Tewitfield Locks and Lock Gates - Tewitfield, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 54° 10.026 W 002° 44.262
30U E 517124 N 6002144
There are two information plaques on a set of lock gates on the Lancaster Canal towpath.
Waymark Code: WMY7J4
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 05/05/2018
Views: 0
"The Lancaster Canal is a canal in the north of England, originally planned to run from Westhoughton in Lancashire to Kendal in south Cumbria (then in Westmorland). The section around the crossing of the River Ribble was never completed, and much of the southern end leased to the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, of which it is now generally considered part.
Of the canal north of Preston, only the section from Preston to Tewitfield near Carnforth in Lancashire is currently open to navigation for 42 miles (67.6 km.
The canal was finally connected to the rest of the English canal network in 2002 by the opening of the Ribble Link.
The remaining open part of the Lancaster Canal follows the same elevation contour on maps and is therefore free of locks."
link
The section of the Lancaster canal north of Tewitfield was closed to navigation in 1942 and then in 1968 the building of the M6 severed the canal effectively blocking it, although there are plans to try to carry out work to allow the canal to reopen all the way from Tewitfield to Kendal.
The information on the lock gates is as follows.
TEWITFIELD LOCKS
8 LOCKS AT TEWITFIELD RAISED THE
LANCASTER CANAL 75 FEET IN HALF A MILE.
THESE WERE THE ONLY ONES ON THE 57
MILES OF CANAL BETWEEN PRESTON AND
KENDAL.
IN USE 1819-1942
LOCK GATES
THESE GATES WOULD HAVE STOOD AT THE
TOP OF THE LOCK, WITH ANOTHER PAIR AT
THE BOTTOM. THE LONG 'BALANCE BEAMS'
WERE ATTACHED TO EACH GATE AND WERE
USED TO OPEN AND CLOSE THEM