Hawkins Old Coppice Colliery
Following on from Hugh Potter's observations the large and roughly square basin that served Old Coppice Colliery was linked by a short branch canal to the Hatherton Canal.
There was a tramroad to Cheslyn Hay built in 1842 by the Bilston contractor, Mathew Frost, who also made the Hatherton Branch and was engaged in the improvements to the Sowe Navigation to Stafford.
The Tramway may have crossed the later colliery branch at the point a lift bridge was made.
Ian Langford suggests that the bridge was a swing and later a lift bridge. Large scale O/S maps later show a lift bridge over the branch canal.
The original Cheslyn Hay Tramway was later incorporated into a 2ft gauge locomotive tramway from Great Wyrley Colliery and this railway also passed by the Rosemary Tileries.
At some time the line route was altered to a new wharf that avoided the crossing of the colliery basin route. However the lift bridge remained.
The function of this bridge of course deserves further investigation
(1) Was there a swing bridge
(2) Did the bridge ever carry railway tracks
(3) Did the subsequent use of locomotives instead of horses lead to the alteration of the track layout
(4) In later times was it pureley used for road and pedestrian traffic
Best regards
Ray Shill
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