Navigation
The river has never been properly navigable. In the 17th century goods seem to have been carried between Oxford and Banbury in flat-bottomed boats, but the river was not made properly navigable. A boatload of coal was taken up the river in 1764 as a test. Since the opening of the Oxford Canal in 1790 the river has been used only by small pleasure craft.
Read more about this topic: River Cherwell