Lock keeper’s cottages

[floss]

Here is a Tame Valley Canal Lock Keepers cottage with a story attached ...

View attachment 150803

Re the above cottages, Enock Mason, shown in photo below, was the lock keeper on stretch of lock 10 -13, by College Road Bridge. He also worked the pumping station in Deakin Avenue, Witton. The next door neighbour, who also worked for BW, as a builder, was Mr. Mrs Lindop.
The right hand side of the building was used for shoeing the cart horses. To the side was a very large stable which held overnight cart horses from the boats.
Just up from these cottages on the canal bridge, was the boat entrance to the coal wharf. Which can still be seen, although it’s built across.
These cottages were sold off in 1966, to build the small industrial estate, which is still there.
My grandfather and his wife, plus the next door neighbours, were moved to two new Dormer bungalows, built by BW at the side of the canal on the Walsall Road, lock 13. By this time both were retired age 72, but they had these properties rent free until their deaths. These properties were then sold about 1968, to Private buyers.
There ends the life story of Enock Mason, who gave 50 years of his life to working on the canal, plus polishing all the brass works in the pumping station in Deakin Avenue and keeping it in running order. He loved it.

Such fond memories of this cottage, where I lived as well , when I was small.
Every night to get to sleep, I walk the cottage remembering the rooms, the very large garden, and the outhouses, where gran used her ‘dolly maid’ to bash the washing, then put it through the ringer.
THE END, but not forgotten.

 

[Richard Dye]

Re the above cottages, Enock Mason, shown in photo below, was the lock keeper on stretch of lock 10 -13, by College Road Bridge. He also worked the pumping station in Deakin Avenue, Witton. The next door neighbour, who also worked for BW, as a builder, was Mr. Mrs Lindop.
The right hand side of the building was used for shoeing the cart horses. To the side was a very large stable which held overnight cart horses from the boats.
Just up from these cottages on the canal bridge, was the boat entrance to the coal wharf. Which can still be seen, although it’s built across.
These cottages were sold off in 1966, to build the small industrial estate, which is still there.
My grandfather and his wife, plus the next door neighbours, were moved to two new Dormer bungalows, built by BW at the side of the canal on the Walsall Road, lock 13. By this time both were retired age 72, but they had these properties rent free until their deaths. These properties were then sold about 1968, to Private buyers.
There ends the life story of Enock Mason, who gave 50 years of his life to working on the canal, plus polishing all the brass works in the pumping station and keeping it in running order. He loved it.

Such fond memories of this cottage, where I lived as well , when I was small.
Every night to get to sleep, I walk the cottage remembering the rooms, the very large garden, and the outhouses, where gran used her ‘dolly maid’ to bash the washing, then put it through the ringer.
THE END.

Wonderful story!
Thanks for sharing

 

[Morturn]

Andy Tidy makes remarkably interesting videos about the lost canals of Birmingham and Birmingham Canal history. In his latest he covers the Perry Barr canal down to Spaghetti Junction and mentions Enock Mason, the lockkeeper at College Road.

I did an interview with Andy in between the lockdowns last year about our waterworks. He is a sterling chap who has an amazing knowledge of the Birmingham canal systems. Please do enjoy his video.

 

[Richard Dye]

Andy Tidy makes remarkably interesting videos about the lost canals of Birmingham and Birmingham Canal history. In his latest he covers the Perry Barr canal down to Spaghetti Junction and mentions Enock Mason, the lockkeeper at College Road.

I did an interview with Andy in between the lockdowns last year about our waterworks. He is a sterling chap who has an amazing knowledge of the Birmingham canal systems. Please do enjoy his video.

Mort, REALLY enjoyed that video, thank you!.......................Looking forward to the next edition!

 

[Vivienne14]

Me too. Learnt quite a few things from it. Didn’t realise the canals were/are still effectively a drain for water and that the 1960’s layout of the pillars under Spag Junction was designed with horse-pulled barges in mind. Seems so outdated (even for the 1960s) compared to the cars speeding overhead. But how appropriate to acknowledge that canal traffic with horses still existed at the time. Viv.

 

[Morturn]

Well interestingly, when I was a kid, there were always hundreds of coal barges lined up outside the GEC. They generated their own electric right up until the 70’s maybe even later. I used to watch the coal being lifted up and taken into the boiler-room by the crane in the video.

It is worth watching more of Andy’s videos. He is a very good historian who places things into context.

Of course, if you’re really unlucky, you may come across me on one of them.

 

[Woz24]

Re; my post #37 & the Primrose Hill lock, I thought this one still existed, but had been extensively modernised. First it is properly called Garrison Lock No. 63 and here is the area on the 1902 Alan Godfrey map of Saltley:-
View attachment 150829
The lock keeper's house is pointed to by the red arrow.
The modern satellite view of the same area looks like this:-
View attachment 150830
with the Network Park Industrial Estate replacing the Gas Works. Here are two Google view of lock keeper's house from the canal side:-
View attachment 150831
and the next from Crawford Street where it is known as 70 Crawford Street:-
View attachment 150832
It's now a freehold 3-bedroom property, though one bedroom is only 8ft x 7 ft, was last sold in 2004 for £139,000, and offered for sale in 2018, but not sold, for £135,000. The Zoopla site has all the details here:-
https://www.zoopla.co.uk/property/70-crawford-street/saltley/birmingham/b8-1jl/347466
and if you move to Image History further down the page there are images both inside and outside.

But now come conflicting pictures and stories that it had burnt down sometime after 2012 when this picture was taken:- https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/3143106 but seems that it was not demolished and the awning over the external staircase and some of the windows had been removed/modified. There are marks in the rendering on the Crawford Street view that suggest that windows may have been removed. Also in a picture take 43 years ago, the embankment between the lock and the pool behind it did not exist, but on the 1902 bank above it doed. What do you think?

Maurice

I lived in the back to back houses facing this little house in the early 60's..

 

[Heartland]

Old Mohawk posted on December 7th an ariel view of Aston Locks. There was no lock keepers cottage in that view although there was a BCN cottage on the Coal Wharf, Chester Street for the wharfinger.

In Birmingham at Gas Street there are a collection of cottages beside the canal.

This is an ariel view of 1951 which shows Gas Street from Broad Street running from left to right. The Birmingham Canal passes under Broad Street and the decorative block of properties, and then Gas Street is fronted then by a warehouse, canal cottages and a length of wall where a basin extended under the road. This basin, with narrow boat, served a masons yard, but originally s built was called Islington Basin. The first purpose of Islington Basin was to serve to Birmingham Timber co wharf.

The long Worcester Bar is evident on the canal and the Bar Lock of 1815 is also seen. There is the BCN lock cottage, the Worcester & Birmingham Canal cottage, the Worcester & Birmingham company offices and another Worcester & Birmingham Canal cottage.

Under the Worcester & Birmingham Canal offices was another canal arm called Netherton Basin. This basin was built for the Netherton Coal Company which was actually a trading part of the Dudley Canal Company and so the Dudley Canal Co had a short length of canal in Birmingham City Centre.

 

[Pedrocut]

Over on Browhills Bob's Blog There is a mention of a new Facebook group entitled BCN Canalside cottages.

 

[Susan shaw]

Wonderful story!
Thanks for sharing

Love this story. I am a bit tearful. Yes, thank you for sharing. Regards Sue

 

[Heartland]

Yes the BCN Society have a facebook group looking at canal cottages, which generated some useful new information

 

[Heartland]

Looking up the BCN cottages in Birmingham, I compared a 1911 Census Entry for the group of cottages in Ludgate Hill. These were back to back cottages 43 & 44 Ludgate Hill (5 separate dwellings in total). These cottages were build over the by wash pound at the bridge with the cottages on the south side of Lock 11.

In this section of the Census entry
John Gardner is shown as a lock keeper. But the reference to his wife is of interest. Sarah Ann Gardner had been married for 30 years, and had 11 children, 4 had died and 7 were still alive. 3 daughters were living in the lock house and all were employed in different jobs in the local industry.

 

[Brenda 49]

Over on Browhills Bob's Blog There is a mention of a new Facebook group entitled BCN Canalside cottages.

There is indeed. We would welcome anyone with an interest in Canal Cottages on the BCN (Birmingham Canal Navigations). You may find it just interesting or you may have comments about the many cottages that existed. We have found about 60 that do exist & are still collating information and photos where possible of those that have been demolished. There were originally 272! All but two of the existing cottages are in private ownership & have nothing to do with the Canal and River Trust. The two cottages at the top of the Wolverhampton flight of locks is the only cottage building not privately owned along with the toll house at Kings Norton Junction (not on the BCN) which has been badly damaged by fire & is covered up awaiting repair.

 

[Brenda 49]

There is indeed. We would welcome anyone with an interest in Canal Cottages on the BCN (Birmingham Canal Navigations). You may find it just interesting or you may have comments about the many cottages that existed. We have found about 60 that do exist & are still collating information and photos where possible of those that have been demolished. There were originally 272! All but two of the existing cottages are in private ownership & have nothing to do with the Canal and River Trust. The two cottages at the top of the Wolverhampton flight of locks is the only cottage building not privately owned along with the toll house at Kings Norton Junction (not on the BCN) which has been badly damaged by fire & is covered up awaiting repair.

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[sospiri]

Looks a very interesting group, Brenda, though I am not a fan of FaceBook. Lots of good pictures too. I must wade through to see if I can find a pic of my relations' lockkeepers cottage, now demolished. Thanks for posting.

Maurice

 

[Brenda 49]

Looks a very interesting group, Brenda, though I am not a fan of FaceBook. Lots of good pictures too. I must wade through to see if I can find a pic of my relations' lockkeepers cottage, now demolished. Thanks for posting.

Maurice

Where was your relation's cottage?

 

[Heartland]

Yes, Brenda, has been very active in promoting the canal cottage thread

But she knows, I do not use Facebook, nor will I ever. Of course sites such as this do have facebook links. As to the cottages the facebook links has led to new information coming to light, and that is useful.

Whilst the highest number has been given as 272, there are other sources that indicate that higher numbers may have been adopted in later times and this remains an ongoing subject for researchers.

 

[sospiri]

Brenda,

Chester Street Locks - now I believe, from extrapolating from old maps, is "buried" under an industrial building. Lockkeeper was John Baizon - this was in 1881 & 1891. He is also listed as a lockkeeper in 1871 at Primrose Hill, Aston. Not sure whether that is or is not a different lock.

Maurice

 

[Brenda 49]

Brenda,

Chester Street Locks - now I believe, from extrapolating from old maps, is "buried" under an industrial building. Lockkeeper was John Baizon - this was in 1881 & 1891. He is also listed as a lockkeeper in 1871 at Primrose Hill, Aston. Not sure whether that is or is not a different lock.

Maurice

Sorry Maurice so far we have found no details of this cottage apart from the fact that there were 3 cottages listed as being at Chester Steet & Chester Street Wharf. We can hope!

 

[ezra pound]

I found a map reference to the cottage being number 79 :-

Open Street Maps : The designation 'Canal Cottage 79' means '79th lock keeper's cottage on the Birmingham Canal Navigations' rather than 'No.79 Deykin Avenue'

 

[janetelfer]

My Father lived at Knowle Locks in the 1920s and early 1930s (photos 1&2) with his Grandmother and his Uncle, who was the Bottom Lock Keeper. At that time the flight consisted of single locks with a cottage at the top lock for the Top Lock Keeper (photo 3) and another at the bottom lock, accessed from the towpath via a bridge, where my father began life (photo 4).

The locks were maintained as necessary, sometimes involving sizeable gangs of workers (photos 5&6), and in the interests of water preservation there was a substantial pump house near the bottom lock to pump water back up to the top (photo 7), where my father can be just made out sitting on the lock gate beam.

In order to improve turnaround at Knowle Locks for commercial purposes, major improvements were planned to replace the single locks with double locks so that two boats could make the descent or ascent at the same time, particularly useful where the bargee had a barge and butty - both could be accommodated in one fill of the lock. Preparation for this major building enterprise involved the building of a new lock cottage on the towpath side of the bottom lock - still existing today, but sadly it also meant the destruction of the old bottom lock cottage and the pumphouse. My Father and his family were moved up to the top lock cottage, the previous keeper presumably having retired.

Construction work began on or around 1932 and as can be seen (photo 8), it was a complex venture involving gangs of navvies (photo 9) as well as some high-tech, for the day, machinery. My great grandmothers washing can be seen in the background, and possibly she herself, though it is very difficult to make out. Meanwhile traffic on the canal continued to use the single locks (photo 10) before they too were decomissoned and the project completed (photos 11&12).

Unfortunately, the money and effort expended in the project resulted in very limited success as increasingly the transport of goods went by rail or road as the quicker option, with less and less commercial use made of the canal networks.

 

[Morturn]

Absolutely super set of photos.

 

[Astoness]

i agree mort..jane what a wonderful post and fantastic photos..great piece of history...

lyn

 

[mikejee]

Yes indeed.Thank you Jane with sharing these with us

 

[Pedrocut]

November 1949, Birmingham Gazette.

Could this be the uncle ?

 

[Pedrocut]

December 1932, Man employed as a watchman drowned while work being carried out on the canal at Knowle.

In the Birmingham Gazette of September 1933 there are a couple of pictures of the work at Knowle taking place, but they are of very poor quality. It says they are part of improvements on the Grand Union costing about one million pounds.

The Midland Daily Telegraph adds that about 1000 people are employed on the operations between Napton and Knowle.

 

[janetelfer]

November 1949, Birmingham Gazette.

Could this be the uncle ?

View attachment 156886

Hello Pedrocut, thank you for this newspaper cutting, very interesting. Harry Fitter was the new bottom lock keeper at the new lock cottage, built to replace the one which was destroyed in preparation for the 1930s improvements, and which was occupied by my Father and his family. The family were moved up to the top lock cottage until the retirement of my Father's uncle. That cottage also is no longer standing and there is now a private home on the site.

Interestingly, in the 1891 census, my Great-grandfather and -grandmother are listed with their children and two visitors, one of which was a 12 year old Fanny Reynolds, listed as the younger sister of my Great-Grandfather, although we believe she was actually a cousin. She married a Frederick Harry Fitter in 1901.

Your cutting helps a lot with the timing of the various events of that period at Knowle locks. I don't know when my family were moved to top lock cottage other than it was after 1923. But it would seem that by 1924 the new bottom lock cottage was built and, if his career as lock-keeper was always at Knowle Locks, was occupied by the Fitters. I can assume therefore that the move to top lock was around that date

So, to answer your question, Harry Fitter wasn't the 'uncle', but he was married to a relative. Small world!

Thank you again.

 

[ezra pound]

Here is the Full Postal address of the Deykin Avenue cottage, it appears to have it's own post code :-

Canal Cottage
Deykin Avenue
Birmingham
B6 7BL

https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1075613

 

[Heartland]

From Janes pictures of Knowle Locks, (they were reconstructed from 6 narrow locks to 5 wide locks) are extremely instructive.

I wonder are there any larger jpeg images available ?

Perhaps the most valuable is the view of the pump house.

 

[Radiorails]

What a memorable archive of photographs by janetelfer in Post 81. As she pointed out it was a scheme well thought out but too late for the canal as road transport was developing.
At least we have the photos showing the before and after views.