Stewart Aqueduct

Stewart Aqueduct
The Stewart (or Steward) Aqueduct
Coordinates
OS grid reference	SP001898
Carries	BCN Old Main Line
Crosses	BCN New Main Line
Locale	Smethwick
Maintained by	British Waterways
Heritage status	Grade II listed
Characteristics
Trough construction	Brick
Pier construction	Brick
Traversable?	Yes
Towpaths	Both
Number of spans	Two
Piers in water	One
History
Designer	Thomas Telford
Construction end	1828

The Stewart Aqueduct (or Steward Aqueduct) in Smethwick, West Midlands (but formerly in Staffordshire), England carries the BCN Old Main Line Canal (1770) over the BCN New Main Line Canal (1828). Alongside and above the New Main Line Canal is the Stour Valley section of the West Coast Main Line (1852), all three being bridged by the M5 motorway (c. 1970).

The Grade II listed aqueduct was built by Thomas Telford in 1829 when he bypassed James Brindley's earlier Birmingham Canal (at the Wolverhampton Level) with his New Main Line (at the Birmingham Level). Both canals contributed to the Industrial Revolution in the Midlands by conveying coal and raw materials to Birmingham, and finished products to the country and ports.

It is located at the edge of the former Chance's Glass Works (1824) and is close to Spon Lane Canal Junction, the point where the Wednesbury and Wolverhampton routes of the BCN Old Main Line (former Birmingham Canal) meet.

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  Motorway (M5) over railway over canal over canal

• Stewart Aqueduct and M5 struts.jpg

  The aqueduct behind struts of motorway looking towards Birmingham