Bordesley Junction () is a canal junction where the

Grand Union Canal The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the Canals of the United Kingdom, British canal system. It is the principal navigable waterway between London and the Midlands. Starting in London, one arm runs to Leicester and another to Birmi ...

splits near to Bordesley,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England. It opened in 1844, when the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal was built as part of a scheme to bypass the congestion at the Farmers Bridge flight of locks.

History

The Grand Union Canal was formed in 1929 by the amalgamation of eight canal companies. The route through Bordesley was part of the Warwick and Birmingham Canal, which intersected the Digbeth Branch of the

Birmingham Canal Navigations Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) is a network of canals connecting Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and the eastern part of the Black Country. The BCN is connected to the rest of the English canal system at several junctions. It was owned and opera ...

a short distance to the north-west of the junction. The canal was authorised by an act of Parliament obtained in 1793, and officially opened on 19 December 1799, as did the Warwick and Napton Canal – the continuation from its southern end running southeast to Napton Junction on the

Oxford Canal The Oxford Canal is a narrowboat canal in southern central England linking the City of Oxford with the Coventry Canal at Hawkesbury (just north of Coventry and south of Bedworth) via Banbury and Rugby. Completed in 1790, it connects to th ...

. Apparently having had a three-month testing phase, commercial through traffic began on 19 March 1800. The Digbeth Branch was built in 1799 under powers in the Birmingham Canal Navigation Act 1768 (

8 Geo. 3 This is a complete list of acts of the Parliament of Great Britain for the year 1768. For acts passed until 1707, see the list of acts of the Parliament of England and the list of acts of the Parliament of Scotland. See also the list of acts of ...

. c. 38). Congestion on the Farmer's Bridge flight of locks had been a problem since 1793, and had been compounded by the opening of the Warwick and Birmingham Canal, which provided the main link between the Birmingham canals and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Improvements completed in 1829 to the Birmingham Canal's main line and the opening of the

Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal The Birmingham and Liverpool Junction Canal was a canal in England which ran from Nantwich, where it joined the Chester Canal, to Autherley, where it joined the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal. Forming part of a major link between Liverp ...

in 1835, which brought traffic into the area from and bound for the north west, meant a solution to the congestion was urgently required, and an act of Parliament was obtained in 1839 to authorise the

Tame Valley Canal The Tame Valley Canal is a relatively late (1844) canal in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. It forms part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations. It takes its name from the roughly-parallel River Tame, West Midlands, River Tam ...

. At the same time, the idea of a line from

Salford Junction Salford Junction () is the Junction (canal), canal junction of the Grand Union Canal, Grand Union and Tame Valley Canals with the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal. It is in the north of the administrative city of Birmingham, England and historical ...

, Erdington/Nechells, Aston to Camp Hill Locks, which had been proposed in 1830, was revived. The Tame Valley obtained a second act of Parliament, and the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal obtained its act of Parliament on the same day in 1840. Six locks (including a stop lock) were built between Salford Junction and a new junction, Bordesley Junction, at Bordesley, a similar relatively close distance to Birmingham, and the canal and junction opened on 14 February 1844, as did the Tame Valley Canal.

Location

The southern arm is the main line of the Grand Union to London. It ascends through the six Camp Hill Locks, to reach a summit level, which ends at the five Knowle Locks. The locks at Knowle, unlike those at Camp Hill, are wide, having been widened in the 1930s to take barges which could carry 70 tons. The north-east arm was originally the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal leading to Salford Junction and on to the north east and north west of the country. It descends through the five Garrison Locks, and is long. The short north-west arm led to the

Warwick Bar The Warwick Bar conservation area is a conservation area in Birmingham, England which was home to many canalside factories during the Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It is named after the Warwick Bar and later W ...

stoplock, close to Digbeth (or Proof House) Junction and the

Digbeth Branch Canal Digbeth is an area of central Birmingham, England. Following the remodelling of the Birmingham Inner Ring Road, Inner Ring Road, Digbeth is now considered a district within Birmingham City Centre. As part of the Big City Plan, Digbeth is under ...

of the

, and on to

Gas Street Basin Gas Street Basin () is a canal basin in the centre of Birmingham, England, where the Worcester and Birmingham Canal meets the BCN Main Line. It is located on Gas Street, off Broad Street, and between the Mailbox and Brindleyplace canal-side ...

for the main Birmingham wharfs and onward to the Severn via the

Worcester and Birmingham Canal The Worcester and Birmingham Canal is a canal linking Birmingham and Worcester in England. It starts in Worcester, as an 'offshoot' of the River Severn (just after the river lock) and ends in Gas Street Basin in Birmingham. It is long. There ...

Bibliography

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References

{{Coord, 52.47565, -1.87719, display=title, format=dms, region:GB_type:landmark Canal junctions in England Canals in the West Midlands (county) Transport in Birmingham, West Midlands