| Title: |
WP 029 D – Digbeth Canal Wall – Enabling Works North Contract Interim Report for Historic Building Recording |
| Series: |
HS2 Historic Environment Reports Series
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| Downloads: |
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hs2copa1-502885_182743.pdf (15 MB)
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Download
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| Licence Type: |
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International Licence
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| DOI |
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| Publication Type: |
Report (in Series)
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| Abstract: |
Historic Building and Setting Recording
Archival research
When the project was first commissioned in 2020 and the on-site recording was undertaken,
Birmingham Archives were closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore the initial phase of
historical research on the site was limited to secondary sources, on-line sources, historic maps,
information contained in the Project Plan and previous studies of nearby sites.
Birmingham Archives reopened in 2021, albeit with some restrictions such as the requirement to
order documents in advance, and further research on the site was undertaken to enhance an
understanding of its history. All documents listed in the on-line catalogue with a reference to the
Digbeth Branch Canal were seen as well as many plans of the adjacent railway site in the hope
that they might also show evidence relating to the canal.
The online catalogues of the Warwickshire Record Office and The National Archives have also
been checked but they do not appear to hold material directly related to the Digbeth Branch
Canal.
The on-site recording has comprised a photographic and descriptive survey undertaken from the
public footpath on the east side of the canal together with the annotation of an existing outline
metric survey (plan and elevation). Recording has also been undertaken of the wider setting of
the wall. This includes the canal corridor extending to either side of the site, Curzon Street, the
adjacent railway site and elements of the Warwick Bar Conservation Area. The site work has been undertaken in stages, due to the phased removal of vegetation which covered much of the wall. The initial phase (14 August 2020) was undertaken after the removal of
some vegetation from the northern half of the wall although at this stage much of the structure remained obscured. The vegetation cleared at this point was largely shrubs towards the top
which hung down over the brickwork. A first interim report on this initial recording was issued on 20 August 2020.
Further recording was undertaken on 21 September 2020 following the removal of much of the
vegetation directly attached to the wall. This vegetation removal in the northern half of the Site
was undertaken from a pontoon that had been formed on the canal immediately in front of the
wall. Plants which were directly fixed to the face were removed together with those immediately
in front of it but towards the southern end some large bushes close to the water’s edge were left
in place. These were more than 1m in front of the wall but they obscured some views of the
brickwork from the opposite side of the canal from where the recording was being undertaken.
Some vegetation remained in an area in the northern third of the structure where it was thought
there may be nesting birds. A revised second interim report was issued on 28 September 2020.
Further recording was also undertaken on 6 October 2020 when the last section of the wall had
been cleared. By the time of this visit contractors had started minor ground investigations in the
area immediately to the west of the main canal wall which had exposed the west side of a
separate north-to-south wall. It was necessary to backfill the trench due to rainwater potentially
making the wall unstable so it was agreed that the buried structure would be recorded at a later
date when the trench was reopened. Unfortunately, when the ground investigation works in this
area were re-started an electric cable was encountered and the works had to stop. The trench
was again backfilled and this work will only be possible at a later date when a safe method is
agreed. Therefore it has not been possible to record this wall although some photographs taken
by the contractor have been provided to COPA (Plates 71-72). |
| Author: |
Jonathan Gill
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| Publisher: |
HS2COPA
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| Year of Publication: |
2021
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| Locations: |
| County: |
West Midlands |
| District: |
Birmingham |
| Country: |
England |
| Parish: |
Birmingham, unparished area |
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Grid Reference: 408122, 287163 (Easting, Northing)
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| Subjects / Periods: |
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| Identifiers: |
| OASIS Id: |
hs2copa1-502885 |
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| Source: |
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| Relations: |
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| Created Date: |
10 Mar 2023 |
