Monument record 442/1/3 - Braunston Tunnel

Opened in 1796, the tunnel is 2042 yards long, wide enough for two 7 feet beam boats to pass, but has no towing path.

{1} Opened in 1796, the tunnel is 2042 yards long, wide enough for two 7 feet beam boats to pass, but has no towing path. The tunnel is lined with locally produced bricks. There are three circular brick airshafts, all by the footpath over the hill which follows the route the boat horses would have taken whilst the boats were legged through the tunnel. Legging was replaced by steam tugs in 1871.
At the east entrance a mistake during the construction of the tunnel gives it a slight 'S' bend but from a point on the towing path some distance east of this entrance in certain conditions it is possible to see to the other end. See west entrance (SP 557654) (SMR pref ref 7782/0/0) for more details.

{2} Grand Junction Canal runs through the parish of Daventry. Braunston Tunnel lies almost entirely within the parish. There are also two large reservoirs in this parish belonging to the Grand Junction Canal Company.

{4} A series of brick air-shafts ventilate the tunnel and dominate the ridge in which it lies. Around and between them lie a line of sub-circular mounds, the spoil from the excavation of the tunnel, hauled up and out through working shafts, now infilled. In places they spread as much as 50m beyond the mapped line of the tunnel.

<1> Northamptonshire Industrial Archaeology Group, 2001, NIAG Industrial Gazetteer, (draft part checked) (Draft). SNN101121.

<2> Ballinger J., 1999, Northamptonshire Extensive Urban Survey: Industrial Period, (part checked) (Digital archive). SNN4.

<3> Rouse, C. & Hunn, J., 2005, Archaeological Desk-based Assessment: Monksmoor Farm, Daventry, p.8 (checked) (Report). SNN107189.

<4> Soden, I., 1999, Archaeology at Middlemore Farm, Daventry: Desk-Based Assessment, p.2 (checked) (Report). SNN74260.

<5> Northamptonshire Industrial Archaeology Group, 2001, A Guide To The Industrial Heritage Of Northamptonshire, p.17 (checked) (Gazetteer). SNN104759.

<6> Northamptonshire Industrial Archaeology Group, 2011, A Guide To The Industrial Heritage of Northamptonshire (2nd Edition), p.19 (checked) (Gazetteer). SNN107622.

Record last edited

Jan 31 2024 3:11PM