89-649: The Oxford Canal is a 78-mile (126 km) narrowboat canal in southern central England linking the City of Oxford with the Coventry Canal at Hawkesbury (just north of Coventry and south of Bedworth ) via Banbury and Rugby . Completed in 1790, it connects to the River Thames at Oxford, and links with the Grand Union Canal , which it is combined with for 5 miles (8 km) between to
178-451: A Mr Arthur Atkins. While the practice declined as commercial use of the canals dwindled, it has seen something of a revival in recent times with the emergence of leisure boating. Narrowboat decoration with roses and castle themes are a common sight on today's canals, although these may utilise cheaper printed vinyl transfers in place of the traditional craft of hand-painted designs. The number of licensed boats on canals and rivers managed by
267-491: A boat and get afloat. The first narrow boats played a key part in the economic changes of the British Industrial Revolution . They were wooden boats drawn by a horse walking on the canal towpath led by a crew member, often a child. Narrow boats were chiefly designed for carrying cargo, though some packet boats carried passengers, luggage, mail and parcels. The first canals to feature locks in
356-470: A bridge under Hythe Bridge Street to a turning basin and goods wharf south of Hythe Bridge Street. 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 has taken part of the site. The locks on the canal are as follows. The canal rises from Hawkesbury Junction to Hilmorton Top Lock, there
445-742: A certain amount of "shoehorning") lie diagonally. Some locks on isolated waterways are as short as 40 feet (12.19 m). Where it was possible to avoid going through locks, narrow boats were sometimes built a little larger. Wharf boats or more usually 'Amptons, operated on the Wolverhampton level of the Birmingham Canal Navigations and were up to 89 feet in length and 7 foot 10.5 inches wide. Hire fleets on British canals usually consist of narrow boats in varied lengths from 30 feet (9.14 m) upwards, to allow parties of different numbers or varying budgets to be able to hire
534-597: A faithful imitation (false "rivets", and copies of traditional paintwork) through "interpretation" (clean lines and simplified paintwork) through to a free-style approach which does not try to pretend in any way that this is a traditional boat. They are owned by individuals, shared by a group of friends (or by a more formally organised syndicate), rented out by holiday firms, or used as cruising hotels. A few boats are lived on permanently: either based in one place (though long-term moorings for residential narrowboats are currently very difficult to find) or continuously moving around
623-467: A growing alternative community living on semi-permanent moorings or continuously cruising. For any boat to enter a narrow lock, it must be under 7 feet (2.13 m) wide, so most narrowboats are nominally 6 feet 10 inches (2.08 m) wide. A narrowboat's maximum length is generally 72 feet (21.95 m), as anything longer will be unable to navigate much of the British canal network, because
712-495: A large open deck between counter and rear doors, protected by a taffrail (railing), perhaps with built-in seating, around back and sides. The large rear deck provides a good al fresco dining area or social space, allowing people to congregate on deck in good weather and the summer holiday season. In winter (or less than perfect weather of summer) the steerer may be unprotected from the elements. The lack of an enclosed engine room means that engine heat does not contribute to keeping
801-423: A major advantage that the engine is located entirely outside the living space. In this configuration also, it is common to find that the engine bay contains batteries, isolator switching, fuel tanks and seldom-used kit, spares and equipment. A so-called "pram cover" can be fitted to a cruiser stern. Named after a baby's pram , this usually consists of a cloth cover on a folding metal frame. When erected, it encloses
890-486: A maximum of 6 feet 10 inches (2.08 m) wide to guarantee easy passage throughout the complete system. Because of their slenderness, some narrowboats seem very long. The maximum length is about 72 feet (21.95 m), which matches the length of the longest locks on the system. Modern narrowboats tend to be shorter, to permit cruising anywhere on the connected network of British canals — including on canals built for wider, but shorter, boats. The shortest lock on
979-547: A maximum of £90,446 in 1827/29, then fell to £26,312 in 1855. Nevertheless, the company was still profitable, and was able to pay dividends. The northern section of the Oxford Canal between Coventry, Braunston and Napton remained an important trunk route, and remained extremely busy with freight traffic until the 1960s. The staple traffic was coal from the Warwickshire and Leicestershire coalfields to London via
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#17327652193191068-543: A pilot for these hazardous areas, and temporary modifications to improve seaworthiness such as waterproof coverings for bow doors and air vents close to the waterline. Some intrepid boaters have crossed the English Channel in a narrowboat. In all cases beyond inland use, familiarity with coastal safety such as: is strongly recommended. Fenny Compton Fenny Compton is a village and parish in Warwickshire , England , eight miles north of Banbury . At
1157-509: A pub at Fenny Compton , the canal enters a long cutting which until some time in the 19th century was a tunnel. This section is normally referred to as a "tunnel straight" or the Fenny Compton Tunnel. The route between the farms of Priors Hardwick and Fenny Compton was never straightened, and is the most circuitous in the region: taking 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 miles (9 km) to cover 2.2 miles (3.5 km) (geodesically, as
1246-473: A pub, the canal converges with the Grand Union Canal where both change direction to west-southwest. The latter canal has a major wharf, Braunston Marina, 770 yards (700 m) east and a campsite. The combined canal splits north of Napton-on-the-Hill: After winding round Napton Hill, the canal ascends the Napton flight of nine locks to a local summit reach, well below the hilltop. After passing an old wharf and
1335-430: A refurbished, slow-revving, vintage semi-diesel engine . There are some steam-driven narrow boats such as the ex- Fellows Morton & Clayton steamer President . By the end of the 19th century it was common practice to paint roses and castles on narrow boats and their fixtures and fittings. Common sites include the doors to the cabin, the water can or barrel and the side of the boat along with ornate lettering giving
1424-415: A speed of almost 12 miles per hour. Traffic on the Oxford Canal held up reasonably well in the face of railway competition compared to many other navigations, but did see a gradual decline; in 1838, 520,000 tons were carried, which declined to 482,000 tons in 1868. However, income declined much more sharply due to the company slashing its tolls; takings which had gone from £18,478 in 1791/3, and then risen to
1513-703: A steel superstructure, but when they were first being developed for leisure use in the 1970s glass reinforced plastic (fibre-glass) or timber was often used above gunwale height. Newer narrowboats, say post 1990, are usually powered by modern diesel engines and may be fitted inside to a high standard. There will be at least 6 feet (1.8 m) internal headroom and often or usually similar domestic facilities as land homes: central heating, flush toilets, shower or even bath, four-ring hobs , oven, grill, microwave oven, and refrigerator; some may have satellite television and mobile broadband, using 4G or LTE technology. Externally, their resemblance to traditional boats can vary from
1602-631: A tiller; spec. one not exceeding 7 feet (approx. 2.1 metres) in width or 72 feet (approx. 21.9 metres) in length Earlier quotations listed in the Oxford English Dictionary use the term "narrow boat", with the most recent, a quotation from an advertisement in Canal Boat & Inland Waterways in 1998, uses "narrowboat". The single word "narrowboat" has been adopted by authorities such as the Canal and River Trust, Scottish Canals and
1691-626: A warm stove, a steaming kettle, gleaming brass, fancy lace, painted housewares and decorated plates. Such descriptions rarely consider the actual comfort of a (sometimes large) family, working brutally hard and long days, sleeping in one tiny cabin. However many shore-bound workers endured harder indoor trades in less healthy conditions and in worse accommodation, where the family was separated for long hours rather than being together all day. The lifestyle afloat, by definition itinerant, made it impossible for children to attend school. Most boat people were effectively illiterate and ostracised by those living "on
1780-485: A waterway to be maintained for leisure use. The canal is now thriving. In the summer it is one of the most crowded canals on the network. The towpath of the canal, with a 5 + 1 ⁄ 2 -mile (9 km) extension from Hawkesbury Junction to Coventry on the towpath of the Coventry Canal, forms the 82-mile (132 km) Oxford Canal Walk . The 10-mile (16 km) stretch from Oxford to Kirtlington , where
1869-461: Is an unpowered boat traditionally with a larger rudder with (usually) a wooden tiller (known as an elum , a corruption of helm ) as the steering does not benefit from the force of water generated by the propeller so the rudder must be of a larger area. The tiller is usually removed and reversed in the rudder-post socket to get it out of the way when moored. A few butty boats have been converted into powered narrowboats like NB Sirius . The term butty
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#17327652193191958-489: Is by tiller, as was the case on all working narrow boats. The steerer stands at the stern of the boat, aft of the hatchway and/or rear doors at the top of the steps up from the cabin. The steering area comes in three basic types, each meeting different needs of maximising internal space; having a more traditional appearance; having a big enough rear deck for everyone to enjoy summer weather or long evenings; or protection outside in bad weather. Each type has its advocates. However,
2047-639: Is certainly a similarity in style and a geographical overlap, but no solid proof of a link. There are similar styles of folk art in Scandinavia , Germany, Turkey and Bangladesh . In the 18th century, similar Dutch Hindeloopen paintwork would only have been a sailing barge journey away from the Thames. There is also an article in the Midland Daily Telegraph of 22 July 1914 that credits the practice of painting of water cans, at least, to
2136-420: Is derived from the dialect word buddy, meaning companion. While the vast majority of narrowboats have tiller steering at the stern, a small number of steel narrowboats dispense with the need for a rear steering deck entirely, by imitating some river cruisers in providing wheel steering from a central cockpit. This layout has the advantage (as have many Dutch barges ) of enabling an aft cabin to be separate from
2225-642: Is still an important feeder to the northern Oxford Canal, via the now unnavigable Brownsover Arm ; a part of the canal which was bypassed when the canal was straightened. For the next 15 years the Oxford Canal became one of the most important and profitable transport links in Britain, with most commercial traffic between London and the Midlands using the route. Its principal traffic was coal from Warwickshire. It also carried stone , agricultural products and other goods. A much more direct route between London and
2314-617: Is then a 6 + 1 ⁄ 2 -mile (10.5 km) pound to Braunston Junction, where it joins the Grand Union canal. From Napton Junction the Oxford canal rises again though the Napton Locks. After Napton Top Lock there is a 10 + 1 ⁄ 2 -mile (16.9 km) pound to Claydon Top Lock, from where the canal falls towards Oxford. The Oxford Canal was constructed in several stages over a period of more than twenty years. In 1769
2403-477: Is usually 10 mm thick, the hull sides 6 mm or 8 mm, the cabin sides 6 mm, and the roof 4 mm or 6 mm. The numbers of boats have been rising, with the number of licensed boats (not all of them narrowboats) on canals and rivers managed by the Canal & River Trust (CRT) estimated at 27,000 in 2006; by 2019, this had risen to 34,367. Although a small number of steel narrowboats dispense with
2492-577: The Oxford Canal Act 1775 ( 15 Geo. 3 . c. 9) was passed allowing the company to raise more funds. Construction soon started again and by 1778 the canal had reached Banbury. Financial problems meant that work on the final stretch from Banbury to Oxford did not begin until 1786, and when it did, James Barnes was appointed as the engineer. As funds were limited, the Banbury-Oxford stretch was built more cheaply, and to lower standards than
2581-587: The Oxford Canal Act 1769 ( 9 Geo. 3 . c. 70) authorising the Oxford Canal was passed, having been promoted in Parliament by Sir Roger Newdigate MP , who chaired the canal company. The intention was to link the industrial English Midlands to London via the River Thames. Construction began shortly after near Coventry. The principal motivation for the canal was the transport of coal from
2670-613: The 2011 census , it had a population of 808. Its name comes from the Anglo-Saxon Fennig Cumbtūn meaning "marshy farmstead in a valley". In 1498, Sir William Cope , who served as Cofferer of the Household of Henry VII from 1494 to 1505 (in the absence at that time of a Treasurer of the Household he carried out the duties of that office as well), was granted the Lordships of Wormleighton and Fenny Compton, part of
2759-598: The Act of Parliament for the building of the Grand Junction, the Oxford Canal successfully petitioned to make the Grand Junction pay "bar tolls" to the Oxford Canal to compensate for the loss of traffic south of Napton. Traffic from Birmingham had to use five miles (8 km) of the Oxford Canal to get from Braunston to join the Grand Junction at Napton. The Oxford Canal exploited this by charging high tolls for Grand Junction traffic on this short section. The Oxford Canal
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2848-565: The British Waterways Board . The Oxford Canal remained profitable until the mid-1950s, paying a dividend right up until nationalisation. As with most of Britain's narrow canal system, the Oxford Canal suffered from a rapid decline in freight traffic after the Second World War . By the mid-1950s very few narrowboats traded south of Napton and the southern section was at one point being threatened with closure, although
2937-534: The Canal & River Trust (CRT), a charitable trust, formerly British Waterways, was estimated at 27,000 in 2006. By 2014 this number had risen to over 30,000. There were perhaps another 5,000 unlicensed boats kept in private moorings or on other waterways in 2006. Most boats on CRT waterways are steel (or occasionally, aluminium) cruisers popularly referred to as narrowboats. Modern leisure narrowboats are used for holidays, weekend breaks, touring, as permanent or part-time residences. Usually, they have steel hulls and
3026-574: The Duke of Marlborough . The River Swift (a tributary of the River Avon ) connected to the original route of the Oxford Canal near Cosford and was used as a water feeder to the canal. In 1785 there was a proposal to make the river navigable from the Oxford Canal at Cosford to the town of Lutterworth in Leicestershire . This proposal however never came to fruition. The River Swift, however
3115-628: The Grand Junction Canal ) took most of the London-bound traffic following its opening in 1805. The North Oxford Canal (which had been straightened in the 1830s) remained an important artery of trade carrying coal and other commodities until the 1960s; the more rural South Oxford Canal however became something of a backwater, especially following the opening of the Grand Junction Canal, and it faced closure proposals in
3204-561: The Industrial Revolution , but with the advent of the railways, commercial canal traffic gradually diminished and the last regular long-distance transportation of goods by canal had virtually disappeared by 1970. However, some commercial traffic continued. From the 1970s onward narrowboats were gradually being converted into permanent residences or as holiday lettings. Currently, about 8,580 narrowboats are registered as 'permanent homes' on Britain's waterway system and represent
3293-541: The Oxfordshire Way meets the canal, is also part of European walking route E2 . The Canal Walk is popular with geocachers with many Geocache sites located alongside the canal. Notes Bibliography Narrowboat A narrowboat is a particular type of canal boat , built to fit the narrow locks of the United Kingdom . The UK's canal system provided a nationwide transport network during
3382-546: The Stratford-upon-Avon and Midland Junction Railway route from Bicester North to Broom . The GWR station and SMJ station were built alongside each other controlled by a joint signal box . The Fenny Compton Railway Station (Great Western from Birmingham Snow Hill to London Paddington and the London, Midland & Scottish Railway branch line from Stratford-Upon-Avon to Blisworth ) closed in 1964, apart from
3471-458: The Warwick and Napton Canal and the Grand Junction Canal, making it part of the busy direct route between Birmingham and London. Despite these developments, the Oxford Canal remained highly profitable during this period; from 1824 to 1826, the company paid dividends of up to 55% to its shareholders . The Grand Junction and Oxford canal companies were bitter rivals. When Parliament considered
3560-438: The Warwickshire countryside for 15 miles (24 km) to Rugby . The route between Coventry and Rugby is level, with no locks , apart from the stop lock at the junction. Parts of this section were straightened by raising and waterproofing in the 1820s; the remains of a more circuitous route (which kept to the chosen contour ) can still be seen in places. The canal winds through the northern part of Rugby. It passes through
3649-463: The Warwickshire ring . The canal begins in Warwickshire near Hawkesbury Village at Hawkesbury Junction , also known as Sutton Stop , where it connects with the Coventry Canal , a little over 4 miles (or about 7 km) from the centre of Coventry and five miles (8 km) from Nuneaton . Within a mile were the late 18th- and 19th-century coal field/pit and colliery of the small town of Bedworth . From Hawkesbury, it runs southeast through
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3738-402: The 1950s. Since the end of regular commercial goods carriage on the canal in the 1960s, it has gained a new use as a leisure resource, and become used primarily for narrowboat pleasure boating. The Oxford Canal traverses Oxfordshire , Northamptonshire and east Warwickshire through broad, shallow valleys and lightly rolling hills; the canal's route northeast and then northwest forms part of
3827-644: The 270-yard (250 m) Newbold Tunnel. In the churchyard in Newbold-on-Avon remains can be seen of an earlier canal tunnel built in the 1770s. It scales a flight of three locks at Hillmorton about three miles (5 km) east-southeast of the town. East of Rugby, the canal passes southwest then south. It crosses under the M45 motorway and through broad low fields interspersed by views of wooded knolls and modest hills of Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to reach Braunston . West of Braunston village centre, by
3916-542: The Grand Union Canal. However, the southern section from Napton to Oxford became something of a backwater, and carried mostly local traffic. In 1934, the Braunston-Napton stretch of the canal was taken over by the recently formed Grand Union Canal company, and widened as part of that company's London to Birmingham main-line. In a bid to raise funds to overcome an arrears of maintenance, in 1936,
4005-671: The Lee & Stort Navigation). A few people are doing their best in the 21st century to keep the tradition of canal-borne cargo-carrying alive, mostly by "one-off" deliveries rather than regular runs, or by selling goods such as coal to other boaters. Enthusiasts remain dedicated to restoring the remaining old narrow boats, often as members of the Historic Narrow Boat Owners Club. There are many replicas, such as Hadar , ornately painted with traditional designs, usually of roses and castles. Boats not horse-drawn may have
4094-421: The Midlands to Oxford and London. Surveying of the route and initial construction were originally supervised by the celebrated engineer James Brindley , assisted by Samuel Simcock who was also Brindley's brother-in-law. Brindley died in 1772, when the canal had only reached Brinklow , and Simcock took over. By 1774 the canal had reached Napton, but the company was already running out of money. A second act,
4183-403: The Midlands, the Grand Junction Canal , was completed in 1805, connecting Braunston to London in much less distance. Much of the London-bound traffic switched to this faster route, as it avoided the passage of the River Thames which still had many flash locks . This greatly reduced Oxford Canal traffic south of Napton. However, the short section between Braunston and Napton became the link between
4272-593: The Oxford Canal Company decided to sell off their terminal basin at Oxford. In 1937 Baron Nuffield (Later Viscount Nuffield) bought the canal basin at Oxford for £133,373 (equivalent to £10,870,500 in 2023). In 1951 he filled it in and built Nuffield College on part of the former coal wharf . Coal traffic was relocated to a canal wharf in Juxon Street, in Jericho, Oxford . The goods wharf and
4361-416: The Oxford Canal had no competition, however, with increased canal competition, and one eye on the developing railway network, the company decided to straighten the route. In 1827 Marc Isambard Brunel (father of Isambard Kingdom Brunel ) re-surveyed the northern section of the canal between Braunston and Hawkesbury Junction to straighten it out and reduce navigation time. The following year another survey
4450-455: The art form must have existed by this date. For some time, a popular suggestion was that it had some form of Romani origin; however, there does not appear to be a significant link between the Romani and boating communities. Other suggestions include transfer of styles from the clock-making industry (in particular the decoration on the face), the japanning industry or the pottery industry. There
4539-444: The authoritative magazine Waterways World to refer to all boats built in the style and tradition of commercial boats that were able to fit in the narrow canal locks. Although some narrow boats are built to a design based on river barges and many conform to the strict definition of the term, it is incorrect to refer to a narrowboat (or narrow boat) as a widebeam or as a barge , both of which are definable by their greater width. In
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#17327652193194628-403: The bank", who considered themselves superior. As steam and diesel progressively replaced the tow-horse in the early years of the 20th century, it became possible to move even more cargo with fewer hands by towing a second, un-powered boat, referred to as a "butty", "buttyboat" or "butty boat". Although there was no longer a horse to maintain, the butty had to be steered while being towed. So that
4717-405: The behaviour of the river makes the canal more difficult to use. The Oxford Canal reached the outskirts of Oxford in 1789, when a coal wharf was opened at Heyfield Hutt, now the site of Hayfield Road . The final section into central Oxford was ceremonially opened on 1 January 1790. The Duke's Cut , a short link from the Oxford Canal to the River Thames, just north of Oxford, was built in 1789 by
4806-407: The boat warm and there may be "wasted" space above the deck area. A "cruiser" stern allows the engine to be located under the deck, rather than in the body of the boat. Although this may make access to the engine more of a nuisance (due to weather considerations) the whole deck can usually be lifted off in whole or in sections, allowing the operative to stand inside the engine bay, the cruiser stern has
4895-478: The boat's name and owner. This tradition did not happen in all regions, the Chesterfield Canal being one waterway where narrow boats never bore such decorations. The origin of the roses and castles found on canal boats is unclear. The first written reference to them appears to be in an 1858 edition of the magazine Household Words in one of a series of articles titled "On the Canal", showing that
4984-505: The boats harder, faster and further, partly to keep families together. As late as 1858, a Household Words article states that "the Grand Junction Canal company did not allow the boatmen's families on board." The crew of the non-stopping (" fly ") boat in the article (skipper, two crew and a "youth") is said to be typical. The rear portion of the boat became the "boatman's cabin", familiar from picture postcards and museums, famous for its space-saving ingenuity and interior made attractive by
5073-453: The boundaries are not fixed, and some boats blur the categories as new designers try out different arrangements and combinations. Many modern canal boats retain the traditional layout of a small open, unguarded "counter" or deck behind the rear doors from which the crew can step onto land. It is possible to steer from the counter, but this is not very safe, with the propeller churning below only one missed step away. The "tiller extension" allows
5162-443: The butty boatman could lengthen or shorten towline as needed, the towline wasn't tied-off on the bow, instead travelled over the buttyboat through permanent running blocks on stands or retractable middle masts and managed in the stern. On a wide canal, such as the Grand Union Canal , the pair could be roped side-to-side ("breasted up") and handled as a unit through working locks. Cargo-carrying by narrow boat diminished from 1945 and
5251-401: The canal, who paid them to provide water for their locomotives at Rugby. Traffic on the canal remained such that the three locks at Hillmorton , the first on the canal after the stop lock at Hawkesbury Junction, became severely congested. The solution to the congestion was to duplicate or twin the existing locks at Hillmorton, creating three pairs of two parallel narrow locks, which allowed twice
5340-400: The canals. However, despite the railway competition, the total tonnages of cargo carried on the canal did not decline immediately, and in fact continued to rise for some time, however, the company was forced to slash its tolls in order to remain competitive, and this put an end to the large profits which had previously been made, although ironically the railways provided a new source of income to
5429-533: The context of British inland waterways, a barge is usually a much wider, cargo-carrying boat or a modern boat modelled on one, certainly more than 7 feet (2.13 m) wide. Another historic term for a narrow boat is a long boat , which has been noted in the Midlands and especially on the River Severn and connecting waterways to Birmingham. Usage has not quite settled as regards (a) boats based on narrowboat design, but too wide for narrow canals; or (b) boats
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#17327652193195518-531: The crow flies). This coincides with the canal's highest "summit" reach in navigational terms. This reach is the "eleven-mile pound" mentioned in Tom Rolt 's Narrow Boat . The canal then descends the Claydon flight of locks and into the vale of the nascent Cherwell at Cropredy . The canal descends the valley to Oxford. Banbury has many visitor moorings alongside the historic and modern shopping areas in
5607-433: The cruiser stern, allowing more comfortable operation of the boat in cold or inclement weather. A semi-traditional stern is a compromise to gain some of the "social" benefits of a cruiser stern, while retaining a more traditional design and providing some protection for the steerer in bad weather or in cooler seasons. As with the cruiser stern, the deck is extended back from the hatch and rear doors, but in this case most of
5696-473: The deck is protected at the sides by walls which extend back from the cabin sides – giving a more sheltered area for the steerer and companions, usually with lockers to sit on. The engine is located under the deck, much like a cruiser, again allowing a separation between the cabin and the engine bay, with the steps down to the cabin being located past the false sides of the "semi-trad" social area. Semi-trad sterns can also be fitted with pram covers. A butty boat
5785-414: The end of the 19th century it was common practice to paint roses and castles on narrowboats and their fixtures and fittings. This tradition has continued into the 21st century, but not all narrowboats have such decorations. Modern narrowboats are used for holidays, weekend breaks, touring, or as permanent or part-time residences. Usually, they have steel hulls and a steel superstructure. The hull's flat base
5874-524: The forward accommodation. Narrowboats are "Category D" boats under the Recreational Craft Directive , intended only for navigating inland - rivers, canals and small lakes - but under the professional supervision of a suitable local pilot , limited coastal passages linking inland waterways, such as along the tidal Severn Estuary between Bristol and Sharpness , can also be safely made in calm weather. Insurers will often require
5963-465: The hatchway edge, a high vantage point giving good all-round visibility. On trad boats, the bow "well-deck" forms the main outside viewing area, because the traditional stern is not large enough for anyone other than the steerer to stand on safely. Internally, trads may have an engine room forward of a traditional "boatman's cabin", or an enclosed engine tucked away out of sight and the increased living space this brings. The name for this style arises from
6052-542: The lands of Simon de Montford who had been attainted in 1495. He later sold the lands to the Spencer family , later of Althorpe . The Parish church of St Peter and St. Clare was built in the 13th century and is a Grade II* listed building. Fenny Compton had two railway stations, Fenny Compton on the Great Western Railway route from Oxford to Birmingham Snow Hill , and Fenny Compton West on
6141-414: The large open rear deck resembling that of the large rear cockpits common on glass-fibre ( glass-reinforced plastic or GRP) river cruisers which in turn derives from elliptical sterns used on cruisers and larger warships in the 20th century. At the stern, a "cruiser" narrowboat looks very different from traditional boats: the hatch and rear doors are considerably further forward than on a "trad", creating
6230-421: The last regular long-distance traffic disappeared in 1970. However, some traffic continued into the 1980s and beyond. Two million tonnes of aggregate were carried on the Grand Union (River Soar) between 1976 and 1996, latterly using wide beam barges. Aggregate continues to be carried between Denham and West Drayton on the (wide) Grand Union Canal and on the tidal estuary of Bow Creek (which is the eventual outflow of
6319-503: The main network is Salterhebble Middle Lock on the Calder and Hebble Navigation , at about 56 feet (17.07 m) long. However, the C&;H is a wide canal, so the lock is about 14 feet 2 inches (4.32 m) wide. This makes the largest "go-anywhere-on-the-network" narrowboat slightly longer (about 58 feet or 17.68 metres) than the straight length of the lock, because it can (with
6408-498: The middle of town. Banbury Town Council and Cherwell District Council treat the canal as an attraction to be encouraged; examples of its work include an old boatyard which has been incorporated into the town centre: Tooley's Historic Boatyard . About four miles (6 km) south is a lightly settled locality, Twyford Wharf, where narrow boats up to 60 feet (18 m) can be turned. Two villages nearby, Kings Sutton and Adderbury (Twyford), are within 30 minutes' walking distance along
6497-535: The need for a rear steering deck entirely, by imitating some river cruisers in providing wheel steering from a central cockpit, most narrowboats' steering is by a tiller on the stern. There are three major configurations for the stern: traditional stern , cruiser stern and semi-traditional stern . The narrowboat (one word) definition in the Oxford English Dictionary is: A British canal boat of traditional long, narrow design, steered with
6586-487: The network (perhaps with a fixed location for the coldest months, when many stretches of canal are closed by repair works or "stoppages"). A support infrastructure has developed to provide services to the leisure boats, with some narrowboats being used as platforms to provide services such as engine maintenance and boat surveys; while some others are used as fuel tenders, that provide diesel , solid fuel (coal and wood) and Calor Gas . On almost all narrowboats steering
6675-469: The nominal maximum length of locks is 75 feet (22.86 m). Some locks are shorter than 72 feet (21.95 m), so to access the entire canal network the maximum length is 57 feet (17.37 m). The first narrow boats played a key role in the economic changes of the British Industrial Revolution . They were wooden boats drawn by a horse walking on the canal towpath led by a crew member. Horses were gradually replaced by steam and then diesel engines. By
6764-477: The northern section (Napton to Coventry) remained well-used by commercial traffic until the 1960s. During the 1960s pleasure boating began to grow in popularity and replace the old trading boats, After a fact-finding cruise on the canal, Barbara Castle (Minister for Transport) rejected a proposal for closure. The canal was designated as a cruiseway under the Transport Act 1968 , which defined at as being
6853-675: The now standard size were the canals designed by James Brindley and approved by Parliament in 1766, including the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal and Trent and Mersey Canal . Although construction took many years, the lock size became standard for many canal building projects. Boatmen's families originally lived ashore, but in the 1830s as canals started to suffer competition from the burgeoning railway system, families (especially those of independent single boat owner/skippers) began to live on board, partly because they could no longer afford rents, partly to provide extra hands to work
6942-402: The old tunnel can still be seen next to the churchyard. The old line of the canal was either abandoned, or remained in use as arms serving various village wharves. The section south of Napton was never straightened. The straightening of the canal coincided with the beginning of the railway age, and the opening of the London and Birmingham Railway in 1838, signalled the end of the dominance of
7031-504: The railway line from Fenny Compton to CAD Kineton . Fenny Compton was the home of Andrew and Kathleen Booth, computer pioneers in the 1940s who built a prototype electronic computer called All-Purpose Electronic Computer (APEC). That prototype led directly to the ICT 1200 computer, the UK's first mass-produced computer. The village was struck by an F0/T1 tornado on 23 November 1981, as part of
7120-417: The remainder of the coal wharf are now under a public car park that Nuffield College lets to Oxford City Council. For this reason, the canal today ends abruptly in central Oxford. Many Oxford Canal boatmen and women favoured horse traction long after those on other canals had changed their narrowboats to diesel power. In the 1930s, only around one in thirty of the boats trading on the canal's southern section
7209-462: The rest of the canal, and many cost saving measures were used whenever possible: Wooden lift or swing bridges were built, instead of more expensive fixed brick bridges. Deep locks were used wherever possible, with single gates at both end instead of double gates. A stretch of the River Cherwell at Shipton-on-Cherwell was incorporated into the canal. This reduced construction costs, but
7298-594: The road. Both offer several pubs. Within Oxford's conurbation, the end of the canal has two links to the Thames : After 330 yards (300 m) below Isis Lock the Oxford Canal ends abruptly at Hythe Bridge Street near to the current Hythe Bridge over the Castle Mill Stream , a backwater of the River Thames that runs parallel to the Oxford Canal for its southernmost part. The canal used to continue through
7387-544: The same width as narrowboats but based on other types of boat. Narrowboats may have ship prefix NB . The key distinguishing feature of a narrowboat is its width, which must be less than 7 feet (2.13 m) wide to navigate British narrow canals. Some old boats are very close to this limit (often built 7 feet 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 inches or 2.17 metres or slightly wider), and can have trouble using certain narrow locks whose width has been reduced over time because of subsidence . Modern boats are usually produced to
7476-433: The steerer to stand in safety on the top step, forward of the rear doors. (On a working boat, this step would have been over the top of the coal box). On cold days, the steerer can even close the rear doors behind themselves, and be in relative comfort, their lower body in the warmth of the cabin, and only their upper body emerging from the hatchway and exposed to the elements. In good weather, many trad-stern steerers sit up on
7565-528: The traffic to pass the lock at any time. The work to double the locks was completed in August 1840. In 1842, nearly 21,000 boats passed through the locks. In 1833 a section of the new line of canal in Barby Fields near Dunchurch was used as a test site for a new wrought iron boat, Swallow , built by Graham and Houston. Drawn by two horses, the boat completed a distance of 1.5 mile in 7 minutes 35 seconds,
7654-618: The villages of Braunston and Napton-on-the-Hill . The canal is usually divided into the North Oxford Canal (north of Napton, via Rugby to Hawkesbury Junction near Coventry) and the South Oxford Canal, south of Napton to Banbury and Oxford. The canal was for about 15 years the main canal artery of trade between the Midlands and London , via its connection to the Thames, until the Grand Union Canal (then called
7743-451: Was carried out by Charles Vignoles . The work to straighten the canal was carried out between 1831 and 1834, the majority of the work being in the Rugby area, and this reduced the distance by 14 + 3 ⁄ 4 miles (23.7 km). The original tunnel at Newbold-on-Avon was abandoned when the canal was straightened, and replaced by a new one on a different alignment. The south portal of
7832-601: Was mechanically powered. One narrowboat carrying coal on the Oxford Canal was drawn by a mule until 1959 and was the last horse-drawn freight narrowboat in Great Britain . This boat, Friendship , is preserved at the National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port . The Oxford Canal remained independent until it was nationalised in 1948 and became part of the Docks and Inland Waterways Executive , later
7921-416: Was originally built as a contour canal , meaning that it twisted around hills to minimise vertical deviations from a level contour. This meant however that the canal followed a very winding and circuitous route: Although the distance between Coventry and Napton was only 16 miles (26 km) as the crow flies, the distance by the original route of the canal was 43 miles (69 km). This mattered little when
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