Autherley Canal Junction, Wolverhampton
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The Droveway, off Oxley Moor Road, Wolverhampton WV10 6DE
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Autherley Junction is the name of the junction where the Shropshire Union Canal terminates and meets the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal near Oxley, north of Wolverhampton.
Autherley Junction opened in 1835. Almost immediately, most of the traffic which had previously used Aldersley Junction and travelled northwards on the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal now used the new canal, and so only travelled for the half mile between the two junctions. The Staffordshire & Worcestershire company were forced to raise tolls to a very high level to compensate for the loss of revenue.
In order to resolve the situation, the new company worked with the Birmingham Canal Company and proposed the Tettenhall and Autherley Canal and Aqueduct. This would have left the Birmingham Canal just above lock 19, crossed the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal just below Aldersley Junction by an aqueduct made of iron, and then dropped down through three locks to join the canal above the stop lock. The plans were drawn up by Birmingham surveyors, Dugdale Houghton, but the canal was never constructed, as the Staffordshire & Worcestershire company reduced their tolls rather than lose them altogether (see entry for Aldersley Junction).
By road: Off A 449, north of Wolverhampton and close to Oxley Park Golf Club. Turn right off Oxley Moor Road into The Droveway, which passes close to the junction.
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