Robert Whitworth had carried out a survey, which was approved at a meeting held in Stourbridge in February, at which the estimated cost was promised by subscribers.

The chief promoter was Lord Dudley, but the bill was withdrawn from Parliament following fierce opposition from the Birmingham Canals.

A healthy trade in coal, ironstone and limestone developed, supplemented by iron products, bricks, clay, earthenware and glass.

[3] In the 1820s, several wharves were built on the Fens Branch, to serve the developing collieries near Kingswinford, and the company considered applying for a new act of Parliament in 1829, to give them powers to build extra lines in this area, but they did not proceed.

[5] A programme of dredging and other improvements, which enabled local trade to continue, kept the company profitable until effective competition from road vehicles began.

[6] A separate company built the Stourbridge Extension Canal from the Fens Branch to Shut End (in Kingswinford) thus opening up another part of the coalfield to development.

The water flooded nearby factories to a considerable depth, including the G. K. Harrison brick works which was beside the basin, and there was a great deal of subsidence.

By great good fortune the breach happened on a Saturday afternoon when the miners and other workers had all gone home, otherwise there would have been considerable loss of life.

The mines and factories were out of action for some time while repairs were made as they depended on the canal for water for steam generation, as well as to supply raw materials and take away finished products.

The Inland Waterways Protection Society, which had been formed in the East Midlands in 1958, produced a detailed proposal for the restoration of the Stourbridge and Dudley Canals, which they presented to the IWRAC in August 1959.

[11] To assist their case, the Inland Waterways Association, in conjunction with the Staffs and Worcs Canal Society, organised a national boat rally at Stourbridge in 1962.

After failing to get any assurance that the shoal would be removed, volunteers took action, and cleared the canal using a dragline excavator which they had borrowed.

The Transport Act 1962 had paved the way for canals to be considered for their amenity value, rather than as purely commercial enterprises, and against this background, the S&WCS proposal was accepted as a test case by the Board, and restoration began in 1964.

A progress report issued by the IWA in April 1965 ultimately led to the formation of a publication called Navvies Notebook, which informed people about what was happening.

It allowed volunteers to be drawn from a wider area, and in 1967, a record 45 people participated in a weekend working party on the canal.

This swept away a length of towpath and bank between Bellsmill and Stourton Locks, completely draining the pounds, including the Stourbridge Town Arm.

The problem was caused by the River Stour flooding the area around the Stourbridge terminus, resulting in water level surges further along the canal.

British Waterways restored navigation from the Dudley Canal, via Delph Locks and Wordsley Junction into the Town Arm fairly quickly.