King Coal to the Jam 'Ole

Published: Wednesday, 27 October 2010

THE original promotion of the Oxford and Coventry Canals was for moving coal. When the Grand Junction Canal connected with the Oxford Canal at Braunston then much of the traffic on the route towards London was coal.

Coal from both Warwickshire and Leicestershire was shipped day after day in boats and butties to keep the metropolis working and living, writes Brian Holmes.

Last traffic

The last of this traffic was from Atherstone to Southall where Kearley and Tonge had established their jam factory in Brent Road in 1913 and this traffic was known asĀ  'The Jam 'Ole Run'. The Jam 'Ole was a dock that has ceased to exist on the Paddington Branch less than half a mile from Bulls Bridge Junction.

To commemorate the last traffic, working boats gather together for the Jam 'Ole Run, and I was privileged to see them in action at the top of Soulbury Three Locks last week and also to be at Braunston on Saturday to see the end of this year's run when boats tied up near to Bridge 1 outside Braunston Marina.