Snakeholme Lock
Encyclopedia
Driffield Navigation
The Driffield Navigation is an waterway, through the heart of the Holderness Plain to the market town of Driffield, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The northern section of it is a canal, and the southern section is part of the River Hull. Construction was authorised in 1767, and it was fully...
, in the East Riding of Yorkshire
East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Yorkshire, is a local government district with unitary authority status, and a ceremonial county of England. For ceremonial purposes the county also includes the city of Kingston upon Hull, which is a separate unitary authority...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is notable in being a staircase lock, but only the upper lock is still used.
Location
It is 0.5 mile (0.8 km) south east from the village of WansfordWansford, East Riding of Yorkshire
Wansford is a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, it forms part of the civil parish of Skerne and Wansford. It is situated on the B1249 road and just to the north of the River Hull and the Driffield Canal. It is approximately south east of Driffield and north west of North...
, and is approximately 17 miles (27 km) north of Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...
city centre.
Situated on the Driffield Navigation
- Next location upstream = Wansford bridge
- Next location downstream = BrighamBrigham, East Riding of YorkshireBrigham is a small village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England that forms part of the civil parish of Foston on the Wolds. The village is located mostly on top of a large hill to the west of the B1249 road and the Driffield Navigation passes through it....
History
Built during the construction of the Driffield NavigationDriffield Navigation
The Driffield Navigation is an waterway, through the heart of the Holderness Plain to the market town of Driffield, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The northern section of it is a canal, and the southern section is part of the River Hull. Construction was authorised in 1767, and it was fully...
after the Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
in 1767. It was the first lock reached on the new section of canal, and became the tidal limit on the navigation. A swing bridge
Swing bridge
A swing bridge is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its centre of gravity, about which the turning span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right...
reached over the bottom of the lock to allow the Yorkshire Keels to get through without lowering the mast
Mast (sailing)
The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall, vertical, or near vertical, spar, or arrangement of spars, which supports the sails. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship...
.
Once regular trade started to use the new navigation, problems with low water were noticed. The tide on the River Hull
River Hull
The River Hull is a navigable river in the East Riding of Yorkshire in the north of England. It rises from a series of springs to the west of Driffield, and enters the Humber estuary at Kingston upon Hull. Following a period when the Archbishops of York charged tolls for its use, it became a free...
does not easily push up the river due to sharp bends, and narrow sections, and so there was regularly not enough depth over the bottom gate cill.
Sluice
A sluice is a water channel that is controlled at its head by a gate . For example, a millrace is a sluice that channels water toward a water mill...
was built into the side of the chamber to allow emptying, filling being performed from the lock above.
During the navigation improvements of 1803–1811, a new lock at Struncheon Hill was built, keeping a permanent high water level at the lock, and it would be unlikely the lower chamber was used after this.
Trade declined on the navigation, but some of the last cargoes were to the mills at Wansford, and so kept the lock going for a few more years than the rest of the canal. In 1967 a trip to the lock showed it unnavigable, but in reasonable condition.
At some point the swing bridge was replaced with a fixed structure.
Occasional working parties by the Driffield Navigation Ammeninties Association kept the worst of the vegetation at bay through the 1980s, but it was only in 2002 that a grant allowed work to restore the structure back to working conditions. When the lock was drained, the original swing bridge turntable casting was found in the mud and saved for historical interest.
On the 18 April 2003, the lock was reopened to traffic by the Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Driffield
Driffield
Driffield, also known as Great Driffield, is a market town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The civil parish is formed by the town of Driffield and the village of Little Driffield....
. Several boats made the trip to "The Trout" pub in Wansford, but large amounts of silt and a trout farm located just above the lock have limited the numbers of boats using this stretch. The paddles on the top gate are currently locked up to stop misuse.
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...
- History of the British canal systemHistory of the British canal systemThe British canal system of water transport played a vital role in the United Kingdom's Industrial Revolution at a time when roads were only just emerging from the medieval mud and long trains of pack horses were the only means of "mass" transit by road of raw materials and finished products The...