Castle Mills Lock - River Foss, York, UK
N 53° 57.243 W 001° 04.674
30U E 626124 N 5980120
Castle Mills Lock, on the River Foss, is 34 metres long and 6 metres wide. It is orientated in a roughly north/south direction and is the last lock before the Foss joins the River Ouse. The Foss barrier is a short distance south of the lock.
Waymark Code: WMK343
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 02/06/2014
Views: 7
The City of York Council website tells us:
Castle Mills Lock is 34 metres long and 6 metres wide. There are no mooring points in the Foss Basin other than for vessels negotiating the lock. There are very limited opportunities for turning beyond Rowntree Wharf.
To access the upper river vessels have to pass through the lock and this can be arranged through either City of York Council's Flood Risk Management Team for which there is a charge, or alternatively, Castle Mills Lock can be operated by local members of the Inland Waterways Association (IWA). Please contact them on 07588 236597 (24 hour answer service) or by emailing amartin_assoc@yahoo.co.uk at least 4 days before wishing to enter the River Foss. There is no charge for this service. Please make sure you have valid insurance documents with you.
The lock is Grade II listed with the entry at the English Heritage website telling us:
Canal lock chamber. Rebuilt in 1889. Gritstone with some concrete repair. Near the centre of the chamber there are recesses in each side wall, with grooves for stop planks. The double timber gates are a C20 renewal, but C19 cast-iron winding and paddle gear remains.
HISTORICAL NOTE: the Foss Navigation Act was passed in 1793, and the canal was opened as far as Strensall in c1796. In 1859 York Corporation gained an Act to abandon the Foss Navigation except for just over one mile in York. In 1889 the Corporation rebuilt Castle Mills lock for Henry Leetham and Sons, flour millers, to take steam keels 97' x 18'6" carrying 230 tons.