Canal flood 1901

[mikejee]

in Spetember 1901 George Jones Ltd (also described as Jones & Co) were engaged in erecting some new buildings for their iron foundry. They were intending to erect new stanchions and a new wall to reinforce the canal wall next to their premises which were below the level of the canal. However, the excavations apparently weakened the canal wall , and at 3am on 28th September the wall collapsed, causing a flood that severely damaged many premises.
Below are photographs of a little of the devastation, together with a report from the Birmingham Mail and later comment from the Birmimgham Post
Maps from 1886 and 1902 show that after the deluge, that part of the arm was filled in and added to the area occupied by the foundry

 

[Heartland]

That was the end of the Newhall Branch which was extended following an Act obtained by Charles Colmore.

George Jones previously had a foundry by Snow Hill and this works site was established by William Whitmore who made weighing machines and was an engineer. The castings for the Kings Norton Guillotine Lock (Stratford upon Avon Canal) and the three iron aqueducts on the Stratford Canal were made here.

 

[Richard Dye]

That was the end of the Newhall Branch which was extended following an Act obtained by Charles Colmore.

George Jones previously had a foundry by Snow Hill and this works site was established by William Whitmore who made weighing machines and was an engineer. The castings for the Kings Norton Guillotine Lock (Stratford upon Avon Canal) and the three iron aqueducts on the Stratford Canal were made here.

Those are interesting and critical pieces of work making significant contributions to Birmingham's continuing development.

 

[Richard Dye]

in Spetember 1901 George Jones Ltd (also described as Jones & Co) were engaged in erecting some new buildings for their iron foundry. They were intending to erect new stanchions and a new wall to reinforce the canal wall next to their premises which were below the level of the canal. However, the excavations apparently weakened the canal wall , and at 3am on 28th September the wall collapsed, causing a flood that severely damaged many premises.
Below are photographs of a little of the devastation, together with a report from the Birmingham Mail and later comment from the Birmimgham PostView attachment 205251View attachment 205253View attachment 205255View attachment 205255View attachment 205259View attachment 205265
Maps from 1886 and 1902 show that after the deluge, that part of the arm was filled in and added to the area occupied by the foundry

View attachment 205267View attachment 205269

Wonderful photos.............

 

[tommy]

Wonderful photos.............

Great photos

 

[Martyn]

That was the end of the Newhall Branch which was extended following an Act obtained by Charles Colmore.

George Jones previously had a foundry by Snow Hill and this works site was established by William Whitmore who made weighing machines and was an engineer. The castings for the Kings Norton Guillotine Lock (Stratford upon Avon Canal) and the three iron aqueducts on the Stratford Canal were made here.

I'll bow to Heartland's greater knowledge any day of the week but Yarningdale Aqueduct's wiki entry states that, after being destroyed by a flood, the original wooden structure was re-built with an iron replacement built at the Horseley ironworks. This is repeated on the Stratford Canal Society site. Is wiki wrong as usual or was there a connection between Whitmore and Horseley?

 

[Pedrocut]

Interesting query. Wikipedia is often wrong, but aren’t we all !
“The castings for the Kings Norton Guillotine Lock (Stratford upon Avon Canal) and the three iron aqueducts on the Stratford Canal were made here.”

There could be confusion here as John Whitmore was an engineer and surveyor on the Stratford Canal and is credited with the design of King’s Norton Lock. He does not seem to have any relation to William Whitmore.

 

[Pedrocut]

The Canals of the West Midlands” (1966, David & Charles)

“The aqueducts at Yarningale, Wootton Wawen and Bearley were built with castings from the Horseley Ironworks at Tipton, a leading manufacturer of iron canal structures in the early 19th century.”

But the authors do not give a source for their information, as neither does Post 2.

 

[Richard Dye]

The Canals of the West Midlands” (1966, David & Charles)

“The aqueducts at Yarningale, Wootton Wawen and Bearley were built with castings from the Horseley Ironworks at Tipton, a leading manufacturer of iron canal structures in the early 19th century.”

But the authors do not give a source for their information, as neither does Post 2.

Where did the iron ore come from for all of these castings made in Birmingham?

 

[Pedrocut]

Mike should the date in the title be 1876 ?

 

[Pedrocut]

There were many local ironstone mines in Tipton, Dudley and the areas nearby. I think they were often associated with coal and Horseley bought the pig iron for casting and wrought iron production.

 

[mikejee]

Mike should the date in the title be 1876 ?

Pedro
The dates of the cuttings (hover over image) are 1901, so no

 

[Pedrocut]

Thanks Mike, for the record there was also severe flooding of the low-lying districts such as Snow Hill, Livery St, and Fazeley St in Setember 1901. This was caused by torrential rain overwhelming the sewers and Hockley Brook. This may had some bearing on the account of the canal breach later in the September as there were more heavy rains and waterlogged ground.
The 1876 date was wrong on a list of Birmingham canal breaches.