Pelsall then and now (1962 and 2025)

Pelsall then and now

23 August 2025

There is always something rather compelling about then and now photos, comparing what we see today with what was there before.

In this case I have dipped into the HE Evans archive which is held by CRT in Ellesmere Port and reproduced courtesy of CRT's National Waterways Archive.  I have highlighted a handful of photos taken of the canals in the Pelsall area in November 1962, and compared them with an identical set taken by myself in August 2025.

The changes which have taken place over the intervening 60 years can be frustrating with built structures changing and vegetation growing, but maybe 50% can be recreated with some degree of accuracy.

Lets start with the entrance to the Gilpins Branch, on the Brownhills side of Pelsall:

The towpath bridge which crossed the entrance to the arm is long gone, now replaced by a bank of reeds:

Then we come to the name plate on Yorks Foundry Bridge. 

By 2025 the bridge has been widened and the concrete addition covers the site of the old name plate, but the plates themselves have been reattached to the new structure.

The sign also remains on the northern side, but again is partially obscured.

Before we leave Yorks Foundry Bridge lets take a peep south through the arch at the ruins of the canal-side cottage in 1962.

Fast forward and the cottage is gone, replaced by a much newer property built on exactly the same spot.

Moving on Pelsall Common (North)

The old bridge remains constant but the vegetation is crowding into the scene.

Turning north up the Cannock Extension Canal the vegetation completely obscures the cottage which still strands at the narrows.

Lets take a look up the Cannock Extension Canal in greater detail:

Next lets take a look back to the Junction Cottage from the bridge we saw in the distance:

Just about recognisable, but much has been obscured by vegetation.

To round off this "then and now" collection I have recreated a couple of scenes based on much older photos. First there is the old Colliery Basin with waste pile of the Grove Pit in the background.

There is not much left in 2025, save a slight variation to the canal bank where the bridge used to stand.

But perhaps the most significant change is the eradication of the three old ironworks which stood on the common;

Not quite the same vantage point, but the change is incredible. Yes it really is the same place!