Help Rebuild Tardebigge Top Lock

Aim: Help us rebuild and restore Tardebigge Lock 58, brick by brick

Tardebigge Lock 58, part of the longest lock flight in the country, is in urgent need of repair. A structural failure in one of the lock walls means we’ve had to close the canal, cutting off a major boating route into the heart of Birmingham.

Now, we need your help to rebuild it.

What’s happened at Tardebigge?

Built by hand over 200 years ago, the Worcester & Birmingham Canal’s 30-lock Tardebigge flight lifts boats 220 feet over two-and-a-quarter miles. The top lock, Lock 58, is unusually deep, making its structure unique and significant.

Last year, boaters started getting stuck in the lock chamber and we had to send teams to help them through. Following detailed inspections, we found that the lock wall on one side was bulging inward, narrowing the lock passage and raising serious safety concerns.

We had no choice: immediately the navigation had to be closed and the existing wall had to be taken down brick by brick. The towpath also had to be closed with a diversion in place using local footpaths.

What we're doing

We’re rebuilding the lock wall, undertaking the necessary works in accordance with the heritage considerations of this Grade II-listed site. Our charity is committed to preserving the character of the original structure, which is why we’re carefully cleaning and reusing as many of the original facing bricks as possible. These bricks are being cleaned by experts in brick reclamation, using specialist equipment and a mixture of rounded glass particles. We estimate that around 4,000 original bricks can be reused.

To complete the wall, we’ll also be using approximately 10,000 new blue bricks from a locally sourced manufacturer. These bricks have been approved by the local Council’s Conservation Officer as the closest match to the original brickwork.

Our top priority is to complete the works and reopen the canal and towpath as soon as possible. We’re aiming to have the new wall in place and navigation restored later this summer. Work is starting now, and we urgently need your support to help fund the project.

How you can help

These are major works and they weren’t in our plans. We’ve secured emergency internal funds to get started, but we need extra help to get the lock fully rebuilt and open again.

We need your help to raise £10,000 to fund 10,000 new bricks required to rebuild the wall.

• £25 could pay for 20 new bricks
• £50 could pay for 40 new bricks
• £100 could pay for 80 new bricks*

Our canals matter, not only to the local communities but to everyone else as well - because canals enhance the natural environment, they help to mitigate climate change, and they are integral to our future water security and supply.

Emergency works like these at Tardebigge Lock highlight how vulnerable they can be, and how important it is that they are properly protected. All the donations to this crowdfunder will be gratefully received and will make a huge difference to this important stretch of canal.

Your donation - whether it’s the cost of a few bricks or many - will go directly towards the materials needed to reconstruct this Grade II listed structure in keeping with its heritage.

Emily Harris 

Senior Project Manager

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 31st August 2025 at 12:00pm