Opening up new kinds of transport and being able to transport goods more easily were important aspects of the Industrial Revolution. The new Grand Junction Canal linked London with the rest of the UK's canal network, bringing goods from industrial areas to the capital.

On 21 June 1796 a section of canal was opened between Braunston, near Daventry, and Weedon. It was soon extended south to Blisworth where a long tunnel was under construction.

The tunnel itself, which is over a mile long, and an embankment at Wolverton, were not finished until 1805. Then the Grand Union Canal opened as a through route for the first time. While the tunnel was being built, goods were transported via a temporary railway and a diversion via the River Ouse.