BCN Canal Cottages" that is trying to find these properties & who lived in them. The attached photos show these buildings. the one with a boat in the lock is pre WW2, the second is 1961 by Arthur Watts. This lock on the Farmers Bridge flight is the only one where the bottom gate opens to the off side (the side of the houses). See Heartland's post in June.Farmers Bridge Lock 9 Ludgate Hill WB Arabia Michael Ware Collection pre WW2 no fire gates in ...jpgLudgate Hill BCN 4 cottages Arthur Watts collection Ray Shill.jpg
 
“By 1909, the Birmingham Canal Navigation company owned well over two hundred houses and cottages scattered throughout the West Midlands. ' Ninety per cent of these were let to their own employees at a subsidised rent of 3/- per week which was well below the national average rent of 5/- per week for a three of four bedroomed house in the provinces.

As the company were not carriers, few of their employees would have been boatmen but some of the cottages let to non-company employees may have been let to boatmen. Rents, and presumably standards of accommodation, varied form 2/6 per week to 12/-, but on average, most outsiders paid about 4/6 or 5/- per week for one of these company dwellings which seems to indicate a type of accommodation roughly comparable with the national average for the working classes.”

Canal Boat People, 1840-1970 by Wendy Freer.
 
mikejee said:
Would not many/most have been occupied by lock keepers or similar, as aprt of their employment?
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Almost certainly Mikejee. Even until around 20 years ago there were still 5 cottages occupied by workers from British Waterways in these "tied" cottages on just 15 miles of Worcester-Birmingham canal. They would look after their own stretch or flight of locks.
I am talking about Tardebigge to Worcester which has 58 locks. The Birmingham level has different issues and different reasons for stationing workers at certain locations. Some of the employees would have been toll operators, lengthsmen and spoon dredger operators etc. We miss these canalside dwellers. I am sure the vegetation along the canal was used to feed their fires, These days the vegetation trees etc has a tendency to get out of control
 
It's interesting to see the canal cottages come up on this thread again. As Sunnyboy so rightly said many of the BCN canal cottages were inhabited by BCN workers. There were originally at least 272 of these homes for workers. You will find a great deal of information about many of them on a Facebook group called "BCN Canal Cottages". Unfortunately all but two of these cottages that still exist are now in private ownership & have no links to the canal system. The two cottages at the top of Wolverhampton Locks are in the ownership of CRT (Canal & River Trust) and moving just off the BCN the Toll Office at Kings Norton Junction which was damaged badly by fire in 2017 is also owned by CRT and is being restored by them at the moment. CRT are looking for a use for this building so if you have any good suggestions they would like to hear from you. Kings Norton Toll Office 2.jpg
 
Lock Cottage, Stoke Pound on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal close to the start of the Tardebigge Flight is owned by the Landmark Trust and has no road access. You drive over three fields then take your luggage in a wheelbarrow over the canal bridge. It can be rented, though it is quite expensive. There is a lot of atmosphere in the 18C cottage and there are many books about canal life. An occasional treat for us.
IMG_0252.jpeg
 
Brenda 49 said:
It's interesting to see the canal cottages come up on this thread again. As Sunnyboy so rightly said many of the BCN canal cottages were inhabited by BCN workers. There were originally at least 272 of these homes for workers. You will find a great deal of information about many of them on a Facebook group called "BCN Canal Cottages". Unfortunately all but two of these cottages that still exist are now in private ownership & have no links to the canal system. The two cottages at the top of Wolverhampton Locks are in the ownership of CRT (Canal & River Trust) and moving just off the BCN the Toll Office at Kings Norton Junction which was damaged badly by fire in 2017 is also owned by CRT and is being restored by them at the moment. CRT are looking for a use for this building so if you have any good suggestions they would like to hear from you. View attachment 176542
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Hey Brummie Babby, I reckon that you must be the admin of above FB pages. I have a post or two on there as well. DP
 
Brenda is accumulating information on the Lock Cottages relative to the BCN and present research is to discover those buildings that continued the numbering system beyond 1948

There were of course cottages that existed on the BCN before the numbering system came into being. 23 Summer Row for example in Birmingham which was three cottages. Are there any photos of this group after the BCN disposed of them ?
They were located next to Saturday Bridge and at one time company engineers resided there.
 
stephen dutton said:
i was interested in the reference to john dutton who i believe
was my great grand father. any info would be great
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Stephen,
The body was found by John Dutton, the Lock Keeper. It was reported in the Evening Dispatch Wed 8 April 1925. There's nothing in the report about Mr Dutton, but the man found drowned proved to be a Belgium national who had been fined for stealing copper. He protested that he had not the means to pay, and would have been sent to prison. Except that someone discharged his fine the same day. Living close to a canal myself, I can say that such misadventures happen and in 1925 few working people could swim. You can read the report in the British Newspaper Archive (a few searches are free, then it is a paid-for site.) Derek
https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000671/19250408/001/0001

​

 
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