Oxford Canal, Wharf House

A canal toll house and inn, dating to circa 1778, with alterations circa the late 19th century. The building is constructed of red, buff and blue bricks in Flemish bond, with a Welsh slate hipped roof, lead rolls to the hips, and a brick dentil eaves course. Brick axial stacks are present. The plan consists of a 2-room front range with a central entrance and stairhall, alongside service rooms in a rear outshut, which was raised to two storeys in the 19th century. A small canal toll office is situated on the east side, facing the canal.

The south front is symmetrical with three bays. It features late 19th-century sash windows with stone cills, painted stone or rendered lintols to the ground floor, and rubbed brick flat arches to the first floor. A central glazed door is topped with a flat canopy. The east return has a single-storey brick toll office with a window on the east side, a plank door at the front, and a hipped slate roof with lead rolls to the hips and a brick dentil eaves course. The rear features a main roof extending over a two-storey outshut, which has three-light horizontally sliding sashes with glazing bars and two-light casements above, also with glazing bars.

The interior remains largely intact, with much of the original joinery preserved. A dogleg staircase has stick balusters, a column newel, and a moulded handrail. Six-panel doors are present throughout. The right-hand room includes a plain chimneypiece and panelled cupboard doors. The toll office features a small fireplace with a simple grate. The Oxford Canal, completed in 1778 by the Oxford Canal Company, was at this point in navigable use. The building was first licensed as the Navigation Inn and wharf in 1778.