Lock 17 On The Ashton Canal – Fairfield, UK
Posted by: dtrebilc
N 53° 28.618 W 002° 09.212
30U E 556177 N 5925665
This is the seventeenth lock on the Ashton Canal as it ascends out of Manchester towards Ashton Under Lyne.
Waymark Code: WMH8E9
Location: North West England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 06/06/2013
Views: 2
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 17
This lock is the seventeenth one on the canal as it starts its ascent out of Manchester. It is also known as the Fairfield Lock 17.
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.
There is a small metal foot bridge next to the double gates to allow boaters to access both sides of the canal to operate the gates. At the time I took the pictures the bottom gates had been left open.
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: 01/01/1796
Elevation Difference (meters): 3.00
Site Status: Operational
Web Site: [Web Link]
Date Closed (if applicable): Not listed
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