Ufton Lock

51°24′48″N 1°06′48″W / 51.413350°N 1.113242°W / 51.413350; -1.113242WaterwayKennet and Avon CanalCountryEnglandCountyBerkshireMaintained byCanal & River TrustFirst builtc. 1834Length80 feet (24 m)Width14 feet (4.3 m)Fall0 feet 0 inches (0 m)

Ufton Lock is a degated lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, between Padworth and Sulhamstead, Berkshire, England.

History

Ufton Lock was built in c. 1834, making it the last lock on the waterway to be built.[nb 1] It was engineered by John Blackwell, who had dug a new 600-yard (550 m) cut to avoid the meandering River Kennet between Padworth and Sulhamstead.[1] The lock's depth was just 1 foot 9 inches (0.53 m),[2] which was to improve the head of water at Towney Lock, 0.6 miles (0.97 km) upstream.[1] When the waterway was restored in the 1960s, restoring the shallow lock was deemed unpractical and instead the rebuilt Towney Lock was deepened to cater for the difference in level.[3] The lock gates were removed, although the chamber masonry and bollards have been retained as a landing stage for the adjacent swing bridge.[4]

The canal is now administered by the Canal & River Trust.[5]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Many locks were rebuilt during the canal's restoration (some of which, such as Towney and Burghfield, were restored directly up- or downstream of their original chamber). County Lock was moved to the opposite riverbank in the 1880s.

References

  1. ^ a b Clew, Kenneth (1968). The Kennet & Avon Canal : an illustrated history (2nd ed.). David & Charles. p. 89.
  2. ^ Allsop, Niall (1987). The Kennet & Avon Canal. Bath: Millstream Book. ISBN 0-948975-15-6.
  3. ^ "Ufton". Mike Stevens UK Inland Waterways pages. Archived from the original on 9 October 2006. Retrieved 23 September 2006.
  4. ^ "Heritage Gateway - Results". heritagegateway.org.uk. Heritage Gateway. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  5. ^ Pearson, Michael (2003). Kennet & Avon Middle Thames:Pearson's Canal Companion. Rugby: Central Waterways Supplies. ISBN 0-907864-97-X.

See also

  • flagUnited Kingdom portal
  • iconTransport portal
Next lock upstream River Kennet / Kennet and Avon Canal Next lock downstream
Towney Lock Ufton Lock
Grid reference: SU 6177 6863 		Tyle Mill Lock
  • v
  • t
  • e
Features
Locks
Tunnels
Bridges
Aqueducts
Pumping stations
Museums
Misc.
Connecting navigationsEngineers and proprietors
Kennet Navigation
  • John Hore
  • Francis Page Sr.
  • Francis Page Jr.
  • Frederick Page
Avon Navigation
  • John Padmore
Kennet and Avon Canal
Associations


Stub icon

This United Kingdom canal-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

  • v
  • t
  • e