The canal was originally conceived as part of a canal route between Bristol and London. It was completed in 1789. Sapperton Tunnel was the longest on any British waterway until the completion of Standedge Tunnel on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal in 1811. The canal connected the Stroudwater Navigation at Wallbridge near Stroud and the Thames at Inglesham Lock near Lechlade. It was briefly part of the only inland waterway link between Birmingham and London but was always dogged by the poor condition of the Thames navigation and water supply and loss issues on its summit level.