Coalbrookdale Watercourses

The restoration of the Upper Forge sluices are proceeding very quickly now. Scaffolding has been erected within the sluice outfall - partly to provide a working platform, and partly to ensure the integrity of the structure. The present stage involves digging out the debris to the east of the sluices to install a new culvert along the line of the old one.

With the full force of the water now diverted through the sluices, the term 'water power' has certainly become meaningful again!

The sluice outflows into the culvert which takes the water down to Rose Cottage.

Building up the levelling layer to support the culvert pipe.

The new culvert outflow will be at about the level of the scaffolding on the left.

Outflow of a drain which probably pre-dated the culvert.







This work co-incides with our current excavations at Wednesbury. Please have a look at our main blog site to see the evidence for eighteenth century water power which we have revealed there.