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Snakeholme Lock is a brick chamber
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
Driffield Navigation Website
* {{Coord, 53, 59, 3, N, 0, 22, 21, W, scale:2000, display=title Canals in the East Riding of Yorkshire Buildings and structures in the East Riding of Yorkshire Staircase locks of England Locks on the Driffield Navigation Grade II listed buildings in the East Riding of Yorkshire Grade II listed canals
Snakeholme Lock is a brick chamber canal lock
A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water ...
on the Driffield Navigation, in the East Riding of Yorkshire
The East Riding of Yorkshire, or simply East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, South Yorkshire t ...
, England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. It is notable in being a staircase lock, but only the upper lock is still used. It was designated Grade II
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern I ...
in 1986.
Location
It is 0.5 mile (0.8 km) south-east from the village of Wansford, and is approximately 17 miles (27 km) north ofKingston upon Hull
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, inland from the North Sea and south- ...
city centre.
Situated on the Driffield Navigation
*Next location upstream = Wansford Bridge *Next location downstream = BrighamHistory
Built during the construction of the Driffield Navigation after theAct of Parliament
Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliame ...
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
A swing bridge (or swing span 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 swing span (turning span) can then pi ...
reached over the bottom of the lock to allow the Yorkshire Keel
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
s to get through without lowering the mast
Mast, MAST or MASt may refer to:
Engineering
* Mast (sailing), a vertical spar on a sailing ship
* Flagmast, a pole for flying a flag
* Guyed mast, a structure supported by guy-wires
* Mooring mast, a structure for docking an airship
* Radio mas ...
.
Once regular trade started to use the new navigation, problems with low water were noticed. The tide on the River Hull
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 o ...
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.
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
Sluice ( ) is a word for a channel controlled at its head by a movable gate which is called a sluice gate. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway and can be considered ...
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 18 April 2003, the lock was reopened to traffic by the Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...
of 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. By road, it is north-east of Leeds ...
. 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 Kingdom
The canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a varied history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's ...
*History of the British canal system
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
References
External links
Driffield Navigation Website
* {{Coord, 53, 59, 3, N, 0, 22, 21, W, scale:2000, display=title Canals in the East Riding of Yorkshire Buildings and structures in the East Riding of Yorkshire Staircase locks of England Locks on the Driffield Navigation Grade II listed buildings in the East Riding of Yorkshire Grade II listed canals