A brief stop at King's Norton today, by road, afforded ten minutes examining the now level lock. I've been through it a few times, but not really taken in the detail. It is mostly under a bridge, which itself seems to mark a change in road name from Lifford Lane to Broad Meadow Lane.
I noticed the guillotine gates lean backwards slightly, by design. The bridge masks the fact the lean in opposite directions. Both lean into the lock. I would imagine a guillotine gate might make a slightly more effective seal if leaning backwards a little, as if the head of water were pushing it over. Does this feature suggest they expected the head to be in either direction?
I also noticed what looked like ground paddle culvert entrances. One at the Birmingham end inside the lock on the towpath side, and two at the Stratford end, one inside the lock and one outside, but on opposite sides so clearly not two ends of the same culvert - and anyway, why would a ground paddle culvert show above the water?
Is much known about the construction of this lock?
A couple of pictures below