Salford Junction

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The Grand Union Canal above the River Tame and below the M6 motorway
The Grand Union Canal above the River Tame and below the M6 motorway
To Fazeley ahead, to Bordesley Junction right
To Fazeley ahead, to Bordesley Junction right
Start of the Tame Valley Canal with its toll island. To Birmingham, left
Start of the Tame Valley Canal with its toll island. To Birmingham, left

Salford Junction (grid reference SP095901) is the name of the junction where the Grand Union Canal and Tame Valley Canal meet the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal north of Birmingham, England.

One of the Birmingham terminations of the Grand Union Canal (originally here named the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal) is under the M6 motorway just east of Spaghetti Junction (officially named "Gravelly Hill Interchange" and forming junction 6 of the M6). Here, at Salford Junction, it meets the end of the Tame Valley Canal and the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal to Birmingham (south) and Tamworth (north-west). Above Salford Junction are the slip roads to Birmingham's busiest motorway junction. Below it are the confluences of the Hockley Brook and River Rea into the River Tame.

Salford Junction became a double junction on February 14, 1844 when the Grand Union Canal and Tame Valley Canal joined the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal.[1] Prior to this, the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal crossed the River Tame via a seven-arched aqueduct, each with a span of 18 feet.[2] T & S Element opened boatyards at Salford Bridge in 1932 which soon became the company's head office. Spencer, Abbott and Company owned a boatbuilding yard at the junction too, however traces of these companies no longer exist.[3]

A bridge has been recorded as being at this location since 1536 during the reign of King Henry VIII's reign, however is believed to have existed since 1290.[4] In the document where it is first mentioned, into is named Shrafford Brugge and described as having four arches of stone.[4] "Shrafford" is a Saxon word meaning "the ford by the caves". The caves were natural, water formed cavities in the face of the nearby Copeley Hill escarpment, which were used as air-raid shelters in World War II and were finally removed upon the construction of Spaghetti Junction. The bridge was to be repaired by the parish of Aston, however, when it was destroyed by Parliamentary troops during the English Civil War, reparation costs were charged to the county.[4] The bridge was reconstructed in 1810 to convert the footbridge into a road bridge. It was designed by John Couchman (1771-1838), who was paid £3,800 for the work.[5] The bridge was crossed by a road connecting Birmingham to Lichfield.[6] It was destroyed for the construction of Spaghetti Junction.

[edit] Sources

  1. ^ Birmingham.gov.uk: A History of the Canals in and around Birmingham: Wednesbury to Salford
  2. ^ Historical Account of the Navigable Rivers, Canals, and Railways, Throughout Great Britain, Joseph Priestley, 1831
  3. ^ Birmingham Canal Navigations Society: Junctions of the BCN (Part Two) - Phil Clayton
  4. ^ a b c British History Online: 'Communications', A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 7: The City of Birmingham (1964)
  5. ^ A Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers in Great Britain and Ireland, A. W. Skempton, 2002, Contributor Institution of Civil Engineers Staff (ISBN 072772939X)
  6. ^ Notes and Queries, Benjamin Walker (extract author), 1850, G. Bell
  • Canal Companion - Birmingham Canal Navigations, J. M. Pearson & Associates, 1989, ISBN 0-907864-49-X
  • The Story of Erdington - From Sleepy Hamlet to Thriving Suburb, Douglas V. Jones, 1989, Westwood Press (ISBN 0-948025-05-0)

Coordinates: 52°30′31″N 1°51′33″W / 52.5085, -1.8591