Grand Union Canal (old) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

This article is about the original Grand Union Canal. For the modern canal of that name, of which the old Grand Union forms part, see Grand Union Canal

Grand Union Canal

The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles with 166 locks...

The Grand Union Canal was a canal in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

from Foxton, Leicestershire

Foxton, Leicestershire

thumb|Foxton parish churchFoxton is a village in Leicestershire, England, to the north-west of Market Harborough. It is on the Grand Union Canal and is the site of the Foxton Locks and Foxton Inclined Plane.-External links:****...

on the Leicester and Northampton canal to Buckby on the Grand Junction Canal

Grand Junction Canal

The Grand Junction Canal is a canal in England from Braunston in Northamptonshire to the River Thames at Brentford, with a number of branches. The mainline was built between 1793 and 1805, to improve the route from the Midlands to London, by-passing the upper reaches of the River Thames near Oxford...

. It now forms part of the much bigger modern Grand Union Canal.

Name

The original name "Grand Union" derived from the fact that it was in effect an extension of the older (Leicester & Northampton) Union Canal - or rather a substitute for the southern half of the LNU's originally proposed route. The "Grand Union" name survived until the canal was bought by the Grand Junction in 1894 and became known as the Leicester Line of the Grand Junction. The larger Grand Junction Canal was subsequently bought by the Regent's Canal

Regent's Canal

Regent's 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 and the River Thames in east London....

and from 1 January 1929 the whole network was known as the Grand Union Canal

Grand Union Canal

The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles with 166 locks...

. Where clarity between the two Grand Unions is needed, the original Grand Union Canal is generally referred to as the Old Grand Union.

History

In 1793, an Act was passed for the Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Union Canal

Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Union Canal

The Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Union Canal is a canal in England that is now part of the Grand Union Canal.It was authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1793 to connect Leicester to the Nene near Northampton and to join the projected line of the Grand Junction Canal but by 1809 the canal...

: this was intended to link the Soar Navigation near Leicester

Leicester

Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...

to the River Nene

River Nene

The River Nene 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 . It is the tenth longest river in the United Kingdom, and is navigable for from Northampton to The...

near Northampton

Northampton

Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...

, and thus to the Grand Junction Canal

Grand Junction Canal

via the latter's Northampton Arm. 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 revised proposal, to route the rest of the canal to Norton on the Grand Junction, with a branch to Market Harborough

Market Harborough

Market Harborough is a market town within the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England.It has a population of 20,785 and is the administrative headquarters of Harborough District Council. It sits on the Northamptonshire-Leicestershire border...

. Thomas Telford

Thomas Telford

Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...

was then asked for his opinion, and he also proposed a change of destination to Norton, but via the town of Market Harborough. This was agreed upon, but by 1809, the canal had reached only Market Harborough, where construction came to an end again.

The Grand Junction Canal Company were concerned about these delays to the opening of the important route to the east Midlands

English Midlands

The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...

, which would bring traffic onto their canal from the River Trent

River Trent

The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...

and the Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...

and Derbyshire

Derbyshire

Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

coalfields. They requested James Barnes and Thomas Telford to revisit the question of route once again, and they developed a plan for a canal to link the part of the Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Union Canal which had been built with the Grand Junction Canal, which had been fully open since 1805.

Experience on the Grand Junction showed that broad boats caused delays as they could not pass in the tunnels, and so the Grand Junction was happy for the new canal to be built with only narrow locks, but with broad tunnels and bridges to allow passing of boats.

With the Leicestershire and Northamptonshire route unfinished, a Bill

Bill (proposed law)

A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....

was put to Parliament to authorise a new canal, known as the Grand Union Canal, from the Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Union Canal at Foxton, to Norton on the Grand Junction Canal. The Act received Royal Assent on 24 May 1810, entitled "An Act for making and maintaining a navigable Canal from the Union Canal, in the parish of Gumley, in the county of Leicester, to join the Grand Junction Canal near Long Buckby, in the county of Northampton; and for making a collateral Cut from the said intended Canal". 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 river valleys or other obvious routes to take. The undulating countryside meant that the chosen route needed many twists and turns to maintain a level. However, the route does not keep as strictly to contours as the early canals of James Brindley

James Brindley

James Brindley was an English engineer. He was born in Tunstead, Derbyshire, and lived much of his life in Leek, Staffordshire, becoming one of the most notable engineers of the 18th century.-Early life:...

did; the worst potential diversions were avoided by cuttings, embankments, and two significant tunnels, one of 1528 yards (1,397.2 m) at Crick

Crick, Northamptonshire

Crick is a village in the Daventry district of the county of Northamptonshire in England. It is close to the border with Warwickshire, west of Rugby and north-west of Northampton. The villages of Crick and West Haddon were by-passed by the A428 main road from Rugby to Northampton when the...

and another of 1166 yards (1,066.2 m) at Husbands Bosworth

Husbands Bosworth

Husbands Bosworth is a large crossroads village in South Leicestershire on the A5199 road from Leicester city to Northampton and the A4304 road from Junction 20 of the M1 motorway to Market Harborough....

, both of which were wide enough for narrowboats to pass.

From the junction with the Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Union Canal, at Foxton, the new canal immediately climbed through the ten Foxton Locks

Foxton Locks

Foxton Locks are ten canal locks consisting of two "staircases" each of five locks, located on the Leicester line of the Grand Union Canal about 5 km west of the Leicestershire town of Market Harborough and are named after the nearby village of Foxton....

, to its 22 miles (35.4 km) summit level. 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 following year, opening up 10 miles (16.1 km) of the main line. In addition, around 1 miles (1.6 km) 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, and cost an extra £7,000. At Watford, the canal descended through the seven Watford Locks

Watford Locks

Watford Locks is a group of seven locks on the Leicester Line of the Grand Union Canal, in Northamptonshire, England, famous for the Watford Gap service area....

to the same height as the summit of the Grand Junction Canal, allowing a level junction with it at Buckby (Norton Junction). To avoid a deep cutting and a short tunnel at Watford, the company eventually agreed to buy the land they needed from a Mrs Bennett, despite the cost of £2,000 plus £125 per acre (£312 per ha). She drove a hard bargain, insisting that she be allowed to keep a pleasure boat on the summit level, and that she should appoint the Watford lock keeper, to ensure that he would always be civil to her and her tenants, and would protect her property from damage by boatmen. The company agreed, providing that the lock keeper was suitably qualified.

The main line of the canal was completed in 1814, and opened on the 9 August. The 1.6 miles (2.6 km) Welford

Welford, Northamptonshire

Welford is a village and civil parish in England. It is located on the River Avon border between the counties of Northamptonshire and Leicestershire. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 1,016 people....

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, which rose by another £13,500 the following year. The main line was 23.2 miles (37.3 km) long, with a level pound of 20.5 miles (33 km) between the locks at Foxton and those at Watford. The opening of the Grand Union Canal provided an additional source of water for the northern summit level of the Grand Junction Canal.

Development

The new canal was not a commercial success, mainly because there was little local traffic, and it relied on traffic passing through from other canals. The company correspondance shows large amounts of effort devoted to negotiations on rates, but it was not in a strong position, and coal was carried at around one third of the rate authorised by the enabling Act of Parliament

Act of Parliament

An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

. Pig iron and other heavy castings only raised 1.5d (0.6p) per ton per mile, whereas on the Monmouthshire Canal at the time, such cargoes were charged at 5d (2p) per ton per mile. Despite this, they had managed to repay most of their debts by 1826, and paid the first dividend to shareholders of one per cent. All loans had been repaid by 1836, and the dividend rose to 1.25 per cent in 1840.

With the opening of the London and Birmingham Railway

London and Birmingham Railway

The London and Birmingham Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway ....

in 1838, and the prospect of lower tolls, men who were committee members of the Grand Junction Canal began buying shares in order to obtain financial control of the Grand Union. A close working relationship developed with the Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Union to help stave off competition from the railways, but toll receipts spiralled downwards, from £7,551 in 1848 to £3,108 in 1858, £1,024 in 1875 and just £742 in 1885. Dividends followed this trend, reaching 0.05 per cent in 1885. Costly repairs were carried out on both of the tunnels, which interrupted traffic while the work was done, and the company managed to build an ice-boat and a dredger, but by 1884, they were almost penniless.

Takeover

In late 1886 or early 1887, the Grand Junction company inspected the Grand Union Canal and the Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Union Canal, and then wrote to both, about the possibility of measures to improve and increase traffic. Both indicated they were prepared to sell out to the Grand Junction, who then offered £5,000 for the two. The canals replied with a counter offer of £25,000, since they had a large asset in their water supplies, but no agreement was made. In 1893, the company met with Mr Fellows, of the carrying company Fellows Morton and Clayton

Fellows Morton and Clayton

Fellows Morton & Clayton Ltd was, for much of the early 20th century, the largest and best-known canal transportation company in England. The company was in existence from 1889 to 1947.-Origins:...

, who suggested that if the locks at Foxton and Watford were made wider, and the canal was dredged, conditions would be much better, and they would be able to run large steam boats, which would allow them to compete with the railways. After making enqiries, Fellows was offered both of the canals for £20,000, and after further discussion with the Grand Junction company, they asked him to act as their agent and buy both. He negotiated a price of £10,500 for the Grand Union, and £6,500 for the Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Union, with £250 to be paid to the clerk who acted for both companies. An Act of Parliament to authorise the takeover was passed in 1894, and the transfer of ownership took place on 29 September. After takeover, the canal became known as the Leicester Line of the Grand Junction Canal.

The Grand Junction dredged the canals they had bought, and negotiated with the Leicester, the Loughborough, and the Erewash Canal

Erewash Canal

The Erewash Canal is a broad canal in Derbyshire, England. It runs just under and has 14 locks. The first lock at Langley Bridge is actually part of the Cromford Canal.-Origins:...

, to fix tolls for through traffic. They then talked to Fellows Morton and Clayton again, and revived the plans to allow them to work wide-beam barges over the Grand Union route. Plans for an inclined plane

Canal inclined plane

An inclined plane is a system used on some canals for raising boats between different water levels. Boats may be conveyed afloat, in caissons, or may be carried in cradles or slings. It can be considered as a specialised type of cable railway....

at Foxton Locks

Foxton Locks

were approved in July 1897, tenders were received in November, and the contract was given to J & H Gwynne & Co, based in Hammersmith

Hammersmith

Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...

. The design was by G.C. Thomas, the Grand Junction Canal's engineer, who had been assisted by his brother, and Gwynne's price was £14,130. Two counterbalanced caissons could each hold two narrow boats or one wide-beam barge, and could raise or lower them the 75 feet (22.9 m) between the top and bottom of the lock flight in twelve minutes, compared to the seventy that using the locks took. Including land purchase, the total cost was £39,224, which also included the provision of an engine house and steam engine to power the plane. The plane was completed and began operating on 10 July 1900..

Thomas did not favour a second inclined plane, and so widening of the locks at Watford was authorised in early 1900, at a cost of £17,000, but was deferred in March, until the work at Foxton was completed and the inclined plane was operational. In August they complained to Fellows Morton and Clayton that through traffic of coal had continued to decline, and they rebuilt the locks at Watford between November 1901 and February 1902. The work cost £5,545, as they were not widened, and wide-beam craft were never able to use the canal. Despite the failure of the scheme, the company recommended to the Royal Commission held in 1906 that a number of other canals should be upgraded to take 80-ton barges, and suggested that several other inclined planes should be built. In November 1908, the locks at Foxton were re-opened for night-time working, and the inclined plane officially stopped working in November 1910, although it is known to have worked intermittently until at least 1912. It was dismantled in 1926 and sold for scrap in 1928..

In an attempt to become more competitive, the Grand Junction company talked to the Regent's Canal

Regent's Canal

company, and the idea of a much larger concern began to develop. An Act of Parliament was obtained in August 1928, which allowed the amalgamation of the Regent's Canal, the Grand Junction, the Warwick and Birmingham, the Birmingham and Warwick Junction and the Warwick and Napton Canals. As from 1 January 1929, the new company began operating, and the old Grand Union Canal became part of the (new) Grand Union Canal

Grand Union Canal

The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line connects London and Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles with 166 locks...

. Having raised £881,000 to enable the route from Birmingham to London to be widened to take boats with a 12.5 feet (3.8 m) beam, and received Government grants to cover interest payments on loans of £500,000, the work began in 1931. The company then decided they could get grants for widening the Foxton and Watford locks, and under an Act of Parliament obtained in 1931, bought the Leicester, the Loughborough and the Erewash Canals. The estimated cost of widening the two flights was £144,000, but the Government refused to make a grant later that year, and the work was never carried out..

Name

History

Development

Takeover

Points of interest

See also