Snakeholme Lock

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Snakeholme lock, restored after many years of closure SnakeholmeLock.jpg
Snakeholme lock, restored after many years of closure

Snakeholme Lock is a brick chamber canal lock on the Driffield Navigation, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is notable in being a staircase lock, but only the upper lock is still used. It was designated Grade II in 1986. [1]

Driffield Navigation

The Driffield Navigation is an 11-mile (18 km) 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 open in 1770. Early use of the navigation was hampered by a small bridge at Hull Bridge, which was maintained by Beverley Corporation. After protracted negotiation, it was finally replaced in 1804, and a new lock was built to improve water levels at the same time. One curious feature of the new works were that they were managed quite separately for many years, with the original navigation called the Old Navigation, and the new works called the New Navigation. They were not fully amalgamated until 1888.

East Riding of Yorkshire County of England

The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is an area in Northern England and can refer either to the administrative county of the East Riding of Yorkshire which is a unitary authority, to the ceremonial county (Lieutenancy) of the East Riding of Yorkshire or to the easternmost of the three subdivisions (ridings) of the traditional county of Yorkshire.

England Country in north-west Europe, part of the United Kingdom

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to the west and Scotland to the north. The Irish Sea lies west of England and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south. The country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain, which lies in the North Atlantic, and includes over 100 smaller islands, such as the Isles of Scilly and the Isle of Wight.

Contents

Location

It is 0.5 mile (0.8 km) south-east from the village of Wansford, and is approximately 17 miles (27 km) north of Kingston upon Hull city centre.

Wansford, East Riding of Yorkshire village in United Kingdom

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 2.5 miles (4 km) south-east of Driffield and 3 miles (4.8 km) north-west of North Frodingham.

Kingston upon Hull City and unitary authority in England

Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, 25 miles (40 km) inland from the North Sea, 50 miles (80 km) east of Leeds, 34 miles (55 km) southeast of York and 54 miles (87 km) northeast of Sheffield. With a population of 260,645 (mid-2018 est.), Hull is the fourth-largest city in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Situated on the Driffield Navigation

Brigham, East Riding of Yorkshire village in United Kingdom

Brigham is a small village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately 4 miles (6 km) south-east from Driffield, 15 miles (24 km) north of Hull city centre, and to the west of the B1249 road. The village forms part of the civil parish of Foston on the Wolds.

History

Built during the construction of the Driffield Navigation after the Act of Parliament 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 reached over the bottom of the lock to allow the Yorkshire Keels to get through without lowering the mast.

An act of parliament, also called primary legislation, are statutes passed by a parliament (legislature). Act of the Oireachtas is an equivalent term used in the Republic of Ireland where the legislature is commonly known by its Irish name, Oireachtas. The United States Act of Congress is based on it.

Swing bridge movable bridge that has a vertical locating pin and support ring about which the turning span can pivot horizontally

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 center of gravity, about which the turning span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right. Small swing bridges as found over canals may be pivoted only at one end, opening as would a gate, but require substantial underground structure to support the pivot.

Mast (sailing) pole of wood, metal or lightweight materials used in the rigging of a sailing vessel to carry or support its sail

The mast of a sailing vessel is a tall spar, or arrangement of spars, erected more or less vertically on the centre-line of a ship or boat. Its purposes include carrying sail, spars, and derricks, and giving necessary height to a navigation light, look-out position, signal yard, control position, radio aerial or signal lamp. Large ships have several masts, with the size and configuration depending on the style of ship. Nearly all sailing masts are guyed.

Once regular trade started to use the new navigation, problems with low water were noticed. The tide on the River Hull 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.

River Hull river in the East Riding of Yorkshire in England

The River Hull is a navigable river in the East Riding of Yorkshire in Northern 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 navigation. The upper reaches became part of the Driffield Navigation from 1770, after which they were again subject to tolls, and the section within the city of Hull came under the jurisdiction of the Port of Hull, with the same result.

Lower chamber of the staircase SnakeholmeLock lower.jpg
Lower chamber of the staircase

To remedy this situation, a new chamber was built below the lock creating a staircase lock. Since the lock was only needed to get the boats over the lower cill, the bottom lock only had a minimum rise, and would not even be needed on good spring tides, or during high river flows. A sluice was built into the side of the chamber to allow emptying, filling being performed from the lock above.

Sluice A water channel controlled at its head by a gate

A sluice is a water channel controlled at its head by a gate. A mill race, leet, flume, penstock or lade is a sluice channelling water toward a water mill. The terms sluice, sluice gate, knife gate, and slide gate are used interchangeably in the water and wastewater control industry.

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 18 April 2003, the lock was reopened to traffic by the Mayor of 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

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Wansford Lock

Wansford Lock was built as part of the Driffield Navigation in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was opened in 1770, and restored in 2009. It was designated Grade II in 1985.

Whinhill Lock

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References

  1. Historic England. "Snakeholme Locks, Driffield Canal (1261822)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 4 October 2017.

Coordinates: 53°59′3″N0°22′21″W / 53.98417°N 0.37250°W / 53.98417; -0.37250