Hawkesbury Junction
Encyclopedia
Junction (canal)
A canal junction is a place at which two or more canal routes converge or diverge. This implies a physical connection between the beds of the two canals as opposed to them crossing on different levels eg via an aqueduct....
at the northern limit of the Oxford Canal
Oxford Canal
The Oxford Canal is a narrow canal in central England linking Oxford with Coventry via Banbury and Rugby. It connects with the River Thames at Oxford, to the Grand Union Canal at the villages of Braunston and Napton-on-the-Hill, and to the Coventry Canal at Hawkesbury Junction in Bedworth just...
where it meets the Coventry Canal
Coventry Canal
The Coventry Canal is a navigable narrow canal in the Midlands of England.It starts in Coventry and ends 38 miles north at Fradley Junction, just north of Lichfield, where it joins the Trent and Mersey Canal...
, near Hawkesbury Village
Hawkesbury Village
Hawkesbury Village is in Warwickshire, England and is located within the Coventry–Bedworth urban area. It borders the city of Coventry at its southern point. It is situated within the Poplar Ward of the Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council area....
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
, on the West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...
county border, 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...
. The alternative name, Sutton Stop, arises from the name of a family which provided several lock keepers there in the nineteenth century.
The junction, a few yards within the Warwickshire border, is four miles north east of Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
. When the junction was first established in 1777 it lay almost a mile nearer Coventry, the two canals proceeding parallel a few yards apart. This was because the Coventry Canal wanted to maximise the distance travelled on their canal and thus their tolls. The present junction was created in 1803.
In commercial carrying times, the junction was a major rendezvous for working boats awaiting orders for their next cargo from the many pits in the area.
A stop lock on the Oxford Canal isolates the water levels of the two original canal companies, with the Oxford being a few inches higher. A disused engine house, built 1821, stands on the western bank of the Coventry Canal. It originally housed a Newcomen steam engine
Newcomen steam engine
The atmospheric engine invented by Thomas Newcomen in 1712, today referred to as a Newcomen steam engine , was the first practical device to harness the power of steam to produce mechanical work. Newcomen engines were used throughout Britain and Europe, principally to pump water out of mines,...
, brought from 100 years' service at Griff Colliery, which was used to pump water from mines in the area to supply the canal. Named Lady Godiva, it is now in Dartmouth Museum, having been decommissioned in 1913.
See also
- List of conservation areas in the West Midlands
- Oxford CanalOxford CanalThe Oxford Canal is a narrow canal in central England linking Oxford with Coventry via Banbury and Rugby. It connects with the River Thames at Oxford, to the Grand Union Canal at the villages of Braunston and Napton-on-the-Hill, and to the Coventry Canal at Hawkesbury Junction in Bedworth just...
- Tooley's BoatyardTooley's BoatyardTooley's Boatyard is a boatyard on the Oxford Canal in the centre of the town of Banbury, Oxfordshire, England.The opening of the Oxford Canal from Hawkesbury Junction to Banbury on 30 March 1778 gave the town a cheap and reliable supply of Warwickshire coal. In 1787, the Oxford Canal was extended...