1.
Grand Union Canal (old)
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It now forms the first 23 miles of the Leicester Section, a branch of the much bigger modern Grand Union Canal. The Grand Union name survived until the canal was bought by the Grand Junction in 1894, the larger Grand Junction Canal was subsequently bought by the Regents Canal and from 1 January 1929 the whole network was known as the Grand Union Canal. Where clarity between the two Grand Unions is needed, the original Grand Union Canal is generally referred to as the Old Grand Union, the Leicestershire and Northampton union reached the village of Debdale by 1797, but in doing so had used up all of its money. James Barnes, an engineer working on the Grand Junction Canal, was asked in 1799 to find a route for the canal to reach the Grand Junction at Braunston. In 1802, he produced a proposal, to route the rest of the canal to Norton on the Grand Junction. Thomas Telford was then asked for his opinion, and he proposed a change of destination to Norton. This was agreed upon, but by 1809, the canal had reached only Market Harborough, the company had an authorised capital of £245,000, and powers to raise a further £50,000 if this proved necessary. Benjamin Bevan was employed as the engineer and construction began at Foxton, the terrain to be crossed was problematic for the canal engineers, as demonstrated by the several proposals made for routes. The core of the problem was the lack of valleys or other obvious routes to take. The undulating countryside meant that the route needed many twists. From the junction with the Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Union Canal, at Foxton, by late 1812, the Foxton flight was completed, and the canal to the eastern portal of Husbands Bosworth Tunnel was opened. The tunnel was completed by May of the year, opening up 10 miles of the main line. In addition, around 1 mile of the branch to Welford was opened at this time, further west, problems were encountered at Crick, where the rocks were unsuitable for tunnelling, and quicksands were found. A new route to the east of the village was authorised, at Watford, the canal descended through the seven Watford Locks to the same height as the summit of the Grand Junction Canal, allowing a level junction with it at Long Buckby. To avoid a deep cutting and a tunnel at Watford. The company agreed, providing that the keeper was suitably qualified. The main line of the canal was completed in 1814, the 1. 6-mile Welford Arm, which was essentially a navigable feeder, since it connected to the reservoirs which provided the water supply, was not completed until November. The total cost of the project was around £292,000, the main line was 23.2 miles long, with a level pound of 20.5 miles between the locks at Foxton and those at Watford
2.
Warwick Bar
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The Warwick Bar conservation area is a conservation area in Birmingham, England which was home to many canalside factories during the Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It is named after the Warwick Bar stop lock joining the Digbeth Branch of the Birmingham Canal Navigations, the stop lock was installed to separate the water systems of the competing canal companies, while still allowing boats to pass. Warwick Bar Conservation Area covers an area of 16.2 hectares where the Birmingham-to-London Grand Union Canal meets the Digbeth Branch Canal and it was designated such status on 25 June 1987. It covers the length of the Digbeth Branch Canal through the Eastside area. To the south is the Digbeth, Deritend and Bordesley High Streets Conservation Area, the conservation area includes three of the statutorily listed buildings in Birmingham, each built by the canal company in the 1840s and 1850s, and a locally listed canal warehouse built in 1935. In total, there are five listed buildings and six listed buildings. One locally listed building, the former Co-op furniture factory works on Belmont Row was destroyed by fire on 11 January 2007 in an arson attack. Seventy-five percent of the building was damaged by a fire caused the roof to collapse. This building had been due to be redeveloped as part of the Ventureast regeneration project, a area covering 1.9 hectares of the conservation area began a redevelopment during 2005 as part of the Birmingham Eastside development which saw the renovation of dilapidated buildings. The site has been earmarked by developers as a key site for a casino in Birmingham. The developers have been in extended talks with the Birmingham City Council and this decision was taken in conjunction with the anticipated impacts of the new HS2 route into the city. The conversion of listed buildings on the site to the new casino and hotel have been endorsed by English Heritage, many proposed projects for the area have been submitted including one named the The Needle which has had very little information presented about it. The developments are mainly residential and will replace or regenerate the old warehouse buildings, designs for buildings and a masterplan were submitted at an international design competition organised by Midlands Architecture & the Designed Environment in summer 2005. The winners were chosen as Kinetic AIU, who were awarded the title by ISIS, the three groups worked together to produce a masterplan which is yet to be submitted for planning permission to Birmingham City Council. The proposals include a film centre, art gallery, hotel, around 600 new homes are to be constructed in the area. The £100 million project is due to be completed by 2013, the development includes the renovation of the locally listed Fellows Morton and Clayton building and the Banana Warehouse. The centrepiece of this complex is The Ice House, which was constructed in 1890 for the production of ice, the ammonia compressor was built for W. Tansley, and could produce 40 tons of ice in 26 hours which would then be used in the markets. This and the surrounding buildings are locally listed
3.
Salford Junction
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Salford Junction is the name of the canal junction where the Grand Union Canal and Tame Valley Canal meet the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal north of Birmingham, England. Salford Junction became a junction on 14 February 1844 when the Grand Union Canal and Tame Valley Canal joined the Birmingham. Prior to this, the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal crossed the River Tame via a seven-arched aqueduct, T & S Element opened boatyards at Salford Bridge in 1932 which soon became the companys head office. Spencer, Abbott and Company owned a boatbuilding yard at the junction too, a bridge has been recorded as being at this location since 1536 during the reign of King Henry VIII, however it is believed to have existed since 1290. In the document where it is first mentioned, it is named Shrafford Brugge, Shrafford is a Saxon word meaning the ford by the caves. The bridge was to be repaired by the parish of Aston, however, the bridge was reconstructed in 1810 to convert the footbridge into a road bridge. It was designed by John Couchman, who was paid £3,800 for the work, the bridge was crossed by a road connecting Birmingham to Lichfield. It was destroyed during the construction of Spaghetti Junction, one of the Birmingham terminations of the Grand Union Canal is under the M6 motorway just east of Gravelly Hill Interchange. Here, at Salford Junction, it meets the end of the Tame Valley Canal, above Salford Junction are the slip roads to Birminghams busiest motorway junction. Below it are the confluences of the Hockley Brook and River Rea into the River Tame
4.
Digbeth Branch Canal
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The Digbeth Branch Canal in Birmingham, England is a short canal which links the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal at Aston Junction and the Grand Union Canal at Digbeth Junction in Digbeth. The 1¼ mile long canal has six locks leading down from Aston Junction and it passes through a grade II listed tunnel at the east of Curzon Street railway station and under the viaduct of todays eastbound railway line from New Street station. It then originally met the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal at the Warwick Bar stop lock just to the rear of Birmingham Proof House, the junction is called Digbeth Junction or Proof House Junction. It has a fall of 40 feet. All of the canal between Ashted Lock at Jennens Road and Great Barr Street is within the Warwick Bar Conservation Area, Canals of Great Britain History of the British canal system Perrott, David, Mosse, Jonathan. Nicholson Waterways Guide 3 - Birmingham & the Heart of England, historical Account of the Navigable Rivers, Canals, and Railways, Throughout Great Britain. Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green, Birmingham City Council - Map of Warwick Bar Conservation Area Birmingham City Council - Planning Committee designation of Warwick Bar Conservation Area 1987 Historic England
5.
Bordesley Junction
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Bordesley Junction is a canal junction where the Grand Union Canal splits near to Bordesley, Birmingham, England. It opened in 1844, when the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal was built as part of a scheme to bypass the congestion at the Farmers Bridge flight of locks, the Grand Union Canal was formed in 1929, with the amalgamation of eight canal companies. They may have been incomplete at the time, as the first real traffic was on 19 March 1800, the Digbeth Branch was built in 1799, using powers that had been contained in the Birmingham Canals Act of 1768. At the same time, the idea of a line from Salford Junction to Camp Hill Locks, the Tame Valley obtained a second Act, and the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal obtained its Act on the same day in 1840. Six locks were built between Salford Junction and the new junction at Bordesley, and the canal and junction opened on 14 February 1844, the southern arm is the main line of the Grand Union to London. It ascends through the six Camp Hill Locks, to reach a 10. 4-mile summit level, the locks at Knowle, unlike those at Camp Hill, are wide, having been widened in the 1930s to take 14-foot barges which could carry 70 tons. The north-east arm was originally the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal leading to Salford Junction and on to the north east and it descends through the five Garrison Locks, and is 2.6 miles long. Canals of the United Kingdom History of the British canal system
6.
Oxford Canal
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The Oxford Canal is a 78-mile-long narrow canal in central England linking Oxford with Coventry via Banbury and Rugby. The canal was once an important artery of trade between the English Midlands and London, and is now popular among pleasure boaters. The Oxford Canal passes mainly through the Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire countryside, north of Napton-on-the-Hill, the canal forms part of the Warwickshire ring. The canal begins near Hawkesbury Village at Hawkesbury Junction, also known as Sutton Stop, from Hawkesbury, it runs south east through the Warwickshire countryside for 15 miles to Rugby. The route between Coventry and Rugby is on a level with no locks, apart from the lock at the junction. Much of this section of the canal was straightened out in the 1820s, the canal winds through the northern part of Rugby passing through the 270-yard long Newbold Tunnel, and then reaches a flight of three locks at Hillmorton just east of Rugby. In the churchyard in Newbold-on-Avon remains can be seen of the original dating from the 1770s. At Braunston the Oxford connects with the Grand Junction section of the Grand Union Canal, after winding round Napton Hill, the canal ascends the Napton flight of nine locks to a summit level. After passing an old wharf and a pub at Fenny Compton and this section is still referred to as tunnel straight or the Fenny Compton Tunnel. Because the section south of Napton junction was never straightened, the level remains one of the most twisting sections of canal in England. It winds for 11 miles between two points which are five miles apart. This is the eleven-mile pound mentioned in Tom Rolts Narrow Boat, the canal then reaches the Claydon flight of locks and descends into the valley of the River Cherwell at Cropredy. Banbury is a stop on the route because of the large number of visitor moorings on a paved. About 4 miles to the south there is the hamlet, Twyford Wharf. The listed single track humped back bridge No 177 at Twyford Wharf has recently been damaged and is in need of urgent repair, there are two villages nearby, Kings Sutton and Adderbury, within 30 minutes walking distance along the road. At Oxford, the canal has two connections to the River Thames and this leads to an unusual river crossroads at the Thames called Four Rivers above Osney Lock. The canal used to continue through a bridge under Hythe Bridge Street to a turning basin and it then continued via a bridge under Worcester Street to end in a coal wharf beside New Road. In 1951 the basin and wharves were filled in and Nuffield College now stands on part of the site, the Oxford Canal was constructed in several stages over a period of more than twenty years
7.
Napton-on-the-Hill
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Napton-on-the-Hill, often referred to locally as just Napton, is a village and civil parish 3 miles east of Southam in Warwickshire, England. The population of the parish taken at the 2011 census was 1,144. The toponym Napton is derived from the Old English cnaepp meaning hilltop, in 1086 the Domesday Book recorded the village as Neptone. The hill on which the village is built is just over 500 feet above sea level, the Domesday Book records that in 1086 Robert de Beaumont, Count of Meulan held the principal manor of Napton. In 1107 Henry I made de Beaumont Earl of Leicester and de Beaumonts manor at Napton became part of the honour of Leicester, when Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester died in 1204 leaving no male heir his estates were divided between his two sisters. Napton was included in the half that passed to his younger sister Margaret, Napton was still part of the Honour of Winchester in 1271 but Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester had died in 1265 with no male heir, leaving his estates to his three daughters. In 1285 the husbands of two of these, Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan and William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby, there are further references to Naptons feudal overlordship in the 14th century and in 1413. The oldest parts of the Church of England parish church of St Lawrence include the chancel, the south doorway of the nave is also from the end of the 12th century. The north and south aisles were added in the 13th century after the transepts, the lower stages of the bell tower date from about 1300. The east window of the transept is a later Perpendicular Gothic addition. The south porch reuses a mixture of Early English and Perpendicular masonry and has puzzled historians, the vestry may also have been added in the 17th century and the upper stage of the tower was rebuilt early in the 18th century. After this rebuilding a ring of five bells was cast in 1731, the tenor was recast in 1874 and Eayre & Smith Ltd. rehung all the bells in 1958. The ring was increased to six bells by the addition of the treble cast by Whitechapel Bell Foundry in 1963. St. Lawrences is at the top of the hill, making it a landmark and giving it commanding views over the surrounding countryside. St. Lawrences parish is now part of a single Church of England benefice with the parishes of Lower Shuckburgh and Stockton, actor Ed Bishop is buried in the churchyard. In the 14th century Napton was granted a charter by King Edward II. However the market died out, and the population of the village today of around 1,000, is roughly the same as it was in the year 1400, Napton had a windmill by 1543. The present stone-built tower mill is a structure that was derelict in 1966 but has since been restored
8.
Braunston
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Braunston is a village and civil parish in the county of Northamptonshire, England. It has a population of 1,759, Braunston is situated just off the A45 main road and lies between the towns of Rugby and Daventry. Braunston is categorised by the Office for National Statistics as Suburbs and Small Towns, the main village of Braunston is situated on a hill above the road and the canals, and formerly had a windmill, the building of which still stands but without any sails. The village contains several pubs, a selection of shops, a fish and chip shop, the Braunston Manor Hotel has now closed and the site re-used for a housing development. Braunstons main claims to fame are its canal and church, all Saints Church Braunston has overlooked the village and the villagers for over 10 centuries and the canals and the boat people for over 300 years. Otherwise known as the Cathedral of the Canals, it has existed since the early 13th century, although the original Norman structure was nearly demolished when the site was polluted by several murders in 1290, the church was later rebuilt in the 14th century. The second incarnation of the served the area for over 400 years, until the site was demolished, with authority from Rev. Alfred Butler Clough in 1848. The third incarnation of the church cost £6,800, money raised primarily through donations and aided by grants from the Church Building Society, notable contributors to the funds also include Her Majesty the Queen Dowager and the Oxford Canal Company. In outline the new church was similar to its predecessor in having no north chancel. The body of the church was made wider to provide accommodation for the population which had followed the coming of the canals. The new church had the number of seats increased from 363 to 732, despite the overwhelming impression of space and light the interior design of the church was rather austere. The biggest change made was in the appearance of the chancel itself which was transformed by redecoration and this was the work of the leading High Church designer, William Butterfield, architect of Rugby School. Today the church still provides services to the area, and often allows visitors to tour the ancient grounds. The De Ros family held the Braunston Manor from 1200 to 1508, the Church Chest, which once housed the Parish Records dating from 1538 and now deposited in the County Records Office in Northampton. The Norman Font, the remaining part of the first church on the site. The Piscina, a basin used for draining water used in the Mass pre-Reformation. The Head of the Churchyard Cross, possibly fourteenth century which has on the four sides the remains of carvings of the Crucifixion, the Madonna and Child, a robed ecclesiastic and a warrior. The canal alongside Braunston is a junction between the Oxford Canal and the Grand Union Canal, which was once an important part of the transport system
9.
Norton, Northamptonshire
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Norton is a village in the district of Daventry in the English County of Northamptonshire. The population including Brokhall and Norton at the 2011 census was 434, the village is about 2 miles east of Daventry,11 miles west of Northampton. Junction 16 of the M1 motorway is about 7 miles south-east, near the village, on Watling Street, is the Roman settlement of Bannaventa. The settlements defences were in the form of a trapezium, not aligned with Watling Street, and the enclosure was deeper on the east side of the street than it was on the west. The four sides of the enclosure were 190 m,200 m,250 m and 250 m, measured clockwise from north, the defences were built in two - possibly three - phases. The outer ditch was allowed to silt up by the end of the fourth century, occupation of the site, which may have begun before the Roman conquest, continued into the fourth century. There is a Roman villa site at the village of Nether Heyford to the south east. It is possible, but unsubstantiated, that Bannaventa was the birthplace of St Patrick, in his Confessio, Patrick writes, This could possibly be an alternative name for Bannaventa. In around 405 AD when he was aged 16 he was kidnapped by pirates who were raiding the imperial highways and this view is backed by the fact that the Watling Street ran indirectly to north Wales and thus offered easy passage to Ireland. The village hall is situated near the Parish Church of All Saints, the village has one public house, The White Horse. To the east of the village is a complex in a converted set of farm buildings trading as The Heart of the Shires Shopping Village
10.
Grand Union Canal
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The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line starts in London and ends in Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles with 166 locks and it has arms to places including Leicester, Slough, Aylesbury, Wendover and Northampton. Tolls had been reduced to compete with the railways, but there was scope for further reduction. The Regents Canal and the Grand Junction Canal agreed that amalgamation and modernisation were the way to remain competitive. The Grand Union Canal in its current form came into being on 1 January 1929 and it was formed from the amalgamation of several different canals, and at 286. Although the Grand Union intended to buy the Oxford Canal and Coventry Canal, however, the onward sections from Braunston to Birmingham had been built as narrow canals – that is, the locks could accommodate only a single narrowboat. An Act of Parliament of 1931 was passed authorising a key part of the scheme of the Grand Union. The narrow locks between Napton and Camp Hill Top Lock in Birmingham were rebuilt to take widebeam boats or barges up to 12 feet 6 inches in beam, or two narrowboats. Lock works were completed in 1934 when the Duke of Kent opened the new locks at Hatton. However, these improvements to depth and width were never carried out between Braunston and London. Camp Hill Locks in Birmingham were not widened, as it would have very expensive and of little point. A new basin and warehouse were constructed at Tyseley, above Camp Hill, the three sections between Norton junction and the River Trent are mixed in size. From Norton to Foxton, the route is a narrow canal, from below Foxton to Leicester it is a wide canal. From Leicester to the Trent, the route is effectively the River Soar, another Act of 1931 authorised the widening of the locks at Watford and Foxton, but with Government grants for this section not forthcoming, the work was not carried out. The Grand Union Canal was nationalised in 1948, control transferring to the British Transport Commission, commercial traffic continued to decline, effectively ceasing in the 1970s, though lime juice was carried from Brentford to Boxmoor until 1981, and aggregates on the River Soar until 1996. However, leisure traffic took over, and the canal is now as busy as it ever was, with leisure boating complemented by fishing, towpath walking and gongoozling. One end of the Grand Union Canal is at Brentford on the River Thames in west London, the locks on the canal are numbered south from Braunston, and Thames Lock is lock number 101. From the Thames Lock, the canal and the River Brent are one and the same, and the waterway is semi-tidal until the double Gauging Lock at Brentford is reached
11.
River Nene
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The River Nene or /ˈniːn/-see below) is a river in the east of England that rises from three sources in the county of Northamptonshire. The tidal river forms the border between Cambridgeshire and Norfolk for about 3.7 miles and it is the tenth longest river in the United Kingdom, and is navigable for 88 miles from Northampton to The Wash. The River Nene is the tenth longest river in the United Kingdom, from its source at Arbury Hill to Northampton the river falls a total of 300 feet in 17 miles. For the remainder of its course, the Nene falls less than 200 feet and it has a catchment area of 631 square miles and a mean flow of 328 cubic feet per second. The final 88 miles from Northampton to the Wash is navigable, the rivers most westerly source can be found near the village of Badby near Daventry. On the eastern slope of Arbury Hill and in pools between Arbury Hill and Sharmans Hill there are three tributaries that converge at Dodford mill to form the upper reaches of the Daventry Nene. From Dodford the river passes through the village of Weedon where it flows under the main west coast railway line, the Grand Union Canal, a little west of Weedon the river converges with its tributary source from Yelvertoft from the north. This tributary, the Yelvertoft Nene, is formed from a great many streams, the river now flows towards Northampton, passing through Flore and Nether Heyford, where it is joined by small streams on either bank. A little past Bugbrooke Mill the Nene passes under the M1 motorway, another tributary merges from the south at Kislingbury. The Nenes course is followed by the Grand Union Canal’s Northampton arm at Upton Mill. At Upton Mill, another tributary, called Wooton Brook, joins the river from the south, the River Nene now approaches Northampton town from the west, passing between the southern suburbs of St. James, Cotton End and Far Cotton. The Nene’s third northern source, the Naseby Source or Brampton Nene and this tributary flows through the north of Northampton where several streams join. Three of these streams supply water for reservoirs at Pitsford, Hollowell and Ravensthorpe, north of Northampton, Northampton Sea Cadets is based in Nunn Mills, and uses the river for the training of boating skills. Following the training schemes of the Royal Yachting Association, British Rowing, a short way downstream a weir can divert some of the Nenes flow to supply the Nene Whitewater Centre. From Northampton, the river flows along a valley, formed by the enormous amount of water released by the melting ice during the Ice Age. The Nene now meanders through this wide, flat valley with flood plains, lakes, pools and mature gravel pits on either bank, a byproduct of the large glacial deposits in the valley. At Great Billing is Billing Aquadrome, a caravan and camping park with leisure facilities and a funfair. The park is popular with fishermen and water skiers alike, the rivers landscape is now dominated by mature gravel pit lakes
12.
Buckingham Arm
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The Buckingham Arm is a canal that once ran from Cosgrove, Northamptonshire to Buckingham. It was built as an arm of the Grand Junction Canal and it was disused from 1932, but was not finally abandoned until 1964. It is now the subject of a programme with the Buckingham end holding water for a length of nearly 400m. The initial section to Old Stratford was to be constructed as a broad canal, the Old Stratford branch would have had a junction with the main line at the lowest level, and followed the course of the Great Ouse valley. The Grand Junction Canal, which included the two flights of locks to cross the River Great Ouse, opened in August 1800, the Buckingham branch progressed quickly and was built in 8 months. A formal opening occurred on 1 May 1801, with celebrations as Buckingham, the canal was supplied with water by a feeder from the Great Ouse in Buckingham. The lock flights on the line were replaced by two embankments and an aqueduct in 1805, but there were problems with the aqueduct. By the 1850s, the canal was suffering from competition from the railways, and the supply from the river contained much silt. Buckingham Corporation also used the canal as a point for sewage. In 1919, a section of the canal near Mount Mill Farm was replaced by a concrete trough, the last recorded commercial traffic was a delivery of chemicals to Leckhampstead in 1932. The arm was blocked at the first bridge in 1944, as a precaution against further leakage, the Buckingham branch was formally abandoned in 1964, but the Old Stratford branch was not. Despite this, the Old Stratford branch was severed by the new route of the A5 road, constructed in 1975/6, the route of the Buckingham branch was severed by the construction of the A422 Old Stratford Bypass in 1989/90. Beyond this point the canal can still be followed as a trench running through fields as far as Old Stratford. Other remnants of the route are decipherable in the landscape as far as Buckingham, Buckingham Canal Society was formed in 1992, initially with the aim of clearance and photography of the remains. With encouragement from British Waterways, who owned part of the route. As the society grew, the restoration of the remains and reinstatement of navigation along the arm became the new aim, other sections of the route have been tackled as negotiations with landowners have resulted in permissive access. In 2008, the structure of Hyde Lane lock was refurbished and this enabled the lock to be restored professionally. In 2010, Halcrow Engineering produced a report, which assessed whether the aim of restoration was realistic, the estimated cost for the restoration was put at £64 million
13.
Cosgrove, Northamptonshire
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The River Tove passes to the east of the village flowing into the River Great Ouse just south, the latter marking the boundary with Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes. The Grand Union Canal passes through the middle of the village, immediately south-east of the village the canal crosses the valley of the river Great Ouse on an embankment and aqueduct known as the Cosgrove Iron Trunk Aqueduct. The river was crossed on the level, with four temporary locks lowering the canal from the south-east. The temporary locks were used as a means of getting the canal open to traffic by 1800. However, it was intended that the river should be crossed by aqueduct, as the locks were wasteful of water, time-consuming. A brick aqueduct was built, but collapsed in 1808, after which the locks were re-opened and it was replaced by the present Cosgrove aqueduct, built of cast iron, and opened on 22 January 1811. It closed in the 1960s but there is a desire to re-open the now dry, the Buckingham Canal Society was formed to reopen the original canal line wherever possible. This Buckingham branch froze more quickly and solidly than either the River Ouse or the main canal. This was noticed not only by skaters from miles around, but also by the owner of Cosgrove Hall, who in about 1820 built an ice-house half-way between the canal and the Hall. The ice house was constructed rather like a windmill, with very thick walls but, unlike the windmill. Into the ice house, every winter from 1820 until the 1900s, by this method it kept until the following spring and summer, when it would be sold to local fishmongers, butchers and others in the days before refrigeration. In recent years it has become derelict, but it was the last remaining in Buckinghamshire, for the past 200 years life in the village has been affected by the building of the canal and then later by the railway, now the West Coast Main Line. The traders have gone, and the village has returned to its natural, rural charm like much of Northamptonshire life. There was once a cornmill on the River Tove, dating from 1086, the Mill prospered until the early 20th century when it fell into disrepair and was demolished in 1979. It is one of two ornamental bridges over the canal. There is a memorial to Pulter Forester, the tower is over 70 feet tall and contains six bells with one ‘Santa Maria’ dating to the 15th century. Cosgrove Hall and its estate was built in the early 18th century on the site of a house by the Furtho family. It is not open to the public and it may have been built by John Lumley of Northampton
14.
Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Trust
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Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Trust is a waterways organisation formed in 1995 to promote a new canal route, the Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway. It is a charity in England, and in 2008 had a gross income of £201,287. The Trust has carried out work on the project, funded through a £250,000 Lottery grant. The canal project suffered an apparent setback in 2004 when Milton Keynes Council did not include the route in the Supplementary Planning Guidance for the Eastern Expansion Area of Milton Keynes. However, this decision was recalled as a result of a public petition, the route within Milton Keynes is now protected by the SPG, and this episode serves to show public as well as political support for the scheme. The road opened on 1 December 2010, although the underpass is not due to open for public access until sometime into 2011. One of the more speculative plans by the Trust is the Brogborough Whirl a proposed boat lift to take the waterway 30 metres up and down the eastern side of Brogborough Hill
15.
Marsworth
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For the nearby reservoir, see Marsworth reservoir Marsworth is a village and also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is about two miles north of Tring, in Hertfordshire and six miles east of Aylesbury, the village name is Anglo Saxon in origin, Mæssanwyrth, and means Mæssas enclosure. Marsworth is first mentioned in the will of Aelfgyfu as granted to Edgar of England who in turn passed it to St Etheldredas Church belonging to the Bishops of Ely, brictric, a thegn of Edward the Confessor. After the Norman Conquest Marsworth is recorded in the Domesday Book as in the possession of Robert DOyly and was connected to Wallingford, an association which continued into the 17th century. By 1319 records show there were still several overlords controlling various parts of Marsworth including a descendant of Isabel Bassett, there were connections between another estate in Marsworth and the Savoy Hospitalin London whom the Boughton family granted lands in 1514 in the honour of Henry III. It subsequently became an endowment for St Thomass Hospital and in 1876 was swapped for lands in Essex by William Brown of Tring, there are records of a church in Marsworth since the 12th century. All Saints Church was further extended in the 14th and 15th centuries, the construction of the Grand Union Canal, which passes through this village brought with it many new business opportunities and the village expanded greatly as a result. Within the parish boundary of Marsworth, to the south of the village where the canal cross the Lower Icknield Way is the hamlet of Startops End. In 2010 the during building work engineers dug up over 40 bodies in un-marked graves which were interred in a ceremony conducted by the vicar. Nearby are three of the four Tring reservoirs, one of which is named Marsworth reservoir, british History Online – Victorian History of Buckinghamshire Volume 3 – Marsworth
16.
Wendover Arm Canal
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The Wendover Arm Canal is part of the Grand Union Canal in England, and forms part of the British canal system. Water supplies from Wendover were found to be inadequate, and a series of reservoirs were built, a pumping station at Whitehouses was superseded by the Tringford pumping station in 1817, its steam engines were replaced by diesel engines in 1911 and then by electric pumps. The canal was used for the carriage of coal to three gasworks, and for transport of straw to London and horse manure in the opposite direction and it was also used by the Heygates flour mill, and Bushells built boats on its banks. Water levels in the section were lowered, and a pipeline was constructed along part of the bed. The canal became part of the Grand Union Canal in 1929 and they have started to reline the section which leaked so badly, using Bentonite matting, and at Easter 2015 the first 0.25 miles of phase 2 were filled with water for the first time since 1904. Another section is expected to be rewatered in 2016, and Heritage Lottery Funding may speed the completion of phase 2, when James Barnes was planning the route for the Grand Junction Canal, he was faced with the problem of crossing the Chiltern Hills. Since ancient times, roads had passed through the Tring Gap, a low saddle in the hills near Tring, the main line of the canal was authorised by an Act of Parliament obtained in 1793. A second Act was obtained on 28 March 1794, which authorised the construction of branches to Buckingham, Aylesbury, on its journey through the Chilterns, the main line reaches a height of 390 feet at Tring summit. From the south, it ascends through a series of locks which follow the valleys of the rivers Gade, after a relatively short 3-mile summit, the canal starts its descent at Bulbourne, picking up the valley of the River Ouzel. Each boat crossing the summit level draws off nearly 200,000 imperial gallons of water, however, the cost of widening it was small, and so it was always a navigable channel from the time of its completion in 1799. The water supply was supplemented by mill streams, which were diverted into the canal after the company bought out mills at Wendover, Halton and Weston Turville. They also built Weston Turville reservoir in 1798, which was used to supply the mills in Aylesbury, the reservoir was also used to replenish the canal and, as milling technology developed, this became its primary purpose. A steam pump was installed in 1814 which fed water to the canal through underground pipes, although only installed as a temporary solution, it continued to operate until 1839. It soon became clear that the supply of water from Wendover was insufficient, Wilstone reservoir was followed by Marsworth, completed in 1806, Tringford, completed in 1814 and Startops End, completed in 1815. The banks of Wilstone reservoir were raised in 1811 and 1827 and it now has a capacity of 242 million imperial gallons. There was a station at Whitehouses, which pumped water from the reservoir into the canal. It housed a Newcomen engine which operated until around 1835, Tringford pumping station was built in 1816 and 1817, and contained a Boulton and Watt beam engine. The cast-iron beam was 24 feet long, and the cylinder was 49.5 inches in diameter
17.
River Bulbourne
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The River Bulbourne is a small river in Dacorum, Hertfordshire, England. The word bourne derives from the Anglo-Saxon word for a stream and it is an unnavigable tributary of the River Gade, which flows into the River Colne, which in turn is a tributary of the River Thames. The Bulbourne is one of only 210 chalk streams in the world, the valley is at the southernmost limit of the Pleistocene glaciation ice erosion of the Chiltern scarp, giving it a smooth rounded appearance. The underlying geology is chalk, which outcrops in places along the east side of the valley, the subsoil is predominantly a stiff reddish clay-with-flints, in the valley itself the chalk is overlain with alluvium. Around Berkhamsted the valley sides rise 300 ft. Situated on its northern rim, the current total length of the river is 7 miles, from its source to its mouth it falls 30 meters. The River Bulbourne was historically rich in eels and other fish, fast-moving, over the years, human activity has had a significant effect on the river. Originally the source of the Bulbourne was near the hamlet of Bulbourne near Tring, in 1700 the source was said to be Parkhill Farm, settlement in the valley began prior the Late Iron Age period. The upper Bulbourne Valley was rich in timber and iron ore, in the late Iron Age, a four-square-mile area around Northchurch was a major iron production centre. The where Roman villas in Northchurch, Berkhamsted and Boxmoor, early Anglo-Saxon settlements rose in Northchurch and Berkhamsted. In the Medieval period, the Bulbourne powered two watermills in Berkhamsted and another in Bourne End and it also fed the three moats of the large Norman Berkhamsted Castle, that stands close to the center of the town. The river created an environment in the center of the valley. This man made waterway was the one to be built across the Chilterns hills. Ensuring a constant supply of water in a region of permeable chalk was a challenge which required the building of reservoirs, pumps. After the Pre-Roman Road and the canal, the major transport route to carve its way along the Bulbourne valley was the London to Birmingham railway in 1834. In 1883, the Berkhamsted Times congratulated a Mr Bedford on having converted the remaining dirty ditches, thus the River Bulbourne was reduced by centuries of increased drinking needs, dredging, milling and agriculture as well as the London to Birmingham canal. The Bourne Gutter is a short 400 yards tributary of the Bulbourne rising between Berkhamsted and Bourne End, according to local legend it is a Woe Water, said to only flow at time of national emergency. Its recent flows in 1990 and 2001 coincided with wars between Britain and Iraq then the Twin Towers disaster, in February 2014, it flowed due to the exceptionally wet winter. Another small tributary was 60 feet at St Johns Well Lane, from at least the Middle Ages the holy well there had been Berkhamsteds principal source of drinking water
18.
Slough Arm
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The Slough Arm is a short canal branch from the Grand Union Main Line to Slough in Berkshire, England. It was originally opened to serve the brick-making industry, the last commercial traffic was carried in 1960, but as the plans to fill it in were opposed locally, the stretch was re-opened in 1975 and has remained in-use since. With the demand for bricks for the buildings of London continuing to increase and it would run from Bulls Bridge on the Grand Union Canal to Slough, where new brickworks would be opened. Thomas completed a survey in 1879, and the route was altered slightly, construction began at the Cowley Peachey Junction in early 1880, overseen by Alfred Walker, who had recently constructed the Melton Mowbray Canal. The route included a major cutting and embankment at Iver, which were started in February, by April 1881, work was also in progress at the Slough end. The major earthworks at Iver were completed in June 1882, and it was about 5 miles long, and did not require any locks. This he seemed to achieve, for in 1905 the canal conveyed 192,000 tons of cargo, mainly bricks, sand and gravel, a number of tramways facilitated the carriage of goods to the canal wharves. From the peak year of 1905, a decline set in. Cargoes of bricks and gravel sustained the canal through the 1920s and 1930s but by the 1940s, the deposits of clay and gravel were becoming exhausted. The pits were used for landfill, which provided some traffic, and there was a trade in timber, which was delivered to Slough Wharf. With the British Waterways Board taking over the canals in the 1960s, with no likelihood of the canal being used again, Slough Council proposed buying part of it and building an access road for a trading estate along its route. The Slough Canal Group was formed in 1968, and fought a campaign to save the canal, supported by the local newspaper. They were successful, and the canal was re-opened in 1975, the Slough Arm was one of seven stretches of canal, formally designated as remainder waterways, which were re-classified by the British Waterways Act of 8 February 1983. Under the act, a total of 82 route miles were upgraded to Cruising Waterway Standard. The canal was one of the last to be built in Britain, with only the Manchester Ship Canal and the New Junction Canal, which was opened in 1905, being built at a later date. There have been proposals to build a link from the end of the Slough Arm to join the River Thames, British Waterways have estimated that this would cost c. £30m. The plan was proposed in 2008, and confirmed in 2012 as a long-term objective when the climate allows. Passing under the M25 motorway, it enters the Iver cutting, the two routes pass along the northern edges of Slough, and then the canal diverges northwards, to end at Stoke Road
19.
Cowley, London
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Cowley /ˈkaʊli/ is a village contiguous with the town of Uxbridge in the London Borough of Hillingdon. Cowley lies on a ridge 28 to 45 m above sea level. Its independent male householders were two villagers, one cottage-owner with one cultivated ploughland for one plough team. Lords lands took up 1.5 ploughs of land, the woodland was worth forty pigs and a mill was worth for five shillings per year. A lay franchise of the church was held in 1293 by Lucy Peachey, whose name is reflected in several of the roads and by the local government ward of Cowley Peachey. Cowley was surrounded by Hillingdon parish, of which the town of Uxbridge itself and Uxbridge Moor, part of the Moor is now the M25 motorway. For this reason most of the history of the parish has to be dissected from that of Hillingdon. These complex parish borders were those of just one manor carved out before the Norman conquest from Hillingdon, while Hillingdon parish administered to many areas now in Cowley, most of these were in one manor within Hillingdon whose name is preserved by few places in maps, Colham. In the west, along the road between Uxbridge and West Drayton, and mostly to the north of the Iver Lane turning, lay the village formerly known as Cowley Street. A small piece of land belonged to Cowley church on the other side of Hillingdon by Long Lane. In 1796 Cowley Field was inclosed, with the object of consolidating the parishes of Hillingdon. Four parts of the north of the Greenway were also assigned to Cowley but remained detached. Nomansland, across the Pinn, also remained cut off from the rest of the parish, in 1547 the parish contained 36 houseling people, in 1719 there were 109 inhabitants, and in 1801 the population was 214. During the later 19th century increasing amounts of land were given over to market- and nursery-gardens, about 1800 the stretch of the Grand Junction Canal through Cowley was opened, and packet boats ran for a while in 1801 and occasionally in the next few years between Uxbridge and London. The Packet Boat Inn at Cowley Peachey, licensed in 1804, commemorates the period, in 1901, after the enlargement, it was 869, and this had only risen to 1,170 by 1931. During the 1930s there was a deal of building, partly by Uxbridge council. The diversion of Peachey Lane in 1938 and the blocking of Maygoods Lane about 1953 have destroyed the old plan of this part of the parish. On more descriptive modern analysis the soil is slowly permeable seasonally wet acid loamy and clayey soil, little Britain Lake in the west of Cowley extends for about 450 metres between the Colne and a channel of it known as Frays River
20.
Paddington Arm
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At the time of the Industrial Revolution, the purpose was to open a water-transport route linking Paddingtons light industry and western rail terminus with the industrial Midlands. It was later extended by construction of the Regents Canal which joined the River Thames at Limehouse and it also provided economical holiday travel to the countryside for urban dwellers, a function which has continued in the era of tourism. The original terminus at Paddington Basin has been conserved as a location of ambitious high-rise development, the Paddington canal was opened on 10 July 1801, when 20,000 people were reported to attend, in what was then a quiet rural village. Unfortunately, the canal soon became a temporary dumping ground for London garbage. Not only the dust and ashes but the filth of half London were brought to that stinking Paddington for convenience of removal. ]In later years, this nuisance was abated and many mansions were built alongside the banks, including Beauchamp Lodge
21.
Regent's Canal
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Regents Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, just north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin, the canal is 13.8 kilometres long. As with many Nash projects, the design was passed to one of his assistants, in this case James Morgan. Work began on 14 October 1812, the Camden to Limehouse section, including the 886-metre long Islington tunnel and the Regents Canal Dock, opened four years later on 1 August 1820. Various intermediate basins were also constructed, many other basins such as Wenlock Basin, Kingsland Basin, St. Pancras Stone and Coal Basin, and one in front of the Great Northern Railways Granary were also built, and some of these survive. The City Road Basin, the nearest to the City of London, soon eclipsed the Paddington Basin in the amount of goods carried, principally coal and these were goods that were being shipped locally, in contrast to the canals original purpose of transshipping imports to the Midlands. The opening of the London and Birmingham Railway in 1838 actually increased the tonnage of coal carried by the canal. However, by the twentieth century, with the Midland trade lost to the railways, and more deliveries made by road. There were a number of projects to convert the route of the canal into a railway. The railway company failed, but in 1846 the directors of the canal went about trying to obtain an Act of Parliament to allow them to build a railway along its banks. The scheme was abandoned in the face of opposition, especially from the government who objected to the idea of a railway passing through Regents Park. In 1859, two schemes to convert the canal into a railway were proposed. One, from a company called the Central London Railway and Dock Company, was accepted by the directors, in 1860 the Regents Canal Company proposed a railway track alongside the canal from Kings Cross to Limehouse, but funds could not be raised. Further schemes over the twenty years also came to nothing. In 1883, after years of negotiation, the canal was sold to a company called the Regents Canal. A new purpose was found for the route in 1979. These 400 kV cables now form part of the National Grid, pumped canal water is circulated as a coolant for the high-voltage cables. The canal is used today for pleasure cruising, a regular waterbus service operates between Maida Vale and Camden, running hourly during the summer months
22.
Paddington Basin
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Paddington Basin is the name given to a canal basin, and its surrounding area, in Paddington, London. The junction of the Regents Canal and the Grand Junction Canal is close to this point and it was opened in 1801, with Paddington being chosen as the site of the basin because of its position on the New Road which led to the east, providing for onward transport. In its heyday, the basin was a transshipment facility. The basin is now the centre of a major redevelopment as part of the wider Paddington Waterside scheme and is surrounded by modern buildings, a consortium in partnership with the former British Waterways began work in January 2000 by draining the basin. In all, the development around Paddington Basin will create 2,000,000 sq ft of offices, homes, shops and leisure facilities, Paddington Walk is a block of 232 flats designed by Munkenbeck & Marshall that completed in August 2005. The Point and Waterside are office blocks designed by Terry Farrell and Partners, the original plan for the eastern end envisaged a commercial development focused around the Grand Union Basin and included the Winding building and the Grand Union building. The Richard Rogers Partnership originally designed the latter as three towers of 24,32 and 40 floors rising to 164m, but the planners imposed a limit of 100 metres. The Health Campus scheme collapsed in 2005 and in February 2006 the Paddington Development Corporation - now European Land, branded as Merchant Square, this proposed 1,800,000 sq ft of mixed-use space spanning 6 buildings, including 554 residential units and 58% commercial space. Planning permission was granted on 1 March 2007, a revised planning application was subsequently submitted and was approved on 19 May 2011. Part of the building is occupied by Marks & Spencer, which occupies the Waterside Building. 3 Merchant Square, a 21-storey development of 159 luxury apartments and 42 standard apartments, was completed in summer 2014,2 Merchant Square will be a 16-storey office building providing 162,000 sq ft of Grade A space with 4,400 sq ft of retail space. 6 Merchant Square will offer 119 apartments over 15 floors, Merchant Square is located around a central square. A life-size sculpture in memory of Sir Simon Milton was unveiled in September 2014 by The Rt Hon. Eric Pickles MP, Secretary of State for Communities, the sculpture, designed by Bruce Denny, follows Sir Simons pivotal role in facilitating the regeneration of Paddington Basin. The basin is known for its ingenious pedestrian bridges, such as The Rolling Bridge and the The Fan Bridge, the nearest London Underground stations are Edgware Road and Paddington, the latter also being served by National Rail
23.
Syon Park
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Syon Park is the 56.6 hectare garden of Syon House, the London home of the Duke of Northumberland in Isleworth in the London Borough of Hounslow. It was landscaped by Capability Brown in the 18th century, and it is Grade I listed by English Heritage under the Historic Buildings, Syon was the site of Sion Abbey, which was founded in 1415 and named after Mount Zion in Jerusalem. Foundations of the abbey were discovered in 2003, the Tide Meadow next to the Thames is a 21.5 hectare SSSI. It is a wet meadow of reed-grasses, with rye-grass and meadow-grass on higher ground. There are many small ditches, and it is used by many over-wintering birds and has a number of invertebrate species. The park is open for a charge in the summer. List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Greater London
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