24. Wharf House

The old Stratford to Buckingham Canal was opened on the 1st of May 1801 as part of the Grand Union Network and ran through the middle of Deanshanger. The transport benefits of the canal, such as brick and coal yards, encouraged the growth of industries, the most influential in Deanshanger being the foundry.

Features of the canal included hump-back bridges, brick arch culverts, three wharves and a wooden draw bridge. Wharf House, originally known as Bridge House, was located on Church Lane, next to the hump-back bridge over the canal.

It was occupied by William Hoare, who had a limekiln, in the 1830s and early 1840s and taken over by Richard Canvin in 1844. By 1949, the business consisted of a coal yard and remained in the Canvin family until the Second World War and the premises were often referred to as "Canvin's Yard". The canal was officially closed in 1964 and the hump-back bridge was demolished in the early 1970s.