  the bentley canal is an abandoned canal that was part of the birmingham canal navigations. a very short section still exists where it joins the wyrley and essington canal in wolverhampton. from there it headed generally southeast through willenhall and walsall and connected with the anson branch and thus the walsall canal. the main line opened in 1843, with the neachell hall branch following two years later. the branch closed in 1953 and the main line in the early 1960s. ==history== in 1820, the birmingham canal company had approached the wyrley and essington canal, with a view to amalgamation. this had been declined, but from 1825 mineowners in the walsall area petitioned for a junction between the two systems. nothing happened for some years, but in 1837, walsall town council began pushing both companies for a solution. after much disagreement, the wyrley and essington announced that they were ready to apply for an act of parliament to authorise the construction of a junction at walsall, which led to the birmingham canal company agreeing to amalgamation. both signed an agreement to proceed on 9 february 1840, and an act of parliament was obtained to april to authorise the move. the bentley canal was one of three links between the systems built shortly afterwards. the other two were the walsall junction canal, which linked the north end of the walsall canal to birchills junction, and the rushall canal, between the tame valley canal and the daw end branch of the wyrley and essington. the canal was opened in 1843 and ran for  through 10 locks. it fell into dereliction in the 1960s. the neachells branch was a  branch which opened in 1845 to serve neachell hall colliery and closed in 1953. ==route== the bentley canal left the wyrley and essington canal at wednesfield junction. a cast iron bridge carried the towpath over the junction, and is still in situ. it dates from the mid-nineteenth century, and is a grade ii listed structure. a short section of the canal 
1843_establishments_in_England 1960s_disestablishments Birmingham_Canal_Navigations Canals_in_the_West_Midlands_(county) Canals_opened_in_1843 Transport_in_Walsall Transport_in_Wolverhampton