Typhoo Basin and the Warwick Bar

A need to burn off two cream buns resulted in a circular walk to Typhoo Basin. We have cruised this way on two previous occasions and I have been interested by the Warwick Bar.  Today I walked along the towpath to Digbeth Junction and then directly back to Cambrian Wharf.  The route of the canal is almost a semi-circle.

Left arrow – mooring and right arrow – Digbeth Junction.

Unlike Digbeth the area adjacent to the Farmers Bridge flight of locks has been redeveloped.  It Is now either light commercial or residential.  It Is interesting to note how the developers had to ensure the lock side ponds were retained.  Without these ponds the locks might run out of water.

On first glance I assumed the area under the building was car parking.  Then I realised it was the side pond.

In the above situation the building has been constructed over the lock and supporting columns placed in the side pond.

Wandering along I happened to notice the bridge beams on Barker Bridge (1842).

It was the curve in the bridge beam where it joined and brick abutments.  They are cast iron.

Actually they are very large cast iron beams. The beams are probably from Horseley Ironworks as are many of the canal bridges. The deck is made of iron plates.

There are three interesting things to see at Digbeth Junction

• The Warwick Bar & old Banana Warehouse
• Typhoo Basin
• The Gun Barrel Proof house

Digbeth Junction

The Warwick Bar is a stop lock.  It was built to prevent the lose of water from one canal company to another.  Beside the bar is the veranda and rear of the former Banana Warehouse.

I had wondered what the old wharf had been used for and now I know.  Both the Bar and warehouse are Grade II listed.

On the opposite side of the junction is the Gun Barrel Proof House.  The proof house was established in 1813 at the request of the thriving Birmingham small arms industry.  I remember having a BSA bike as a boy.  Only later when I had an air rifle did I discover BSA were the initials of Birmingham Small Arms.  Testing of small arms ammunition is still conducted here.

Typhoo Basin is at right angles to the Warwick Bar.  Initially I thought it was Typhoon Basin and mentioned my error to Jan.  She promptly mentioned Typhoo Tea.  There is a connection.  Typhoo Tea established their blending factory here.  At the beginning of the 20th century Birmingham had more than 60 tea merchants mostly selling broad leaf tea.  The founder of Typhoo Tea was John Sumner (b1856) who was born into a local grocery family.  His sister suffered from indigestion and had discovered drinking tea made from fine particles rather than the more prevalent broad leaf avoided this.  She convinced John to specialise in fine particle blended tea made from the edge of the leaf.  Typhoo Tea was the first to be sold pre-packaged rather than loose.  Today Typhoo Tea is owned by Apeejay Surrendra Group, one of India’s largest tea producers.

Digbeth Junction looking towards Typhoo Basin

The remains of Typhoo Basin

The area around Digbeth Junction is a designated conservation area. Developers have proposed building a large cassino here utilising the existing historic buildings.

Before leaving this area I must mention one other fact.  Digbeth is where Brylcreem was invented in 1928.  It is an emulsion of water and mineral oil stabilised with beeswax.  Not that I use it!

The NEC and Roundhouse

A brisk walk to the Moor Street Railway Station enabled me to catch the 9.30 No 900 bus from Birmingham to Coventry.  My journey only took me as far as Birmingham International Airport which is also the location of the National Exhibition Centre (NEC).  It would have been faster to go by train but by using my bus pass my journey was free.

The NEC is HUGE! It was the first day of the annual caravan and motorhome show.  My reasons for going were curiosity and some of the technology that goes into caravans is applicable to narrowboats.  We have been to the camping and caravan show in Adelaide, South Australia and it wouldn’t have filled 15% of the NEC.

At one stage I was considering purchasing a motorhome to take back to Australia but the income tax doesn’t make it a viable option.  Caravans are not subject to import tax and is financially viable.  However I’ve decided on a rugged outback trailer which should will be cheaper.  One other problem with purchasing in the UK and importing would be spare parts.  Swift and Bailey caravans have a presence but most of the other brands were foreign to me.

The style and range of caravans and motorhomes far exceeds anything I’ve seen in Australia.  Some luxury units.

And some less expensive units based on vans. 

One other fact that was very apparent.  99.9% of the visitors were Anglo-Saxon and my generation!  It was an interesting half day.

Once back in Birmingham I wandered down to the new Sherborne Wharf boater facilities beside the Fiddle & Bone pub.  That’s when I noticed the roundhouse.  Funny how we visited Birmingham last year and I never noticed the roundhouse.

My initial thought was it was some type of circular wharf adjacent to the canal but the layout didn’t make sense.  The openings are too narrow to unload a boat unless it was done vertically.  Moreover the opening would need to be on the inside rather than outside.  The Fiddle & bone website had more information about the building’s history.  The primary use was stables for canal boat horses.  They were stabled on two floors.  Completed in 1893, it could house 80+ horses.  It’s actually horseshoe shaped with the entrance on the opposite side to the canal.  The ground is lower on the non towpath side so the building is actually three storeys high on that side.  It’s Grade II listed and mostly unoccupied.  CRT are currently collaborating with the National Trust on how to best utilise the building.

The Jewellery Quarter (cont) and Hockley Port

Among my observations walking around the Jewellery Quarter was the large number of residents who were ethnically Indian.  Then I remembered gold plays an important part in Indian culture.  I was only reminded of this latter point when I walked past the office of the Indian Consulate in the Jewellery Quarter.  I’d already walked past a Sikh Temple and I then noticed the tulip shape of another temple further to the north.

However the building I found most interesting was this one which from a distance I thought might be a church.  It was the roof to the tower that made me curious.

 

The building is adjacent to Hockley Circus.  As I got closer it was apparent the building was not a church.  Walking around to the far side I found a large sign.

It’s a Hindu Temple.  Obviously it wasn’t built as a temple but searching on Bhagwan Valmik Ashram didn’t provide any information about the building history.  By then using the street name and school (a guess) I was able to find out it’s the former Icknield Street School.  Designed by J Chamberlain (that name again) of Birmingham in 1883 as a school for girls.  Chamberlain designed schools that were airy, plenty of natural light and beauty.  The interesting tower is above the central staircase and was designed to draw air up through the building.  It’s Grade II listed and on the “at risk” register.

From here I walked to Hockley Port which is a branch off the Soho Loop.  There are some 48 moorings here along with CRT boater facilities.  We actually used them last year.  This time my arrival was via the road which is actually a run down lane with derelict buildings on both sides.  Most of the moorings are residential and there is also a dry dock.

The port is mentioned in the history of the Jewellery Quarter.  Looking back you can see the derelict looking buildings.

There is a sign beside one of the doors.

I backtracked and found a footpath that would take me to the junction of the Hockley Port basin and the Soho Loop.

The junction looking north

I followed the very well maintained towpath to the north and happened to notice another interesting looking building across the park.

Another school?  Well I got that wrong!  The rapid increase in Birmingham’s population during the first half of the 19th century also resulted in a significant increase in the number of people with mental illness.The Birmingham Lunatic Asylum Committee approved the construction of an institution to house 300 pauper lunatics.  The result was All Saints Mental Asylum which was build in 1847 adjacent to Winson Green Gaol.

Walk along the towpath and you reach Asylum Bridge.

To the right of the towpath are the high walls of Birmingham Gaol (formerly Winson Green Gaol)

The towpath had one of those hump backed brick arch bridges adjacent to the prison wall and I could see what must have once been an arm to the canal had been filled in.

Whilst attempting to find more information about the canal’s connection to the prison I came upon this piece of information

“Winson Green Gaol was brought into use in 1849, and extended in the mid 1850s. The first governor was dismissed after complaints of lack of discipline within the prison. His replacement was imprisoned after a Home Office Commission confirmed complaints of brutality.”

Unfortunately the only information I could find mentioned a prison canal basin.

Generous Boaters, Sunday Lunch and the Jewellery Quarter

The two of us were awake and up before 6am so it was a very lazy start to the day.  Around 9am Jan heard a boat winding above the Farmers Bridge Flight.  It was nb Chuffed with Dave at the tiller.  I wandered across to dispose of our rubbish in the CRT area and also say goodbye to Dave & Debby who are heading back to their home mooring.

Debby generously gave Jan some apples which will no doubt come in very useful.

|It Is interesting how you can read other blogs and know the people, yet rarely meet.  When you do it seems like you’ve known them for ages.

The location for our Sunday lunch was The Pitcher & Piano beside the canal In Brindley Place.  An excellent choice (9/10) with a very attentive waitress and delicious food.  Jan opted for the beef whilst I had the roast pork belly.  The crackling was crisp and flavoursome.  Neither of us had room for a dessert.

After lunch I went for an interesting walk around the Jewellery Quarter.  I wont cover much of the history as it can be found here.  Suffice to say it has an interesting past with a canal connection.  I hadn’t realised it has the largest collection of jewellery related businesses in Europe.  There are far fewer than a couple of hundred years ago but many of the buildings appear to still be related to the industry.

The first thing I noticed was this large padlock beside the BMW distributors premises.

It marks the start of the Charm Bracelet Trail.  From this point onwards there are bronze plaques in the pavement marking important points on the trail.

The Pen Museum is in the Argent Centre on Fredrick St.   Back in the 1800’s 75% of everything written in the world was done with a pen made in Birmingham.  The industry only declined in the 1950’s with the general use of the fountain pen and then the biro.  I guess I’m showing my age when I remember being at school and dipping the steel nib of my pen into the inkwell on my desk.  How I hated those pens!

There is a clock tower on the junction of Fredrick St and Warstone Lane.

This is the Chamberlain Clock which was erected in 1903 to mark the visit of Joseph Chamberlain to South Africa.  I’d never heard of Joseph, only Neville.  He was a well known Birmingham businessman who subsequently entered parliament as a liberal.   After reading the Wikipedia link I now know he was the father of Neville Chamberlain.

Let them eat cake!

There we were minding our own business when fellow bloggers James & Debbie (nb Lois-Jane) appeared not bearing gifts.  Actually there were three bloggers as Les & Jaq (nb Valerie) were also present.

L-R Jaq, James, Debbie, Jan & Les.

Later blogger Debby from nb Chuffed stopped and introduced herself and then even later Barry (nb Areandare) called in to say hello.

Back to James & Debbie.  They were able to pass on some valuable information.  There is a bakery outlet in the University College Birmingham.  The right arrow points to it in the map below.  The left arrow is our mooring in Cambrian Wharf.

If you time your visit for around 11am the outlet has a good range of fresh bread and cakes at a very reasonable price.  For example some of the bread was being sold at 10p per loaf.  All the produce is baked on site by the students and then sold in the bakery outlet on the ground floor. 

James & Debbie provided directions.

1. Enter the building through one of the two revolving doors
2. Go straight ahead up the short flight of stairs.
3. Around the corner to the left is a security guard and a turnstile.
4. Tell the guard you want to go to the bakery and he/she will let you through the turnstile.
5. The small bakery outlet is a short distance straight ahead.

Don’t go too early as the students won’t have finished baking.  Don’t go after 1145 as the other students are frantically buying all the produce for their lunch.

The crews of Valerie and Waiouru made the walk and were very pleased with their purchases.

Our lunch

It’s a short blog post tonight because Wales is playing Australia.

Quiet day in Birmingham

First I must acknowledge the comments from readers Pip & Mick and Halfie who correctly pointed out the error in our last post.  Netherton Tunnel is below the level of Dudley Tunnel rather than higher.  Of course I knew that because I’d walked up the three Parkhead Locks to the southern entrance.  I’m claiming a seniors moment.

This isn’t the first time we’ve used the New Main Line to reach the centre of Birmingham.  Much of it either has the railway on one side or goes through deep cuttings.    We took the obligatory photo of the M5 motorway cross the canal high above us.

On the other side is the aqueduct that carries the Old Main Line parallel to; and below; the M5.

Boring straights until we reached Summit Tunnel which is made from concrete and obviously rather modern.

The aqueduct that carries the Engine Arm Canal over the New Main Line is rather interesting.  Designed by Thomas Telford and made of cast iron, it’s a combination of arch and through girder with a suspended trough.  The engine arm supplied water from Edgbaston Reservoir to the Old Main Line. 

There is an interesting structure on the north bank opposite the former Cape Junction.  I first noticed it last year.  A large temporary sheet steel roof has been constructed over a some sort of old complex made of brick.  I assume the complex is being renovated.

There is a recycling plant between the canal and the complex.  After looking in Google Earth this complex appears to be on the site of a rail yard.

Just around the bend was another example of Birmingham’s industrial past.

 

This last part of the cruise is very familiar.  We quietly slipped through the moorings around Old Turn Junction and went down to Cambrian Wharf where our luck held and we managed to get the last vacant 14 day mooring.  Opposite is a very well known boat.

Got to cut it here as a well known rugby team is playing tonight.

Another great day

What a contrast to yesterday.  One of us awoke to a clear blue sky (the other had risen before dawn!).  The question was “Do we make the most of the day and cruise or do we relax in the sunshine beside the boat?”  Cruising won the day and we prepared Waiouru to move across the canal to the water point adjacent to the Bumble Hole tea rooms.

Jan started conversing with one of the friendly ladies from the tea rooms and during the conversation was informed the grassed area on the opposite side of the canal (where we had moored the night) had been cut up and left a mess several weeks ago when “Travellers” smashed through the park gate and set up a community.  Apparently they refused to move on when requested by the police and only left after the council obtained a court order.  It was only then that they left, but not before cutting up the grass with their vehicles and leaving all their rubbish behind.  It has cost the council several thousands to restore the area.

Good water pressure here and we filled the tank yesterday so we weren’t delayed very long. It was only a short cruise to the entrance to Netherton Tunnel. 

This was the last English canal tunnel built during the age of canals.  It’s obvious that canal builders had improved their methods since their first tunnels.  It’s wide, high and as straight as an arrow.  It also has a towpath on both sides.  It took almost 3 years to complete and was finished in 1858.  The tunnel is almost 3km long and was constructed to reduce the congestion created by the adjacent older and very narrow Dudley Tunnel.  Netherton Tunnel is higher than the Dudley Tunnel.  It links to the New Main Line whilst the Dudley links to the lower Old Main Line.  I have to continually remind myself the area of park and woodland around and over the tunnel wouldn’t have existed back in 1858.  The area would have been riddled with mines.  Horse drawn boats would have been conveying the extracted coal and other products around an extensive local canal network.  Obviously why it is known as “The Black Country”.

We counted six air shafts whilst passing through the tunnel.  Only two of them were dry and that wasn’t surprising seeing the area is known for water seepage.  Remember that steam pump at Cobbs Engine House!  Jan was going to take a photo up one of the air shafts but decided a face full of water wasn’t worth the effort.

Last time we came this way we passed two cyclists in the tunnel.  Today we had it all to ourselves.

Shortly after exiting the tunnel the canal passes under the Old Main Line.  There is a wide island around the central pier of the aqueduct which I assume would have been one of the many gauging stations on the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN).  No doubt there was a significant volume of short haul canal traffic between various canal arms and the canal company would have constructed numerous gauging stations to ensure there was no revenue leakage.

The Netherton Tunnel Branch joins the New Main Line at Dudley Port Junction.  We needed to make a decision.  Left to Tipton and Wolverhampton or right to Birmingham.  We decided to turn right!   Along the way we couldn’t but help it be amused by the clothing two fishermen were wearing.

All it needed was green paint on their faces and the fish would never have seen them!