Building record 4679/4/2 - Warehouse adjoining north of Blisworth Mill

{1} Canal warehouse. Circa early C19 for the Grand Junction (later Union) Canal Company. Red brick in English garden wall bond. Low pitched Welsh slate half-hipped roof with lead roll hips and ridge; the roof on east front carried down over deep eaves forming canopy over canal, and canopy supported on cantilevered timber ties.
PLAN: Rectangular plan with loading door onto canal.
EXTERIOR: Single storey. The east front facing canal is blind except for wide loading doorway to right of centre with C20 door and small C20 window to right. Stone wing at rear with gable end onto Gayton Road.
INTERIOR: Tie beam roof with king-posts and struts.
NOTE: The Grand Junction Canal was authorised in 1793 to shorten the route between London and the Midlands. The engineers were James Barnes and William Jessop. Because of the difficulties building the Blisworth tunnel (the longest still open) a toll road was built in 1797 over Blisworth Hill which was replaced in 1800 by a double-track horse tramroad constructed by Benjamin Outram. This warehouse on Blisworth wharf may have been built in association with the tunnel and tramroad.
SOURCE: Charles Hadfield, The Canals of the East Midlands.

<1> Clews Architects, 1980s, Database for Listing of Historic Buildings of Special Architectural Interest: Northamptonshire, 10/10003 (checked) (Digital archive). SNN102353.

<2> List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest ("Greenback"), F10 (unchecked) (Catalogue). SNN45262.

Record last edited

Oct 24 2011 2:46PM