Bath Locks () are a series of locks, now six locks, situated at the start of the

Kennet and Avon Canal The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of , made up of two lengths of Navigability, navigable river linked by a canal. The name is used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than sol ...

, at

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Bath Bottom Lock, which is numbered as No 7 on the canal, is the meeting with the River Avon just south of

Pulteney Bridge Pulteney Bridge is a bridge over the River Avon (Bristol), River Avon in Bath, Somerset, Bath, England. It was completed by 1774, and connected the city with the land of the Pulteney family which the family wished to develop. Designed by Rober ...

. Alongside the lock is a side pond and pumping station which pumps water up the locks to replace that used each time the lock is opened. The next stage of Bath Deep Lock is numbered 8/9 as two locks were combined when the canal was restored in 1976. A road constructed while the canal was in a state of disrepair passes over the original site of the lower lock. The new chamber has a depth of , making it Britain's second deepest canal lock. Just above the 'deep lock' is an area of water enabling the lock to refill and above this is Wash House Lock (number 10), and soon after by Abbey View Lock (number 11), a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

by which there is another pumping station and in quick succession Pulteney Lock (12) and Bath top Lock (13). Clevelandhouse

Above the top lock the canal passes through Sydney Gardens where it passes through two tunnels and under two cast iron footbridges dating from 1800. Cleveland tunnel is long and runs under Cleveland House, the former headquarters of the Kennet and Avon Canal Company. The tunnel is a Grade II* listed building. Many of the bridges over the canal are also listed buildings. The locks were restored in 1968 by a collaboration involving staff from British Waterways and volunteer labour organised by the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust.

References

See also