Tame Valley Canal

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

Perry Barr top lock and keepers cottage No 86
Tame Valley Canal
 Tame Valley Junction (Doe Bank Junction), Walsall Canal
 A41 road
 Aqueduct over River Tame
 South Staffordshire line at Golds Hill Wharf
 West Midlands Metro
 A4031 (Walsall Road)
 Hateley Heath Aqueduct (over Hydes Road)
 Navigation Lane aqeduct
Grand Junction Aqueduct over Chase line
and Tame Bridge Parkway station
 Aqueduct over M5 motorway slip road
 Aqueduct over River Tame
 Toll island
 Rushall Junction, Rushall Canal
 M5 motorway slip road
 A4041 (Newton Road)
 Chimney Bridge, Green Lane (iron footbridge, 1844)
 Goose Farm (Hamstead Wharf) bridge
 Pier island near Hamstead Wharf
 Spouthouse Lane aqueduct
 Piercy aqueduct
 Freeth bridge (Tower Hill bridge) (now footbridge)
 A34 road
 Perry Barr locks 1, 2 and lock-keepers' cottages
 Perry Barr Locks Bridge (cast iron footbridge, 1841-1844)
 Perry Barr locks 3-7
 Perry Reservoir (underground pipe)
 M6 motorway
 Perry Barr locks 8-9
 Perry Barr Wharf (site of)
 Perry Barr locks 10
 A453 road
 Perry Barr lock 11
 M6
 A4040 road
 Perry Barr lock 12
 Perry Barr lock 13
 A38(M) motorway and Gravelly Hill Interchange↑
 Cross-City Line↑
 Toll island↑
 End of Tame Valley Canal↑
 Birmingham & Fazeley Canal (to Birmingham), Salford Junction↑
 Grand Union Canal, Salford Junction↑
 Birmingham & Fazeley Canal (to Fazeley)
↑ = section under Gravelly Hill Interchange

Geography

The canal runs from Tame Valley Junction where it joins the Walsall Canal near Ocker Hill and Toll End, and terminates at Salford Junction where it meets the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal and the Grand Union Canal. It is 8.5 miles (13.7 km) long and has twin towpaths throughout.

Between Tame Valley Junction and Rushall Junction it goes under the West Midlands Metro near Wednesbury and crosses over the former Grand Junction Railway (now part of the Chase Line) by aqueduct, near Tame Bridge Parkway railway station (an unusual case of the railway pre-dating a neighbouring canal).

It passes over the M5 motorway near the interchange with the M6 motorway (M6 junction 8) and joins the Rushall Canal at Rushall Junction, inside the triangle formed by the motorway junction. East of Rushall Junction the canal passes under another arm of the M5. At Hamstead the remains of a wharf can be seen, This served the former Hamstead Colliery. Further east, there are two more aqueducts (Spouthouse Lane and Piercy, the latter over the Old Walsall Road), and a deep cutting in 200-million-year-old sandstone, under Freeth Bridge (now restricted to pedestrians and bikes only) at Tower Hill. There are no locks on this section, which is at the Walsall Level, but it passes over eight aqueducts within five miles (seven of which are original).

The thirteen Perry Barr Locks, where the level drops 106 feet, start just beyond the A34. The original lock keepers cottages remain. Between locks 1 (the top lock) and 2 the canal is crossed by the Grade II listed Perry Barr Locks Bridge,[1] a cast-iron foot bridge with brick pillars, dating from 1844. In the adjacent Perry Park, after lock 7 and near Alexander Stadium, is Perry Reservoir, a feeder reservoir fed by Holbrook, a tributary of the Tame that rises near Barr Beacon. From there, the canal passes under the M6, and then down the remaining Perry Barr locks. Between locks nine and ten is the site of Perry Barr Wharf, extant in the 1950s but now filled in. The canal passes under the M6 twice more, including Gravelly Hill Interchange (Spaghetti Junction), shortly after which it terminates, at Salford Junction.

History
1901 map showing the former canal basin at Hamstead

The canal was authorised by Act of Parliament in 1839 and opened in 1844. Its engineer was James Walker.

Features
Point Image Coordinates
(Links to map resources)		 OS Grid Ref Notes

a

Tame Valley Junction 52.5400°N 2.0354°W / 52.5400; -2.0354 (Tame Valley Junction) SO976936 0.0 miles
A41 road 52.5401°N 2.0349°W / 52.5401; -2.0349 (A41Tower Bridge - Tame Valley Canal - panoramio.jpg) SO977936
Gold Hill Wharf (approx, site of) 52.5412°N 2.0278°W / 52.5412; -2.0278 (Gold Hill Wharf (approx, site of)) SO981937 0.4
Midland Metro 52.5429°N 2.0188°W / 52.5429; -2.0188 (Midland Metro) SO987939 0.7
Holloway Bank Wharf (site of) 52.545°N 2.011°W / 52.545; -2.011 (Holloway Bank Wharf (site of)) SO992941 1.0
Chase Line crossing 52.5512°N 1.9750°W / 52.5512; -1.9750 (Chase Line crossing) SP016948 2.7
M5 motorway aqueduct (west arm) 52.5517°N 1.9713°W / 52.5517; -1.9713 (M5 motorway aqueduct(west arm)) SP019949 2.9
River Tame 52.5513°N 1.9661°W / 52.5513; -1.9661 (River Tame) SP022948 3.1
Rushall Junction 52.5504°N 1.9565°W / 52.5504; -1.9565 (Rushall Junction) SP029947 3.5
M5 motorway (east arm) 52.5498°N 1.9555°W / 52.5498; -1.9555 (M5 motorway (east arm)) SP030947 3.6
High Bridges, Newton Road (A4041) 52.5438°N 1.94832°W / 52.5438; -1.94832 (High Bridges, Newton Road (A4041)) SP035940 4.0
Original bridge replaced circa 1967, when the road was made a dual carriageway
Chimney Bridge 52.5427°N 1.9471°W / 52.5427; -1.9471 (Chimney Bridge) SP035939 4.1
Hamstead Wharf and basin (site of) 52.5389°N 1.9403°W / 52.5389; -1.9403 (Hamstead Wharf and basin (site of)) SP038936 4.4
Spouthouse Lane Aqueduct 52.5374°N 1.9349°W / 52.5374; -1.9349 (Spouthouse Lane Aqueduct) SP044933 4.7
Piercy Aqueduct 52.5360°N 1.9302°W / 52.5360; -1.9302 (Piercy Aqueduct) SP047931 5.0
Freeth Bridge 52.5331°N 1.9203°W / 52.5331; -1.9203 (Freeth Bridge) SP054928 5.4
A34 road 52.5326°N 1.9155°W / 52.5326; -1.9155 (A34) SP057927 5.6
Perry Barr Top Lock (1) 52.5326°N 1.9144°W / 52.5326; -1.9144 (Perry Barr Top Lock (1)) SP061927 5.6
Perry Barr Lock 2 52.5327°N 1.9126°W / 52.5327; -1.9126 (Perry Barr Lock 2) SP059928 5.7
Perry Barr Locks Bridge 52.5326°N 1.9120°W / 52.5326; -1.9120 (Perry Barr Locks Bridge) SP061928 5.7
Perry Barr Lock 3 52.5327°N 1.9109°W / 52.5327; -1.9109 (Perry Barr Lock 3) SP060928 5.8
Perry Barr Lock 4 52.5327°N 1.9091°W / 52.5327; -1.9091 (Perry Barr Lock 4) SP061928 5.8
Perry Barr Lock 5 52.5328°N 1.9073°W / 52.5328; -1.9073 (Perry Barr Lock 5) SP062928 5.9
Perry Barr Lock 6 52.5328°N 1.9056°W / 52.5328; -1.9056 (Perry Barr Lock 6) SP064928 6.0
Perry Barr Lock 7 52.5329°N 1.9039°W / 52.5329; -1.9039 (Perry Barr Lock 7) SP065928 6.1
Perry Reservoir 52.5320°N 1.9024°W / 52.5320; -1.9024 (Perry Reservoir) SP066927 6.2
M6 motorway 52.5328°N 1.9000°W / 52.5328; -1.9000 (M6) SP067928 6.3
Perry Barr Lock 8 52.5318°N 1.8961°W / 52.5318; -1.8961 (Perry Barr Lock 8) SP070927 6.4
Perry Barr Lock 9 52.5308°N 1.8938°W / 52.5308; -1.8938 (Perry Barr Lock 9) SP072925 6.5
Perry Barr Lock 10 52.5301°N 1.8924°W / 52.5301; -1.8924 (Perry Barr Lock 10) SP072925 6.6
Wharf 52.5299°N 1.8920°W / 52.5299; -1.8920 (Wharf) SP073924 6.6
College Road Bridge (A453) 52.5299°N 1.8920°W / 52.5299; -1.8920 (College Road Bridge (A453)) SP073924 6.6
Perry Barr Lock 11 52.5285°N 1.8892°W / 52.5285; -1.8892 (Perry Barr Lock 11) SP075923 6.7
M6 motorway 52.5229°N 1.8815°W / 52.5229; -1.8815 (M6 motorway) SP080917 7.2
A4040 road 52.5198°N 1.8788°W / 52.5198; -1.8788 (A4040) SP083913
Perry Barr Lock 12 (Witton Locks) 52.5148°N 1.8725°W / 52.5148; -1.8725 (Perry Barr Lock 12 (Witton Locks)) SP086908 7.8
Perry Barr Lock 13 (Witton Locks) 52.5140°N 1.8712°W / 52.5140; -1.8712 (Perry Barr Lock 13 (Witton Locks)) SP087907 7.9
Cross-City Line 52.5118°N 1.8665°W / 52.5118; -1.8665 (Cross-City Line) SP090904 8.2
Gravelly Hill Interchange 52.5111°N 1.8652°W / 52.5111; -1.8652 (Gravelly Hill Interchange (Spaghetti Junction)) SP091904 8.4
Lichfield Road (A5127) 52.5089°N 1.8603°W / 52.5089; -1.8603 (Lichfield Road (A5127)) SP094901 8.5
Salford Junction 52.5087°N 1.8598°W / 52.5087; -1.8598 (Salford Junction (Tame Valley Canal)) SP095901 8.5
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See also

References
  1. "Perry Barr Locks Bridge, Birmingham - 1234157". Historic England. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  • Pearson, Michael (1989). Canal Companion - Birmingham Canal Navigations. J. M. Pearson & Associates. ISBN 0-907864-49-X.

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