Lost Canals

[David Mack]

19 minutes ago, zenataomm said:

Excuse me old Bean, that's not The North Oxford.

 

1 minute ago, The Happy Nomad said:

Sorry my bad. South.

 

I forgot the point it changed is not Napton but Braunston. But equally of course its just refered to as The Oxford Canal.

When did the "Oxford Canal" become the "North Oxford Canal" and the "South Oxford Canal"? Was it when the Grand Union Canal Company was formed, and upgraded the Oxford's line between Braunston and Napton? Or at nationalisation? Or does it derive from early pleasure boating guide books treating Braunston-Napton as part of the GU and then  preparing separate guide books for the two sections either side?

[Guest]

1 minute ago, David Mack said:

 

When did the "Oxford Canal" become the "North Oxford Canal" and the "South Oxford Canal"? Was it when the Grand Union Canal Company was formed, and upgraded the Oxford's line between Braunston and Napton? Or at nationalisation? Or does it derive from early pleasure boating guide books treating Braunston-Napton as part of the GU and then  preparing separate guide books for the two sections either side?

TBH I dont know the answer. Some maps still reference the whole canal as just the Oxford. I suspect that remains the 'official' name and North Oxford and South Oxford are simply colloquial names.

 

Crt talk about the Southern Sections and the Northern sections with the change at Napton as I originally thought.

 

 

[Guest]

Talk of the Oxford reminded me about the lost sections of The (North) Oxford at Newbold when the route was shortened and the new tunnel created. The Barley Mow gives an idea of the former route as it was alongside the original route. The original tunnel is bricked up and located in the churchyard at the top of the image.

 

Edited June 3, 2020 by The Happy Nomad

[Heartland]

I have a belief that the term North & South Oxford was a modern term, when the Oxford canal was constructed, and even shortened, that the term Oxford was used as a unified canal.  North and South could have originated from the days of the Grand Junction Canal widening works, which effectively altered the length between Braunston and Napton. Yet this section remained part of the Oxford Canal, and the separate terms North & South WERE not used. It is only a term that seems to have originated later. Even with  nationalisation when the DIWE created the regions,the whole Oxford became part of the South Eastern Region  When British  Waterways published Cruising Guides, the Southern Section started at Norton Junction, it is therefore a reasonable conclusion that the demarcation happened post 1963.

[pete harrison]

21 minutes ago, Heartland said:

I have a belief that the term North & South Oxford was a modern term, when the Oxford canal was constructed, and even shortened, that the term Oxford was used as a unified canal.  North and South could have originated from the days of the Grand Junction Canal widening works, which effectively altered the length between Braunston and Napton. Yet this section remained part of the Oxford Canal, and the separate terms North & South WERE not used. It is only a term that seems to have originated later. Even with  nationalisation when the DIWE created the regions,the whole Oxford became part of the South Eastern Region  When British  Waterways published Cruising Guides, the Southern Section started at Norton Junction, it is therefore a reasonable conclusion that the demarcation happened post 1963.

Surely you mean Napton Junction as Norton Junction is near Long Buckby 

[Heartland]

Yes, sorry Napton Junction

 

[Chris Lowe]

Port Carlisle

 

 

[Chris Lowe]

Liskeard & Looe canal and the start of the Caradon tramway.

 

[Tim Lewis]

 

Went looking for the Pudding Mill River last week but someone's built a stadium on it ?

 

Edited June 5, 2020 by Tim Lewis

[Chris Lowe]

[Tim Lewis]

7 minutes ago, buccaneer66 said:

It was still there, albeit a bit weedy,  last time I looked ?  BTW the building on the left contained a nuclear reactor! 

 

Edited June 5, 2020 by Tim Lewis

[Pluto]

Leeming Lock on the Bedale Navigation.

[Chris Lowe]

Rubh’ an Dunain Viking canal

 

[Guest]

56 minutes ago, Pluto said:

Leeming Lock on the Bedale Navigation.

 

Thats a completely new one to me. Is it still visible and accessible on foot?

[magpie patrick]

9 minutes ago, The Happy Nomad said:

Thats a completely new one to me. Is it still visible and accessible on foot?

Probably not - apparently the lock was blown up in the second world war, although Wikipedia states it is not clear this was intentional... the mind boggles

 

When you see the size oe Bedla Beck, it's a but surprising they tried to make it navigable - it was also a branch of a river that was never properly made navigable - the Swale

[Pluto]

It was still there in 2018, and can be seen on the eastern side of the A1 just past Leeming airfield. Access can be had from the old A1 road. The lock has been slightly altered to improve water supply to the now disused water mill, currently being restored as a home.

[magpie patrick]

Hollins Canal, as mentioned earlier

 

 

View into ASDA car park at the back of the Hollins - canal went roughly where the red car and the freestanding wall next it are

 

Original bridge abutment, taken from same position as first picture

 

Route of canal along the edge of the memorial park

 

Slight link in the towpath wall indicates the former junction.

 

The newer brick indicates where the Hollins Canal went through the boundary wall at the back of the towpath

 

Finally turn round and there's Possett Bridge, lock 13 is through the right hand arch, Mr Oldknow's private canal was through the left hand one. Pictures of that next time.

[Pluto]

Edge Green Colliery Basin, below the canal after subsidence, on the Leigh Branch, with the tramway to the colliery beyond. There was also a short arm to the north off the canal near Bamfurlong.

[Chris Lowe]

Andover Canal near Southampton

 

 

Andover Canal junction with Salisbury & Southampton canal

 

 

 

 

[Chris Lowe]

Here's another unfinished canal, the Beat Bank Branch of the Ashton canal a junction was built with the Stockport branch.

 

[Richard Fairhurst]

On 03/06/2020 at 15:31, The Happy Nomad said:

TBH I dont know the answer. Some maps still reference the whole canal as just the Oxford. I suspect that remains the 'official' name and North Oxford and South Oxford are simply colloquial names.

I'm not sure there's even a concept of an "official name" any more. Probably the nearest is CRT's "functional locations", the internal codes they use to refer to waterways, and that has the Oxford as one waterway (code OX).

[billh]

19 hours ago, buccaneer66 said:

Here's another unfinished canal, the Beat Bank Branch of the Ashton canal a junction was built with the Stockport branch.

 

Beat Bank Branch, the only canal in my town, shame it was never completed. Amazing that some of the construction survives  over 200 years after it was abandoned. It was eventually replaced by a standard gauge railway to the Denton Collieries (closed before WW2) . The colliery office survives as a monumental stone mason's and the mine rescue station as a private house. Although I live in Denton, the Peak Forest and main line of the Ashton Canal are nearer to me than Beat Bank.

[Chris Lowe]

1 hour ago, billh said:

Beat Bank Branch, the only canal in my town, shame it was never completed. Amazing that some of the construction survives  over 200 years after it was abandoned. It was eventually replaced by a standard gauge railway to the Denton Collieries (closed before WW2) . The colliery office survives as a monumental stone mason's and the mine rescue station as a private house. Although I live in Denton, the Peak Forest and main line of the Ashton Canal are nearer to me than Beat Bank.

 

This is where the junction with the Stockport branch used to be, this first small section was watered.

 

[Chris Lowe]

Tamar Manure Navigation.

 

[Heartland]

Another lost canal are the Hazelhurst Staircase Locks. This flight of three locks descended from the junction with the Leek Branch to Denton. Google Earth shows this area surrounded with trees.

 

The route  started to the left of the footbridge and passed by and to the right of the house to join the lower canal. A basin remains at bottom as a reminder of what was there.

 

Edited June 17, 2020 by Heartland