An excavation along the canal in Aston would likely unveil coins from Victorian times and earlier among other artefacts. One site that was excavated uncovered the base of a pumping station that used to be powered by the Boulton and Watt steam engine and has links to Henry Ford - the American industrialist and business magnate who was the founder of Ford Motor Company.
This is just one of the fascinating areas that make up the district of Aston. The area holds the history of what Birmingham used to be like - especially the kinds of businesses that thrived and how the economy evolved. From a branch of the Midlands Bank to a former substation for the Midland Electricity Board - Aston has hosted them all.
Not all these hidden gems have been listed by the Secretary of State in the National Heritage List for England (NHLE) - which is the official register of all protected historic buildings and sites in England.
The ones of local importance have been listed by the Birmingham Conservation and Heritage Panel (BCHP). Locally listed buildings in the area also include a hotel that lent its name to the Holte end of the Aston Villa park.
Previously, we looked at the top 14 areas in Birmingham with most locally listed buildings and locally listed buildings in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham city centre, and Erdington. Now, here are 31 locally listed buildings and features in Aston:
1. Sewage Pumping Station, Argyle Street
Argyle Street Sewerage Pumping Station is situated nearby to Star City Visitor Moorings and the recreation area Family Fun Zone. It is locally listed. (Photo - Google Maps)
2. Ashted Locks
When exiting the Ashted tunnel from the northern end, you are immediately faced with the lock-gates of the first of the Ashted Lock Flight (Lock1) - their are six locks making up the Lock Flight. (Photo - Copyright Gareth James/CC BY-SA 2.0)
3. Ashted Tunnel
The narrow Ashted Tunnel in Birmingham is 94 metres in length and only able to accommodate boats passing through it in one direction at a time. (Photo - CC BY-SA 2.0/ Mat Fascione)
4. Ashted Row Site of Ashted Pumping Station
According to Birmingham City Council website, there were canal pumping engines at Ashted on the Digbeth Branch Canal, at Bowyer Street on the Warwick Canal, at Witton on the Tame Valley Canal and near Edgbaston Reservoir. The Ashted pumping station was built in 1812 on the north side of the Digbeth Branch Canal, near Ashted Locks. The Boulton and Watt steam engine here worked continuously until 1928, when it was bought by Henry Ford following his visit to Birmingham that year. It was dismantled and taken to Ford’s museum in Dearborn near Detroit in the United States. The pumping station is gone but excavations revealed the well-preserved base. (Photo - Birmingham City Council)