Lock Structure

[Heartland]

This c1900 post card shows a lock on the River Nene, near Peterborough, the wooden structure around the guillotine gate may be part of the construction process- any thoughts?

 

 

[magpie patrick]

That's only the second picture I've seen of a Nene lock pre modernisation

 

Bradshaw 1918 lists two locks at Alwalton - Alwalton lock and Alwalton Staunch, which is described as a navigation weir but was almost certainly a single guillotine gate. Somewhere (but I'm not sure where - it's in a book I bought cheaply because it was flood damaged) I have a picture of a "proper" lock on the river Nene pre-modernisation, it didn't have guillotines. As modernisation was after 1900 (1930?) I wouldn't expect Nene locks before then to have guillotines, although it's possible some did I guess. 

 

I think the picture might be Alwalton Staunch, pictures of other fenland staunches show rather elaborate structures around them. 

[ditchcrawler]

4 hours ago, Heartland said:

This c1900 post card shows a lock on the River Nene, near Peterborough, the wooden structure around the guillotine gate may be part of the construction process- any thoughts?

 

 

Alwalton Lynch c.1904 - PETERBOROUGH IMAGES ARCHIVE also has an up to date photo

3 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Alwalton Lynch c.1904 - PETERBOROUGH IMAGES ARCHIVE also has an up to date photo

This may also be of interest Orton Staunch on the River Nene - PETERBOROUGH IMAGES ARCHIVE

[Scholar Gypsy]

I think that's a flash lock, ie just one guillotine gate. When a boat wants to transit it is lifted and the boat either zooms downstream or is winched upstream as the levels equalise.  I have seen photos of a very similar structure on the Brandon Ouse, near Hockwold. The remains of that are just about visible. I think one can also see the old lock structure downstream of Awalton, though I may be imagining that. One certainly can just below Lower Wellingborough lock (which looks like a 1970 structure rather than a 1930s one).

[pearley]

The remains of this one are also visible 

[Scholar Gypsy]

This is the one I had in mind at Alwalton - a new stretch of river was built to take out the kink!

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side-old/#zoom=15.8&lat=52.55889&lon=-0.32293&layers=168&right=193