List of canal locks in Great Britain
Encyclopedia
This is a selective list of canal locks
in the United Kingdom which have unique features or are notable in some other way.
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
in the United Kingdom which have unique features or are notable in some other way.
Lock | Canal | Grid Reference | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Bath Locks Bath Locks Bath Locks are a series of locks situated on the Kennet and Avon Canal, at Bath, England.Bath Bottom Lock, which is numbered as No 7 on the canal is the meeting with the River Avon just south of Pulteney Bridge... |
Kennet and Avon Canal Kennet and Avon Canal The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of , made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is commonly used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the central canal section... |
A flight of six locks, in a quite ornate setting and including the UK's second deepest lock, two pumping stations and several Grade II listed buildings. | |
Bingley Five Rise Locks Bingley Five Rise Locks Bingley Five Rise Locks is a staircase lock on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal at Bingley . As the name implies, a boat going up the lock is lifted in five stages.-Description:... |
Leeds and Liverpool Canal Leeds and Liverpool Canal The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a canal in Northern England, linking the cities of Leeds and Liverpool. Over a distance of , it crosses the Pennines, and includes 91 locks on the main line... |
These staircase locks are the steepest flight of locks in the UK, with a gradient of about 1:5. | |
Bow Locks Bow Locks Bow Locks is a set of bi-directional locks in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The locks link the tidal Bow Creek to the River Lee Navigation, which is a canalised river. These locks were first built in 1850 and then rebuilt in 1930, at the same time as the Prescott Channel was cut nearby... |
River Lee Navigation River Lee Navigation The Lee Navigation is a canalised river incorporating the River Lea . Its course runs from Hertford Castle Weir all the way to the River Thames at Bow Creek. The first lock of the navigation is Hertford Lock the last being Bow Locks.... |
These locks are bidirectional to connect to the tidal Bow Creek Bow Creek Bow Creek is a long tidal estuary of the River Lea and is part of the Bow Back Rivers. Below Bow Locks the creek forms the boundary between the London Boroughs of Newham and Tower Hamlets, in east London.... . |
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Caen Hill Locks Caen Hill Locks Caen Hill Locks are a flight of locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal, between Rowde and Devizes in Wiltshire England.The 29 locks have a rise of 237 feet in 2 miles or a 1 in 44 gradient. The locks come in three groups. The lower seven locks, Foxhangers Wharf Lock to Foxhangers Bridge Lock, are... |
Kennet and Avon Canal Kennet and Avon Canal The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of , made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is commonly used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the central canal section... |
A flight of 29 locks, 16 of which form an impressively steep flight in a straight line up the hillside. | |
Fourteen Locks Fourteen Locks Fourteen Locks is a series of locks, also known as the Cefn Flight, on the Crumlin arm of the Monmouthshire Canal at Rogerstone in Newport, South Wales. The flight of locks was completed in 1799 and raises the water level 160 ft in just 800 yd... |
Monmouthshire Canal | A dramatic flight of narrow and very deep locks featuring a unique and complex series of interdependent pounds. | |
Foxton Locks Foxton Locks Foxton Locks are ten canal locks consisting of two "staircases" each of five locks, located on the Leicester line of the Grand Union Canal about 5 km west of the Leicestershire town of Market Harborough and are named after the nearby village of Foxton.... |
Grand Union Canal (Leicester Line) | Two "staircases", each of five locks, replacing an inclined plane. | |
King's Norton Stop Lock King's Norton Stop Lock Kings Norton Stop Lock is a Grade II* listed building at Kings Norton Junction on the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal near its junction with the Worcester and Birmingham Canal... |
Stratford-upon-Avon Canal Stratford-upon-Avon Canal The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal is a canal in the south Midlands of England.The canal, which was built between 1793 and 1816, runs for in total, and consists of two sections. The dividing line is at Kingswood Junction, which gives access to the Grand Union Canal... |
A stop lock with two guillotine gates. | |
Tardebigge Locks Tardebigge Locks Tardebigge Locks or the Tardebigge Flight is the longest flight of locks in the UK, comprising 30 narrow locks on a two and a quarter mile stretch of the Worcester and Birmingham Canal at Tardebigge, Worcestershire... |
Worcester and Birmingham Canal Worcester and Birmingham Canal The Worcester and Birmingham Canal is a canal linking Birmingham and Worcester in England. It starts in Worcester, as an 'offshoot' of the River Severn and ends in Gas Street Basin in Birmingham. It is long.... |
Longest flight in the UK. 30 locks rising 67m. | |
Tuel Lane Lock Tuel Lane Lock Tuel Lane Lock is a canal lock, situated on the Rochdale Canal in Sowerby Bridge. With a fall of , it is the deepest lock in the United Kingdom.-History:... |
Rochdale Canal Rochdale Canal The Rochdale Canal is a navigable "broad" canal in northern England, part of the connected system of the canals of Great Britain. The "Rochdale" in its name refers to the town of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, through which the canal passes.... |
Deepest lock in the United Kingdom, with a fall of 19' 8½". | |
Watford Locks Watford Locks Watford Locks is a group of seven locks on the Leicester Line of the Grand Union Canal, in Northamptonshire, England, famous for the Watford Gap service area.... |
Grand Union Canal (Leicester Line) | A staircase of four locks, within an overall flight of seven. |
See also
- Canals of the United KingdomCanals of the United KingdomThe canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a colourful history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's role for recreational boating...
- Camden LockCamden LockCamden Lock, or Hampstead Road Locks is a twin manually-operated lock on the Regent's Canal in Camden Town, London Borough of Camden. The sign on each of the twin locks reads "Hampstead Road Lock 1"...
, Commercial Road LockCommercial Road LockCommercial Road Lock is a lock on the Regent's Canal, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It marks the point at which the canal enters Limehouse Basin, and is the penultimate lock before the canal reaches the Thames....
, Limehouse Basin LockLimehouse Basin LockLimehouse Basin Lock is a lock forming the exit from Limehouse Basin to the Thames, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is the final lock on the Regent's Canal. The Narrow Street swing bridge sits between the lock and the river.... - Locks on the Kennet and Avon CanalLocks on the Kennet and Avon CanalThe Kennet and Avon Canal is a canal in southern England. The name may refer to either the route of the original Kennet and Avon Canal Company, which linked the River Kennet at Newbury to the River Avon at Bath, or to the entire navigation between the River Thames at Reading and the Floating...
- Boat liftBoat liftA boat lift, ship lift, or lift lock is a machine for transporting boats between water at two different elevations, and is an alternative to the canal lock and the canal inclined plane....
, CaissonCaisson (engineering)In geotechnical engineering, a caisson is a retaining, watertight structure used, for example, to work on the foundations of a bridge pier, for the construction of a concrete dam, or for the repair of ships. These are constructed such that the water can be pumped out, keeping the working...
, Caisson lockCaisson lockA caisson lock is a type of canal lock in which a narrowboat is enclosed in a sealed box and raised or lowered between two water levels. It was intended primarily as a water-saving measure, but also to save construction costs when compared with other engineering solutions. It was capable of...
, Canal inclined planeCanal inclined planeAn inclined plane is a system used on some canals for raising boats between different water levels. Boats may be conveyed afloat, in caissons, or may be carried in cradles or slings. It can be considered as a specialised type of cable railway....
, Canal poundCanal poundA canal pound, aka reach, is the stretch of level water impounded between two canal locks. Canal pounds can vary in length from the non-existent, where two or more immediately adjacent locks form a lock staircase, to many miles....
, Flash lockFlash lockEarly locks were designed with a single gate, known as a flash lock or staunch lock. The earliest European references to what were clearly flash locks were in Roman times....
, Lock staircase, Pound lock
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