Lock 13 On The Ashton Canal – Clayton, UK - Waterway Locks, Planes and Lifts on Waymarking.com

The Ashton Canal
The Ashton Canal runs between Manchester and Ashton under Lyne, UK. It ascends for 6.7 miles and has 18 locks. It was originally built in 1796 to transport coal to the large industrial city of Manchester. As time went on a number of other short canals were built as branches to feed other goods from surrounding towns into the network. In 1800 the canal was extended slightly within Manchester to join the Rochdale Canal which greatly extended the network of the canals connected to Manchester. At its peak it was a successful canal, but competition from railways and then roads caused its closure in 1958.

During the 1960s and 1970s canals started to become popular with leisure boaters. After a long campaign this canal was restored and reopened in 1974. Most of the other small canal links however remain closed, but with junctions at each end it still forms part of a large network of canals

This canal is a so-called narrow canal and the locks can take boats that have maximum dimensions of 72 feet long and 7 feet wide.

Lock 13
This lock is the thirteenth one on the canal as it starts its ascent out of Manchester. It is also known as the Clayton Lock 13 and is one of nine locks in Clayton. In 1994 this lock became an English Heritage Grade II listed building.

As is usual with narrow canals the top gate is a single gate whilst the bottom end has a double set of gates. This is unlike locks on broad canals where the gates at both ends of the locks are double ones. At the time I took the photographs the double bottom gates had been left open. There is also a small metal foot bridge next to the double gates to allow boaters to access both sides of the canal to operate the gates.

There is a plaque on the top gate indicating it was replaced in 1994 with gate made at Northwich.

This lock cuts Crabtree Lane in half. At one time a swing bridge on top of the lock used to form a connection between the two halves of the road, but this no longer exists and has been dismantled. Bridges are often built next to locks because the canal is at its narrowest point, however it is unusual to have the bridge across the chamber itself.

There is also the remains of a gantry over the lock chamber, the purpose of which is unclear.

Waterway Name: The Ashton Canal Connected Points: The canal connects with the Rochdale Canal at Manchester and the Hudderfield Narrow Canal at Ashton-Under-Lyne. There is also a junction with the Peak Forest Canal at Portland Basin in Ashton-Under-Lyne. Type: Lock Date Opened: 01/01/1769 Elevation Difference (meters): 3.00 Site Status: Operational Web Site: [Web Link] Date Closed (if applicable): Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   05/13/2015 ntpayne visited it