A Bantam on the BCN

Picturing the Past: NarrowBoat, Winter 2022

Andy Tidy

Andy Tidy explores details of photos showing the latter days of commercial activity on Birmingham’s canals

Just to the right stands the Perry Barr Pumping Station, the powerhouse behind the water recirculating scheme that ran beside Perry Barr Locks, and which topped up the water in the Walsall Level above. This was the last operational back pumping station on the BCN and was managed by Enoch Mason until 1958, when the coal trade came to an end. You can read more of Enoch Mason’s story in Life in a BCN Canal Cottage.Acknowledgements My thanks go to the many individuals whose comments on various social media groups contributed to the compilation of this story and, of course, the photographers whose legacies bring it all to life.…