The Lighthouse in Oxford the railway station at Frideswide Square gradually eroded away much of the canal trade. In 1913 William Morris (later Lord Nuffield), without licence, started his own bus service to compete with the city's cumbersome tram network. In 1951, Lord Nuffield further forced change when he acquired the Oxford Canal Basin and proceeded to fill it. Nuffield College and Worcester Street car park now stand where once lay the Basin. This was the death knell of the canal system as a competitive mode of transport in Oxford as technology replaced human labour. An apt example can be found in the reconstruction
Oxford City Police independent, and no special circumstances that qualified for an exemption. Therefore on 1 April 1968 the Oxford force merged with Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire County Constabularies and Reading Borough Police to form Thames Valley Constabulary. Clement Burrows was made Assistant Chief Constable (Administration) of the new force, and in 1970 was promoted to Deputy Chief Constable. Thames Valley Constabulary was later renamed Thames Valley Police. It remains the police force for Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. ITV's fictional drama series "Endeavour" portrays Detective Constable Endeavour Morse as he investigates crime in Oxford as a member of Oxford CID, based in Cowley