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Struncheon Hill Lock was built as a later addition to the Driffield Navigation in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It improved access to the next section of water during low tide conditions where the navigation meets the tidal
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 of ...
. It is sometimes known as "Top Hill Low", which is the name of the large pumping station located there.


Location

Near the small hamlet of
Hempholme Hempholme is a hamlet in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, in an area known as Holderness. It is situated approximately north-east of Beverley town centre, and east of the Driffield Navigation. History In 1823 Hempholme was in the civi ...
, the lock is about south of
Bethells Bridge Bethells Bridge, a swing bridge on the Driffield Navigation in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The bridge was built to access land cut off after a new section of canal was made. It is now home to many boat moorings, and popular with fishe ...
. Access can be made by a footpath from
Hempholme Hempholme is a hamlet in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, in an area known as Holderness. It is situated approximately north-east of Beverley town centre, and east of the Driffield Navigation. History In 1823 Hempholme was in the civi ...
, or via the waterworks at Top Hill Low which is also a nature reserve. ;Situated on the Driffield Navigation *Next Place Upstream:
Bethells Bridge Bethells Bridge, a swing bridge on the Driffield Navigation in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The bridge was built to access land cut off after a new section of canal was made. It is now home to many boat moorings, and popular with fishe ...
*Next Place Downstream:
Wilfholme Landing Wilfholme Landing is located on the Driffield Navigation in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The navigation is still tidal at this point, and is often considered to still be the River Hull,Ordnance Survey, 1:50,000 and 1:25,000 map althoug ...


History

During the navigation improvements of 1803–1811, a new lock cut was made to bypass a large meandering loop of the River Hull around Struncheon Hill. William Chapman, who looked after the works, built the lock to the standard dimensions of the rest of the navigation – to take vessels long, by wide. This is a standard known for
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, however on further investigation it seems the lock was built to longer dimensions and in 2009 Michael Askin took a
Royalty Class Narrow Boat Royalty may refer to: * Any individual monarch, such as a king, Queen regnant, queen, emperor, empress, etc. * Royal family, the immediate family of a king or queen regnant, and sometimes his or her extended family * Royalty payment for use of suc ...
Victoria of in length through the lock – though the boat would only fit pointing upstream due to low water levels not allowing enough depth over the top cill. The lock was originally built as a single lock, but like Snakeholme lock, it was found that at low tides there was not enough depth to get over the bottom cill, so a second chamber was added. To empty the chamber a large hole through one lock wall, and a wooden sluice was used. The lower lock was filled by emptying the upper lock. Originally made with oak gates, with handspike paddlegear, the top gates were replaced with unusual steel gates by Yorkshire Water, who looked after the navigation for drainage, and water supply. The gates instead of having balance beams to open them, had a complicated rack system which pulled them open with a
windlass The windlass is an apparatus for moving heavy weights. Typically, a windlass consists of a horizontal cylinder (barrel), which is rotated by the turn of a crank or belt. A winch is affixed to one or both ends, and a cable or rope is wound arou ...
. The paddles were designed like weir sluices, and take many turns to open them. A weir was built at the lock to control the river level. Around the same time the top gates were replaced the weir was replaced by an automatically controlled structure. There is a small building next to the weir which houses water level meter, and control systems for the weir. Originally it had a glass window, and it was possible to look in and see a paper roll on which the level was recorded. It has now been bricked up due to vandalism. The weir is a noted fishing area, with a resident population of perch, gudgeon and pike. The bottom gates were replaced in 1982 by the
Driffield Navigation Amenities Association Driffield, also known as Great Driffield, is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire (district), East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The civil parish is formed by the town of Driffield and the ...
with steel ones, but these had balance beams. As a concession to cost, screw style paddles were used. Just below the lock a steam powered pumping station was built to lift drain water to the river. The steam engine was replaced by diesels at some point, but the boilers were left in the structure. It was finally demolished in the later 1980s


See also

* Driffield Navigation *
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 lev ...


References

{{coord, 53, 56, 2, N, 0, 21, 25, W, type:landmark, display=title Buildings and structures in the East Riding of Yorkshire Transport in the East Riding of Yorkshire Locks on the Driffield Navigation