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South Staffs Railway (Ryecroft to Brownhills) and Anglesey Branch Canal

An RCHS West Midlands & North West Groups Walk

Thursday 29th

August 2019

Today’s walk is the third in a series exploring the history of canals and railways in a small part of South Staffordshire

to the north of Walsall. It focuses first on the Ryecroft to Brownhills section of the South Staffs Railway line of 1849

between Walsall and Wychnor Junction where it formed a link with the Midland Railway line between Birmingham

and Derby; and then, after lunch, the Anglesey Branch of the Wyrley & Essington Canal.

Ryecroft Junction is in the centre of the map overleaf and Brownhills is approximately half way between Walsall and

Lichfield. The walk is flat and, nowadays, largely rural in nature; partly wooded but with views over open land. It may

be damp in the short cutting approaching Brownhills but is otherwise dry and on firm ground.

Outline of Agenda & Route

Start in Park Street entrance to Walsall Railway Station; since 1978 also the entrance to the Saddlers

Shopping Centre.

Briefly consider the history of stations serving the town centre whilst waiting for all to arrive, before taking

the short (3 minutes) walk to Walsall Bus Station (stop J/K).

Take the 10 minute bus ride to the Lichfield Road/Boat House stop – then a 5 minute walk to the northern

end of Ryecroft Junction (Ryecroft Cemetery).

Walk (4.25 miles) along the track bed of the 1849 SSR/LNWR line to the site of Brownhills Station.

View various sites including those of Rushall and Pelsall Stations, Norton Junction and sidings.

Lunch in Brownhills: Smithy’s Forge pub (on the station site) or various cafes and coffee shops nearby.

Bus (service 10A at 14:24) from Smithy's Forge pub to Chasetown – a 20 minute journey.

Walk (0.5 mile) over grass covered area formerly the site of Cannock Chase Colliery No1 to Chasewater

Reservoir.

View the reservoir dam, Anglesey Basin and a section of the alignment of the line to Anglesey sidings.

Walk (1.1 miles) along Anglesey Branch Canal to Middleton Bridge.

Optional add-on: continue walking the final 1/3 mile of the Anglesey Branch to Ogley Junction. This will

add approximately 40 minutes to the day. (Return #10/10A bus from Lichfield Road/Ogley Road stop)

Return to Walsall Bus Station: by bus (no 10/10A; 40 minutes) from Middleton Bridge (referred to as

Newtown Bridge in local bus timetables). Walk to Walsall Railway Station (3 minutes) arriving between

16:15 and 16:30. There are frequent buses for the return journey allowing for more time to be spent at

Chasewater and the Anglesey Branch canal for those who wish to do so.

Note: alternative bus services to other destinations, including Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Lichfield

will be explained on the day

These Notes are intended for the personal use of members of the RCHS attending the walk or who are otherwise

interested in them. They should not be copied or stored in any retrieval system, electronic or otherwise.

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. South Staffordshire Railway

Adapted from: The South Staffordshire Railway, vol 1 by Bob Yate (Oakwood Press, 2010)

F – Anglesey Sidings

F The curve shown linking the

MR Wolverhampton to

Water Orton line to the SSR

line south of Rushall was

never built. Construction

was started and there is

clear evidence of the

embankment it would have

travelled over to the north

of Ryecroft Junction.

BRINDLEY HEATH

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A Brief History of Railway Stations in Walsall

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In the 18th century the town was centred around and a little way to the west of St Matthew’s Church (lower right of

picture). This changed with the coming of the canal (from 1790s) mineral railways to the canal (1820s) and main line

railways (from 1847). Prior to that time, the effective western boundary was the race course; shown here as the MR

goods yard (centre of picture below Railway Station). Marsh Street (to left of railway station) and Long Street are

roughly on the line of the eastern boundary of a manorial park – hence Walsall Manor Hospital and Moat Street which

are just beyond the western boundary of the map. Remains of the moat were visible into the 1970s; the manor house

has long gone. Near to the original moat, the first Walsall reservoir was opened by the South Staffordshire Water

Company (1858).

There is a long history of wind and water mills (along a brook that ran north-south – through the centre of the map),

quarrying for limestone and iron works in and around Walsall, as well as the manufacture of horse furniture. The

heritage of the latter is recognised in the nickname (The Saddlers) of the town football team. By the 3rd

quarter of the

18th century it was clear that the town was being placed at a disadvantage in terms of communication, particularly in

comparison with the Black Country and Birmingham, due primarily to the earlier development of canals in these two

areas. By the date of the map, the brook, a tributary of the Tame, had been culverted. Today it runs underground

through the current town centre, in front of the George Hotel (a square named The Bridge) and follows the line of the

South Staffs railway to the south.

The first station to carry the name “Walsall” was to the south of the town on the Grand Junction Railway. For the first

four years following the opening of the GJR it was known as Bescot Bridge. This was changed to Walsall in 1841,

with a coach service (a yellow one-horse omnibus) running between the station and the George Hotel. The name

reverted to Bescot Bridge when the line opened (from Besot Junction) to Walsall proper in 1847. At this point the

station ceased to serve trains between Birmingham and Walsall. It may be that the omnibus continued to serve

passengers travelling from Wolverhampton. Any problem was resolved with the opening of the Pleck Curve (between

Darlaston Junction and Pleck Junction) in 1881. Quick reports the station as being closed in 1850, re-opened as Wood

Green (Old Bescot) in 1881 and closed finally in 1941.The site is now covered by the SW slip road of M6, J9.

The second station, and the first near to the town centre, was a temporary station off Bridgeman Street. The site was to

the west of the current Bridgeman Street Bridge, opposite Station Street. The railway continued over Bridgeman Street

initially by a level crossing but, with the lowering of Bridgeman Street after an 1870 report that 600 trains a day were

passing over the crossing, the level crossing was replaced by a bridge. The temporary station was used between 1847

and 1849 at which point a new “permanent” station was built to the north of Bridgeman Street. This coincided with the

opening of the line to Wychnor Junction. The station building was also the headquarters of the South Staffordshire

Railway and was accessed from Station Street – where the current station access was moved to in 1978.

By the 1870’s this (3rd

in our sequence) station was deemed to be too small to accommodate the burgeoning traffic

created by both the LNWR and MR providing passenger services to the station. In addition to the LNWR running

trains over the former SSR lines, the MR was running passenger services into Walsall via Ryecroft Junction; having

opened lines from Wolverhampton in1872 and Birmingham (via the Sutton Park route) in 1879. Between 1879 &

1883, the line from Pleck to Ryecroft was quadrupled, the station was enlarged and facilities were improved. These

changes resulted in an enlarged station with its station building facing on to Park Street – at its junction with Station

Street – being opened on 1st January 1884. Its carriageway off Park Street was provided with a porte-cochere of cast

iron and glass giving cover for travellers arriving by cab. The interior was equally grand. Three stone archways,

aligned with the three bays of the canopy, gave access to the booking hall with its central vaulted roof flanked by two

gabled roofs and decorative panels. The MR and LNWR had their own designated booking offices. The platforms

were not moved but were reached by a long half-glazed corridor, still at street level, which divided to reach the

footbridge across to the platforms.

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A fire occurred in 1916 starting in the booking hall destroying part of it and the high level corridor providing access to

the platforms. As a result the front entrance could not be used. It was covered in tarpaulin and timber supports and the

1849 Station Street entrance had to be re-instated. This situation was protracted by the war and a reconstructed station

was not opened until 1923. Most of the iron and glass porte-cochere was retained at the, now reopened, Park Street

entrance, still with its decorative iron finials but with the roof being altered to be a pitched roof. Inside the, by now

curved booking hall, which was 70ft in length, was lined with oak panels (not unlike St Pancras in concept but curved

and rather grand) and supported by pairs of Corinthian pillars with circular medallion mouldings. The original

restaurant was retained and a lengthy bookstall was also provided. (At some point a W H Smith was opened in Park

Street opposite the station entrance. This included the traditional curb-side stall selling newspapers and magazines).

Decline began (reportedly) with the conversion of the restaurant to a standard BR Buffet in the 1950s and continued

through to 1978 when the whole station was demolished, including the 1849 SSR building and the porte-cochere. The

iron canopy was initially stored by Walsall Corporation Parks Department for preservation but subsequently

disappeared. The station was submerged into the Saddlers Centre and its access reverted to Station Street. In his

history of the South Staffs Railway, Bob Yate describes the result as “altogether a most unattractive station” – some

would say this rather flatters the situation.

1884 Station with Porte-Cochere. Theatre 1890-1936. Frontage remodelled (1923) after fire of 1916.

The interior of the 1923 station: looking towards Park Street The 1849 SSR station viewed from Station Street

Further Reading:

Walsall Routes by Vic Mitchell, Middleton Press, 2013)

The South Staffordshire Railway, vol 1 by Bob Yate (Oakwood Press, 2009)

Industrial Locomotives of South Staffordshire by Ray Shill (Industrial Railway Society, 1993)

Industrial Locomotives of West Midlands by Ray Shill (Industrial Railway Society, 1992)

These Notes are intended for the personal use of RCHS members attending the walk or who are otherwise

interested in them. They should not be copied or stored in any retrieval system, electronic or otherwise.

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South Staffs Railway - Ryecroft to Brownhills: Walking the Line

The walk joins the SSR line of 1849 at the site of Cartbridge Lane level crossing (centre top of map). There was an

entrance to the cemetery at this point (NE corner) although the lodge and main entrance were at the southern end of

what was essentially a triangular layout. The crossing gates were operated by a crossing keeper, whose cottage (visible

on the map below) was alongside the up (to Walsall) line, just to the south of the crossing.

The line runs to the north on a gradual climb over open ground, with the Ford Brook to the right, towards Rushall

station and then, on level ground towards Pelsall. Rushall station opened with the line in 1849. It was closed in 1909.

The village, some half a mile east, was better served by local tramways and omnibuses. In his book on the SSR, Bob

Yates comments on the station being more popular with visitors to Pleasure Grounds to the west, in what is now the

residential area of Coalpool. The Pleasure Grounds site was close to a relatively isolated mission church (one of many

in the area) opened in 1892, closed in 1965, and demolished in 1970. The signal box at Rushall Crossing continued in

use until the complete closure of the line in 1984.

Rushall Crossing signal box and level crossing (August 1975) looking north.

Rushall station, closed in 1909, was located on the far side of the crossing. (R Selvey)

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The line continues in a northerly direction, crossing Ford Brook several times, After passing under the road from

Walsall to Pelsall and Hednesford (now B4154) the line arrives at Leighswood Sidings. There were two reception

sidings on the up side of the SSR line, from which the line to Leighs Wood colliery ran. The signal box on the down

side controlling the sidings closed in 1965.

Pelsall Station was on the eastern edge of the village having crossed Fordbrook Lane on an ornately-panelled cast iron

bridge. It consisted of two platforms with the station master’s accommodation being the two-storey gable-ended brick

building on the down platform at right angles to the line. The goods yard to the north of the station on the down side

consisted of two north-facing sidings with a crossover to the up line. The westerly of the two sidings finished in a

single-road brick goods shed, the rear of which almost abutted to the station master’s house. Goods facilities continued

after closure of the line to passengers in 1964 (station officially closed in Jan 1965) until 1984. The station was

demolished in 1977.

SSR line looking north at Leighswood Junction. The sidings and the line to Leighswood ran

south under the ornate, cast iron footbridge and off to the right of the picture. (R Selvey)

Pelsall Station looking north on Christmas Eve 1962. The footbridge appears to disappear

behind the station master’s house on the left. It formed part of a public right of way as

well as crossing point for passengers. (R Shenton)

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(From: Walsall Routes by Vic Mitchell, Middleton Press, 2013)

Looking towards Norton Junction

Public footbridge at north end of station building

Goods shed

Station building

in outline

Up platform

waiting room in

outline

South elevation of station building with goods shed behind – footbridge omitted for clarity

Looking towards Norton Junction

Goods shed

in outline

Station building

Station Road

Up platform

waiting room

Down platform station building (west elevation) from Station Road Down platform station building looking south (towards Walsall)

Main platform building on down platform Goods shed

Station Road

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Ryders Hayes & Norton Junctions, 1883 (Alan Godfrey maps)

The branch from Ryders Hayes and its associated sidings

serving Pelsall ironworks and furnaces together with the

increasing number coal pits and mines around Pelsall

Common were built between 1865 and 1884. The

junction is shown lower left of the map. The Pelsall pits

closed in the early 1900s but the branch continued in use

for hauling spelter from the Pelsall slag mound. The

Pelsall coal mines were among the first to close in this

area of the Cannock Chase coalfield. The branch,

together with the lines around Pelsall Common, had all

been lifted by 1920.

The level crossing remained and the signal box (see p11)

controlled access to siding from Ryders Hayes up to its

closure in Sept 1953. By this time the sidings at Norton

Junction had expanded considerably and the Ryders

Hayes sidings had become part of this complex and

accessed from the north.

The Norton Branch (centre top of map) ran from the

junction shown here (Norton Junction) to East Cannock

Junction (south of Hednesford) on the 1858/59 line from

Walsall to Rugeley (now known as the Cannock Chase

Line). The branch was opened to Norton Colliery in

1858 and extended to East Cannock Junction in 1879.

There were no scheduled passenger services. An

extensive area of sidings and marshalling yards were

built alongside the branch to both the east and west of

the through line (see p10) between 1899 and 1927. They

were all officially closed in 1981 and the area is now

covered by houses. However, they appear not to have

encroached beyond the area of the sidings towards the

alignment of the main line.

This OS map (1919) of the

area around Pelsall Station

shows the arrangement of the

footbridge to preserve a public

right of way – see footpath

across Pelsall Common to the

west and then east from the

northern end of the up

platform. Station Road was re-

aligned to the west to

accommodate the station.

There is a long history of pits

(bell pits or just open pits) in

Pelsall. However the W&E

canal had little impact on

industrial activity in the area

and it was the railway of 1849

that led to its expansion.

10

Bro

wn

hills Statio

n, lo

okin

g sou

th

(from

Walsall R

ou

tes by V

ic Mitch

ell)

Loo

king n

orth

tow

ards N

orto

n Ju

nctio

n

No

1 B

ox in

19

82

(from

Walsall R

ou

tes

by V

ic Mitch

ell)

11

The photograph above shows the SSR up line (south towards Walsall) in front of the signal box.

There was a station (Ryders Hays) which opened in April 1856 and closed in May 1858. It was situated to the south of

what had become an ungated crossing. No photographs are known to exist and the extent of any station buildings is

also unknown.

To the north of this point the Norton Branch left the main line, and another branch went off to the right. This was the

Walsall Wood branch. It ran to Walsall Wood Colliery but also had a junction with the MR line from Aldridge to

Brownhills This MR line, opened in 1882, ran from a junction to the west of Aldridge station up to the coal field

between Brownhills and Cannock. Passenger services ran as far as a station in Brownhills. At the time of Grouping

this MR station was renamed Brownhills Watling Street – the SSR/LNWR station became Brownhills High Street.

The latter reverted to its original name (Brownhills) when the MR station was closed in 1930. The MR line served a

network of colliery lines north of the Wyrley and Essington Canal’s reservoir, now known as Chasewater. It closed in

1960. Very little remains of Brownhills Watling Street but some brickwork can be spotted on the west side of

Brownhills Common.

As the SSR/LNWR line approaches Brownhills from Norton Junction it goes over the Wyrley and Essington Canal. It

then went under the MR line. The bridge has been removed but the site can be identified. Brownhills is approached

through a cutting. Passenger services at Brownhills were withdrawn in 1964 and the station was closed in January

1965.

The Chester Road in Brownhills has been much changed over recent years, although the track bed remains open and

accessible. What was the main road, north and south, above the railway station now forms part of a traffic roundabout

dominated by a large statue of a coal miner in its centre. This is known locally as “The Tin Man”. Had it been built

before 1957, it would have dominated the far centre ground of the picture of Brownhills station on the opposite page.

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Brownhills Station: a train preparing to depart for Walsall

in 1909 (Reece, Gerald (1996). Brownhills: A Walk Into

History. Walsall Local History Centre.) The original station

building became the station masters’ house.

There is now a pub situated between the site of the station building and the road bridge – at road level. The

site of the Working Men’s Club is now within the pub car park.

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The “Tin Man”

One of Brownhills' most prominent landmarks is a 46 feet (14 m) stainless steel sculpture of a coal miner, erected in

May 2006 on a roundabout at one end of the High Street, where the A4124 Pelsall Road and High Street A452

(Chester Road) cross. The colossal sculpture, by John McKenna ARBS, commemorates the town's mining tradition. A

competition was organised to choose an official nickname for the statue. The winning name was Jigger after Jack

"Jigger" Taylor who died when the roof of Walsall Wood pit collapsed in 1951. However, “Tin Man” appears to be

the name now used locally. As the statue is intended to commemorate all coal miners, even though the statue is not

made of tin, a non-personal name may be more appropriate. Why not “Brownhills Miner” is an obvious question.

McKenna referred to it as the “Brownhills Colossus”.

The statue was made in sections at McKenna’s workshop in Turnberry, Ayrshire. After being lifted through the

(removed) roof, the sections were transported to Brownhills. The statue was then erected on site, in the centre of the

roundabout, in May 2006.

The "Brownhills Miner" statue in Brownhills created by John McKenna (ChrisTheDude at the English Wikipedia)

Sections leaving McKenna’s workshop (https://www.a4a.co.uk/brownhillsminer.html)

Left: A goods train approaching Brownhills from Norton

Junction (c1962). The train is approaching the cutting and an

area now covered by the roundabout with the Tin Man statue.

The train is close to the far left of the picture below. The

cutting (left) and the station site (right) are obscured by trees.

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The Anglesey Branch Canal and Anglesey Sidings

The Wyrley & Essington Canal was incorporated in 1792 to connect Wolverhampton with Wyrley Bank and adjacent

collieries. In fact, before the canal was completed the line up to Wyrley became a branch with the main line

continuing to Birchills (north Walsall). Subsequently, the main line was extended from a junction less than half a mile

north of Birchills basin to join the Coventry Canal at Huddlesford Junction which is to the east of Lichfield, 23.5 miles

from the junction with the BCN at Horsley Fields Junction (Wolverhampton).

There were a number of branches notably in the area around Wyrley and to the south of Cannock. The main line of the

canal was opened in stages (from west to east) between 1794 and 1797. For 16.5 miles from Horsley Fields, the W&E

(known locally as the “Curly Wyrley”) was built as a contour canal and was lock free apart from five locks on the

Essington Branch off the Sneyd Junction to Wyrley line. The 7-mile section from Ogley Junction (the junction of the

Anglesey Branch and the main line) to Huddlesford where a junction was made with the Coventry Canal included 30

locks.

What is now referred to as the Anglesey Branch Canal was designed and built as a feeder from the W&E’s Cannock

Reservoir (now referred to as Chasewater) in 1800. It was widened to be a navigable canal in 1850-51. Unlike the

Leek Branch Canal which was originally planned to be part of a feeder but built as a canal, the Anglesey Branch was

built as a feeder but widened to be a canal – some 50 years later.

During the widening, parts of the route of the feeder were straightened and the small reservoir associated with it taken

out of use. During the course of building the railway between Brownhills and Lichfield (1847-49), an aqueduct was

built suitable for carrying a navigable canal. The resulting navigable branch canal formed a junction with the Wyrley

& Essington main line at Ogley where an iron bridge built by the Horsley Company was put in place. It is thought that

this bridge was originally supplied to Eyre Street Junction on the BCN and was relocated to Ogley Junction.

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The canal widening followed the opening of the South Staffordshire Railway between Walsall and Lichfield in

1849.In 1852 a canal basin was built beneath the reservoir dam as well as railway sidings to serve it. The line leading

to these sidings was from a junction with the main line between Ogley and Hammerwich – at a spot later to become

known as Anglesey Sidings.

Initially the two means of transport served Cannock Chase Colliery #1 (sunk in 1849) and Cannock Chase #2 (sunk in

1852). The network of colliery railways expanded with the opening of a further eight pits by 1870. Not all 10 pits were

ever open at the same time and from 1870 production was concentrated on six pits. Pit tubs were hauled in specially

adapted wagons to the canal wharf with conventional wagons being used for coal routed on the SSR.

The OS map of 1884 (below) shows the site of Anglesey Wharf, Cannock Chase Colliery No1 and Cannock Chase

Colliery No 2 as well as a section of the railways built to serve pits in the area. No 1colliery was sunk in 1849 and No

2 colliery in 1852 – the wharf was opened in 1850 and the railway connection to the SSR, at Anglesey Sidings, in

1852. The No 1 pit was the first of the 10 pits sunk by the Cannock Chase Colliery Company to close: probably by

1860. For many years, No 2 colliery was the site of locomotive sheds until the railways became redundant with the

closing of all but one pit in the 1950s. Canal operations ceased in the 1950s and the rail system was lifted in the 1960s.

Site of Cannock Chase Colliery No 1

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Adapted from: The South Staffordshire Railway, vol 2 by Bob Yate (Oakwood Press, 2011)

1858

1879 1894

1862

1862

1858

1881

Development of Railway Lines and Bus Services in the Eastern Cannock Chase Coalfield between Brownhills & Hednesford

1867

1867

1856-7

1852

1867

1884

1884 Norton Junc

East Cannock Junction

Following its first use of petrol-driven omnibuses in North Wales,

the LNWR built a garage at Brownhills, near to the W&E canal

wharf (just off lower centre of the map on p10). Omnibus services

began in October1912. Initially the service ran between

Brownhills and Hednesford via Norton Canes. In June 1913, the

fleet was enlarged to number four vehicles and a second route was

added: Brownhills to Cannock via Chasetown. WW1 intervened

and, with the vehicles being commandeered for use in France,

services halted in April 1915. The LNWR never restored its

omnibus services after the war and, in July 1919, the routes were

taken up by Walsall Corporation which introduced a regular

Walsall to Hednesford service via Brownhills.

In this picture (left), the buses to

the left and right are Commer 34-

seater 32 hp acquired in 1913. In

the centre is a Milnes Daimler 34-

seater 32 hp acquired in 1912.

The Milnes vehicles, of which

there were two in the fleet

purchased from the Associated

Omnibus Company of London,,

retained their London (LC)

registrations, whilst the two

Commer vehicles carried

Birmingham (BM) registrations –

perhaps an indication of the

extent to which the LNWR was

expanding its road interests at the

time.

1858

1859

1849

1858

1879