Kingswood Junction

Kingswood Junction
Lock 20 (right), leading from the connecting arm to the Northern Stratford. To the left is the lockless arm leading to the bottom of lock 21.
Specifications
Status	Open
Navigation authority	British Waterways
History
Date completed	1803

[ ] Kingswood Junction
(Lapworth railway station) Northern Stratford Canal Old Warwick Road (B4439) Reservoir in pound Lock 19 Reservoir in pound Lock 21, Lock 20 Lock 22 Southern Stratford Canal Grand Union Canal

Kingswood Junction (grid reference SP185709) is a series of canal junction where the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal meets the Grand Union Canal at Kingswood, Warwickshire, England.

The Grand Union Canal was a late addition to the British canal system, being formed in 1929 by the amalgamation of a number of canal companies. This included the Warwick and Birmingham Canal, which was authorised in 1793 by an Act of Parliament, in the same year that the Grand Junction Canal from Braunston to Brentford was authorised. The Warwick and Napton Canal, authorised in 1794, provided a link from the southern end of the canal to the Oxford Canal at Napton Junction, from which it was a short distance to Braunston and the route to London. The two Warwick canals opened officially on 19 December 1799, but were probably unfinished, as no trade occurred until the following March.

The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal was also authorised in 1793, as business men in the town wanted to ensure that the prosperity brought by the canals did not pass them by. The canal was to run from Kings Norton Junction, on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal, to Stratford, passing through Kingswood. The first part of the northern section to Hockley Heath was opened in 1796, but then the scheme foundered. It was not until 1800, when another Act of Parliament was obtained, that further progress was made, and the canal opened as far at Kingswood, and the junction with the Warwick and Birmingham Canal in 1803. There was then another delay, with construction of the southern route below Kingswood not starting until 1812. The canal finally reached Stratford in 1815.