Where is the Holliday Street Aqueduct?

The Holliday Street Aqueduct is on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal between The Mailbox and Gas Street Basin. Holliday Street, Birmingham, B1 1SY to B1 2JP.

In brief

A cast iron aqueduct built in 1870 on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal, between Gas Street Basin and what is now The Mailbox. The aqueduct is on Holliday Street between Gas Street and Bridge Street.

Yellow narrowboat crosses over the Holliday Street Aqueduct on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal (August 2020). Photography by Elliott Brown

Holliday Street Aqueduct - history

When Holliday Street was laid out in the late 19th century between Berkley Street and Suffolk Street, a canal aqueduct had to be built on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal. The Holliday Street Aqueduct stretches from Gas Street to Bridge Street. It dates to 1870. Made of a Cast Iron framing. It takes the canal above towards Gas Street Basin. The trough is carried on segmental brick vaults between guiders supported by cross guiders resting on decorated cast iron columns along the pavement edge both sides of the road. According to the Grade II listing (of 1982). The listing also says the bridge parapets of iron have diamond patterned panels.  Over the last 150 years, the aqueduct has had ware and tare. A leak was found in 2015, and the Canal & River Trust had to drain the water in the area (closing off the canal near Granville Street to Holliday Street). The leak was traced to a hole in the canal bed.

Holliday Street Aqueduct from Holliday Street (near Bridge Street) (June 2009). Photography by Elliott Brown

About half of the aqueduct to the right has a car park from the nearby apartments, everything to the left is used by the canal.

Holliday Street Aqeuduct from The Mailbox towards Gas Street Basin (May 2019). Photography by Elliott Brown

You can only really see over the aqueduct to Holliday Street below from the towpath, where you can see towards the Register Office. There is a good view from The Mailbox, looking towards the Holliday Street Aqueduct and Gas Street Basin.

Holliday Street Aqeuduct from The Mailbox towards Gas Street Basin (August 2021). Photography by Elliott Brown