2012

SP1870 : Lock No 22 at Kingswood Junction, Warwickshire

taken 12 years ago, near to Kingswood, Warwickshire, England

Lock No 22 at Kingswood Junction, Warwickshire
Lock No 22 at Kingswood Junction, Warwickshire
This is the sixth lock up in the Lapworth flight of 26. This leads into the large basin at the junction with the link to the Grand Union Canal.
The Lapworth Flight of Locks

There are twenty-six locks in the Lapworth flight on the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal. Together they change the water level by 158ft 6in (about 52 metres) over about two and a half miles... and there are more locks at regular intervals south of those! However, navigating from top to bottom of the flight will only involve passing through twenty-five locks, because Nos 20 and 21 are paired, the former being on the bypass towards the quarter mile link to the Grand Union Canal.

The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal

The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal links the Worcester and Birmingham Canal at King's Norton Junction with the River Avon at Stratford. The canal is 25·5 miles long, and has 56 locks*, the last onto the river being a broad lock. The canal was built in several stages (including changes of route) from 1793 on, finally opening fully to the River Avon in 1815. Multiple changes of ownership followed leading to the Great Western Railway taking control by 1863.

By the 1950s the section north of Lapworth was rarely being used, and the southern section from Lapworth was badly silted with some unusable locks. It is believed that the last boat reached Stratford in the early 1930s, though a pleasure cruiser reached Wilmcote at Easter in 1947.

Threat of total closure of the southern section in the mid 1950s caused protests, leading to an enquiry in 1958, and a big public campaign to save the canal, so the abandonment plans were reversed in 1959.

The National Trust took on the task of restoring the southern section of the canal in 1960, leading to its re-opening by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother on 11 July 1964. Control was passed to the British Waterways Board in 1988, then to the Canal and River Trust in 2012.

*One stop-lock at King's Norton is unused and open, another at Kingswood Junction is duplicated.

(Details reduced from Nicholson's Waterways Guide No 2)


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Roger D Kidd and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Canals other tags: Lock Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
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SP1870, 239 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
Roger D Kidd   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Monday, 27 August, 2012   (more nearby)
Submitted
Friday, 1 November, 2013
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SP 1863 7077 [10m precision]
WGS84: 52:20.0822N 1:43.6808W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! SP 1864 7075
View Direction
North-northwest (about 337 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Geograph
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