Longford Junction, Oxford / Coventry Canals

[colinwilks]

Walking towards Coventry from Hawkesbury Junction today I came across the info about Longford Junction, where the Oxford Canal joined the Coventry originally.

 

I assume the Oxford suffered a serious breach and relocating the junction to Hawkesbury was the obvious solution. The beautiful bridge at Hawkesbury Junction is dated 1837, but is this when the junction was moved? Anyone know?

[Captain Pegg]

6 minutes ago, colinwilks said:

Walking towards Coventry from Hawkesbury Junction today I came across the info about Longford Junction, where the Oxford Canal joined the Coventry originally.

 

I assume the Oxford suffered a serious breach and relocating the junction to Hawkesbury was the obvious solution. The beautiful bridge at Hawkesbury Junction is dated 1837, but is this when the junction was moved? Anyone know?

Apparently it was 1803 when the junction moved from Longford to Hawkesbury (coincidentally both are places my Granddad was church organist). The history is a bit convoluted and Longford was never really intended or desired as the junction but I think was the consequence of wranglings after the enabling act for the Oxford was passed and was the outcome of legal agreements that protected the respective tolls of the two companies. The original intention of the Oxford company was to have a junction much closer to Coventry and Longford ended up as an enforced compromise which was later resolved to enable the move to Hawekssbury which made a lot more sense for the predominant traffic.

 

JP

[colinwilks]

Thanks for the date JP.

 

Does anyone know why the junction was moved? Diving into the undergrowth today I was certain I could see where the old line went, about 15ft above the houses a few yards away to the south. I cannot see why the junction would be moved without some major catastrophe having occurred, which must have been recorded?

 

I realise I'm a sad old git, but I'd like to know what happened!

[Captain Pegg]

30 minutes ago, colinwilks said:

Thanks for the date JP.

 

Does anyone know why the junction was moved? Diving into the undergrowth today I was certain I could see where the old line went, about 15ft above the houses a few yards away to the south. I cannot see why the junction would be moved without some major catastrophe having occurred, which must have been recorded?

 

I realise I'm a sad old git, but I'd like to know what happened!

Because it was an inconvenient place that resulted from politics rather than sense. The traffic traversing from the Warwickshire coalfields onto the Oxford had to do a mile down the Coventry Canal only to turn 180 degrees and return on a parallel course for the same mile; the two canals were parallel. It made no difference for traffic from Coventry.

 

Not sure which houses you mean, it was Foxford school playing fields when I was young. It's probably been built on since.

 

JP

Edited November 3, 2018 by Captain Pegg

[philjw]

The Wikipaedia article on Hawkwesbury Junction has a few words to say about the original Longford junction and the politics.

Edited November 3, 2018 by philjw
spelling

[Ray T]

The stop lock at Sutton's was built for toll collection and to stop The Coventry Canal from getting too much of the OCC's water.

I have a map showing the two canals running paralell on my PC but I am on the tablet at the moment.

[Captain Pegg]

12 minutes ago, Ray T said:

The stop lock at Sutton's was built for toll collection and to stop The Coventry Canal from getting too much of the OCC's water.

I have a map showing the two canals running paralell on my PC but I am on the tablet at the moment.

I thought the stop lock was the result of an error in the levels of the Oxford or is that a myth? The problem wouldn't be so much about extra water but that the Oxford would have been six inches lower than planned all the way to Hillmorton which presumably would have been a problem.

 

Was the narrows on the Coventry there for toll collection purposes? No obvious other reason for it existing.

 

JP

Edited November 3, 2018 by Captain Pegg

[colinwilks]

JP, the playing fields are still there, but there's a load of new housing to the east of the M6 bridge.

 

So, no natural disaster caused the junction's move, just arguments and rivalry. Thanks all.

[Heartland]

Yes Longford was the first junction and the Oxford Canal ran parallel with the Coventry from Hawkesbury. Map evidence shows a simple junction there. The main buildings were placed beside the stop lock.

 

Canal carriers used Longford Junction to access the warehouses at Coventry Basin, eg Pickfords. The newer junction at Hawkesbury was useful for craft such as coal boats wishing to avoid the extended mileage.

[Ray T]

19 hours ago, Captain Pegg said:

I thought the stop lock was the result of an error in the levels of the Oxford or is that a myth? The problem wouldn't be so much about extra water but that the Oxford would have been six inches lower than planned all the way to Hillmorton which presumably would have been a problem.

 

Was the narrows on the Coventry there for toll collection purposes? No obvious other reason for it existing.

 

JP

No I don't think the 6" difference story is a myth.

 

I'm just going on what Mike H "my" historic NarrowBoat captain told me.

 

The route of the Oxford and Coventry Canals side by side to the original junction at Longford Bridge.

 

Edited November 4, 2018 by Ray T

[ditchcrawler]

11 hours ago, colinwilks said:

JP, the playing fields are still there, but there's a load of new housing to the east of the M6 bridge.

 

So, no natural disaster caused the junction's move, just arguments and rivalry. Thanks all.

Even less of a fall at Dutton Lock on the T&M

[Ray T]

[Scholar Gypsy]

On 03/11/2018 at 21:37, Captain Pegg said:

I thought the stop lock was the result of an error in the levels of the Oxford or is that a myth? The problem wouldn't be so much about extra water but that the Oxford would have been six inches lower than planned all the way to Hillmorton which presumably would have been a problem.

 

Was the narrows on the Coventry there for toll collection purposes? No obvious other reason for it existing.

 

JP

Surely the fall is there to make sure that the Oxford empties into the Coventry, as the latter was there first?

 

[Captain Pegg]

20 minutes ago, Scholar Gypsy said:

Surely the fall is there to make sure that the Oxford empties into the Coventry, as the latter was there first?

 

The legend is that the Oxford was intended to be at the same level but is higher due to a surveying error. Makes you wonder what the Coventry's response would have been if the error was in the other direction. Maybe the OCC were fed false information by the Coventry!

 

JP

[Heartland]

I understand both junctions, that is Longford and Hawkesbury continued to be in existence for a period of time and there are carriers tickets in the collection at the PRO for the Coventry Canal that suggests it was the case up to the 1840's.

 

Longford Junction was a basic junction:

 

Whilst Hawkesbury had the lock and various canalside buildings- note the stop locks on both canals on this map.....

Edited December 22, 2018 by Heartland