The Spon Lane Locks Branch is an 800-yard section of the

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 rout ...

canal in Oldbury, England, which forms a connecting canal "sliproad" where the Old BCN Main Line crosses the New BCN Main Line at the

Stewart Aqueduct The Stewart Aqueduct (or Steward Aqueduct) in Smethwick, West Midlands (but formerly in Staffordshire), England carries the BCN Old Main Line Canal (1770) over the BCN New Main Line Canal (1828). Alongside and above the New Main Line Canal ...

. It runs westwards from

Spon Lane Junction Spon Lane Junction () is the original junction of the Wednesbury Canal and the Birmingham Canal, near Oldbury in the West Midlands, England. History The 1768 Act of Parliament which authorised the building of the Birmingham Canal to Wolverha ...

(underneath the

M5 motorway The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...

) via the three Spon Lane Locks to

Bromford Junction Bromford Junction () is a canal junction at the foot of the Spon Lane Locks where the Spon Lane Locks Branch meets the BCN New Main Line near Oldbury in the West Midlands, England. History The location of the junction was originally on the ...

. It was originally part of the Wednesbury branch of Birmingham Canal which opened in 1769. At the top lock, there is a rare example of a

split bridge A roving bridge, changeline bridge, turnover bridge, or snake bridgeWilliam George Victor Balchin, ed., ''The Country Life Book of the Living History of Britain'', 1983, , p. 109 is a bridge over a canal constructed to allow a horse towing a bo ...

, which enabled a horse to cross the canal without being detached from the barge. The rope passed through a gap at the centre of the bridge between its two halves. However, this particular example is a modern reconstruction, dating from 1986. These are probably the oldest working locks in the country. There is pedestrian access to a tow path for its entire length, but being narrow and muddy, it is not suitable for cyclists. On the north-west corner of Spon Lane bottom lock can be found a rare example of an

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was ...

rivet

benchmark Benchmark may refer to: Business and economics * Benchmarking, evaluating performance within organizations * Benchmark price * Benchmark (crude oil), oil-specific practices Science and technology * Benchmark (surveying), a point of known elevati ...

, this one indicating a height of above sea level at Newlyn. This is one of two rivet benchmarks on this branch, the other being at Smethwick Middle Lock.

References

{{Coord, 52.5069, -2.0001, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Birmingham Canal Navigations Canals in the West Midlands (county) Oldbury, West Midlands Canals opened in 1769