Oxclose Lock On The Ripon Canal - Littlethorpe, UK
Posted by: dtrebilc
N 54° 06.400 W 001° 29.583
30U E 598523 N 5996439
The Ripon Canal was opened in 1773 to connect Ripon with the River Ure and provide a transport link to York and Hull.
Waymark Code: WM136YJ
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 09/30/2020
Views: 1
The Ripon Canal is located in North Yorkshire, England. It was built by the canal engineer William Jessop to link the city of Ripon with the navigable section of the River Ure at Oxclose Lock, from where boats could reach York and Hull. It opened in 1773 and was a moderate success. It was sold to the Leeds and Thirsk Railway in 1847 and was effectively closed by 1906 owing to neglect. It was not nationalised with most canals and railways in 1948 and was abandoned in 1956.
In 1961 members of the Ripon Motor Boat Club formed the Ripon Canal Company Ltd and gradually restored the canal up to Littlethorpe. Subsequently the Ripon Canal Society spearheaded restoration, which was completed in 1996. It is now managed by the Canal & River Trust.
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The Lock
Oxclose Lock is the third and final lock on the canal from the canal basin at Ripon. The lock is slightly to the north of a junction with the River Ure and has double gates at each end of the chamber.
Boats entering the lock from the direction of the river receive a dire warning about the danger of death from boats with masts greater than 7.6 metres as they would snag on overhead electricity cables.
Traditional canal boats are not affected by this but because river craft can also enter the canal and may have large masts it is something they need to be aware of.
Interestingly there is no warning about two low bridges on the canal that are much more of a hazard to boats with even shorter masts.