Birchills Canal Museum, Former Boatmans Rest, West Side of Walsall Top Lock is a Grade II listed building in the Walsall local planning authority area, England. First listed on 31 January 1996. Museum. 2 related planning applications.

Birchills Canal Museum, Former Boatmans Rest, West Side of Walsall Top Lock

WRENN ID
plain-alcove-raven
Grade
II
Local Planning Authority
Walsall
Constituency
Walsall and Bloxwich MP: Valerie Vaz (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
31 January 1996
Type
Museum
Address
Birchills Canal Museum, Former Boatmans Rest, West Side of Walsall Top Lock, WS2 8QD
OS grid reference
SP 005 994
Coordinates
52.59267, -1.99372
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

Birchills Canal Museum, formerly known as the Boatmans Rest, is located on the west side of Walsall top lock and dates from around 1900. The building is constructed of red brick with a blue engineering brick plinth and features a hipped slate roof. It is two stories tall and has a rectangular shape. The canalside elevation includes a segmental headed doorway and window, along with a possibly later bay window that has timber sash frames. The upper floor is adorned with three pairs of lancet style windows, which are highlighted by rubbed brick voussoirs and a continuous hood band. The roof is topped with a central louvered ventilator that has a metal ogee cap. This former Boatmans Rest was one of three such establishments along the West Midland canals operated by the Incorporated Seamen and Boatman's Friend Society, with the other two having been demolished.

Local climate

Birchills Canal Museum, Former Boatmans Rest, West Side of Walsall Top Lock receives an average of 800 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 56% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 75% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 38 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 71% of listed buildings. Of these, 19 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  • No EPC on record for this property
  • No sale records on file
  • Related listed building consents — 2 applications
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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