Old Lock 21E On The Huddersfield Narrow Canal – Slaithwaite, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 37.438 W 001° 52.425
30U E 574487 N 5942275
This lock was the 21st from Huddersfield on the east side of the Standedge Tunnel at the summit. When the canal closed for commercial use in 1944 the canal was blocked from here to lock 23E on the other side of Slaithwaite.
Waymark Code: WMG08X
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 12/27/2012
Views: 4
Old Lock 21E
Being a narrow canal the locks on this canal are also narrow, and this reduces the size of the lock gates compared to a broad canal.
This part of the canal was restored for leisure boat use in the year 2000. As part of the restoration the canal had to be completely dug out. To the west of here Platt Lane hump back bridge had been flattened for modern trucks. In order to allow boats to pass under this level this lock had to be moved to the west of the bridge. A new concrete channel was then constructed to connect the new lock to this old one. Because the water level was now lower than before the walls on this old lock had the top layers of stone removed and the tow path lowered.
There are still slots in the lock walls where the bottom gates used to be situated. The website link shows the renovation work carried out on the lock.
The Huddersfield Narrow Canal
This canal is one of three that crosses the Pennine Hills and built to provide transport between Huddersfield in Yorkshire and Ashton-Under-Lyne in Lancashire.
As the name suggest it is a narrow canal that although was cheaper to build had less carrying capacity compared to the other two broad canals.
Work started on it in 1794 and partly due to the need to construct the longest canal tunnel in the United Kingdom it was completed 17 years later in 1811.
The canal is only 20 miles long and due to the nature of the terrain has 74 locks even though the summit tunnel reduced the required number of locks. The canal climbs 436 feet from Huddersfield and descends 334 feet to Ashton-Under-Lyne.
In theory having a summit tunnel to reduce the number of locks means that the journey times should be relatively short. However the tunnel does not have a tow path and when it was first opened it was necessary to lead the horses over the moor to the other end of the tunnel. Meanwhile it was necessary to leg the boat through the tunnel. This involved specialist workers who lay on their backs and used their legs with their feet against the tunnel wall to leg the boat through.
Competition from the railways led to the closure of the canal in 1944.
During the 1970s leisure boating in the U.K. had become popular and there were various campaigns to re-open canals that had lain derelict for a number of years.
Work on restoring this canal started in 1981 and the whole canal was finally reopened by 2001. These days the canal is only open to leisure boaters and with the re-opening of other connecting canals it is possible to travel far and wide.
However boats are restricted to maximum width of 6 feet 10 inches and a draught of 3 feet 3 inches which does restrict some boats that are used on the broad canals.
Waterway Name: The Huddersfield Narrow Canal
Connected Points:
Links the Huddersfield Broad Canal at Huddersfield in Yorkshire to the Ashton Canal at Ashton-Under-Lyne in Lancashire.
Type: Lock
Date Opened: 01/01/1811
Elevation Difference (meters): .00
Site Status: Remnants
Web Site: [Web Link]
Date Closed (if applicable): Not listed
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