Monument record 442/1/52 - Probable location of the original southern portal of the Blisworth Tunnel, Grand Union Canal

The tunnel was started in 1793 but had almost halted by 1795 due to constant ingress of water. Work eventually started again in 1796, but on a slightly different alignment and the original tunnel portal was abandoned.

{1} The Act of Parliament for the construction of the canal was obtained in 1793. The necessity of a tunnel at Blisworth had been realised from an early stage in the project and only a short time after the passing of the act a contract was negotiated with Charles Jones and John Biggs to build the tunnel at £10 per yard, to be finished by June 1797.
By the end of 1795, the tunnelling operations had almost halted due to the constant ingress of water. Jessop, the Chief Engineer of the project, had proposed to cross the ridge of hills with a group of locks and both Barnes and Jessop were asked to provide reports on the two options. While Jessop was against going ahead with the tunnel, Barnes believed it was much the better idea, although on a slightly different course. Further help was sought from John Rennie Snr and Robert Whitworth,
to assess the plans and give their opinion. Their report was issued in May 1796 advising that the tunnel was the better option, although it should be built on a different alignment. The new course was to start just to the east of the original tunnel at the northern end and finish about 130 yards to the west of the original line at the south end.

In Field 1 a linear depression aligned north-west to south-east, may be the remains of the first southern tunnel portal. A circular depression some 100m to the north-west may indicate a collapse of the tunnel workings or one of the pits or shafts. In the extreme southern corner of Field 1 a large uneven mound of material appears to be spoil, although its origin may be from either tunnel or from the excavation of the canal cutting. There are various other irregular earthworks within the field that may be associated with the canal.

<1> Walker C., 2013, Archaeological desk-based heritage assessment of land at Stoke Bruerne, Northamptonshire (Report). SNN109915.

<2> Environment Agency, LIDAR Composite DTM - 1m, Accessed 17/06/2024 (Digital Plots). SNN111710.

Record last edited

Jun 17 2024 9:30AM