Rochdale Canal Lock 3/4 – Sowerby Bridge, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 42.584 W 001° 54.515
30U E 572037 N 5951781
The Rochdale canal is 32 miles long and connects Manchester on the west side of the Pennine Hills and Sowerby Bridge on the east side.
Waymark Code: WMEHZN
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 06/02/2012
Views: 2
The Canal History
The Rochdale Canal was completed in 1804 and is one of three canals that cross the Pennine hills. This is the only one that doesn’t use tunnels. In addition it was a broad canal with bridges and locks that allowed boats of 14 feet width to pass through.
The one downside of not using tunnels is that it originally had 92 locks. These days two of them have been combined into this one deep lock.
Competition from railways and roads subsequently led to a decline in goods being carried and by 1937 the only section left in operation was at the Manchester end of the canal.
In 1965 there was talk of abandoning the canal but by this time leisure boating had become very popular in the UK and there was a campaign to keep it open. Work was started and the canal slowly re-opened in a number of different stages.
All the locks on the canal have a standard length of 72 feet (22 metres).
The building of the new lock 3/4
After the canal had closed part of the canal at Sowerby Bridge was filled in as part of a road widening scheme.
The blockage only cut off a short section of the Rochdale Canal itself, but it also prevented access to the Calder and Hebble canal which had a junction at the end of the Rochdale Canal.
At one point there was talk of having a lock that was only 57.5 feet (17.5 metres) long, but this would obviously mean that 70 foot boats would only be able use the whole length of the canal.
The solution to the problem was to build this new 6 metre deep lock to replace the old shallower locks 3 and 4. In addition a new 104 metre tunnel stretches from one end of this lock underneath Tuel Lane and the A58.
Because there can be a lot of turbulence in a deep lock it is controlled by a lock keeper and boat users are not allowed to operate it themselves.
Anyone coming from the start of the canal at the wharves in Sowerby Bridge has to wait at the far end of the tunnel for permission to enter the tunnel from the lock keeper.
This is not only to prevent boats meeting in the tunnel, but again water emptying from the lock can cause turbulence in the tunnel.
The new lock was built in 1996 and according to Wikipedia is the deepest lock in the U.K.
Waterway Name: The Rochdale Canal
Connected Points:
The city of Manchester on the west side of the Pennine hills and the town of Sowerby Bridge on the east side.
Type: Lock
Date Opened: 01/01/1804
Elevation Difference (meters): 6.00
Site Status: Operational
Web Site: [Web Link]
Date Closed (if applicable): Not listed
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