Locks: Oxford Canal

The Oxford canal links the River Thames in Oxford to the Coventry canal at Hawkesbury junction north of Coventry. It also has junctions with the Grand Union canal at Napton (to Birmingham) and Braunston (to London).

The Oxford canal is in two sections. The North Oxford canal runs from Hawkesbury down to Braunston where it shares the waterway with the Grand Union canal until Napton where it becomes the South Oxford canal until meeting the River Thames at Oxford.

The South Oxford canal is 49 ¼ miles long; the stretch shared with the Grand Union is 5 miles long; the North Oxford canal 27 ¾ miles long.

There are seven locks on the North Oxford and 36 on the South Oxford with none on the stretch shared with the Grand Union.  All the locks are built to the narrow gauge, c7' 6".The Hawkesbury to Banbury stretch was opened in 1778 and from Banbury to Oxford in 1790.

As an early canal the Oxford was built as a contour canal but due to competition from the Grand Union many sections at the northern end were straightened in the 1820s. This meant building embankments and digging cuttings reducing the original length of the North Oxford canal by 14 miles to its current day length.

North Oxford Canal

Lock 1 - Hawkesbury Stop Lock
This lock is also known as Sutton Stop lock. As a stop lock there is only a slight change in water level. The stop lock was put here so that tolls could be collected when boats left the canal to join the Coventry canal and vice versa.

Locks 2 - 7 Hillmorton locks (18' 7")
The locks are in pairs on this flight in order to reduce bottlenecks; the second lock of each pair was added in 1840. The flight rises 18' 7" through three pairs of single locks.

Locks 2 & 3

Locks 4 & 5

Locks 4 & 5

Locks 6 & 7

South Oxford Canal

Locks 8 - 16 - Napton flight (49' 1")

Lock 8 - Napton Bottom lock

Lock 8 - Napton Bottom lock

Lock 9

Lock 10

Lock 11

Lock 12

Lock 13

Lock 14 - Napton Adkin's lock

Lock 15

Lock 16 - Napton Top lock

Locks 17 - 21 - Claydon flight (30' 6")

Lock 17 - Claydon Top lock 

Lock 17 - Claydon Top lock 

Lock 18

Lock 19

Lock 20

Lock 21 - Claydon Bottom lock 

Lock 22 - Elkington's lock (6' 5")

Lock 23 - Varney's lock (5' 10")

Lock 24 - Broadmoor lock (7' 3")

Lock 25 - Cropredy lock (5' 6")

Lock 26 - Slat Mill lock (8' 0")

Lock 27 - Bourton lock (6' 7")

Lock 28 - Hardwick lock (7' 6")

Lock 29 - Banbury lock (5' 10")

Lock 30 - Grant's lock (9' 6")

Lock 31 - King's Sutton lock (10' 8")

Lock 32 - Nell Bridge lock (8' 8")

Lock 33 - Aynho Weir lock (1' 0")

Lock 34 - Somerton Deep lock (12' 0")

Lock 35 - Heyford Common lock (7' 2")

Lock 36 - Allen's lock (5' 0")

Lock 37 - Dashwood lock (9' 3")

Lock 38 - Northbrook lock (5' 0")

Lock 39 - Pigeon lock (8' 4")

Lock 40 - Baker's lock (8' 6")

Lock 41 - Shipton Weir lock (2' 5")

Lock 42 - Roundham lock (7' 5")

Lock 43 - Kidlington Green lock (4' 9")

Lock 44 - Duke's lock (5' 4")

Lock 44A - Duke's Cut lock (c 3')

Lock 45 - Wolvercote lock (3'8")

Lock 46 - Isis lock (3' 6")