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1775 - 1792

 

 

1775 

Work began on Lord Dudley and Ward?s branch canal from the Birmingham Canal to his Tipton Colliery and a 227-yard tunnel to his limestone mines under Castle Hill.

(see Historical documents - Snape map)

 

1776  - 6th June

The first meeting of the Committee of the Dudley Canal Company. Major shareholders were Lord Dudley and Ward, Thomas Talbot Foley and other local businessmen. One of them, Abiathar Hawkes, was appointed Treasurer and  Thomas Dadford Sr was the engineer. The planned route for the new canal was from a junction with the Stourbidge at Black Delfe in Brierley Hill, through land owned by Lord Dudley and Ward, to two terminal basins in fields called Great Ox Leasow and Little Ox Leasow and owned by Foley.

 

1778 - 1st June 

Aris?s Birmingham Gazette reported that the branch from Tipton to Castle Mill iscomplete. This was known as Lord Ward?s Canal and Tunnel.

 

1779 - 24th June 

Original Dudley Canal completed.

 

1784 

Proposals for an extension from the northern end of the Dudley Canal with five locks to raise the level of the canal to about that of Lord Ward?s Canal (the Wolverhampton Level) and to link the two with a tunnel.

 

1785 - 4th July 

King George III gave his assent to the proposals and the Act for DudleyTunnel and locks at Parkhead was passed.

 

1785 - 5th July 

John Snape and John Bull started to survey the tunnel, including sites of construction shafts (probably 12).

 

1785 - 19th September 

Aris?s Birmingham Gazette published the specification for the tunnel:

width 9' 3", depth of water 5' 6", head room 7', estimated completion date 25th March 1788.  The consultant engineer was again Thomas Dadford Sr and the resident engineer was Abraham Lees.  John Pinkerton was employed as contractor to undertake the construction.

 

 

1785 - October 

Work starts at the Parkhead end of the tunnel.

 

1787 - January 

Contractor?s work is deemed to be unsatisfactory. Payments to Pinkerton are suspended and two members of the Dudley Committee (Isaac Pratt and Richmond Aston) are appointed to oversee the work taking place at each end  (Pratt at Parkhead, Aston at Castle Mill).

 

1787 - February 

Dudley Company resolves to take over the construction of the tunnel.

Thomas Dadford Sr resigns to take a more lucrative position with

the Trent and Mersey Co. Work starts on the junction between Lord Ward?s Canal and the new tunnel, to be known as Castle Mill Basin. Isaac Pratt assumes overall charge.

 

1788 - October 

John, 2nd Viscount Lord Dudley and Ward died. His successor, William,does not share his enthusiasm for canals.

 

1789 - May 

Isaac Pratt lays down his responsibilities and in June Josiah Clowes is appointed as engineer to complete the tunnel for one Guinea per day plus expenses

 

1792 

The Dudley Canal Tunnel is reported open to traffic on 15th October.