Long Description: The Calder and Hebble Navigation
The Calder and Hebble Navigation completed in 1770 consisted of artificial improvements to the River Calder and River Hebble to allow canal boats use what used to be un-navigable rivers.
It ran for 21 miles from the Aire and Calder Navigation at Wakefield to Sowerby Bridge, was one of the first navigable waterways into the Pennines. It was an extension westwards of the Aire and Calder Navigation.
Work began in 1758 to make the River Calder navigable above Wakefield. The navigation to Sowerby Bridge was completed in 1770, including a short branch to Dewsbury.
In 1828 a branch to Halifax was opened, rising 110 feet to a terminus at Bailey Hall, behind Halifax Railway Station. There were 14 locks on the branch which closely followed the route of the River Hebble. Most of the branch was abandoned in 1942 apart from the short section from Salterhebble to Exley.
About half of the navigation is along the course of the River Calder, with short man-made cuts with locks to by-pass weirs. There are two lengthy man-made sections, from Calder Grove to Ravensthorpe and from Brighouse to Sowerby Bridge.
Most commercial traffic on the Calder and Hebble had ceased by 1955, although coal was still carried to Thornhill power station until 1981. However, the whole of the Calder and Hebble remained open for leisure use. The re-opening of the Rochdale Canal between Sowerby Bridge and Littleborough summit in 1996 and Manchester in 2002 has increased the traffic along the Calder and Hebble and it now forms part of the South Pennine Ring.
Fall Ing Lock
This lock is at the downstream end of one of the short artificial navigation cuts that bypass the main course of the river Calder.
Because this lock is at the junction with River Calder great care has to be taken when the river water level is high or in flood. Unlike a flood lock at the upstream end of a navigation this lock is a true lock, but may be closed for operation during flood conditions.
At the junction with the river a coloured indicator board acts as a visual guide as to whether it is safe to use the lock gates. Green indicates it is safe to use, orange means take care and red indicates it is too dangerous to use the lock.
When the canal was first built and used commercially boats were more likely to use the lock in times of high river water. These days the lock gates are usually locked shut when the water level rises to prevent accidents.
The lock, basin and some small whareves combined are a grade II English Heritage Listed Building.
link.
Each end of the lock has a double pair of gates. On this canal all the lock gates have paddles built into them to let water in or out of the lock and in some cases there are also paddles on the canal side.
Each set of gates has wooden platforms to stand on when operating the gate paddles. In the case of the top gates the platforms stretch the full length of the gate to give access to both sides of the canal.
All the locks on this canal have a beam of 14 feet and are wide enough to take 2 narrow boats side by side. Most of them are only 57 and ½ feet long but a few a the eastern end were double length. This allowed either longer boats from the Aire and Calder access to the start of the canal or the normal size boats to use the lock.
These few locks had an extra pair of lock gates in the middle which were used with smaller boats to save water. In this case the middle gates have been removed and bricked up.