Monument record 395/2 - New Oxford Canal (1834)

Construction of the Oxford Canal was authorized in 1769 with the intention to bring coal southwards from the Warwickshire coalfield to Banbury and Oxford; it was also to provide access to the River Thames. The first engineer to be appointed was James Brindley who built a winding contour canal 91 miles long that soon began to look outdated and inefficient for the transportation of goods. Following Brindley's death in 1772 he was replaced by Samuel Simcock who completed the the line from Longfordm where a junction was made with the Coventry Canal, to Banbury in 1778. After a considerable delay, the canal finally reached Oxford in 1790. However, by the late 1820s the Oxford had become out-dated with its winding course and was also under threat of new canal schemes which, if built, would render it almost obsolete. The Company, therefore, decided to modernise the northern part of the canal and, in turn, massive engineering works transformed the face of the canal north of Braunston. In order to cut almost 14 miles off the original 36 miles between Braunston Junction and the Coventry Canal aqueducts, massive embankemnts and deep cuttings were built with much of the old line becoming a series of loops and branches leading nowhere [see HER 395/1 for the old route].

{1} Built 1790 and modernised in 1834. Supreme early contour canal, later straightened and modernised. Links with Thames at Oxford. Lush southern stretches running in and out of the River Cherwell; harsher, brickier northern stretches. Lonely summit with wooden lift-bridges. Hump-backed bridges of limestone or brick. Scattererd locks, some with cottages.

{6} One of three canals which traverse Northamptonshire. A narrow canal, erected between 1769 and 1793, after the successful completion of the Duke of Bridgewater's Canal. Enters the county at Braunston and Aynho. Straightened between Braunston and Coventry between 1831 and 1834 which meant eliminating a number of loops.

{7} The Oxford Canal was built to carry coal from the Midlands to the navigable River Thames at Oxford. It opened as far as Banbury in 1778 and was completed to Oxford in 1790. It was joined at Branunston in 1796, by the Grand Junction Canal, built with wide locks to provide a much faster passage to the tidal Thames at Brentford. This opened as far as Weedon in June 1796 but there was no through route to London until 1805. In 1834, works to considerably reduce the distance of the winding Oxford Canal included a major diversion at braunston. Three miles of the canal were abandoned and a new junction created about 1/2 mile west of the original.

{9} The 'new' line of 1834 heads south-west from a two-branch junction, through twin cast-iron arched roving bridges (Nos. 93 and 94, with a brick built link having an arch standing on the triangular island formed by the junction).

Perrott, D (ed), 1983, The Ordnance Survey guide to the waterways, 1: South, p. 131-149 (Book). SNN114160.

<1> CROWE N., 1994, Canals, p.123 (part checked) (Book). SNN76963.

<2> Blagrove D., 1990, Waterways of Northamptonshire, (unchecked) (Book). SNN104876.

<3> Blagrove D., 1995, Braunston, A Canal History, (unchecked) (Book). SNN104877.

<4> Compton H.J., 1976, The Oxford Canal, (unchecked) (Book). SNN104878.

<5> Hadfield C., 1966, The Canals of The East Midlands, (unchecked) (Book). SNN104879.

<6> BALLINGER J., 1995?, East Midlands Regional Research Frameworks: Northamptonshire, Industrial Period, "Canals" (part checked) (Unpublished Report). SNN104881.

<7> Northamptonshire Industrial Archaeology Group, 2001, A Guide To The Industrial Heritage Of Northamptonshire, p.14 (checked) (Gazetteer). SNN104759.

<8> Northamptonshire Industrial Archaeology Group, 2011, A Guide To The Industrial Heritage of Northamptonshire (2nd Edition), p.16 (checked) (Gazetteer). SNN107622.

<9> Northamptonshire Industrial Archaeology Group, 2001, NIAG Industrial Gazetteer, (draft part checked) (Draft). SNN101121.

Record last edited

Feb 10 2025 8:19PM