Garston Lock

Last updated

Garston Lock (grid reference SU655707 ) is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal. It is near the M4 motorway and near Reading, England.

Garston lock 1.jpg

Garston Lock was built between 1718 and 1723 under the supervision of the engineer John Hore of Newbury, and this stretch of the river is now administered by Canal & River Trust and known as the Kennet Navigation. It has a rise/fall of 7 ft 7ins (2.29m). [1]

One of only two remaining working examples of turf sided locks on the canal [2] (the other being Monkey Marsh Lock [3] ), Garston Lock has been described as needing "more water to operate than the now more common brick or stone-sided variety" as the sloping sides increase the volume of the lock. [4]

The two sets of lock gates work differently: the upper set operates via a mechanical system, while the lower gates are hydraulic. [5] The top part of the lock chamber has sloping banks which are covered by vegetation of various types rather than by turf. An arrangement of steel rails ensures that boats stay in the centre of the lock [6] during the rise/fall of 7 ft 7 in (2.31 m).

The lock is a grade II* listed building. [7]

Two pillboxes dating from World War II at the northwest [8] and southeast [9] corners of the lock, which were built as anti tank defences, are also listed buildings.

Related Research Articles

Kennet and Avon Canal Canal in southern England

The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of 87 miles (140 km), made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the central canal section. From Bristol to Bath the waterway follows the natural course of the River Avon before the canal links it to the River Kennet at Newbury, and from there to Reading on the River Thames. In all, the waterway incorporates 105 locks.

Blakes Lock lock situated on the River Kennet in Reading, Berkshire, England

Blake's Lock is a lock situated on the River Kennet in Reading, Berkshire, England. It is on the short reach of the River Kennet which is administered as if it were part of the River Thames and is hence owned and managed by the Environment Agency.

Semington Locks

The Semington Locks are situated at Semington, Wiltshire on the Kennet and Avon Canal, England.

Tyle Mill Lock

Tyle Mill Lock is a lock situated near Tyle Mill and the village of Sulhamstead on the Kennet and Avon Canal, England.

Sheffield Lock Theale, West Berkshire, Berkshire, RG7

Sheffield Lock, at grid reference SU648706, is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, in the civil parish of Burghfield in the English county of Berkshire. It is also sometimes known as Shenfield Lock.

Wootton Rivers Lock

Wootton Rivers Lock, also called Wootton Rivers Bottom Lock, is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal at Wootton Rivers, Wiltshire, England.

Brimslade Lock

Brimslade Lock is on the Kennet and Avon Canal at Wootton Rivers, Wiltshire, England.

Bedwyn Church Lock

Bedwyn Church Lock is on the Kennet and Avon Canal at Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire, England.

Oakhill Down Lock

Oakhill Down Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, at Froxfield, Wiltshire, England between Newbury Bridge and Pewsey Wharf.

Dun Mill Lock

Dun Mill Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, near Hungerford, Berkshire, England.

Brunsden Lock

Brunsdon Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, near Kintbury, Berkshire, England.

Dreweatts Lock

Dreweatt's Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, between Kintbury and Newbury, Berkshire, England.

Hamstead Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, at Hamstead Marshall between Kintbury and Newbury, Berkshire, England.

Newbury Lock

Newbury Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal in the town centre of Newbury, in the English county of Berkshire. It has a rise/fall of 3 ft 6 in, and is situated just upstream of Newbury Bridge.

Monkey Marsh Lock

Monkey Marsh Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, at Thatcham, Berkshire, England.

Aldermaston Lock

Aldermaston Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, at Aldermaston Wharf in the English county of Berkshire. It stands at the junction of the civil parishes of Padworth, Beenham and Aldermaston.

Padworth Lock

Padworth Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, at Aldermaston Wharf in the civil parish of Padworth in the English county of Berkshire.

Caen Hill Locks

Caen Hill Locks are a flight of 29 locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal, between Rowde and Devizes in Wiltshire, England.

John Hore British engineer

John Hore was an English engineer, best known for making the River Kennet and River Avon navigable. Hore was one of the earliest English canal engineers, and Sir Alec Skempton wrote that he was "in the first rank among the navigation engineers". The Hutchinson Chronology of World History described his work on the Kennet navigation as "[setting] a new standard for inland waterways, and is an important forerunner of the canals of the Industrial Revolution".

References

  1. Pearson, Michael (2003). Kennet & Avon Middle Thames:Pearson's Canal Companion. Rugby: Central Waterways Supplies. ISBN   0-907864-97-X.
  2. Allsop, Niall (1987). The Kennet & Avon Canal . Bath: Millstream Book. ISBN   0-948975-15-6.
  3. Shead, Jim. "All Change for the K&A". Waterways Information. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
  4. "Garston Lock". Waterscape.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2009. Retrieved 16 September 2006.
  5. "Garston Lock". English Heritage, Viewfinder. Retrieved 16 September 2006.
  6. "All change for the K&A" . Retrieved 16 September 2006.
  7. "Garston Lock". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 16 September 2006.
  8. "Pillbox at NW Corner of Garston GV Lock". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 16 September 2006.
  9. "Pillbox at SE Corner of Garston GV Lock". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 16 September 2006.

See also

Next lock upstream River Kennet / Kennet and Avon Canal Next lock downstream
Sheffield Lock Garston Lock
Grid reference: SU655707
Burghfield Lock

Coordinates: 51°25′54″N1°03′33″W / 51.43153°N 1.05919°W / 51.43153; -1.05919