Moat House Bridge Sump Aqueduct

Moat House Bridge Sump Aqueduct

Staffs and Worcester

I am developing quite an affection for the humble sump aqueduct.

It had never really occurred to me that crossing a watercourse which flows neither above nor below the level of a canal would cause a problem, but it does. What do you do if the surface level of the stream is below the surface level of the canal, but above the level of the canal bed?

Moat House Bridge sump aqueduct

The answer has to be to force the water down a submarine culvert which burrows under the canal track, and then pops up again on the far side. A solution which is similar to the humble U bend under your sink. The problem with this solution is that if something heavy falls down the sump it probably won't be washed out the other side and, over time, an accumulation of these 'somethings', say bricks, will block the sump and need clearing out, which is no mean feat when it is completely full of water.

There is an original sump aqueduct just below Deptmore Lock further along the Staffs and Worcester, but this one has clearly been renewed at some point and the original brick duct replaced with a series of strudy concrete pipes.

All in all not much to look at, but an ingenious solution to a very real problem.

Wolverley Aqueduct

Wolverley Aqueduct

Staffs and Worcester Canal

I include this aqueduct mainly to illustrate the point where I feel that an aqueduct is no longer an aqueduct, but that depends on the weather!

Photo of Wolverley Aqueduct from the Captian's own collection

This aqueduct carries the Staffs and Worcester canal over a tributary of the Stour, just north of Kidderminster. In dry weather the channel is visible but at the time of my visit we were in the middle of a very wet spell (aka any British summer) it was completely submerged and operating as a sump.

Do you see my dilemma? It's not just the nature of a structure that makes it an aqueduct, it also depends on the flow of water beneath. Maybe a need a category called "seasonal aqueducts", but that's getting silly!

Stour Aqueduct - Stourton Junction

Stour Aqueduct - Stourton Junction

Staffs and Worcester Canal

Its confusing to have two aqueducts called the same thing, but its a fact that the Staffs and Worcester Canal passes over the River Stour twice. Firstly just north of Stourton on the confluence of the diminutive River Stour and Smestow Brook.

Photos from the Captain's own collection

The single arch span is typical of Brindleys "lowslung and chunky" design. Getting a good perspective on it is very difficult for the western perspective in the summer due to the vegitation, and the eastern side looked like an impossibility.

The second Stour Aqueduct is about eight miles downstream in Kidderminster, where a much more substantial Stour crosses back to the eastern side of the canal.

River Trent Aqueduct(s) - Great Haywood

River Trent Aqueduct(s) - Great Haywood

Staffs and Worcester Canal

I just knew what this one would look like before I wormed my way around the end of the balustrade and down onto the adjoining field.

It's a Brindley canal so it had to be a low slung heavy masonry aqueduct with multiple arches to accommodate the erratic water flows of the upper River Trent. Whilst it isn't immediately apparent, this aqueduct has four arches, with the outer two largely obscured by vegitation.

And so it was - a classic!

But that's no all. No there's more.

At Great Haywood there is not one aqueduct but two. Very close to the main river aqueduct there is a second narrows which carries the canal over a single arched aqueduct beneath which lies the remains of the old millstream. The mill building remains, but the pools, weirs and streams have all been built over and from the upstream side only a sliver of water is visible behind a security fence.

All photos are from the Captians personal collection - July 09

Deptmore Lock Sump Aqueduct

Deptmore Lock Sump Aqueduct

Staffs and Worcester Canal

I was sitting at the foot of Deptmore Lock, reading a copy of Canals and Rivers (thin on content) waiting for an oncoming boat to pass through when I saw it. A low brick wall beside me, so I hopped off the stern and leaned over for a look.

Bingo - an aqueduct. So I hauled myself over the fence and slithered over a very muddy meadow to get a photo.

Photo is from the Captian's personal collection - July 09

I am not sure I should really include this as an aqueduct as it is more of a culvert really and passable only with the aid of an aqualung. However, it is interesting because it carries a flowing stream the surface of which is below the surface of the canal but higher than the canal bed. The solution appears to have been to create a U shaped sump with a fairly large brick arch into which the water flows on the western side and then wells up again on he east.

It's a good job this structure was well made because it must be the devils own job to fix or repair. I suspect that this structure has been quietly going about its business for over 200 years.

I wonder what BW would do if it got blocked - call in Dyno-Rod?

Sow Aqueduct

Sow Aqueduct

Staffs and Worcester Canal nr Tixall

A squat, four arch stone aqueduct constructed by James Brindley. This was initially built on dry land and, when complete, the River Sow was diverted under it. Very similar to its near neighbour over the River Trent.

Captain Ahab's personal collection - July 09

The Sow is a tributary of the Trent, which it joins at Great Haywood near Shugborough.

In times of flood I have seen the water right up to the top of the arches, and the upstream valley flooded from one side to the other. For the rest of the time the river has barely enough water to float a canoe.

Calf Heath Aqueduct

Calf Heath Aqueduct

This aqueduct goes almost unnoticed from the canal, with just four small crenelated "turrets" marking the corners atop a high stone wall.

Captain Ahabs own collection

The river flowing under it is a tributary of the Penk, but I can't identify its name. In times of heavy rain it quickly turns into a torrent and this is certainly more than a mere culvert.

Getting a good vantage point is tricky, but possible from the end the grounds belonging to Calf Heath Marina, aka Mistys. I will post a better photo taken in the winter, when the leaves of the weeping willow have fallen.

Stour Aqueduct - Kidderminster

Stour Aqueduct - Kidderminster
Staffs and Worcester Canal

Kidderminster Aqueduct - eastern perspective (concrete) from the Captian's collection

A substantial double arched aqueduct which returns the Staffs and Worcester Canal to the western side of the Stour, immediately before Kidderminster Lock.

Kidderminster Aqueduct - western perspective - the original brick face.