Oxford Canal
The Oxford Canal is a 78 mile (130 km) long narrow canal in central England linking Oxford with Coventry via Banbury and Rugby. It links to the River Thames at Oxford, to the Grand Union Canal at the villages of Braunston and Napton-on-the-Hill, and to the Coventry Canal at Hawkesbury Junction just outside Coventry.
The Oxford Canal passes mainly through the Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire countryside, and is often considered to be one of the most scenic canals in Britain. It is also one of the most popular among pleasure boaters.
Construction began in the 1770s under James Brindley as a way to link the industrial English midlands to London via the Thames. Financial problems meant that the canal was not fully open until 1790. At its height it was one of the most important and profitable transport links in Britain. Run by the Oxford Canal Company, it mostly transported coal and other commodities.
A much more direct route between London and the midlands, the Grand Union Canal, was completed in the early 19th century, and the Oxford Canal dwindled in importance. The coming of the railways from the 1830s onwards hastened the canal's decline.
It was originally built as a contour canal, meaning that it twisted around hills to minimise deviations from a level contour. However, with one eye on the upstart railway network, in the 1820s the northern section of the canal between Braunston and Coventry was straightened out to reduce navigation time.
The canal was nationalised in 1948 and became part of British Waterways. It remained commercially profitable intol the 1950s. As with most of the British narrow canal system, the Oxford Canal suffered from a rapid decline in freight traffic. However, in the 1950s and 1960s pleasure boating grew to replace it, ensuring the canal's survival to this day.
See also
