Britford lock on the river Avon

[booke23]

I recently visited the old Britford lock on the river Avon near Salisbury. Below are some photos.

 

Considering it has been abandoned for nearly 300 years, the basic structure is in good condition. However 300 years of silt build up has taken it's toll on the navigation. the water is only about 18 inches deep and judging by the lack of air draft under the road bridge (which seems original except for plenty of replacement brickwork) the water level must have been quite a bit lower back in the day. 

 

 

View from the road bridge. A weir is now in place where the top gates would have been, and the bottom gates would probably have been and the end of the modern wall on the right.

 

 

 

 

 

View from the weir (old top  gate). 

 

 

 

 

 

Close up of the weir.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Close up view of brickwork on the bridge which shows evidence of remedial work. Lack of air draft is extremely evident! 

 

 

 

View of downstream side of bridge. Just visible in the foreground is what looks like original stonework.

 

 

 

 

I put together a short video here.

 

 

Edited May 13, 2021 by booke23

[Richard Carter]

OS 25 in. 1875 survey. No lower gates marked ...

 

[magpie patrick]

The lower gates, if there were any, would be above the watercourse coming in immediately upstream of the bridge. This is marked by the modern concrete and steel structure in the right  foreground of the first image. 

[booke23]

9 minutes ago, magpie patrick said:

The lower gates, if there were any, would be above the watercourse coming in immediately upstream of the bridge. This is marked by the modern concrete and steel structure in the right  foreground of the first image. 

 

Absolutely. I should have said "at the upstream end of the modern wall".

[Chris Lowe]

How much of this was actually built?

[Richard Carter]

I suppose the structure survived because it was a convenient support for the sluice at the upper end, and there was no pressing reason to remove the rest of the walls. The other locks on the river were presumably in the way of later flood control works.

 

Incidentally my last post in the previous thread (Hampshire Avon 1903) turns out not to be entirely correct - on the 1871 OS map there seems to be an unobstructed channel down to where the navigation cut rejoined the main river channel at Longford Castle. The sluice which would have prevented navigation first appears on a later survey, and later still a Boathouse is marked on the navigation channel at the castle end, which would have blocked the cut, unless it was open at both ends.

 

It reminds me a little of Leeming Lock on Bedale Beck in North Yorkshire, another odd survival a long way upstream in an unsuccessful early river navigation, which survived until at least WWII. It cannot have been of any meaningful use for navigation, but too much trouble to go to the effort of removing it.

[booke23]

4 minutes ago, buccaneer66 said:

How much of this was actually built?

 

The whole navigation from Salisbury to Christchurch. Work started in 1675, and completed in 1684. However it was abandoned in 1730.

 

More information here https://sotoncs.org.uk/avon/avon.htm 

[Chris Lowe]

Thanks I'll add this to Canalmaponline.

[booke23]

6 minutes ago, Richard Carter said:

I suppose the structure survived because it was a convenient support for the sluice at the upper end, and there was no pressing reason to remove the rest of the walls.

 

Yes I was wondering about this. No real need to remove the walls but at the same time the brickwork on the side of the lock looked good, so presumably it's been repointed a few times over the centuries at some expense. I guess that's the responsibility of the riparian which in this case I imagine is the Environment Agency. 

 

 

Here's a photo of the lock wall. Some modern rendering is evident.

 

[booke23]

12 minutes ago, buccaneer66 said:

Thanks I'll add this to Canalmaponline.

 

I haven't seen that. An excellent map. 

Unfortunately discerning the exact route of the Avon navigation between Salisbury and Christchurch might be impossible. The river has been extensively modified over the years with extensive channels and reroutes dug. 

[Richard Carter]

1 hour ago, booke23 said:

 

Yes I was wondering about this. No real need to remove the walls but at the same time the brickwork on the side of the lock looked good, so presumably it's been repointed a few times over the centuries at some expense. I guess that's the responsibility of the riparian which in this case I imagine is the Environment Agency. 

 

Here's a photo of the lock wall. Some modern rendering is evident.

My Dad, who started his working life as a Geography teacher, always said that lowland farmers have to look to the maintenance of their drainage ditches much more than upland ones ...

 

I now see that the Boat House on the cut at Longford Castle is clearly visible on Google Earth, the other sluice is hidden in trees, and is almost certainly in the private estate and not accessible.