The Stourbridge and Dudley canals were originally proposed as a single canal in 1775, with a primary purpose of carrying coal from Dudley to Stourbridge.
Robert Whitworth had carried out a survey, which was approved at a meeting held in Stourbridge in February, at which the estimated cost was promised by subscribers. The chief promoter was
Lord Dudley, but the bill was withdrawn from Parliament following fierce opposition from the Birmingham Canals. Two bills were presented in the autumn, one for each of the canals, with the details largely unchanged, and both became
acts of Parliament on 2 April 1776, the '''''' (
16 Geo. 3. c. 28) and the
Dudley Canal Act 1776 (
16 Geo. 3. c. 66), despite continued opposition from Birmingham. The Stourbridge Canal Act 1776 allowed the promoters to raise £30,000, but unlike most such acts, did not make any provision for additional amounts.
Thomas Dadford was appointed as engineer, with James Green as an assistant. Work started on the aqueduct which would carry the canal over the
River Stour. The £30,000 of
share capital had been spent by April 1778, and although not authorised to do so, the company issued bonds to raise more money. Construction was largely complete by 1779, and trading began. All of the canal was probably open by December. Dadford resigned in 1781, and the following year, a second act of Parliament, the '''''' (
22 Geo. 3. c. 14), was obtained, to authorise the raising of an extra £10,000, and to legitimise the bonds already issued. The total cost was thus £43,000. Tolls on coal which originated on the canal and was then carried on the
Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal were higher than for other coal on that canal, and the Stourbridge Company had failed to get this clause repealed. They therefore sought to bypass the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, and approached the Birmingham Canals in 1784, with a proposal for a link between the Dudley Canal and their system. This resulted in the
Dudley Canal Act 1785 (
25 Geo. 3. c. 87) which authorised the building of the
Dudley Tunnel, which opened in 1792. They also proposed a canal from Stourbridge to the
River Severn at Diglis, which would have required two tunnels and 128 locks. The
bill for that proposed canal was rejected in 1786 when it reached the
House of Lords, following opposition by the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal Company, but they reduced their tolls for Stourbridge coal two years later. A healthy trade in coal,
ironstone and
limestone developed, supplemented by iron products, bricks, clay, earthenware and glass. A
dividend of 2.45 per cent was paid in 1785, which had risen to 6.3 per cent by 1789.
Operation Trade continued to increase, reaching 100,000 tons in 1796, and continuing upwards as the iron and coal industries developed and the canal became part of a through route, following the opening of the Dudley Tunnel and the
Dudley Canal's extension through the
Lapal Tunnel to
Selly Oak. Dividends increased steadily, with 13.75 per cent being paid in 1840. In order to maintain their position, they helped to fund the enlargement of Gad's Green reservoir, on the Dudley Canal, and also gave money to several coal mines to assist with pumping, on condition that the water was diverted into the canal. Stourbridge basin had to be enlarged in 1807 to cope with the volume of traffic. Further traffic came after 1815, when the
Worcester and Birmingham Canal opened. Iron bound for London was shipped from
Coalbrookdale via the canal and the Dudley's Selly Oak branch. In the 1820s, several wharves were built on the Fens Branch, to serve the developing collieries near
Kingswinford, and the company considered applying for a new act of Parliament in 1829, to give them powers to build extra lines in this area, but they did not proceed. Instead, plans were developed for the
Stourbridge Extension Canal, which served a similar purpose and opened in 1840. On a more personal level, the lockkeeper at Stourton received a pay rise in 1830, as the locks were now in use all night and on Sundays, while the Stourbridge lock-keeper received a similar reward in 1834, and a larger one two years later. In 1836, 144,606 tons of coal were carried, besides all the other traffic.
Railway Age In 1844, the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (OWWR) announced their intention to build a line which would partly run parallel to both the canal and the Dudley Canal. Despite opposition by the canal company, the line was built and opened in 1852 and 1853. However, its effect was not immediately significant, and a proposed reduction in tolls was not deemed to be necessary. Some goods were transferred to the railway from a private basin, which ultimately led to an agreement on tolls for such transfers and the construction in 1858 of a transhipment siding on Stourbridge wharf. Trade held up well, derived from six ironworks and a tinplate works situated on the canal above the Stourbridge flight, traffic from the collieries on the Extension Canal, and various other industrial concerns, including fire-brick manufacturers and glassworks. The '''''' (
28 & 29 Vict. c. lxxix) introduced powers to charge mileage tolls for traffic using the upper level, but not passing through any locks. Income gradually dropped, and the dividend was below 8 per cent for the first time in 1873. For many canal companies, the
Railway and Canal Traffic Act 1888 (
51 & 52 Vict. c. 25) had a detrimental effect on revenue, but the Stourbridge tolls increased significantly, from £1,695 in 1894 to £2,718 in 1896. A programme of dredging and other improvements, which enabled local trade to continue, kept the company profitable until effective competition from road vehicles began. In 1929, tolls were £3,750, although revenue from other sources increased income to £5,270, and a 3 per cent dividend was paid. By 1938, the operating profit was just £222. Tolls were down to £1,278 in 1946, and commercial traffic continued to decline until it ceased.
Stourbridge Extension Canal A separate company built the
Stourbridge Extension Canal from the Fens Branch to
Shut End (in
Kingswinford) thus opening up another part of the coalfield to development. This passed into the hands of the West Midland Railway, the successor to the OWWR in 1860, which then became part of the
Great Western Railway soon afterwards. It remained in use until after the
Second World War. Most of it was then filled in, apart from a few yards at the Fens Branch end, which remain watered and serve as a mooring place.
1903 breach On 14 November 1903 a portion of the canal bank and bottom collapsed into mine-workings, affecting a section of the canal. The breach occurred in the basin that was then on the west side of the canal as it passes between the Brettell Lane bridge and the railway bridge. The section of the canal from the Delph Locks to a short distance north of Brettell Lane bridge was completely drained of water, while further beyond the bridge the water level was significantly reduced as far as Leys junction. The water flooded nearby factories to a considerable depth, including the G. K. Harrison brick works which was beside the basin, and there was a great deal of subsidence. An boiler disappeared into one hole that opened up and the winding gear frame of a nearby mine collapsed into another. By great good fortune the breach happened on a Saturday afternoon when the miners and other workers had all gone home, otherwise there would have been considerable loss of life. The mines and factories were out of action for some time while repairs were made as they depended on the canal for water for steam generation, as well as to supply raw materials and take away finished products. ==Course==