Hatherton restoration part 2

In this article Duncan Moore continues his overview of what it would take to restore the Hatherton Branch.

In the last edition we finished at Meadow Lock, between Catch Bridge and Wedges Mills. The lock itself survives, although showing considerable signs of subsidence. At the end of its working life it regularly overflowed making its operation very tricky. Above the lock there is a trickle of water in the channel. This length is crossed by another accommodation bridge, no 8, which has also been restored by the Trust. This first section of the canal is in good condition, save for the lowered crossings. Its restoration would be expensive, with limited volunteer involvement, save possibly the restoration of Meadow Lock.

At Wedges Mills there has been some encroachment on the line of the canal by industrial units. The bridge was demolished and the lock infilled in the 1960s when the road was widened. There may be room to squeeze the canal and lock in close to its original route if there’s enough height for the road bridge, or the route could be diverted into the brook to the south and a new lock built to replace Wedges Mills lock.

The section above is inaccessible. A brook has been diverted into the channel of the canal and now runs straight through the chamber of Jovey’s Lock. The canal and stream could follow the same course provided adequate bywashes were provided, or the stream could be rerouted slightly to the south.

The brook leaves the canal line just before the bottom of the three Bridgtown locks. The bottom lock survives, but immediately above the line has been buried beneath an access road for warehouses and the upper two locks demolished.

This second length is not as secure as the first. The length where the brook follows the line is reasonably well protected but there is danger of further encroachment at Wedges Mills. However, this length has more potential for volunteers to be involved in the restoration.

the old just below Bridgtown bottom lock and continue to follow the brook, crossing the line of the old arm to the massive Hawkins Basins. Immediately after this it would require a new bridge under Walkmill Lane.

Shortly afterwards, the brook and canal pass under the M6 Toll in a navigable culvert that was installed when the motorway was built. Beyond the culvert, a new lock is required by the old Hatherton Reservoir. This is a possible location for a new terminus to the branch before the new link to the BCN is built.

The new channel would continue east along the M6 Toll, with a new tunnel required under the railway. A little further along, another new lock would be required to bring the canal up to the level of the David Suchet tunnel under the A5 islands. This was installed at the Trust’s expense when the motorway was built, but the alignment of the entrance to this tunnel is tricky due to a pylon.

From here the canal would run through open land between the A5 and the M6 Toll. (This is beyond the end of the Hatherton Branch and would be part of the new link to the Northern BCN.) From Bridgtown Bottom Lock it would need new construction, but there is potential for volunteer involvement in the work.

Thus the restoration of the Hatherton Branch is, in some ways, more straightforward than the restoration of the Lichfield Canal. However, the first length would require a number of expensive new bridges. Replacing Dog Bridge and passing under the M6 would almost certainly require a specific future opportunity similar to that which arose when the motorway was to be widened.