| Duke's Cut | |
|---|---|
 Bridge 232, crossing the Duke's Cut | |
 Interactive map of Duke's Cut | |
| Location | Wolvercote |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51°47′29″N1°17′48″W / 51.79136°N 1.29675°W /51.79136; -1.29675 |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 0.25 miles (0.40 km) |
| Minimum boat draft | 4 feet 11 inches (1.50 m)[1] |
| Locks | 1 |
| Status | Open |
| Navigation authority | Canal and River Trust |
| History | |
| Original owner | Duke of Marlborough |
| Date completed | 1789 |
| Geography | |
| Direction | WSW |
| Start point | Wolvercote Junction,Oxford Canal[2] |
| End point | Duke's Cut Junction, Wolvercote Mill Stream[2] |
| Beginningcoordinates | 51°47′33″N1°17′37″W / 51.7924°N 1.2937°W /51.7924; -1.2937 |
| Endingcoordinates | 51°47′27″N1°17′57″W / 51.7908°N 1.2991°W /51.7908; -1.2991 |
| Branch of | Oxford Canal |
| Connects to | Oxford Canal, Wolvercote Mill Stream |
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Duke's Cut is a short waterway inOxfordshire, England, which connects theOxford Canal with theRiver Thames via the Wolvercote Mill Stream. It is named afterGeorge Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough, across whose land the waterway was cut. It is seen as abranch of the Oxford Canal.[2]
The Cut was constructed at the request of theDuke of Marlborough. TheDuchy of Marlborough had ownedWolvercote paper mill since 1720, and much of the surrounding land belonged to theirBlenheim Palace estate.[3] In the 1790s, the Duke saw the benefit of bringingWarwickshire coal to the area, as the upperThames area typically only received fuel from theNorthumberland Coalfield viaLondon, and consequently little cargo was left by the time vessels reached the upper river.[3] As owner of the land between theOxford 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 500-yard (460 m) cut between the two waterways. The millstream provided a connection to the Thames aboveKing's Weir, bypassing theflash lock.[1]
The cut opened in 1789; the exact date is unknown but an advertisement carried in William Jackson'sOxford Journal—published by the tenant of Wolvercote Mill[3] and printed on the mill's paper—showed that the cut had opened by 3 October.[1] It was conveyedin trust to the Vice-Chancellor of theUniversity of Oxford and theMayor of Oxford in 1792.
Adjacent to the cut is Duke's Lake, areservoir also used forcarp,roach,tench, andbream angling.[4]
Today, the cut is the preferred boating route from the Oxford Canal to the Thames;[5] the alternative route is at Oxford via andIsis Lock and theSheepwash Channel. Until 1937, the latter was the only route between King's Lock and the lower Thames without having to navigate theflash lock at Medley Weir nearGodstow Lock.[6]
In 1802,Robert Mylne surveyed the cut and reported his findings to theThames Commissioners. He described how the cut had astop lock near Wolvercote Junction where it meets the canal; thebeam of this was given as 13 feet 2 inches (4.01 m).[1]Bradshaw'sCanals and Navigable Waterways of England and Wales (1904) noted that the lock gates were reversible to be usable regardless of which waterway was higher.[7] The canal usually discharged towards the Thames,[7] with an average pen of 1 foot (0.30 m), although when in flood, the Thames could rise to be up to 2 feet (0.61 m) above the canal.[1] The lock, known as Duke's Cut Lock, is designated 44A;[5] the numbering is inherited from that on the Oxford Canal. The lock is crossed by theBirmingham and Oxford Junction Railway, which opened in 1850. In 1987, the lock was grantedGrade II listed status.[8]
At the junction with the mill stream, fed from the Thames, was a single gate of 12 feet 6 inches (3.81 m). Mylne stated that thisfloodgate was of poor seal and water easily flowed into the canal at times the river was of a higher level.[1]
In 1933, theOxford–Witney road was constructed, and a large single-spanskew arch bridge (designated 232U) was built across the cut.[9] 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.[10] The towing path on the Oxford Canal crosses the cut by means of a brick arch bridge which also has Grade II listed status.[11]
At Duke's Cut Junction, a three-wayInland Waterways Associationfingerpost sign provides navigational guidance, and shows that the Wolvercote Mill Stream below the junction was only for access to the mill.[12]
| Next confluence upstream | River Thames | Next confluence downstream |
| River Evenlode (north) | Duke's Cut | Bulstake Stream (south) |
