The Canal was built in 1794 as the "Leicester Navigation" in order to bring coal from the Derbyshire coalfields to Leicester. Canals were called 'navigations' to highlight the fact that they were deep enough to carry boats (mainly shallow draft barges). Many rivers then, like the Soar, were too shallow in places to take barges. The men who dug the canals were called 'Navvy men' or 'Navvies'. They were specialist labourers who travelled around the country to wherever the canals were being built, rather as road builders do today.

The pub which is called. "The Navigation", was originally built as a house then converted to a pub.