History of the Gower Branch Canal
The Gower Branch of the Birmingham Canal Navigations was built under the provisions of the Birmingham Canal Act of 1768 but was not completed throughout until the 1830s. Running for ½ mile and falling 20 feet through three locks the arrow-straight channel connects the Old Main Line at Brades Hall Junction with the New Main Line at Albion Junction and offers an alternative route to the Dudley Tunnel by avoiding Tipton.
The two upper locks at the Old Main Line end are a staircase pair, the exit from one also being the entrance to the next, and form the only staircase on the entire BCN. A short spur below the locks on the right once led to Brades Hall Basin, of which there is now little trace.
The Gower Branch is known locally as Sandy Bottom. It formerly passed through farmland and despite its industrialised location is still surrounded by greenery. T&S Element were canal carriers based nearby; as commercial carrying drew to a close they transferred their operations to road haulage.
