Bradley Branch

Bradley Branch
Lock No. 1 lies beneath the Midland Metro
Specifications
Length	0.6 miles (0.97 km)
Locks	9
Status	Filled in
History
Date completed	1849
Date closed	1950s
Geography
Start point	Wednesbury Oak
End point	Moorcroft Junction, Moxley
Branch of	Birmingham Canal Navigations

The Bradley Branch or Bradley Locks Branch was a short canal of the Birmingham Canal Navigations in the West Midlands, England. It is now disused and largely dry.

The area around Bradley and Wednesbury was occupied by coal mines and ironstone mines, and the ironmaster John Wilkinson built a furnace and ironworks near Bradley. The Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN) Old Main Line wound its way through the area in a circuitous fashion, following the 473-foot (144 m) contour. It had been authorised by Act of Parliament on 28 February 1768, and was opened for traffic between Wolverhampton and the Worcester and Birmingham Canal at Gas Street Basin on 21 September 1772. A little further to the north, the Broadwaters Canal was built by the Birmingham & Birmingham & Fazeley Canal Company, an amalgamation of two rival concerns once an Act of Parliament had been obtained. This descended from the Birmingham main line through the eight Ryder's Green locks, and followed the 408-foot (124 m) contour. Once the Broadwaters Canal was extended to reach Walsall Town Basin in 1799, it became known as the Walsall Canal.

Several branches were built from the Broadwaters Canal to serve the growing coal-field through which it ran. Just to the south of Bradley was the Gospel Oak colliery, and a branch to this had been authorised by the 1783 Act, but work did not start until 1791, and the intention to build some locks at the far end was abandoned when it was decided to build the Bradley Hall Extension instead. This was not specifically authorised by the enabling Act, but was covered by the general powers that the Act contained. Following lengthy discussion, the decision to proceed was made in November 1794. The extension would leave the Broadwaters Canal at Moorcroft Junction, and would rise through three locks to reach Bradley Hall colliery. The cost of the work was estimated to be £1,383, just £45 more than a level canal. The mines were responsible for supplying the water to operate the locks, and the owners were told that the locks were a replacement for those not built on the Gospel Oak branch. Despite these statements, the company then entered into arbitration to ensure that the colliery companies could not make any claims against the canal company because of the change of plan. The branch opened in 1796, and the arbitration was completed two years later.