The Northern Grand Union Canal

摘要

In 1800, the turn of the century saw England facing turbulent times. Europe was in turmoil, with Bonaparte's French pursuing their takeover of the continent despite the occasional bloody nose from Nelson's fleet. In England a man called Hadfield (James, that is!) tried to assassinate King George at the Drury Lane Opera, and the first soup kitchens were introduced for the poor who were not actually engaged in building canals... The second major phase of canal building was coming to a close with the opening in 1800 of the Warwick & Napton and the Warwick & Birmingham Canals. Up until then, the journey south to London for the burgeoning industries of Birmingham and the Black Country had been long and tedious. It involved using Brindley's winding Coventry and Oxford Canals followed by transhipment to Thames barges at Oxford. The Warwick Canals, linking with the new Grand Junction Canal from Braunston to Brentford, offered a more direct route to the capital.