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User:MIDI/Drafts/Deepcut Locks

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Deepcut Locks
A canal lock in the foreground; the canal continues into the distance where a bridge and another lock can be seen. The towpath runs along the left side of the image, and the canal is lined by trees.
Lock 16, the second lock of the flight
Map
51°18′06″N 0°40′27″W / 51.3017°N 0.6742°W / 51.3017; -0.6742
WaterwayBasingstoke Canal
CountryUnited Kingdom
CountySurrey
Maintained byBasingstoke Canal Authority
OperationManual
Fall95 feet (29 m)
Distance to
Woodham Junction		21.2 miles (34.1 km)
Distance to
Greywell Tunnel		21.5 miles (34.6 km)

The Deepcut Locks (also known as the Frimley Locks[1]) is a lock flight on the Basingstoke Canal near Pirbright in Surrey. The flight consists of 14 pound locks, and has a rise of approximately 95 feet (29 m). The "Deepcut" is a 1,000-yard (910 m) cut upstream of the lock flight.

History edit

Construction edit

Deepcut Locks map
Legend
 
 Woking
 
 
 Pirbright Bridge (18)
 
15
 Lock
 
 Bisley Camp Railway Bridge (removed)
 
16
 Lock
 
 Cowshot Bridge (19)
 
17
 Cowshot Manor Lock
 
18
 Lock
 
19
 Lock
 
20
 Lock Twenty
 
21
 Lock
 
22
 Guards' Lock
 
23
 Lock
 
24
 Washerwoman's Lock
 
25
 Curzon Bridge Lock
 
 Curzon Bridge (20)
 
26
 Lock
 
27
 Lock
 
28
 Frimley Lock
 
 
 Frimley Dry Dock
 
  B3015  Deepcut Bridge (21)
 
 Deep Cut
 
 
 Farnborough

The canal was originally surveyed by Joseph Parker in c. 1788, and  William Jessop was subsequently appointed as engineer.[2] The route of the canal necessitated a long and deep cutting above the proposed lock flight; this "deep cut"—1,000 yards (910 m) long and up to 70 feet (21 m) deep—gave rise to the name of the local area and in turn the name of the lock flight.[3][4] After construction began some time after October 1788, with John Pinkerton as contractor, concerns arose around the canal's survey as well the management skills of Jessop's resident engineer, William Wright. Jessop requested John Rennie evaluate the original survey, and he found serious errors. Wright was replaced by Henry Eastburn in April 1790.[5] In his Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers, Skempton suggests that Jessop left the entirety of the works for Eastburn to oversee.[5]

In spring 1792, Eastburn reported to the canal's proprietors that "32 miles of canal are finished or almost so; and that the parts under immediate execution are in a forward state, and that half a mile only remains to be begun". At this point, Lock 24 was half-built.[6] By August 1792, the Deep Cut had been constructed, and most—if not all—of the 14 pound locks in the 95-foot (29 m) flight were complete.[5][7]

Two lock cottages served the flight. At the bottom of the flights is Howfield Cottage, where lockkeeper Edward Webb resided at the turn of the 20th century.[8] A second lock cottage (with dry dock) was built at the top of the flight, adjacent to lock 28.[9]

Operation edit

A number of the locks in the flight were named after their location:

  • Lock 17 became known as Cowshot Manor Lock after the nearby 16th-century Cowshot Manor house[10][11]
  • Lock 22 became known as Guards' Lock after the Brigade of Guards encamped at Pirbright; a wharf near the lock served the camp[12]
  • Lock 24 became known as Washerwoman's Lock after the residents of the adjacent cottages who took in laundry for the officers at Pirbright Camp[13]
  • Lock 25 became known as Curzon Bridge Lock[14]

The Basingstoke Canal is known for its water supply problems.[15] The Deepcut Locks lift the canal almost to its summit pound, and water that collects in the Ascot to Guildford railway cutting is pumped into the canal via a pipe running along the south side of Frimley Park.[16] A similar scheme has been investigated that would see water pumped from the South Western main line which runs nearer and parallel to the cutting and lock flight.[15]

Decline and restoration edit

 
Restoration of the flight in 1979

In 1925, the lock cottage at Frimley Lock was demolished and rebuilt; the adjacent dry dock was infilled during the 1930s.[3]

In the 1970s and 1980s, the canal was restored from dereliction.[3] A volunteer programme known as the "Deepcut Dig" took place in October 1977. The event had over 600 people performing clearance, repair and maintenance work on the flight.[3] During the canal's restoration, two aits were created in the upper flight's flashes through dredging. These were named Fred's Ait[17] and Roy's Ait, after a contractor (Fred Hill)[18] and canal warden (Roy Fowles)[19] respectively.

In the 1980s, the dry dock was renovated and reopened.[3]

Like much of the canal, the flight has always suffered from severe water supply problems and consequently only opens to boat traffic three days per week.[3]

References edit

  1. ^ Fane De Salis, Rodolph (1969). Bradshaw's canals and navigable rivers of England and Wales: A reprint of a handbook of inland navigation for manufacturers, merchants, traders, and others. A. M. Kelley. p. 449.
  2. ^ J. R. Ward (1974). The finance of canal building in eighteenth-century England. Oxford University Press. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-19-821853-1.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Lock 15 - Deepcut Bottom Lock". www.hants.gov.uk. Hampshire County Council.
  4. ^ Le Vay, Benedict (2009). Britain from the rails : a window gazer's guide. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 223. ISBN 9781841622774.
  5. ^ a b c Skempton, A W (2002). A biographical dictionary of civil engineers in Great Britain and Ireland (1 ed.). Thomas Telford. p. 203. ISBN 9780727729392.
  6. ^ Gerry, David (1993). "200 Years Ago". Basingstoke Canal News (161). Surrey and Hampshire Canal Society: 9. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  7. ^ Falconer, Keith (1980). Guide to England's industrial heritage. Holmes & Meier. p. 206.
  8. ^ "Frederick Webb" (PDF). bmhalls.org.uk. Brookwood Memorial Halls. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  9. ^ "OS 25 inch". maps.nls.uk. National Library of Scotland. 1898. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  10. ^ "Lock 17 - Cowshott Manor Lock". www.hants.gov.uk. Hampshire County Council.
  11. ^ "COWSHOT MANOR, Pirbright - 1377713 | Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Historic England. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  12. ^ "Lock 22 - Guards' Lock". www.hants.gov.uk/. Hampshire County Council. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  13. ^ "Lock 24 - Washerwoman's Lock". www.hants.gov.uk/. Hampshire County Council. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  14. ^ "Gongoozlers' Gossip". Basingstoke Canal News (70). Surrey and Hampshire Canal Society. 1976. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  15. ^ a b "Basingstoke Canal - Water Supplies". www.basingstoke-canal.org.uk. Basingstoke Canal Society. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  16. ^ "Basingstoke Canal - Frimley backpumping scheme". www.basingstoke-canal.org.uk. Basingstoke Canal Society. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  17. ^ "Lookback" (PDF). Basingstoke Canal News (214): 15. 2007. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  18. ^ Cansdale, Roger; Jebens, Dieter (1984). [basingstoke-canal.org.uk/archive/booklets/bkltarc13.htm A Guide to the Basingstoke Canal]. Retrieved 8 November 2019. {{cite book}}: Check |url= value (help)
  19. ^ "Roy Fowles". Newsletter (90). Surrey and Hampshire Canal Society. April 1980. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  • bmhalls.org.uk/inmem/webb.pdf
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