Gas Street Basin, Birmingham
Basin at the junction of the Worcester & Birmingham Canal and the Birmingham Canal Navigation.
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Gas Street, Birmingham
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Gas Street Basin is a canal basin in the centre of Birmingham, where the Worcester & Birmingham Canal meets the BCN Main Line.
The Birmingham Canal, completed in 1773, terminated at Old Wharf beyond Bridge Street. When the Worcester & Birmingham Company started their canal at a point later known as Gas Street Basin, the Birmingham Canal Navigations Company (BCN) insisted on a physical barrier to prevent the Worcester & Birmingham from benefiting from their water. The Worcester Bar, a 7 ft. 3 in. wide straight barrier 84 yards long was built perpendicular to the run of the two canals. Cargoes had to be laboriously manhandled between boats on either side.
The Worcester & Birmingham Canal opened between Birmingham and Selly Oak in 1795 but took until 1815 to complete to Worcester, at which time - after much lobbying by iron and coal masters and the Worcester & Birmingham - an Act of Parliament was passed to open up the bar and the bar lock was built. There were toll offices either side of the bar lock and tolls were collected by each company from boats using the canals. The Worcester Bar still exists, with boats moored to both sides of it. It is connected to Gas Street via a footbridge, reconstructed to a design by Horseley Ironworks of the 19th century.
During the 1990s much of the area around the basin was redeveloped and the older buildings - many Grade II Listed - were refurbished.
By road: Located on Gas Street, off Broad Street, and between the Mailbox and Brindley Place canal-side developments.
By rail: Birmingham New Street is five minutes walk away.
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