April 2020
Time has not been kind to the northernmost tip of the BCN empire. The section around Rumer Hill Junction was obliterated by open cast coal mining and the straight route north from Rumer Hill Bridge as far as the railway crossing to the north of Hawkes Green Aqueduct has been buried directly under a dual carriageway.
The only surviving fragment is the outline of the northern arm of the Hednesford Basin. There is not a lot to see on the ground today, but we are blessed with a lot of great photos from, among others, Hugh Potter who visited the site just before it was filled in.
Entering Hednesford Basin under Hemlocks Bridge
Hednesford Basin under repair near Hemlocks Bridge
Stables near Hemlocks Bridge (Hugh Potter)
Stables and south to Hemlocks Bridge (Hugh Potter)
Repairing the subsiding basin with Hemlocks bridge beyond
(Hugh Potter)
Sluice south of Hednesford Basin June 1974 (Hugh Potter)
Messrs Craddock and Briggs at
Hednesford Basin 1957 by W Waltho
Hednesford Basin 1957 by W Waltho
Hednesford Basin drained for repair
Hednesford Basin 1972
Hednesford Railway Interchange by Michael Ware
Final cruise to Hednesford
Hednesford Basin being filled in
East Cannock Colliery and Hednesford Basin
East Cannock Colliery
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BCN Cottage 219 at Hednesford (Hugh Potter) |
BCN Cottage 219
BCN Cottage 218 at Hednesford
Hednesford Basin being filled in
Removing the East Canock Colliery spoil tip - 1962
Hednesford Basin being filled in
Demolition of Hednesford Basin
The above photos have been assembled from various sources, including those freely found on the internet. My thanks go to the many photographers alive and dead who have contributed to this collection and in so doing, are keeping the memory of these lost canals alive. These images are reproduced for ease of research are are not necessarily the property of this blog, and as such should not be used for commercial gain without the explicit permission of the owner (whoever that may be).
In the early sixties my aunty Alice and uncle Frank used to live in cottage 219 .We used to
ReplyDeletevisit them maybe twice a year.I have photos of myself and my two sisters walking along the drained canal the derelict bridges and the sunken barges.
The canal was quite overgrown with saplings etc and my mom used to take the bull rushes for f her flower arrangements.
Another memory was the signal box which was past cottage 218 it still had its levers and we could play there
Paul- an interesting insight - if you fancy sendung me a photo of your photos I will add them to the collection. andrew.tidy@sky.com
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