Down to Daventry.

Last night the rain stopped and it was a pleasant evening so we decided to go for water and wind ready for going up the locks once they are open.

We winded at the entrance to the marina and then reversed past the Gongoozler's Cafe boat to the stop house.

From the same Narrow Boat magazine as yesterday this is a similar view but from the early 1900's. The big warehouse is the Grand Junction Canal Company's  GJCCo three storey grain warehouse. The water in front of it is one of the reservoirs and where the narrow boat is moored was a loop of the GJCCo that came out after Butchers bridge after running round the reservoirs. The elevated station of Braunston can be seen above the warehouse.

This was the Oxford Canal Company's toll house. It had a stop lock in front of it previously before the two canals merged.

Today was supposed to be a nicer day so we decided to catch the bus into Daventry. The trip is very convoluted as it passes through four or five big housing estates, down narrow estate roads.

The church is close to the site of  a priory that was set up in 1107 and closed by Henry VIII. The current church was built in around 1755.

The Burton Memorial was raised in 1908 to honour a Town Clerk to Daventry Borough Council when he died after the trustees refused to change the name of the Recreation Ground. In the background is the New Moot Hall that was converted in 1806 from a private house that had been built in 1769. It has been the home of the Council, Charter Trustees meeting place, museum, restaurant, antique centre and offices. We went to the modern museum but only had about 15 mins to look round before it closed.

There are several old houses dotted up and down New Street. This one is thought to be Daventry's oldest building dating back to the 1400's, possibly the time of Henry VII!

The town waslaid out with burrage plots that ran back from the road that meant that they properties were long and narrow with lots of alleyways to access the backs Here was one leading to the 1772 Independent Chapel. Next door was Dorridge's Academy where Jospeh Priestley was educated for 2 years. He went on to 'discover' oxygen etc. 

Daventry is a funny place that seems to have lost its riches, but appeared to be quite busy. There was a lot of smokers/vapers which was unusual in this day and age. It was worth going for a look see if not only as we found a nice micro pub called 'Early Doors' and the Saracens Head Weatherspoons! The name Daventry was familiar to me from it radio station that was opened on Borough Hill with the birth of the BBC in 1925. It was used to transmitting what we now call the World Service until 1992. I'm sure that on the old wireless sets, when the tuning screen had cities names on it, Daventry appeared there too. Apparently the transmitter was also the site of the first experiments with radar in 1935.