Whilton Locks

Whilton Locks is the name of a flight of seven locks on the Grand Union Canal near Daventry, in the county of Northamptonshire, England. They are also referred to as Buckby Lock Flight.

History

The Grand Junction Canal was authorised by an Act of Parliament on 30 April 1793, and was to run over 90 miles (140 km) from Braunston on the Oxford Canal to Brentford near London, where it would join the River Thames. Construction of the northern section, which included the Whilton locks at Buckby, was complicated by the need for two tunnels, one to the north of the locks near Braunston, which was 2,042 yards (1,867 m) long, and the other to the south at Blisworth, which was 3,057 yards (2,795 m) long. Despite encountering quicksands in Braunston Tunnel, it was finished on 21 June 1796, and the canal opened to Weedon Bec, around 2.7 miles (4.3 km) to the south of the locks. Shortly afterwards, it was extended further south to Blisworth, but there were serious problems with Blisworth Tunnel, which had failed in January 1796. William Jessop was the engineer and wanted to abandon the idea of a tunnel. He proposed to build 29 locks to get beyond Blisworth, but was persuaded to try a different alignment by three engineers who were brought in to advise. Low level headings were cut to drain the main workings of water, and the tunnel opened on 25 March 1805, the last part of the canal to be completed. The Grand Junction Canal became part of the Grand Union Canal in 1929, following amalgamation with the Regents Canal, the Warwick and Birmingham Canal and the Warwich and Napton Canal.

Whilton

Coordinates: 52°16′39″N 1°04′04″W / 52.27737°N 1.06791°W / 52.27737; -1.06791

Whilton is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Northamptonshire. The village is in the Daventry district. Whilton is 75 miles (121 km) northwest of London, 9 ³⁄₄ miles (15.7 km) west of Northampton and 15 ¹⁄₂ miles (24.9 km) southeast of Rugby. The village lies 4 ¹⁄₂ miles (7.2 km) east of the nearest town of Daventry. The nearest railway station is at Long Buckby for the Northampton loop of the West Coast Main Line which runs between Rugby, Northampton and London. The nearest airport is Birmingham Airport. Whilton gives its name to the nearby Whilton Locks and Whilton Marina on the Grand Union Canal.

History

Whilton is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1068, where it is listed under the name of ‘Woltone’. The main tenant landowner was Robert, Count of Mortain who was the half-brother to William the Bastard, Duke of Normandy and later king William I of England.

The Parish Church of Saint Andrew