Timeline - Canals in King's Norton

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When?	What?	Information
1769	Birmingham and Wolverhampton Canal	While this did not come near King's Norton, its success led to the Worcester and Birmingham Canal.
The building of King's Nortons canals
1791	Worcester and Birmingham Canal Act 1791 c59	The "Canal Age" was about 1760 to 1840, so King's Norton was relatively late getting its canals. The period !791 to 1795 has been referred to as "canal mania", with many enabling Acts, including these.
1793	Stratford-upon-Avon Canal Act 1793 c112	This was the main enabling Act. There is unconfirmed mention of Acts of (variously) 1795, 1796, and 1799.
November 1793	Construction commenced on Stratford upon Avon Canal at King's Norton
1795-6	Brandwood Tunnel, (also confusingly known as King's Norton Tunnel), west portal, Stratford on Avon Canal	SP 065795; IoE number: 217611 Tunnel started November 1795, finished May 1796
c1795	Bridge No 1, Stratford on Avon Canal, east of junction of Stratford on Avon Canal with the Worcester and Birmingham Canal	SP 055794; IoE number: 409756
1794-1802	Guillotine Stop Lock, under Bridge No 1, see above	SP 055794; IoE number: 217363 John Todd - LOCKS
1794-1802	Roving Bridge, over Worcester and Birmingham Canal at junction with the Stratford on Avon Canal	SP 053793; IoE number: 217365
May 1796	The first section of the Stratford on Avon Canal, from King's Norton to Hockley Heath, opened
1796?	Connection between Worcester and Birmingham Canal and Stratford on Avon Canal
1796-7	Entrance to Wasthill Tunnel, (also confusingly known as King's Norton Tunnel), Worcester and Birmingham Canal	SP 048780; IoE number: 217602 The tunnel reached King's Norton (from the north) by May 1796. By March 1797 the tunnel at Wasthill, towards Worcester, was open.
1802	Canal House, at junction of Worcester and Birmingham Canal with the Stratford on Avon Canal	SP 053793; IoE number: 217364
1815	Worcester and Birmingham Canal opened to Worcester.
1815	Worcester and Birmingham Canal connected to Birmingham Canal Navigations	This is not directly to do with King's Norton, because the stop lock at the connection was in the Gas Street Basin. However, it made the Worcester and Birmingham Canal more viable.
June 1816	Stratford on Avon Canal opened throughout
The railways' impact the canals
Eventually the railways caused the decline of commercial use of the canals. But for a time, they were both commecially viable. Indeed, although the railways had an impact on the canals once they operated between the same destinations, between 1848 and 1898 the amount of goods carried on the Birmingham canal system doubled.
1838	Trade in coal peaked on the Stratford on Avon Canal
1842	Work was complete on the Birmingham and Gloucester Railway	It had an immediate effect on the volume of traffic using the Worcester and Birmingham Canal.
1856	The Stratford on Avon Canal company sold out to the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway Company
1865	Ownership of the Stratford on Avon Canal passed to the Great Western Railway
1873-5	Birmingham West Suburban Railway	Some help for the Worcester and Birmingham Canal came from the building of the Birmingham West Suburban Railway. This was to run along the canal bank from Birmingham to King's Norton. The Midland Railway became involved in the deal. The canal was to be paid rent for the land (later to become a guarantee of a 1% share dividend). The payments began in 1873 and the line was running in 1875.
20th Century
1948	Worcester and Birmingham Canal, and Stratford on Avon Canal, nationalised, and now belong to British Waterways	This appears to have been the result of the nationalisation of the railways, which by this time owned or dominated the canals.
1959	Last recorded use of the Guillotine Stop Lock	This is a consequence of the nationalisation of 1948, from when the significance of stealing water where canals (with the same ownership) met became less important. The water levels of these canals are now equalised at this point.
The transition from commercial to leasure traffic on the canals
1946	Inland Waterway Association (IWA)	Set up by enthusiasts, including engineer and industrial historian L T C Rolt, author of "Narrow Boat", it was largely due to its efforts, by unpaid or underpaid enthusiasts, that almost all of the English canal system is still in use today.
1958-9	Warwickshire County Council applied for a warrant of abandonment of the Stratford on Avon Canal	Although the Stratford upon Avon Canal Society was able, in 1959, to counter this 1958 application, it shows the extent of the decline in commercial cargo. It also shows the growing power of canal activists.
1960-1	The last major cargoes on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal ceased
1962	1962 Transport Act	This created the British Waterways Board.
1964	Official reopening of the Stratford on Avon Canal	Queen Mother officially reopened the canal during the celebrations for the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's birthday.
1968	1968 Transport Act	Established the basis for the British Waterways Board to provide amenity and recreational facilities and allowed local authorities to subscribe towards the cost of improving waterways for amenity use.
1970s-80s	The rise of leisure interest in the canals	This was a country-wide phenomenon.