Grand Union Canal
The
Grand Union Canal is a
canal in
England and part of the
British canal system. The main line of the waterway connects the two largest cities in
England,
London and
Birmingham and stretches for
217 km (135 miles) and has 160
locks. The canal also has arms to places including
Leicester,
Slough,
Aylesbury,
Wendover and
Northampton.
The
Grand Union Canal was also the original name for part of what is now part of the Leicester Line of the modern Grand Union: this latter is now generally referred to as the
Old Grand Union Canal where it is necessary to avoid ambiguity.
With competition from the railways having taken a large share of traffic in the second half of the 19th century, improvements in roads and vehicle technology in the early part of the 20th century meant that the lorry was also becoming a threat to the canals. Tolls had been reduced to compete with the railways, but there was little scope for further reduction. The Regent's Canal and Grand Junction Canal agreed that amalgamation and modernisation was the only way to remain competitive.
The (present) Grand Union Canal came into being on
1 January 1929, extended in 1932. It was formed from the amalgamation of several different canals:
*
Regent's Canal*
Hertford Union Canal – bought by the Regent's Canal in 1857
*Warwick and Napton Canal – bought by the Regent's Canal in 1927
*Warwick and Birmingham Canal – bought by the Regent's Canal in 1927
*Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal – bought by the Regent's Canal in 1927
*
Grand Junction Canal – bought by the Regent's Canal in 1927
*
Old Grand Union Canal – bought by the Grand Junction in 1894
*Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Union Canal – bought by the Grand Junction in 1894
*Leicester Navigation – bought by the Grand Union in 1932
*Loughborough Navigation – bought by the Grand Union in 1932
*
Erewash Canal – bought by the Grand Union in 1932
A 5-mile (8-km) section of the
Oxford Canal forms the route of the main line of the Grand Union between Braunston and Napton. Although the Grand Union intended to buy the Oxford Canal and
Coventry Canal, this did not take place.
The section of the main line between Brentford and Braunston (formerly the Grand Junction Canal), was built as a 'wide' or 'broad' canal - that is, its locks were wide enough to accommodate two narrowboats abreast (side by side) or a single wide barge up to 14 feet (4.27 m) in beam.
However, the onward section from Braunston to Birmingham was 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 modernisation scheme of the Grand Union, supported by Government grants. The narrow locks (and several bridges) between Napton and Camp Hill Top Lock in Birmingham were rebuilt to take widebeam boats or barges upto 12 feet 6 inches (3.81 metres) in beam, or two narrowboats. The canal was dredged and bank improvements carried out: the depth was increased to 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 metres) to allow heavier cargoes, and the minimum width increased to 26 feet (7.92 metres) to enable two boats of 12 feet 6 inches to pass. Lock works were completed in 1934 when the
Duke of Kent opened the new broad locks at Hatton, and other improvements finished by 1937.
However, these improvements to depth and width were never carried out between Braunston and London, nor were the locks from the top of Camp Hill Locks in Birmingham widened.
The three sections between Norton junction and the River Trent (collectively known as the 'Leicester line') 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 and the locks and bridges are wide. 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, and in 1962 to the British Waterways Board, later
British Waterways. Commercial traffic continued to decline, effectively ceasing in the 1970s. 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 canal is at
Brentford on the
River Thames in west
London, where the canal follows the engineered course of the
River Brent. The double Thames Lock at Brentford acts as the demarcation point between the Thames, administered by the
Port of London Authority, and the River Brent/Grand Union Canal, administered by
British Waterways. The locks on the canal are numbered, 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 Gaugeing Lock (lock 100) at Brentford is reached. Just upstream of the Gaugeing Lock was a large canal basin, now known as Brentford Lock, from which the canal continues to follow the course of the
River Brent, rising through the
Hanwell flight of locks (92-97) to
Norwood Green. It then heads westward over level ground through
Southall,
Hayes and
West Drayton until it reaches the valley of the
River Colne where it swings northward to
Cowley near
Uxbridge.
Three miles (5 km) from Norwood on this long level is Bulls Bridge Junction, once the site of the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company's main dockyard. At Bulls Bridge, the
Paddington arm branches off to the north and runs 12 miles (19 km) to join the Regents Canal at Little Venice (see below). Just before Uxbridge is Cowley Peachey junction, where the
Slough arm branches off westward.
At Cowley, the canal begins to climb the valley of the River Colne following a north-westerly course. After
Uxbridge, there are many disused gravel workings in the valley so the canal is surrounded by lakes as it passes Denham and
Harefield before veering north-east to
Rickmansworth.
From Rickmansworth, the canal follows the valley of the
River Gade, a tributary of the Colne. After passing the site of
Croxley paper mill, the canal skirts
Watford through
Cassiobury Park, passes under the
M25 motorway and approaches
Kings Langley. The canal here passes the site of the former
Ovaltine factory, which was once supplied with raw materials by canal.
By now the locks are becoming more frequent as the climb into the
Chiltern Hills steepens. The original four locks here were replaced in
1819 by five shallower ones to alleviate problems with water supply to the nearby paper mills. This realigned the canal to the south of its former course; the locks here are still referred to - without irony - as "The New 'Uns" by traditional boaters, and the term has been passed on to a new generation of canal users.
Afer
Kings Langley and
Apsley - the site of more former paper mills - the canal passes
Hemel Hempstead and Boxmoor Common. Next come
Bourne End with the well-known
swingbridge at Winkwell, and
Berkhamsted. The last few miles to
Tring summit follows the course of the River Bulbourne. At Cowroast Lock the canal reaches the 3-mile (5-km) long summit level at Tring in the Chiltern hills, having risen through 54 locks since Brentford.
At the north-west end of the summit level is Bulbourne Works, where lock gates are manufactured for the southern canal network. Half a mile (800 m) further on, the canal reaches the top of the Marsworth flight of seven locks, which begin the descent to the
Vale of Aylesbury. The
Wendover arm branches off westwards from the summit level under a bridge adjacent to Marsworth top lock. A few hundred yards (metres) beyond the bottom lock of the flight, the
Aylesbury arm branches off to the south west.
The Grand Union crosses the wide valley gradually, descending by interspersed locks past the villages of
Cheddington, Horton and Slapton until it reaches
Leighton Buzzard. Traditionally this section of the canal is called "Slapton Fields" or just "The Fields" by boaters.
A few miles further on it enters
Milton Keynes at the outskirts of
Bletchley at
Fenny Stratford lock, which is unusual in lowering the level by only 12 inches (30 cm). The next stretch of 11 miles (18 km) on the level takes the canal through the new city, where there is a
marina. (There is a bid [
1] to dig a new arm from here to the
Great Ouse at
Bedford, to create a circular loop via the Ouse and Nene navigations to rejoin the Grand Union at Northampton). Leaving Milton Keynes at
Wolverton, the canal runs on a high embankment before passing over the Great Ouse at
Cosgrove "Iron Trunk"
aqueduct.
After rising through Cosgrove lock, (and passing the start of the abandoned
Buckingham Arm) another long level section brings the canal to the bottom of the
Stoke Bruerne flight of seven locks. At the top of this flight is the
Stoke Bruerne Canal Museum followed shortly by
Blisworth tunnel, at 3056 yards (2794 m) one of the longest on the canal network.
|
Crick Wharf, Northamptonshire |
Once clear of the tunnel, the canal passes
Blisworth village and reaches
Gayton junction where the
Northampton arm branches off to the east. This arm has a dozen locks as it descends to join the navigable
River Nene (see below). The long level stretch continues past several villages including
Heyford and
Weedon Bec and is very rural in character.
At
Whilton, the canal reaches the bottom of the Buckby flight of seven locks which raise it to
Braunston summit although the village of that name is still 5 miles (8 km) distant. Beyond the top lock is Norton junction where the Leicester line (not strictly a branch) heads off north. A few miles further on the canal passes through the 2040-yard (1865-m)
Braunston tunnel, which pierces a low range of hills that are part of the
Northamptonshire uplands.
The canal then drops down the Braunston flight of six locks till it reaches Braunston junction, just over 93 miles (150 km) from Brentford.
The Birmingham "main line"
At Braunston junction, the
Oxford Canal diverges north and south. The north section leads to
Rugby and
Coventry; the southward fork carries both the
Oxford Canal and the Grand Union for 5 miles (8 km) to
Napton junction. Here, the Grand Union heads west towards north towards
Birmingham, while the Oxford Canal veers south towards
Banbury and
Oxford.
Shortly after Napton Junction, the Grand Union reaches three locks at Calcutt, which begin the descent to the
Warwickshire River Avon. After a 3-mile (5-km) level, the canal descends into the valley of the
River Leam by the Stockton flight of ten locks (often known as 'the Itchington ten'). Above the eighth lock down the flight, a short arm (now used as pleasure craft moorings) used to serve
Southam cement works.
From the bottom of the locks, a 3-mile (5-km) level leads to the four Bascote locks. The top two form a 'riser' or staircase (see
Canal lock). Six more interspersed locks lead to Radford, after which a 5-mile (8-km) level takes the canal through
Leamington Spa to
Warwick. Between these two towns, the canal crosses the River Avon on an aqueduct.
At Warwick, the canal rises by two locks to Budbroke junction (formerly the junction with the then-independent Warwick and Birmingham canal). After half a mile, it reaches the bottom of the
Hatton flight of 21 locks that lift the canal up out of the Avon valley. The first ten locks are interspersed but from the middle lock the flight is tightly-spaced.
Three miles (5 km) from Hatton top lock the canal passes through Shrewley tunnel and then passes Rowington village to Kingswood junction where a short spur connects with the
Stratford-upon-Avon Canal. Another 3 miles (5 km) lead to the
Knowle flight of five locks. Finally, an 11-mile (18-km) level takes the canal through Elmdon Heath, Solihull, Acocks Green, and Tyseley to the heart of Birmingham.
The main line may be considered to terminate at Bordesley. From here, there are two routes, both part of the Grand Union Canal. The original line of the Warwick and Birmingham Canal leads to the
Birmingham Canal Navigations at Worcester Bar, while the later line of the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal leads to the
Birmingham and Fazeley Canal at Salford Junction which in turn has connections to the
Coventry Canal and the
Trent and Mersey Canal.
The Leicester Line
Formed by amalgamations of once-independent canals, the 'Leicester Line' of the Grand Union Canal runs north from Norton junction for about 35 miles (56 km) until it reaches
Leicester, where it joins the
River Soar to provide a link to the
River Trent and to the
Trent and Mersey Canal. It includes notable tunnels south of
Crick 1528 yd (1397 m) and north of
Husbands Bosworth 1166 yd (1066 m) The village of Crick is home to a popular annual
boat show.
Also on this section a well-known feature is
Foxton Locks, ten locks formed of two staircases each of five locks. Beside the locks is the site of a long-abandoned
inclined plane boat lift.
The Grand Union Canal has several branches, usually termed 'arms'. Five miles (8 km) from
Brentford, the Paddington arm leads to
Paddington Basin and just north-west of the Basin at '
Little Venice' it connects to the
Regent's Canal. At Cowley Peachey, the
Slough arms runs 5 miles (8 km) to the west. At Marsworth, about 35 miles (56 km) from
Brentford, two arms leave the main line, one to
Wendover (not currently navigable for its full length but being restored by the
Wendover Arm Trust) and the other descends through several locks for 4 miles (6 km) to
Aylesbury. From
Gayton, about 60 miles (97 km) from Brentford, the
Northampton arm links with the
River Nene.
On the
Leicester Line there are two arms. One is 1 mile (1.6 km) long and leads to the village of
Welford. The other leaves the main canal at the bottom of Foxton locks and runs 5 miles (8 km) to
Market Harborough.
On
28 February 2003 British Waterways announced a plan to build Britain's first new canal for about 100 years, a connection from the Grand Union at
Milton Keynes to the
River Great Ouse at
Bedford. The idea was first discussed in 1810 when its promoters included
Samuel Whitbread. The canal will be built by the B&MK (Bedford and Milton Keynes) Partnership, which will include British Waterways, waterways campaign groups, and local councils. The new waterway will cost about £150M (€220M,US$240M) and will create a new cruising ring connecting through from the Grand Union to the waterways of
East Anglia. Rings are very important to the leisure cruising business because many holiday boat hirers prefer a "circular" route to a there-and-back linear trip. If all the necessary permissions and funding are obtained, construction could start in 2007 and finish in 2010. More information is available at the external links below.
*
Canals of the United Kingdom*
History of the British canal system*
Grand Union Canal 145 mile Race*
Official page with guides, maps, etc.
* Link (with map): http://www.canaljunction.com/cgu.htm
* External page explaining some of the history of the constituent canals which in 1929-32 were amalgamated to make the Grand Union: http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/jim.shead/Grand-Union-Canal.html
New waterway external links
*
Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway Trust - campaign group for the new canal. See their press release page for detailed route map.
*
First British canal for 100 years announced - Guardian newspaper article
*
Route chosen for £150m link canal - BBC News story
