 To the south is Sheepwash Channel which connects the Oxford Canal with the River Thames.In October 1554, John Wayte (later Mayor of Oxford) was appointed along with two others to travel to London to give instructions concerning Cripley Meadow and Port Meadow.In 1865, there was the possibility that the Great Western Railway (GWR) could become a major employer in Oxford since the company's railway carriage-making workshops, that were expected to provide 1,500 jobs, were to be sited in the city, moving from Paddington in London.