| AdminHistory | The canal carrying company Thomas Clayton (Oldbury) Ltd., was formed as the result of a merger in 1889, between canal carriers Fellows, Morton & Company, and William Clayton of Saltley, Birmingham - one of the largest canal operators on the Birmingham Canal Navigations (BCN). Clayton's had docks at a wharf off Stone Street on the BCN Old Line canal. Their fleet of boats, often referred to as 'gas' or 'tar' boats and decorated with the company markings of distinct cabbage-like roses (often known as 'Clayton Cabbages'), carried a variety of bulk liquids from the local gasworks to distillation and chemical companies, to make such products as fertiliser and tar. All the boats were named after rivers alphabetically, according to the year they were built. They were also nicknamed 'oil boats' due to the fact that they won their largest contract to carry oil for Shell Max and BP from Ellesmere Port to Oldbury. The company ceased in 1966 when a new motorway was built through their Oldbury dock. |