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The Soho Loop is a section of the eighteenth-century Old
The Soho Loop is a section of the eighteenth-century Old BCN Main Line
The BCN Main Line, or Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line is the evolving route of the Birmingham Canal between Birmingham and Wolverhampton in England.
The name ''Main Line'' was used to distinguish the main Birmingham to Wolverhampton ro ...
canal in 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, about west of the city centre, which opened to traffic on 6 November 1769, and was bypassed in September 1827 by a straight section of the New BCN Main Line. Much of the of enclosed land is occupied by the of Birmingham's City Hospital, and the canal itself serves private residential moorings at Hockley Port Basin via a branch extending north-eastwards. This is all that remains of the former Soho Branch that once served Matthew Boulton
Matthew Boulton ( ; 3 September 172817 August 1809) was an English businessman, inventor, mechanical engineer, and silversmith. He was a business partner of the Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century, the par ...
's Soho Manufactory
The Soho Manufactory () was an early factory which pioneered mass production on the assembly line principle, in Soho, Birmingham, England, at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. It operated from 1766–1848 and was demolished in 1853.
B ...
. There is pedestrian access to a tow path for the entire length of the outside of the loop, which skirts the southern boundary of Winson Green Prison and twice passes underneath the Stour Valley Railway. The Centre of the Earth environmental education centre is adjacent to the canal and has a long wharf frontage.
See also
* Icknield Port LoopReferences
{{coord, 52.4925, -1.9265, display=title, region:GB_dim:1000 Birmingham Canal Navigations Canals in the West Midlands (county) Canals in England History of Birmingham, West Midlands Canals opened in 1769