Information for record number MWA4314:
The Warwick and Birmingham Canal

Summary The Warwick and Birmingham Canal, a waterway used for the transporting of goods. It was built during the Imperial period.
What Is It?  
Type: Canal
Period: Imperial - Modern (1751 AD - 2050 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Baddesley Clinton
District: Warwick, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 20 67
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 The act authorising a canal from Digbeth to Warwick was passed in 1793. The canal was to end at Saltisford wharf and was originally to have been wide enough for narrow boats only. However, the building of the Grand Junction as a barge canal changed that. Trading began on 19-03-1800 and the cost had been 160 000. The canal was opened simultaneously with the Warwick and Napton canal (WA 4300) and shared its fortunes. It was initially prosperous, but was badly hit by competition from the Fazeley-Coventry-Oxford canal route to London, and later by the railways, this, despite the opening of the Birmingham and Warwick Junction canal in 1844 and the link to the Stratford on Avon canal in 1802. The authorisation of the London and Birmingham railway in 1833 affected the two Warwick canals in particular as they were essentially link canals with relatively little local traffic. By 1845 the railways were offering to buy the canals and by 1849 the canal company was in receivership. They struggled on with greatly reduced capital. There were a number of offers and attempts to take over the canals, all abortive until in 1929 they became part of the Grand Union canal. The Grand Union restored the waterways, building new locks and bridges and concreting the banks, between 1931 and 1937. The whole of the canal remains in use, except for the Saltisford arm in Warwick, which is at present undergoing restoration. It has a total length of 22 and 5-eighths miles, approximateley nine of these being in Warwickshire. There are 21 locks, 15 numbered bridges and one tunnel between Baddesley Clinton and Saltisford.
 
Sources
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: The Canals of the East Midlands
Author/originator: Hadfield C
Date: 1966
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: The Stratford upon Avon and Warwick Canals
Author/originator: Elwin G & King C
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
period Modern The Modern Period, about 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
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period Imperial 1751 AD to 1914 AD (end of the 18th century AD to the beginning of the 20th century AD)

This period comes after the Post Medieval period and before the modern period and starts with beginning of the Industrial Revolution in 1750. It includes the second part of the Hannoverian period (1714 – 1836) and the Victorian period (1837 – 1901). The Imperial period ends with the start of the First World War in 1914.
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period modern About 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
more -> 		back
monument BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. back
monument LOCK * A section of the water channel on a canal or river shut off above and below by lock gates provided with sluices to let the water out and in, and thus raise or lower boats from one level to another. Use more specific type where known. back
monument CANAL * An artificial navigable waterway used for the transportation of goods. Nowadays also used for recreational purposes. back
monument TUNNEL * An underground channel with a vaulted roof. Use specific type where known. back
monument WHARF * A large wooden structure built alongside the water's edge where ships may lie for unloading. back
monument BRIDGE * A structure of wood, stone, iron, brick or concrete, etc, with one or more intervals under it to span a river or other space. Use specific type where known. back
monument RAILWAY * A line or track consisting of iron or steel rails, on which passenger carriages or goods wagons are moved, usually by a locomotive engine. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record