Napton-on-the-Hill - Canals

Canals

The first section of the Oxford Canal from Hawkesbury Junction was completed in 1771 and it reached Napton in 1774. This made Napton the head of navigation for coal supplies to be forwarded by road to Banbury, Bicester, Woodstock and Oxford until 1777, when the canal reached Fenny Compton which then took over as the transhipment point.

The Oxford Canal's chief engineer, Samuel Simcock, designed the canal to be a contour canal as much as possible, so he routed it around three sides of Napton Hill to minimise the number of locks needed. Even so, to climb from Napton Wharf to the summit pound at Marston Doles required eight locks around the hill (nos. 8-15) and another at Marston Doles (no. 16), that between them raise boats by a total of 52 feet (16 m).

The 11 miles (18 km) long summit pound between Marston Doles and Claydon, Oxfordshire suffered from a shortage of water so Parliament passed an Act in 1786 authorising the company to use any water supply within 1,000 yards (910 m) of the canal. Just over 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Napton it sank a well that fed the summit pound via a 900 yards (820 m) feeder arm westwards to the canal between locks 11 and 12 and then a 1 mile (1.6 km) channel beside the canal from there to just above Marston Doles lock. An engine house with a steam engine and pump were built at the well-head (grid reference SP 4655 5910) and the well seems to have begun operation in 1793. The boiler needed replacement as early as 1794 and an accident with the engine killed a workman in 1796.

In 1800 the Warwick and Napton Canal (W&N) was completed, joining the Oxford Canal at Napton Junction. In order to reach the same level as the Oxford Canal the W&N ascended three locks at Calcutt just north of Napton parish. With each passage of a narrowboat through Calcutt Locks the Oxford Canal lost a certain amount of water so the W&N agreed to pay the Oxford 2 shillings (2/-) (10p) for each such passage. In 1805 the Grand Junction Canal was completed, joining the Oxford Canal at Braunston 4.5 miles (7.2 km) east of Napton and completing the direct canal route between Birmingham and London. Between 1808 and 1811 the W&N built a reservoir at Ashby St Ledgers 7 miles (11 km) from Napton to feed both the Oxford and the W&N via the Grand Junction. This enabled the Oxford to cease regular pumping at Napton and stop charging the W&N two shillings for each boat through Calcutt Locks.

A century later, in autumn 1911, the canals again suffered a water shortage so the Oxford Canal brought its well at Napton back into use. The old pumping engine had long been out of action so the company hired two Oxford Steam Plough Company steam ploughing engines to work the pump. In 1974 there was another water shortage and British Waterways resorted to back-pumping water up Napton Locks.

In 1928 the Grand Junction Canal took over the W&N and Warwick and Birmingham canals to form the Grand Union Canal. The Grand Union wanted to widen its route to enable it to take barges 12.5 feet (3.8 m) wide, so in 1931 an Act of Parliament gave the Grand Union special powers over the Oxord Canal to widen the section between Braunston and Napton Junctions. Between 1932 and 1947 it widened bridges between Braunston and Napton and increased the depth of the canal to 5.5 feet (1.7 m).

The canals are now primarily a leisure facility and Napton Junction has a marina that offers moorings and narrowboats for hire.