The lost Portway Branch Canal
The Portway Branch sat on the top of the BCN world. It extended to the west from the old Titford Reservoir and was built to reach the collieries of Rowley Regis and terminated in a fan of basin each connected to a colliery with a tramway.
Over time industry grew along its course to include brickworks and ironworks.
These days this canal which sits on a high neck of land is long gone and its course turned into a hige and rather boggy recreation field, and the basins are a jumble of furrows and ditches which merely hint at the industry which went before.
These days the M5 crosses the line.
Junction of the Portway, Causeway Green and Titford Canals
Start of Portway Branch at Titford Pool - Source Ian Huselbee
Titford Weir 1960 - T Eggington Worcestershire Archive
Colliery Basins at the far end of the Portway Branch
Portway Coal Basins 1956 - Worcestershire Archive J G Harding
Pratts Brickyard, Portway - Molly McMullen
Portway Overflow at brickworks 1951 - Source Sandwell Archive RPS
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).
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