STOURBRIDGE 16 LOCK FLIGHT SPLIT BRIDGES 1779 Audnam, West Midlands
Sixteen locks lift the Birmingham Canal out of the Stour Valley onto the Black Country plateau at Audnam. The canal was completed in 1779. The funding came from "John, 2nd Viscount Dudley and Ward, the Earl of Stamford, Thomas Foley, John Pidcock and John Foster" according to the information kiosk. These gentlemen all had financial interests in the local glass, coal, brick and iron works of the area. Canals, as James Brindley was proving in the Birmingham area, were the ideal mode of transport for the very heavy raw materials needed for these industries and for the transportation later of the finished products. The locks are of the 'narrow boat' dimension that Brindley pioneered. The engineer for the lock flight was Thomas Dudley Jr.
Three split bridges were built too, each of them very slightly different: at Lock 4 (N52o 28' 48.8" W2o 8' 53.1"); between Lock 9 and 10 (N52o28' 39.2" W2o 9' 11.5"); and at Lock 11 (N52o 28' 37.8" W2o 9' 17.0). These little foot bridges are cantilevered so that the two ends do not quite meet in the middle, leaving a space for the tow rope to be passed through. Note that the railings also fail to meet in the middle and there is a projecting guide to keep the passed rope from binding.