The HS2 of 200 years ago, and just as costly

The many hundreds of holidaymakers who spend their summer vacations chugging along the tranquil waters of the Birmingham-Worcester canal in narrowboats are probably unaware they are floating on what is virtually liquid gold.

Because by the time it was completed in 1815 the 30-mile route proved among the most costly in the UK. The HS2 of its time and almost as controversial.

It all began in 1791 when the Worcester and Birmingham Canal Act passed through parliament allowing money to be raised for the project and landowners along the line were permitted to build wharfs and wharfhouses.

Although the waterway was to bring industry and with it prosperity, there was considerable opposition to its construction because it dissected the pleasure grounds of Sansome Fields in Worcester from the other walking areas on the east side of the city at a time when walking was a major recreational pursuit.

There were also a lot of dissenting voices among landowners along the way but none from the authorities in Worcester which took the long view that in time the canal could only bring wealth in its wake.

Back then the Worcester and Birmingham Canal Act was one of the most expensive ever to be presented to parliament but when it eventually got the nod there was “general rejoicing” in the city.

The news was brought by post-chaise (a horse-drawn mail carriage) and, according to Berrow’s Worcester Journal, “with the display of a flag, announced the gladsome tidings. A general joy seems to have diffused itself through all ranks, which was testified by the ringing of bells etc.”

The building of the canal in the 19th century had echoes of the financial shenanigans that have beset the HR2 rail project in the 21st.

Vested interests from landowners, hauliers and other canal companies meant its final cost  was £20,333 for every single mile, at least £4,000 per mile more than any other canal built between 1760 and 1840 and £10,000 per mile more than most.

The canal’s major wharf in Worcester was at Lowesmoor and attracted new engineering industries, major gas and vinegar works, coal yards, stores, mills and granaries.

With the great increase  in activity came amenities for workmen and merchants.

There was a growth in back-to-back housing schemes in the area, inns and commercial hotels. With the inns came the missions and music halls.

Of course the arrival of the railways proved far too competitive for the canals and eventually they ceased as a commercial highway. But the template for Worcester’s industrial area had been set for the east side of the city and the building of the M5 in the 1950/60s merely confirmed it.

Source: Yahoo News