[8] Like Cerney Wick and Inglesham, the buildings at Chalford and Marston Meysey were either adjacent to or within 1 mile (1.6 km) of locks on the canal, and over time some of the occupants' duties extended to lockkeeping.

[4][17] The nearest lock[a] to the round house was 3 mi (4.8 km) away,[19] and was not easily accessible for the lengthsman as the canal tunnel had no towing path.

[24] By 1831, the impracticalities of the cramped conditions was evident and the round houses at Cerney Wick and Marston Meysey were superseded by new rectangular cottages at Wildmoorway and Eisey respectively.

[25][26][27] At least one of the two vacant round houses faced a call to be demolished, however this plan did not come to fruition and the buildings stood until the replacement cottages also fell into dereliction.

"[14] A later description of the round houses outlined their drawbacks: "the accommodation is cramped; furniture passes unwillingly through the small doorways and lines the walls uneasily; water is drawn from a well; sanitation is outside.

[29] The 1851 United Kingdom census showed that 46-year-old canal labourer Richard Roberts lived in the Coates round house with his wife Sarah.

[32] Around the turn of the century, a prospective watchman of the Coates area visited the round house with his fiancée, who said she would not marry him unless the living conditions were improved.

[41] In 1811, William Bernard Cooke's The Thames included a line engraving of Samuel Owen's painting of Inglesham Lock and the adjacent round house.

[43] Roundhouse Lake, a nature reserve managed by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, takes its name from the nearby round house at Inglesham.

[49][50] It is not certain why a circular plan was chosen, although it may have been from an engineering perspective (to avoid the need for quoins) or to provide better views along the canal, as was the purpose at Gailey Wharf.

"[54] A aesthetically similar round house at nearby Cirencester Park, built before the waterway was constructed,[55] may have inspired the design of the canal buildings.

The use of a rainwater cistern at Coates was especially needed as the canal there is situated on the Inferior Oolite with its low porosity and limited aquifer storage.