Lock 4 On The Stanley Dock Link Canal - Liverpool, UK - Waterway Locks, Planes and Lifts on Waymarking.com

The Canal History
The Leeds Liverpool Canal which at 127 miles long is the longest canal in Northern England. It was built between Leeds and Liverpool to carry bulk cargoes such as coal, stone and limestone between 1770 and 1816.

In 1848 the docks of Liverpool were extended and Albert Dock was built with warehouses next to the wharves to allow easy transshipment between boats and warehouses.

The Stanley Dock Branch of the Leeds Liverpool Canal was built at the same time to give the canal boats access to this facility. This enabled cargoes to be quickly transferred between the canal boats and ocean going vessels. However with the introduction of larger steam driven ships, the use of Albert Dock declined and the Stanley Dock Branch fell into disuse and part of the dock area infilled.

These days commercial traffic on the canal has stopped, but it is popular with leisure boaters.

Albert Dock itself has been redeveloped and has a variety of shops, apartments and restaurants and is a popular tourist destination.

As part of the redevelopment it was decided to re-open a canal link from the Leeds Liverpool Canal to the docks area.

As well as re-opening the original Stanley Lock Branch of the canal, a new part of the canal was constructed to provide a connection with Albert Dock.

The Lock
This lock is the bottom lock of the four at the furthest point from the main line of the Leeds Liverpool Canal. It was designed by Jesse Hartley, the designer of Stanley Dock and Albert Dock.

Just beyond this lock is a road bridge that marks the entrance to Stanley Dock.

Because the docks are so close to the River Mersey they are tidal, and so the water level at the bottom of this lock varies with the tides.

The tow path along this link canal is accessible on foot, just as is the whole of the mail line of the Leeds Liverpool Canal. However much of the dock area near here has not yet been fully redeveloped and is only accessible to canal boats for large stretches from this point.

Access to the rest of the canal in the dock areas on foot is mainly available from the famous Pier Head area of Liverpool and the area around Albert Dock.

Waterway Name: Stanley Dock Link Canal Connected Points: Stanley Dock in Liverpool and the main line of the Leeds Liverpool Canal in Liverpool Type: Lock Date Opened: 01/01/1848 Elevation Difference (meters): 3.00 Site Status: Operational Web Site: [Web Link] Date Closed (if applicable): Not listed

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