Clarence Dock Bascule Bridge - Leeds
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 47.533 W 001° 32.044
30U E 596566 N 5961400
This bascule bridge is at the entrance to a mooring area for leisure canal boats near to the Royal Armouries Museum.
Waymark Code: WMC3FD
Location: Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 07/20/2011
Views: 5
To get to the moorings boats will have entered Clarence dock from the River Aire. If coming from the east, the boat will have travelled along the Aire & Calder Navigation. This was created in the early 1700s by installing locks on the River Aire and straightening the river banks. The Aire & Calder stretches from Leeds to Goole. Coming from the direction of Goole the boat will have just passed through lock number 1 and then taken a sharp left turn into Clarence Dock.
Anyone coming from the west will just have left the Leeds Liverpool Canal and joined the River Aire. As the name suggests the Leeds Liverpool canal connects Leeds with Liverpool on the west coast.
After passing through a lock to enter Clarence Dock this footbridge blocks the entrance to the small mooring area. Boat owners then have to operate the control mechanism and the bridge opens, being raised in 2 sections from each end.
Originally Clarence Dock was constructed as a commercial dock to transport goods from Liverpool to the west and Goole to the east. By the late 80’s most goods traffic had moved to road transport and the area had become derelict. However like a lot of other cities Leeds regenerated the area by building apartments, offices restaurants and shops. In the case of Leeds they also built the award winning Royal Armouries Museum.
For boat owners Clarence Dock has now become an attractive destination. As well as the museum there is relatively easy access to Leeds City Centre.
The details of the bridge below are taken from web site (
visit link)
The bridge consists of two cantilevering leaves extending from the quays and joining over the dock. The leaves are constructed from two fabricated steel beams supporting a stiffened steel plate deck. The lifting mechanism comprises a pivot point on the quay wall from which the required force to lift the structure is applied through a jacking device.