Ridgacre Branch

Ridgacre Branch
An almost rural view near Black Lake road bridge
Specifications
Length	0.75 miles (1.21 km)
Status	watered but disconnected
History
Date completed	1828
Date closed	1960s
Geography
Start point	Swan Bridge Junction
End point	Hateley Heath
Connects to	Wednesbury Old Canal

The Ridgacre Branch is a canal branch of the Wednesbury Old Canal, part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations, in the West Midlands, England. It opened in 1828, to serve collieries and iron works, and was disused by the 1960s. Except for its branches and a small section at the eastern end, which have been filled in, most of it is still in water, but it is not navigable as a low-level bridge carrying the Black Country New Road spans the entrance.

The Wednesbury Old Canal was the first part of the Birmingham Canal to be opened. It was authorised by Act of Parliament in 1768, as a branch to the main line between Birmingham and Wolverhampton, but because there were coal mines at Balls Hill, the branch and the route into Birmingham were built, to tap into the lucrative coal trade. It opened in 1769, with the main line to Wolverhampton opening three years later. The Birmingham Canal formed the backbone of the Birmingham Canal Navigations system as the network expanded.

The Ridgacre Branch was one of the many which the Birmingham Canal Navigations opened to generate trade. It was 0.75 miles (1.2 km) in length, and opened in 1826, running from the Wednesbury Canal at Swan Bridge Junction, just to the north of the modern New Swan Lane / Black Country New Road roundabout, in a north easterly direction to a basin and coal mines near Hateley Heath. As mining expanded, so additional branches were added. The Dartmouth Branch ran northwards for about 0.6 miles (0.97 km) and opened in 1828, as did the Halford Branch, which initially headed south then east and finally north. It was around 0.5 miles (0.80 km) ling, and tramways linked the terminal basin to the Hall End Colliery. The Jesson Branch was connected to the Halford Branch, and was named after the owner of the mines which it served. It was 0.12 miles (0.19 km) long and opened in 1831.

The canal and its branches were closed down following the Second World War. Parts of the Dartmouth and Halford Branches were closed in 1947, and in 1954, the Jesson Branch was closed, as were parts of the Wednesbury Canal to the north of its junction with the Ridgacre Branch, with more closing in 1960.

When plans were drawn up for the Black Country Spine Road in 1992, they included the provision of a navigable culvert under the road near the Swan Bridge roundabout, with headroom of 8.2 feet (2.5 m). The existing junction with the turning head for the Balls Hill Branch would have been closed and a new entrance created slightly further to the east. However, when it was built, the canal was culverted under the bridge, so the Ridgacre has been cut off from the canal network. It is in water for nearly all of its original length, although its branches have gone.