Hatherton Canal, Churchbridge Locks

Hatherton Canal, Churchbridge to Rumer Hill Junction

February 2010

The Churchbridge flight if locks are a casualty of 1960's and 1970's opencast mining, with all traces swept away first by the NCB and then redeveloped into the Orbital Business Park.

 April 2020 update: Over the years I have managed to find a good collection of photos of this lost section of canal, which were jointly built by the BCN and the Staffs and Worcester Canal (owners of the Churchbridge Branch). BCN bought the land and S&W paid for the locks.

Churchbridge flight from the air

Rumer Hill Junction, Cannock Extension Canal 1950's
(I particularly like the "volcano" in the background, complete with its puff of smoke ;-)

A selection of photos of the top lick (Lock1):

Locks 4 - 1

Lock 5 down

Unidentified lock and pound

Watling St Bridge

Locks 13 to 9

The scene on ground gives little credibility to this proposed location but I can assure you that it is absolutely true. Having crossed the path of the A5, the Cannock Extension Canal took a swing westwards, stopping just short of the north / south railway line, before resuming a northerly course to terminate at Hednesford. It was at this point, just before the railway line at Churchbridge, that a connection was built to the Hatherton Branch Canal below.

 Line of the Hatherton and Cannock Extension Canals 1936

The Churchbridge flight was among the last set of locks to be built, and were said to be among the best engineered on the system. Sadly, following the abandonment of the canal in the 1950's  these venerable chambers stood in the way of progress, and in particular in the way of the Churchbridge opencast mine which was opened up so scour out the last remnants of coal left by the preceeding 100 years of mining activity. 

A few images of its destruction:

From the bridge below lock 4

The Lichfield and Hatherton Canan Restoration Trust's website contains a splendid collection of black and white images of these locks, just as they were being demolished. The following is a particularly good shot looking down towards the White Heart Hotel, which stood at the bottom, somewhere near today's Renault showroom. It would appear that the actual line of the locks lies beneath the multitude of roundabouts built on the incline leading to the Orbital Business Park.

The Churchbridge flight of locks, Hatherton Canal 1950's

Gilpins Works in the foreground

There is little point seeking out evidence on the ground as the line was completely obliterated, scoured out and then replaced by the old overburden. It's a shame, but at least we have a few photos left behind to give us an idea of how things used to be.

Lock 13