Some Further Notes on Tipton Gauging House
My note of yesterday, 20th April made a brief mention of the reasons for the existence of the Tipton Gauging station. These initial observations deserve further elaboration and hopefully justify an important reason for the buildings reconversion to a canalside feature.
Mention has been made of the heritage aspects such as the surviving structure, internal remains, the two boat docks and the attached buildings that once were associated with the gauging of the boats and the people that worked there.
There is another reason for reconversion and this pertains to the reason why Tipton was made at the first time.
The Birmingham Canal Navigations Company had set up during the period 1830/1831 an "INDEXING STATION" at Smethwick, on the New Main Line near the Engine Arm Aqueduct, where boat indexes were fitted as part of the system that enabled loaded boats to have their weights verified by the gauging stick whenever a company servant chose to do so.
Boats navigating the Birmingham Canal comprised a variety of boats engaged in different trades and a large proportion of craft were engaged in the movement of coal. The indexing of coal boats and even the value of indexing coal boats was at times a contentious issue and was at, best haphazard, although great care seems to have been made of other cargos particularly the commercial carrier's trade.
But an expanding local canal network and closure of many of the old "thick" coal mines in the Black Country, meant that coal was travelling greater distances. Railway competition from the 1850 also meant the carriage of coals by rail waggon from Derbyshire, Lancashire, Nottingham, Shropshire and even Yorkshire mines ensured economic and competitive rates with the canal companies.
The old Thick Coal rib and pillar mining was coming to an end and existing Thin Coal Seams produced a restricted amount. More and more mechanisation was being employed in the local "deep" coal mines, which then existed on the fringes of the Black Country and included the new sinkings around Brownhills, Cannock Chase, Halesowen, Himley and West Bromwich.
The Birmingham Weekly Post reported on October 6th, 1869 a meeting at the Royal Oak Hotel, Dudley Port, the previous day, where the question of weighing into or gauging canal boats was considered. It was the opinion of the meeting that all boats trading on the canal should be indexed. A committee was formed of Michael Grazebrook, W James, Richard Bagnall, E.T Wright and E.F Smith who were attend the next Birmingham Canal Navigations Co meeting to discuss the proposals.
Following this meeting a number of letters were published in the Birmingham Daily Post expressing peoples opinions, which varied from support to opposition.
The issue at the heart of the matter was what constituted a ton of coal. From the first days of the navigation a system of longweight existed where an equivalent of 22 hundred weight to the ton of 20 hundred weight was excepted as a "ton". But even this benefit was subject to abuse with greater latititudes being given from pit to pit.
A key factor in the whole process had been the actions of the Earl of Dudley's agent Frederick Smith who adopted the system of weighing coal into boats at 2240 lbs to the ton, but at the same time reducing the prices accordingly.
Coal mine owners were clearly the losers by the prevaling system as is shown by the following letter transcript published by the editor of the Birmingham Daily Post.
Sir, - will you allow me space for a few words what "Libra" said in your paper today?. Some time ago my father was getting coal by the ton in a colliery near Bilston. The proprietor agreed to sell the coal to a firm of ironmasters near the same town. One day a boat was sent along to be loaded, and the road to the canal being by a weighing machine, it was thought proper to weigh the coal before putting it into to the boat. After weighing 28 tons the boat was again weighed, and it gauged only for 21 tons 10 cwt, being 6 tons 10 cwt less than was really put in. Since then I have seen boats charged 24 tons and weigh out to 30 tons.
These are isolated cases. I could given more if it were neccessary , but I think these are sufficient to show how coalmasters and charter masters are defrauded. I do not see why ironmasters weights should not be amenable under the law just as much as grocers or any shopkeepers, and I hope many more will follow the example of the Earl of Dudley
Yr obedient servant
One who has suffered
October 25th 1869
Such opinions are useful as they help to show issues that were not neccessarily reflected by canal company minutes. They were enough however to influence the Birmingham Canal Navigation Company on how they gauged their boats and to institute a more accurate method of doing this. That method, which was already in use by selected canal and river navigation, was the gauging table, where each boat profile was measured by weighing with accurate weights. Each dry inch on the attached gauge would correspond with an entry in the table that was specific for each boat.
The earlier, open, Smethwick Indexing Station was enlarged and enclosed as covered dock and Tipton Station was a brand new purpose built structure for the revised means of Gauging.
Smethwick was closed in the 1920's and the buildings demolished, and only Tipton remains as testament to this very important time in canal affairs. It is interesting to reflect if these changes had not been made, how much longer innacurate measures of coal traffic would have been permitted and could it have affected the level of coal carriage.
When Tipton was built canal traffic was on the increase and carriage on the BCN continued to steadily increase for the next 40 or so years. The number of boats gauged by Smethwick and Tipton exceeded well over 20,000, which indicates the volume of work these two stations were committed to.
As indicated by my previous mail. Conversion of this structure into housing will be an opportunity wasted.
Ray Shill
Industrial Historian
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