Building record 442/1/22 - The Stop House

Also known as Old Toll House. The former Canal toll house and now a pair of houses. They date to the early to mid 18th century and are brick with a tile roof. The left side has a cellar entrance and the right has an extension at the rear which was probably the toll collection office. A two storey canted bay is on the right side, facing the canal.

{1} Pair of houses and former Canal Toll Office. Early/mid C19. Brick, hipped corrugated tile roof, brick stacks. 2 storeys and cellar; 3 bays. Doorways in left and right bays have moulded wood surrounds. 6-panel doors and moulded timber hoods on brackets. Central 6-pane sash window with painted brick lintel. Similar windows to first floor. Cellar entrance with concrete lintel on left side. Sash window in recessed brick arch above. 2-storey canted bay with sash windows on right side facing canal. Extension at rear, probably the former toll collection office. Brick, one storey; 2 bays. Doorway with flat arched brick frame and plank door in left bay. Window with similar frame and old iron glazing bars to right. Interior not inspected. The Grand Junction Canal was authorised by Act of Parliament in 1793. The Braunston section was complete by 1796. In 1929 it was taken over by the Grand Union Canal Company and the name was changed. (A.H. Faulkner: The Grand Junction Canal, 1972).

{3} Two storey red brick building with a hipped slate roof, now known as the 'Stop House' after refurbishment in 1990. It dates from the opening of the junction of the Grand Junction Canal with the original rout of the Oxford Canal, and is now the British Waterways Regional Office, together with an information and exhibition room. The remains of the stop lock can be seen under vegetation on the north bank opposite the house. The stop lock was removed and the toll-house taken out of use in 1931 as a part of a plan to widen the route to Birmingham. The brickwork of the lock chamber north wall is still in place, and the recesses for gateposts and slots for the paddle gear rods are clearly visible from across the canal.

<1> Clews Architects, 1980s, Database for Listing of Historic Buildings of Special Architectural Interest: Northamptonshire, 4/71 (checked) (Digital archive). SNN102353.

<2> List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest ("Greenback"), F04 (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN44900.

<3> Northamptonshire Industrial Archaeology Group, 2001, A Guide To The Industrial Heritage Of Northamptonshire, p.15 (checked) (Gazetteer). SNN104759.

<4> FAULKNER A.H., 1972, The Grand Junction Canal, (unchecked) (Book). SNN55309.

<5> Northamptonshire Industrial Archaeology Group, 2011, A Guide To The Industrial Heritage of Northamptonshire (2nd Edition), p.17 (checked) (Gazetteer). SNN107622.

<6> Historic England, THE STOP HOUSE, THE WHARF, BRAUNSTON, BF098814 (Archive). SNN114839.

Record last edited

Mar 14 2023 4:06PM