Grand Junction Canal - Further Development

Further Development

A clause under their acts allowed the Grand Junction Canal to supply drinking water. Accordingly the Grand Junction Waterworks Company was established in 1811, initially taking water from the River Colne, the River Brent and a reservoir in North West Middlesex now know as Ruislip Lido. These waters proved unsatisfactory and the Company transferred its inlets to the River Thames.

The importance of trade between London and the Midlands meant that railway competition was an early threat to this canal compared with others in the country. John Rennie undertook a survey in 1824 for a London to Birmingham railway.

There were also ambitious proposals for new canals. In 1827 there was a proposals for a London and Birmingham Junction Canal from the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal to Braunston. In 1832, William Cubitt proposed a Central Union Canal from the Worcester and Birmingham Canal near Worcester Bar via Solihull to the Oxford at Ansty, while in 1833 there were proposals for a London and Birmingham Canal, from Stratford direct to the Regent's Canal, which would bypass the Grand Junction Canal entirely. Together with the railway threats, the Grand Junction was spurred into making improvements.

The London and Birmingham Railway was completed in 1838, and, with the exception of the Oxford Canal, the canals on the route from London to Birmingham co-operated to reduce tolls to compete with the railway. As a result, traffic carried increased, but income was significantly reduced.

To cope with the traffic volumes, the locks at Stoke Bruerne were duplicated in 1835, and new larger reservoirs built at Tring to ease a serious water shortage. In 1848 the Grand Junction entered the carrying trade, pitting its boats directly against the railway competition. From 1864 steam narrow boats were acquired, working with a butty, and these penetrated as far as the Erewash Canal. Carrying was given up in 1876 because it did not pay.

By 1871 the tunnels at Braunston and Blisworth were becoming bottlenecks and steam tugs were provided to tow strings of waiting boats through.

Under the encouragement of major carriers Fellows Morton and Clayton, the Grand Junction bought the Grand Union Canal and Leicester and Northamptonshire Union Canal in 1894 and worked with other navigations to encourage more through traffic to London: the Grand Junction was concerned that through traffic was being deterred by the poor condition and high tolls of the railway-owned Cromford Canal and Nottingham Canal.

An inclined plane was opened at Foxton Locks in 1900, as part of a plan to enable wide barges to use the Grand Union Canal and thus bring more traffic onto the main line of the Grand Junction from the east Midlands. Widening of the locks at Watford was also planned, but not carried through. Consideration was given to constructing other inclined planes as part of a plan to enlarge the canals to carry 80-ton barges, but no more were built.

With ever more traffic going by rail, the canal's only significant weapon was low tolls: while this slowed the decline in volumes, it did so only by large reductions in income, and consideration was given to amalgamations with other canals.

Concerns began to develop about the state of repair of the canal via Warwick to Birmingham, on which the Grand Junction was reliant for a through route. In 1925, discussions began with the three Warwick canals and the Regent's Canal, and in 1926 a merger was agreed. The Regent's Canal bought the Grand Junction Canal and the three Warwick canals, and from 1 January 1929 they became part of the (new) Grand Union Canal.