Information for record number MWA4348:
The Oxford Canal

Summary The Oxford Canal, a waterway used for transporting goods. It was built during the Imperial period and is still in use.
What Is It?  
Type: Canal
Period: Imperial - Industrial (1751 AD - 1913 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Ansty
District: Rugby, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 51 64
(Data represented on this map shows the current selected record as a single point, this is for illustrative purposes only and does not represent an accurate or complete representation of archaeological sites or features)
Level of Protection National - Old SMR PrefRef (Grade: )
Sites & Monuments Record
Description

  
Source Number  

1 The canal was first considered as an extension of the Coventry canal in the 1760s. For a time, though, the Coventry canal existed as an isolated stretch. In 1768 a meeting was held to promote the Oxford canal and in 1769 the act was obtained. There was much support from collieries, especially from Sir Roger Newdigate whose pits were joined by the canal to the Coventry canal.
2 The Oxford- Coventry Canal junction proved a problem due to the former company's reluctance. Eventually legal proceedings forced them to accept a junction at Longford. This was always unsatisfactory, as, i) the canals ran parallel for some distance and ii) the different heights meant that water was lost to the Coventry canal at the junction. By 1771 ten miles of canal were open, by 1774 it had reached Napton and by 1778, Banbury. The line was complete to Oxford in 1790, a total length of 91 miles. For the first 11 years the canal was a section of the shortest Midlands-London route. In 1800 the Grand Junction took this title, but in itself this stimulated trade in the Northern section of the Oxford canal. In 1829 the very winding northern section was straightened, reducing the canal's total length from 91 to 77 miles. Changes included building a new Newbold Tunnel, the widening and embanking of Brinklow Arches and the abandonment of Wolfhamcote Tunnel and loop. Many sections of the old canal were retained as feeders or to serve local industry at Stretton (WA3566) and Kings Newnham (WA3641). The new line was opened in 1834, except for the new junction with the Coventry canal at Hawkesbury which was made in 1836. By 1842 the company was suffering from railway competition and despite addtional works such as the opening up of Fenny Compton Tunnel in 1865-8, receipts continued to fall. The canal survived with trade at a much lower level and is presently used mainly by pleasure craft, operating from stations on the old wharves, such as at Stretton.
3 cf West Midlands SMR No 5862.
4 Details and history
 
Sources
Source No: 3
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: Bibliographic reference
Author/originator: West Midlands SMR
Date: 1998
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 3180
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: The Canals of the East Midlands
Author/originator: Hadfield C
Date: 1966
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Building Survey
Title: Panel for Historical Engineering Works
Author/originator: Institution of Civil Engineers
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Unpublished document
Title: The Oxford Canal
Author/originator: Compton H J
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
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Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
period Imperial 1751 AD to 1914 AD (end of the 18th century AD to the beginning of the 20th century AD)

This period comes after the Post Medieval period and before the modern period and starts with beginning of the Industrial Revolution in 1750. It includes the second part of the Hannoverian period (1714 – 1836) and the Victorian period (1837 – 1901). The Imperial period ends with the start of the First World War in 1914.
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monument BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. back
monument CANAL * An artificial navigable waterway used for the transportation of goods. Nowadays also used for recreational purposes. back
monument TUNNEL * An underground channel with a vaulted roof. Use specific type where known. back
monument ARCH * A structure over an opening usually formed of wedge-shaped blocks of brick or stone held together by mutual pressure and supported at the sides; they can also be formed from moulded concrete/ cast metal. A component; use for free-standing structure only. back
monument INDUSTRIAL * This is the top term for the class. See INDUSTRIAL Class List for narrow terms. back
monument PIT * A hole or cavity in the ground, either natural or the result of excavation. Use more specific type where known. back
monument CANAL JUNCTION * A place where two artificial waterways meet each other. back
monument ENGINEERING WORKS * Any factory or site using machine tools in a manufacturing or processing capacity. back
monument RAILWAY * A line or track consisting of iron or steel rails, on which passenger carriages or goods wagons are moved, usually by a locomotive engine. back
monument WORKS * Usually a complex of buildings for the processing of raw materials. Use specific type where known. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record