Duke's Cut

{{Short description|Waterway in Oxfordshire, England}} {{Distinguish|text = the [[Bridgewater Canal]], known informally as the Duke's cut}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2017}} {{Use British English|date=August 2017}} {{Infobox canal | name = Duke's Cut  | image = File:OxfordCanal Bridge232.jpg | image_size = | alt = A brick arch bridge crossing a canal. In the foreground, this canal joins with another | image_caption = Bridge 232, crossing the Duke's Cut  | map = | map_size = | map_alt = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map_size = | pushpin_map_relief = | pushpin_map_caption =  | location = [[Wolvercote]] | country = United Kingdom | coordinates = {{coord|51.79136|N|1.29675|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline, title}}  | length_mi = 0.25 | length_km = | lock_length_mi = | lock_length_km = | lock_length = | lock_width_m = | lock_width_ft = | len_ft = | len_m = | max_boat_length = | beam_ft = | beam_m = | max_boat_beam = | max_boat_draft = | min_boat_draft = {{convert|4|ft|11|in}}<ref name="Compton 1976 52">{{Cite book |last1=Compton |first1=Hugh J |year=1976 |title=The Oxford Canal |place=Newton Abbot |publisher=[[David & Charles]] |isbn=0-7153-7238-6 |pages=52}}</ref> | min_air_boat_draft = | locks = 1 | current_num_locks = 1 | original_num_locks = | elev_ft = | elev_m = | max_elev = | min_elev_ft = | min_elev_m = | min_elev = | total_rise = | status = Open | navigation_authority = Canal and River Trust | original_length_km = | original_length_mi = | length_note = | original_lock_length_km = | original_lock_length_mi = | lock_length_note = | original_lock_width_m = | original_lock_width_ft = | lock_width_note = | lock_width = | len_in = | original_boat_length_m = | original_boat_length_ft = | original_boat_length_in = | len_note = | beam_in = | original_beam_m = | original_beam_ft = | original_beam_in = | beam_note = | min_boat_air_draft = | lock_note = | elev_note = | min_elev_note = | xfield1 = | xvalue1 =  | former_names = | modern_name = | present_owner = | original_owner = [[George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough|Duke of Marlborough]] | engineer = | other_engineer = | date_approved = | date_act = | date_began = | date_use = | date_completed = 1789 | date_extended = | date_closed = | date_restored = | xvalue2 = | xfield2 =  | direction = WSW | begin_coord = {{coord|51.7924|N|1.2937|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline}} | end_coord = {{coord|51.7908|N|1.2991|W|type:landmark_region:GB|display=inline}} | branch = | branch_of = [[Oxford Canal]] | connects_to = [[Oxford Canal]], Wolvercote Mill Stream | start_point = Wolvercote Junction, [[Oxford Canal]]<ref name="CPAC">{{cite web |title=Waterway Gazetteer for Oxford Canal (Duke's Cut) |url=https://canalplan.org.uk/waterway/59fh |website=canalplan.org.uk |publisher=CanalPlanAC |access-date=10 January 2020}}</ref> | original_start = | start_note = | end_point = Duke's Cut Junction, Wolvercote Mill Stream<ref name="CPAC" /> | original_end = | end_note = | xfield3 = | xvalue3 = | module = }} {{Duke's Cut map}} '''Duke's Cut''' is a short waterway in [[Oxfordshire]], England, which connects the [[Oxford Canal]] with the [[River Thames]] via the Wolvercote Mill Stream. It is named after [[George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough]], across whose land the waterway was cut. It is seen as a [[branch canal|branch]] of the Oxford Canal.<ref name="CPAC" />

== History == The Cut was constructed at the request of the [[George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough|Duke of Marlborough]]. The [[Duchy of Marlborough]] had owned [[Wolvercote]] paper mill since 1720, and much of the surrounding land belonged to their [[Blenheim Palace]] estate.<ref name="Compton 1976 51">{{Cite book |last1=Compton |first1=Hugh J |year=1976 |title=The Oxford Canal |place=Newton Abbot |publisher=[[David & Charles]] |isbn=0-7153-7238-6 |pages=51}}</ref> In the 1790s, the Duke saw the benefit of bringing [[Warwickshire Coalfield|Warwickshire coal]] to the area, as the upper [[River Thames|Thames]] area typically only received fuel from the [[Northumberland Coalfield]] via [[London]], and consequently little cargo was left by the time vessels reached the upper river.<ref name="Compton 1976 51" /> As owner of the land between the [[Oxford Canal]] and the mill stream, the Duke was aware of how level it was (and thus suited to a waterway) and permitted construction of a {{convert|500|yd|adj=on}} cut between the two waterways. The millstream provided a connection to the Thames above [[King's Lock|King's Weir]], bypassing the [[flash lock]].<ref name="Compton 1976 52" />

The cut opened in 1789; the exact date is unknown but an advertisement carried in William Jackson's ''Oxford Journal''—published by the tenant of Wolvercote Mill<ref name="Compton 1976 51" /> and printed on the mill's paper—showed that the cut had opened by 3 October.<ref name="Compton 1976 52" /> It was conveyed [[Land trust|in trust]] to the Vice-Chancellor of the [[University of Oxford]] and the [[Mayor of Oxford]] in 1792.

Adjacent to the cut is Duke's Lake, a [[reservoir]] also used for [[carp]], [[Common roach|roach]], [[tench]], and [[bream]] angling.<ref name="Whyte 2015">{{cite web |last1=Whyte |first1=Abigail |title=Angling on the cut |url=http://canalrivertrustwaterfront.org.uk/community/angling-on-the-cut/ |website=Waterfront |publisher=Canal and River Trust |access-date=10 January 2020 |date=19 June 2015}}</ref>

Today, the cut is the preferred boating route from the Oxford Canal to the Thames;<ref name="Zucchelli 2016" /> the alternative route is at Oxford via and [[Isis Lock]] and the [[Sheepwash Channel]]. Until 1937, the latter was the only route between King's Lock and the lower Thames without having to navigate the [[flash lock]] at Medley Weir near [[Godstow Lock]].<ref name="Eade Godstow Lock">{{cite web |last1=Eade |first1=John |title=GODSTOW LOCK - (WHERE THAMES SMOOTH WATERS GLIDE) |url=https://thames.me.uk/s01850.htm |website=thames.me.uk |access-date=10 January 2020}}</ref>

== Description == In 1802, [[Robert Mylne (architect)|Robert Mylne]] surveyed the cut and reported his findings to the [[Thames Commissioners]]. He described how the cut had a [[stop lock]] near Wolvercote Junction where it meets the canal; the [[beam (nautical)|beam]] of this was given as {{convert|13|ft|2|in}}.<ref name="Compton 1976 52" /> [[Bradshaw's Guide|Bradshaw's]] ''Canals and Navigable Waterways of England and Wales'' (1904) noted that the lock gates were reversible to be usable regardless of which waterway was higher.<ref name="Salis2012 305">{{cite book|author=Henry Rodolph de Salis|title=Bradshaw's Canals and Navigable Rivers of England and Wales|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tz1xYkqOK6kC&pg=PA305|date=November 2012|publisher=BoD – Books on Demand|isbn=978-3-95427-214-3|pages=305–}}</ref> The canal usually discharged towards the Thames,<ref name="Salis2012 305"/> with an average pen of {{convert|1|ft}}, although when in flood, the Thames could rise to be up to {{convert|2|ft}} above the canal.<ref name="Compton 1976 52" /> The lock, known as Duke's Cut Lock, is designated 44A;<ref name="Zucchelli 2016">{{cite web |last1=Zucchelli |first1=Anna |title=DESIGN, ACCESS AND HERITAGE STATEMENT OXFORD CANAL – WOLVERCOTE DUKE'S CUT LOCK (LOCK 44A) |url=http://npa.cherwell.gov.uk/AniteIM.WebSearch/(S(ann2or552io2f455oqf1r545))/Download.aspx?ID=8636817 |publisher=Canal and River Trust |access-date=9 January 2020}}{{dead link|date=February 2024|bot=medic}}</ref> the numbering is inherited from that on the Oxford Canal. The lock is crossed by the [[Birmingham and Oxford Junction Railway]], which opened in 1850. In 1987, the lock was granted [[Grade II listed]] status.<ref name="HE Lock">{{NHLE |desc=OXFORD CANAL DUKE'S CUT LOCK |num=1370051 |accessdate=9 January 2020 }}</ref>

At the junction with the mill stream, fed from the Thames, was a single gate of {{convert|12|ft|6|in}}. Mylne stated that this [[floodgate]] was of poor seal and water easily flowed into the canal at times the river was of a higher level.<ref name="Compton 1976 52" />

In 1933, the [[A40 road (Great Britain)|Oxford–Witney road]] was constructed, and a large single-span [[skew arch bridge]] (designated 232U) was built across the cut.<ref name="Compton 1976 89">{{Cite book |last1=Compton |first1=Hugh J |year=1976 |title=The Oxford Canal |place=Newton Abbot |publisher=[[David & Charles]] |isbn=0-7153-7238-6 |pages=89}}</ref> The cut had a towing path along its north bank, which ran to the Thames in the west and connected with that of the Oxford Canal.<ref name="NLS">{{cite web |title=OS 25 inch Scotland, 1892-1949 England and Wales, 1841-1952 |url=https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/print/#zoom=18&lat=51.7916&lon=-1.2943&layers=168&b=1 |website=maps.nls.uk |publisher=National Library of Scotland |access-date=9 January 2020}}</ref> The towing path on the Oxford Canal crosses the cut by means of a brick arch bridge which also has Grade II listed status.<ref name="HE Bridge">{{NHLE |desc=OXFORD CANAL TOWPATH BRIDGE AT DUKE'S CUT LOCK |num=1286500 |accessdate=9 January 2020 }}</ref>

At Duke's Cut Junction, a three-way [[Inland Waterways Association]] [[fingerpost]] sign provides navigational guidance, and shows that the Wolvercote Mill Stream below the junction was only for access to the mill.<ref name="Eade Oxford Canal">{{cite web |last1=Eade |first1=John |title=OXFORD CANAL - (WHERE THAMES SMOOTH WATERS GLIDE) |url=https://thames.me.uk/s02440.htm |website=thames.me.uk |access-date=10 January 2020}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{Start box}} {{River confluence start|River=[[River Thames]]}} {{River item line|upstream=[[River Evenlode]] (north) |downstream=[[Bulstake Stream]] (south)}} {{End box}}

[[Category:1789 establishments in England]] [[Category:Canals in England]] [[Category:Transport in Oxfordshire]] [[Category:Tourist attractions in Oxfordshire]] [[Category:Canals opened in 1789]] [[Category:Thames drainage basin|CDukes]] [[Category:Oxford Canal]]