Pensnett Canal

Pensnett Canal
One of the few parts of the canal in water
Specifications
Maximum height above sea level	473 ft (144 m) (Wolverhampton Level)
Status	Mostly infilled
History
Construction began	1839
Date completed	1840
Date closed	1950
Geography
Connects to	Dudley Canal

The Pensnett Canal, also called Lord Ward's Canal was a private 1.25 miles (2 km) long canal near Brierley Hill, West Midlands, England.^[1] The engineer was Mathew Frost.^[2] It has now almost entirely been lost by overbuilding.

It ran from Parkhead Basin at the southern portal of the Dudley Canal to the Wallows Wharf^[3] to serve the Earl of Dudley's coalfields (Old Park and Wallows Collieries) and the northern part of his (now demolished) Round Oak Steelworks, where a short railway ran to the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal.^[3][4] The Dudley No. 1 Canal ran close to the southern part of that works.

It was also known as Lord Ward's Canal although there is an identically named branch from the northern portal of the Dudley Tunnel. Baron Ward was another title of the Earl of Dudley.

The canal is completely unnavigable, having been partly infilled and in many places built upon by industrial premises. The remaining canal was reported by the local council to be contaminated.^[5] A short length, now called Pensnett Basin, runs between Parkhead Junction and an arch of the Parkhead Viaduct, where the arch has been closed off. There is no further access to the former canal although a public footpath follows a short distance over the course between factories. The course of the canal can also be observed from a number of road bridges.

Points of interest

Point	Coordinates (Links to map resources)	OS Grid Ref	Notes
Start. Junction with Dudley Canal at Parkhead Basin	52°29′58″N 2°06′00″W / 52.49956°N 2.10004°W	SO93208911
Limit of navigation in Pensnett Basin	52°29′55″N 2°05′59″W / 52.49868°N 2.09984°W	SO93228902
Parkhead Viaduct	52°29′55″N 2°05′59″W / 52.49851°N 2.09978°W	SO93228900
East end of public footpath between factories	52°29′35″N 2°06′12″W / 52.49292°N 2.10338°W	SO92988838
West end of public footpath between factories. Pedmore Road bridge.	52°29′32″N 2°06′21″W / 52.4922°N 2.1058°W	SO92818830
Canal used as industrial cooling pool	52°29′32″N 2°06′20″W / 52.49223°N 2.10550°W	SO92838830
Rail bridge	52°29′31″N 2°06′38″W / 52.49195°N 2.11069°W	SO92488827
Canal Street bridge	52°29′28″N 2°06′46″W / 52.49099°N 2.11276°W	SO92348816
Site of Round Oak Steelworks	52°29′19″N 2°07′00″W / 52.4886°N 2.1166°W	SO920879
Site of Harthill Iron Works	52°29′29″N 2°06′45″W / 52.4915°N 2.1125°W	SO92368822
A461 Dudley Road bridge	52°29′25″N 2°07′05″W / 52.49020°N 2.11800°W	SO91988807
Terminus (approx). The Wallows, Hope Works, start of Mineral Railway to Stourbridge Canal.	52°29′27″N 2°07′12″W / 52.4908°N 2.1199°W	SO91858814
Terminus (approx) of Mineral Railway by Stourbridge Canal	52°29′37″N 2°07′44″W / 52.4936°N 2.1289°W	SO9125884

References

1. "Pensnett Canal". UK Canals Network. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
2. "Pensnett Canal". Birmingham Canal Navigations Society. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
3. Shill, Ray (1996). The Industrial Canal - Volume 1 The Coal Trade. Three Spires Print and Design. ISBN 0-9517755-5-3.
4. "Pensnett Canal". Waterways of the UK. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
5. "Brierley Hill Area Action Plan Publication Baseline Report". Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council. Retrieved 23 March 2012.

Coordinates: 52°29′28″N 2°06′46″W / 52.49099°N 2.11276°W