Braunston
There is also Braunston-in-RutlandBraunston is a
village and
civil parish in the county of
Northamptonshire,
England, It has a population of 1,675 (2001 census). Braunston is situated just off the
A45 main road and lies between the towns of
Rugby and
Daventry.
The main village of Braunston is situated on a hill above the road and the canals, and the village formerly had a
windmill, the building of which still stands but without any sails. The village contains several
pubs, a selection of shops and a
primary school.
Braunston's main claim to fame is its
canal junction between the
Oxford Canal and the
Grand Union Canal, which was once an important part of the national transport system. Many former boating families have links to Braunston, the churchyard in the village has many graves of boatmen and woman.
The unique triangular junction between the two canals has two bridges made at Horseley Iron Works carrying the towpath over the canal. This was not the original meeting point of the
Grand Junction and
Oxford Canals: the junction was moved in the course of improvements to the
Oxford Canal in the
1830s, prior to which the junction was near where the marina is today.
The canals are no longer used for carrying freight, and are today used mostly by pleasure boats. Braunston has a
Marina filled with these pleasure boats which is usually quite busy.
From the marina, six
locks carry the
Grand Union Canal up to
Braunston Tunnel, some 2049 yards (1874 metres) long.
Despite its small size, Braunston was once served by two
railway stations, both of which are now closed. The first was on the former
LNWR Weedon to
Leamington Spa branch line, via Daventry, which was located near the marina and closed in September
1958. A couple of miles north west of Braunston was
"Braunston and Willoughby" station on the former
Great Central main line, which served Braunston and the village of
Willoughby which it was closer to. This was the last main line to be constructed from the north of England to
London, opened in March
1899. Braunston and Willoughby station closed in April
1957 and the line itself in September
1966. To the south of the station was the 13 arch Willoughby Viaduct crossing the River Leam: this viaduct has now gone.
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Village Website
