Northern Canals Association’s Spring Meeting 2023
Bradley Canal Restoration Society
Sunday, 12 February 2023
Forty-one delegates from twenty-two restoration societies gathered for the Spring Meeting of the NCA held at Bradley, in the heart of the Black Country.
Additionally, around ten volunteers from the Bradley Canal Restoration Society helped the day run smoothly. Their efforts ranged from car park duties to accompanying the groups retracing the Old Wednesbury Loop Line, Rotton Brunt Line and the Bradley Lock Branch itself, leading down towards the Walsall Canal. On the tour, delegates heard about plans for restoration of the Branch, and admired the work being carried out by the volunteers at the three lower lock sites.
At the local primary school venue – Wilkinson School, itself built on the site of the former prosperous Wilkinson Iron Works – Dave Pearson, Chair of the BCRS, and Phil Clayton, renowned BCN canal author, outlined the history of the Branch and looked at the place of its restoration within the BCN.
The school was also the setting for the NCA’s Update Sessions, where restoration societies took the opportunities to give illustrated talks on their latest news. These included contributions from the North Walsham & Dilham in the east, Shrewsbury & Newport in the west, the Somersetshire Coal Canal from the south, and Manchester’s Underground Canal from the north.
The other key activity for the day was a visit to Bradley C&RT lock-gate workshop. Here, Simon Turner, C&RT’s National Workshop Manager, showed us the various stages of lock-gate production. These included a description of the original technical site visit, technical drawings, timber selection and ironwork decisions.
We were shown the manufacturing process itself, from planing and cutting mortise and tenon joints to shaping the quoin posts. Although some of the machinery used is over fifty years old, we were assured that, although a crosscut saw and hand auger were on show, industrial-sized chainsaws and power tools are used nowadays.
The tour gave restoration groups the chance to ask questions about the leaves they will need for future lock restorations. However, the question still arises – where will private canal restoration groups source their gates in the future?
The NCA’s philosophy is to involve the local community, where possible, with its biannual meetings. At Bradley, the opportunity arose. Here, the Old Bush Inn is adjacent to the infilled line of the canal. The Inn’s provision of an Indian lunch and some liquid refreshment was much appreciated.
The next meeting of the NCA is to be held at Radcliffe (Sunday, October 8th, 2023), close to the site of the infamous 1936 breach on the Manchester, Bolton & Bury.
Here, the local Canal Society will look at “Levelling Up and Unlocking Canal Development”, and examine two of their restoration projects, including repair to the breach.
Additionally, the group will show how their canal has become a focal point for Art and Community developments.
As always, there will be walks along the project sites.