Ogley First Flight - drawing by Duncan A Moore

Lock 6 is located just to the east of the present Barracks Lane crossing. Due to the short pound length between Locks 5&6 a side pound was constructed on the north side of the canal to conserve water. Again this lock has been backfilled with soil.

The original bridge over Barracks Lane, Warren House (or Farm) Bridge

The new Barracks Lane Bridge will be located below lock 6 on an alternate road algnment to avoid the need for a hump back bridge on Barracks Lane.
The bridge was originally close to Lock 5 and was known as Warren House Bridge or Warren Farm Bridge.

Staffordshire Hoard 

Discovered in a field near the village of Hammerwich, near Lichfield, in Staffordshire, England on 5 July 2009,  it consists of more than 3,500 items, that are nearly all martial or warlike in character. 

The Staffordshire Hoard totals 5.094 kilos of gold, 1.442 kilos of silver and 3,500 cloisonné garnets. There is nothing comparable in terms of content and quantity in the UK or mainland Europe. It is remarkable for being almost exclusively war-gear, with an extraordinary quantity of weapon hilt fittings, that is, decorative items from the handles of swords and knives. Many feature beautiful garnet inlays or animals in elaborate filigree. The artefacts have tentatively been dated to the 7th or 8th centuries, placing the origin of the items in the time of the Kingdom of Mercia. 

Since the find, a research and conservation programme, headed by leading and notable experts in the field, has been launched and will be underway for many years.

Lock 7 

The continued slope in the ground level required a further lock at this location and with close proximity required a widening of the channel to conserve water.  Again this lock has been backfilled with soil to preserve it. 

Lock 7 will not be needed due to the levels required to approach the Aqueduct but will be partially restored and retained as a ‘narrows’ with no change of level, a point which can be blocked in the event of a water leak.

Old Lock 8 in 2003 before the M6 Toll construction

This old lock can not be incorporated into the canal restoration as a result of the Aqueduct levels over the M6 Toll and will remain buried

M6 Toll Aqueduct 

The M6 Toll Aqueduct is a new structure installed at the expense of the Trust in 2003 to provide the necessary headroom for the motorway. This structure had to be erected during the motorway construction as part of the funding arrangements.

New Lock 8 to be built here. This shows the height which the Lock will need to reach

A new deep lock is required near the end of the Aqueduct to allow boats to rise from the existing canal channel to connect with the Aqueduct. A rise of about 5 metres is required. To avoid loss of water it will be back-filled by electric pump.

The proposed locks are likely to be constructed to a traditional form, but in more modern materials, such as reinforced concrete and sheet piling

Crane Brook Quarry on the left, canal bed on the right.

In March 2015, Mark Deadman, a director of WCL Quarries Ltd. revealed a possible plan to turn Cranebrook Quarry  adjacent to the canal at Summerhill into a Marina. When the quarry is finally exhausted instead of filling it in and returning it to heathland it could be connected to the restored canal and turned into a marina. It would also provide valuable water storage for the canal.

Crane Brook Culvert 

On 6th March 2015  work began on the reinstatement of a culvert and small aqueduct which was demolished when the M6 Toll motorway was built. This structure will enable the Lichfield Canal Trust to reinstate the canal right up to the aqueduct which the Trust had to install before the motorway opened to traffic in 2003. 

In the immediate future there will only be a walking route from the Boat Inn to Barracks Lane but this will open up the canal route to the general public.  This has been made possible because the Trust managed to attract a substantial funding grant at the end of 2014 to open up derelict canal land linking Lichfield and Brownhills.

Old Sand Wharf 

Old Sand Wharf  is visible on this section of canal near to the Boat Inn. This wall was thought to be in poor condition and was to be dismantled and rebuilt, but investigation showed that under the top rows of bricks it was basically sound.