Page 54 - A-Z of BCN 8a

A-Z of the Birmingham Canal Navigations

too, closed - in 1967.

The Birmingham Heath (or Soho) Branch was completed in 1801. It was a short canal, about a quarter of a mile long, which
left the Old Main Line of the BCN near Winson Green and terminated at Soho Wharf. It was constructed at the request of
Matthew Boulton, who needed better canal facilities for the Soho Manufactory. Soho Wharf was chiefly used by coal merchants
who used it to stack coal brought from Black Country and later Cannock Chase collieries. The branch also served a flint glass
works, a rolling mill and a timber yard. Flint glass manufacture is normally associated with the Stourbridge area, but
Birmingham also had number of flint glass works. Most were placed
near to canals where they could receive sand and limestone essential
to the manufacturing process.

In February 1865, two boatman were on a boat laden with a coal near
at Soho Pool Wharf. Suddenly the boat surged forward taking them with
it. They threw out ropes to men on the towpath, but none was able to
render assistance. The boat sped on and was dragged towards a whirl
pool that had appeared in the waterway. The two boatmen were
terrified and did not know what to do. They might have jumped ashore,
but feared that they might miss their footing and fall back into the canal.

As the boat was drawn into the whirlpool it struck the side heavily and 1973 - Hockley Port was built as an interchange basin for
the boatmen were able to scramble on to the towing path. The two men the Great Western Railway, and subsequently has
rapidly ran along the path as ground behind them fell into a deep chasm. become a location for residential moorings.
It is a tale that might well have gripped the attention in a work of fiction, BCNS Archives
as the hero escaped in the nick of time. Both men were probably lucky
to be alive.

The reason behind the calamity was probably poor workmanship by a
railway contractor. In 1854, the Great Western Railway line from

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