Information for record number MWA4368:
Napton Engine Branch

Summary The site of a disused canal feeder arm and pump engine which were used to control the water level of the Oxford Canal, dating from the Imperial period. They were located 600m southeast of Napton Halt.
What Is It?  
Type: Canal, Pump House
Period: Imperial - Modern (1751 AD - 2050 AD)
Where Is It?  
Parish: Napton on the Hill
District: Stratford on Avon, Warwickshire
Grid Reference: SP 46 59
(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 This half mile feeder arm was navigable until 1948. The canal was constructed because under the power of the 1786 Act the company was allowed to use any water found within a thousand yards of the canal. A pumping engine was placed at the end and water discharged into the summit pound. Following the construction of a reservoir at Boddington in 1811 the pump ceased to be used regularly.
2 The building appears to be ne which is now clad in corrugated iron. As no access was possible it was difficult to tell if this was the original building.
3 Canal feeder and engine house are marked on the First Edition 6" Ordnance Survey map.
4Lidar imagery shows a series of mounds, presumably marking a tunnel, lead northwards for 670m to a small stream valley to the NNW.
5 In the early 1790s, the canal company realised that "further [water] supplies must be obtained quickly, so using the powers granted under the Act of 1786 by which it was allowed to use any water found within a thousand yards of the canal, it built a 900 yd canal with one bridge which started between locks numbered 11 and 12 on the Napton flight. At the end a pumping engine was placed. From this point water was lifted into a brick channel, which after a distance of one mile, was discharged into the summit pound by Marston Doles lock. The land purchased for this branch cost £205.20. The company must have had a lot of trouble with the engine for in the first year the boiler had to be replaced ast a cost of £70. Then two years later in 1796 a man was killed whilst attending to it and the Oxford made an ex gratia payment of £10 to his mother."
6 A photograph of the delpaidated state of the old engine house.
 
Sources
Source No: 5
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: The Oxford Canal
Author/originator: Compton H J
Date:
Page Number: 48
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 1
Source Type: Bibliographic reference
Title: The Oxford Canal
Author/originator: Compton H J
Date:
Page Number: 48
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 3
Source Type: Map
Title: 32SE 1:10560 1886 2nd edition
Author/originator: Ordnance Survey
Date: 1886
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 6
Source Type: Photographic Record
Title: Old Engine House
Author/originator:
Date:
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Source No: 2
Source Type: Site Visit
Title: SMR Card
Author/originator: Kilburn C
Date: 1984
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet: PRN 4393
   
Source No: 4
Source Type: Verbal communication
Title: Pers. Comm.
Author/originator: B Gethin
Date: 2013 onwards
Page Number:
Volume/Sheet:
   
Images:  
There are no images associated with this record.  
back to top

Glossary

 
Word or Phrase
Description  
source SMR Card Sites and Monuments Record Card. The Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record began to be developed during the 1970s. The details of individual archaeological sites and findspots were written on record cards. These record cards were used until the 1990s, when their details were entered on to a computerised system. The record cards are still kept at the office of the Warwickshire Sites and Monuments Record. back
period Modern The Modern Period, about 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
more -> 		back
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.
more -> 		back
period modern About 1915 AD to the present (the 20th and 21st centuries AD)

In recent years archaeologists have realised the importance of recording modern sites. They do this so that in the future people will be able to look at the remains to help them understand the events to which they are related.
more -> 		back
monument YARD * A paved area, generally found at the back of a house. back
monument SITE * Unclassifiable site with minimal information. Specify site type wherever possible. back
monument BUILDING * A structure with a roof to provide shelter from the weather for occupants or contents. Use specific type where known. back
monument LOCK * A section of the water channel on a canal or river shut off above and below by lock gates provided with sluices to let the water out and in, and thus raise or lower boats from one level to another. Use more 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 ENGINE HOUSE * A building housing an engine. Use specific type where known. back
monument CANAL FEEDER * A channel which feeds water from a reservoir into a canal when the water level gets low. back
monument PUMP * A machine used to raise and move water and other liquids, compress gases, etc. Use more specific type where known. back
monument BRIDGE * A structure of wood, stone, iron, brick or concrete, etc, with one or more intervals under it to span a river or other space. Use specific type where known. back
monument ENGINE * A machine, powered by steam, gas, electricity or other energy source, which produces energy of movement. Use for stationary industrial engines rather than transport use. back
monument PUMP HOUSE * A small pumping station. back
monument POUND * A pen, often circular and stone-walled, for rounding up livestock. back
monument STREAM * A natural flow or current of water issuing from a source. back
monument MOUND * A natural or artificial elevation of earth or stones, such as the earth heaped upon a grave. Use more specific type where known. back
monument RESERVOIR * A large natural or artificial body of water, sometimes covered, used to collect and store water for a particular function, eg. industrial or public use. back

* Copyright of English Heritage (1999)

English Heritage National Monuments Record