The Warwick and Birmingham Canal carried freight to Warwick Bar in central Birmingham- then the heart of the Industrial Revolution in the “city of a thousand trades”, constructed by the Surveyor Samuel Bull and the Engineer William Felkin, following an Act of Parliament passed in 1793.

 

Technically the canal had to overcome the difficulties of descending form the plateau that Birmingham is built on down to the Leam-Avon valley containing Warwick. The main source of water was Olton reservoir, but in 1796 a Boulton and Watt steam engine started work in Bowyer Street, Bordesley to pump water from the bottom to the top of Camp Hill Locks. Major features on its 22 mile length included lock flights at Camp Hill and Knowle, a 433-yard tunnel through sandstone at Shrewley and a major lock flight of 21 locks at Hatton, until terminating at the important garrison county town of Warwick serviced by the Saltisford wharf.  

 

Early supporters of the new canal included the Earl of Warwick and the Birmingham Canal Navigations Company- for whom it provided a route to the south.

 

The canal officially opened in 1799 and joined with another new canal the Warwick and Napton. This opened a direct route to London and was part of the grand cross strategy to link the four major ports of England- London, Liverpool, Bristol and Hull.  

 

Inland Waterways were at the time revolutionary in lowering transportation costs and speeding up freight which previously had to go by pack horse. Raw materials such as iron, lime, timber and coal could be carried straight to the new factories wharves, and finished goods be returned direct to the new cities and exported from the ports. The wealth they created powered the growth of the British Empire, and was the catalyst for the Industrial Revolution, decades before the development of railways.  

 

The canal was an initial success and joined with the Birmingham And Warwick Junction Canal in 1844, a short navigation built to relieve congestion at the Birmingham end. However competition from new technology in the form of steam railways lead to a 2/3 in revenues and the two canals agreed to be sold to the London and Birmingham Railway for closure and conversion into railway lines for the large sum of over ½ £ million. The deal however fell through and the navigations stayed open.  

 

In 1895 the Warwick and Birmingham and the Warwick and Napton merged to form the Grand Junction Canal Company. Falling freight volumes lead in 1917 for merging with the Warwick and Birmingham Junction canal under one management. In 1929 the companies were sold and formed part of the Grand Union Canal Company, who in the 1930’s tried major modernisations including building Hatton Locks. The Saltisford Arm had a major new role during the works as a depot and site for casting concrete piles.  

 

In 1947 the Canals were nationalised and in the 1970’s British Waterways were formed. The dereliction of the Canal Arm in the 1970’s lead to the formation of the Saltisford Canal Trust who started restoration in 1982 leading to its renaissance. See the restoration page.