Lock 3 On The Ashton Canal – Manchester, UK - Waterway Locks, Planes and Lifts on Waymarking.com

Long Description:

The Ashton Canal
The Ashton Canal runs between Manchester and Ashton under Lyne, UK. It ascends for 6.7 miles and has 18 locks. It was originally built in 1796 to transport coal to the large industrial city of Manchester. As time went on a number of other short canals were built as branches to feed other goods from surrounding towns into the network. In 1800 the canal was extended slightly within Manchester to join the Rochdale Canal which greatly extended the network of the canals connected to Manchester. At its peak it was a successful canal, but competition from railways and then roads caused its closure in 1958.

During the 1960s and 1970s canals started to become popular with leisure boaters. After a long campaign this canal was restored and reopened in 1974. Most of the other small canal links however remain closed, but with junctions at each end it still forms part of a large network of canals.

This canal is a so-called narrow canal and the locks can take boats that have maximum dimensions of 72 feet long and 7 feet wide.

Lock 3
This lock is the third one on the canal as it starts its ascent out of Manchester and is also known as Ancoats Top Lock No 3. In 1994 this lock became an English Heritage Grade II listed building.

As is usual with narrow canals the top gate is a single gate whilst the bottom end has a double set of gates. This is unlike locks on broad canals where the gates at both ends of the locks are double ones.

There is a plaque on the top gates indicating they were replaced in 1999 with gates made in Northwich and the bottom gates in 2004 at Bradley Workshop. The 1999 plaque has been repainted and in better condition than the later 2004 one. The Bradley workshop is located at Bradley Lane, Bilston, West Midlands, WV14 8DW and it is possible to visit this workshop and see how lock gates are made.

Many mills and warehouses were built next to the canal near here but as time went on after the canal closed so did many of the mills. This part of the canal was known as Milliners Wharf because there were a number of factories that made hats. There have been a number of redevelopment schemes around this area and on either side of the canal colourful apartment blocks with the old name of Milliners Wharf have been built. As part of this development a new short arm of the canal has been cut to give the new apartments a waterside feel.

Waterway Name: The Ashton Canal Connected Points: The canal connects with the Rochdale Canal at Manchester and the Hudderfield Narrow Canal at Ashton-Under-Lyne. There is also a junction with the Peak Forest Canal at Portland Basin in Ashton-Under-Lyne. Type: Lock Date Opened: 1/1/1796 Elevation Difference (meters): 3.00 Site Status: Operational Web Site: [Web Link] Date Closed (if applicable): Not listed

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