- The Birmingham Canal Navigations consists of over 100 miles (160km) of narrow canals with junctions, locks, loops and tunnels.
- Based on mileage, Birmingham (100 miles) claims to have ‘more canals than Venice’ (25 miles) and Amsterdam (60 miles).
Black Country Living Museum
- The Museum is a 26 acre canalside village located on the Birmingham Canal Navigations at Dudley, West Midlands.
- Historic buildings have been transported and rebuilt in the village, the experience of working down a mine has been recreated, and actors in costume re-enact characters from the industrial revolution.
History
- Beginning with the ‘Canal Mania’ (c. 1790-c. 1810), Birmingham eventually built 180 miles (290km) of canals with 216 locks.
- Because Birmingham was built on a plateau located 200 feet (60m) above the adjacent countryside, it was being by-passed during the early years of ‘Canal Mania’.
- The first canal was the 10 mile (16km) Birmingham Canal which in 1794 merged with the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal to form the Birmingham Canal Navigations.
- The North was connected by the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal to the Coventry Canal and the Trent and Mersey Canal.
- The Tame Valley Canal followed which connected to the Walsall Canal.
- The Northwest was connected by a link to the Staffs and Worcs Canal.
- The Southeast was connected by a link to the Grand Union Canal.
- The South was connected by the Worcester and Birmingham Canal.
- The Kings Norton Junction connects this canal with the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal.
Kings Norton Stop Lock
- The Kings Norton Stop Lock is a rare example of a guillotine gated stop lock on a canal, although others exist on the tidal waterways of East Anglia.
- Guillotine stop locks are used where there is a small height difference between two waterways. In this case, the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal was six inches higher than the Worcester and Birmingham Canal.
- The wooden gate is suspended above the canal and held in a cast iron girder frame with a gantry supporting the overhead lifting gear.
- This consists of wheels operated by a chain linked to a counterweight concealed inside the lock wall.
- The gate is raised and lowered by a winch mechanism, although it has not been in regular use since 1959.
Black Country Living Museum