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Broad Meadow Lane, BIRMINGHAM, B30 3NQ

Parson's Hill goes off to the left here, with Broadmeadow Lane just to the right of the large Maccy D's, and the white lorry entering the roundabout via Monyhull Hall Road.

This fast food restaurant is situated in the art deco building that was once home to the Cartland Arms public house. The pub was named after the local family which owned land in the area. At least this fine building is still standing and being cared for.

This unusual Guillotine Lock raise and lowers the water by nothing at all! This view was taken from beneath the arch of Bridge No 1 on the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal. The bridge crosses the middle of the lock. It is noticeable that the bridge is far wider than it needs to be. When the canal was planned and started in the mid 1790s the intention was for a wide canal supporting wider than the standard seven foot beam narrowboats. They soon ran out of money building the first few (lockless) miles with wide bridges, and by the time the first stage to Kingswood Junction (with the Warwick and Birmingham Canal - now Grand Union) was open in 1803, the whole idea of a wide canal had been abandoned. All the locks to Stratford (eventually reached by 1815) are narrow. Therefore, this lock at King's Norton, was put in place after the decision not to accommodate wide boats was taken. For more lock details see: Image] Image]

Bridge No1 on the Stratford-on-Avon canal. Nr King's Norton Junction

This unique stop lock with two guillotine gates was built to avoid loss of water from the Worcester & Birmingham Canal when the Stratford Canal joined it at King's Norton junction. There are changes since the 1988 photo Image] including the new railing and many more trees, but sadly graffiti remains a common problem.

Assuming the other photo direction is correct, mine is on the opposite side of the bridge in the diametrically opposite direction - the pictures are not reversed. This is not a conventional lock with a level change. It is a stop lock to stop water flow and to protect the Stratford Canal from any loss in the Birmingham & Worcester. The Stratford Canal was owned by a separate company. This is a very rare beast and consists of one gate each side of the bridge.

Judging from recent photographs of the lock, the house has now gone. If so, a great pity.

The lock is a stop lock, constructed by the Stratford-on-Avon Canal to prevent the Birmingham & Worcester Canal taking their water. Instead of the usual lock gate pivoting about a vertical axis, the gates on this lock are both of the guillotine variety, and these days are generally left open. The lock as a whole is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, while the guillotine gate is a Grade II* Listed Structure. This is the western gate. Please see Image for the eastern gate. Beyond the guillotine gate is the Lifford Lane bridge which crosses over the lock. This is a Grade II Listed Structure, contemporary (c 1795) with the lock and gates, and included in the listing for group value. This bridge is Bridge Number 1 on the Stratford-on-Avon Canal.