St. Aidan's breach on the A&CN in 1988

[Guest]

Cheers -

 

the moorings yon side of Fleet bridge have been mentioned by Tim previously - cheers..

 

you seem to know when the marina was built...can you confirm?

 

I'm pretty sure the excavator is gone edit - seems I'm wrong

Edited January 2, 2012 by MJG

[carlt]

I'm pretty sure the excavator is gone edit - seems I'm wrong

Yes you can even go and visit it:

 

Clicky

[Chris Pink]

The date of the vessal was then uncertain but almost certainly within the period 1700-1950.

 

 

 

Love it. Is that archeologicalese for "sorry, mate, we just ain't gotta clue"?

[MoominPapa]

I'm no geologist/civil engineer, and with the benefit of hindsight, but surely I can't be alone in thinking that digging a 70 metre deep hole that close to the river was somewhat foolhardy....

Try visiting King's Dyke, South of Peterborough. The brickworks' clay pits are deep, and very close to the waterway.

 

Google maps linky.

 

MP.

[greywolf]

Love it. Is that archeologicalese for "sorry, mate, we just ain't gotta clue"?

 

Yes i thought that.There was thought to be a watermill beside methley old lock on the river.the lock separated the mill from the bank that was the area i was digging in,the dry dock and the site of Dry dock house is not far away.I would love to read the final deductions of the site to find out they changed from their initial thoughts.

[The Pipe]

Another big hole waiting to become a deep water marina (I hate that word) is at Nuneaton thats right beside the canal as well.

A few years since I past so no idea if it is still being worked.

[David Mack]

No I don't think so. I believe the mine was drained, operations recommenced, then reflooded after it closed again (in a more controlled manner).

 

Iirc there were several million tons of coal under the water, so leaving it as a lake wasn't an option.

 

And the value of the coal left presumably justified the not incosiderable cost of pumping out the mine and reconstructing the canal/river. Looking at the photo, if they had just abandoned the mine at that point there would have been no need to reconstruct the channels.

 

And by creating a new canal/river line further from the mine than both of the old channels, they were then able to access additional the coal beneath the old canal and river channels as well.

 

David

[Hairy-Neil]

And by creating a new canal/river line further from the mine than both of the old channels, they were then able to access additional the coal beneath the old canal and river channels as well.

 

David

 

Apples always fall in the orchard.....

[the grinch]

Another big hole waiting to become a deep water marina (I hate that word) is at Nuneaton thats right beside the canal as well.

A few years since I past so no idea if it is still being worked.

 

now that is a hole!!!

[triumphman]

now that is a hole!!!

I seem to remember a local theory at the time about the "accidental breach" allowing them to access lots of extra coal and that it was "lucky" that they got all their large plant out safely.

[The Pipe]

now that is a hole!!!

I suppose you could improve the area by infilling it with Nuneaton!!!!!

[pearley]

Cheers -

 

the moorings yon side of Fleet bridge have been mentioned by Tim previously - cheers..

 

you seem to know when the marina was built...can you confirm?

 

I'm pretty sure the excavator is gone edit - seems I'm wrong

My old diaries say 16 June 1995 when we passed by. Got to lock after hours to find DIY gear not yet in operation so moored for night. Walked through the building site that was the marina, basin dig out and in water but bungalows not built, to the Oak Tree at Woodrow for Vaux Samsom and Thornes Best Bitter.

 

Stuck there for 8 weeks last Christmas so walked around a lot. Maz made us very welcome and let us run our hook-up cable across the grass and under the fence to plug in. Give our regards to Steve & Jan on Papillion and to Bob & Marie on Rebecca.

 

Just to take the post a bit further, does anyone know if there are any remains of Kippax Lock?

 

Best Regards

Pete & Jeannette on Joanie M.

 

 

Pics here of marina under construction

 

http://www.apex-construction.com/gallery-lemonroyd-marina.html

Edited January 3, 2012 by pearley

[the grinch]

edit out as didn't work!!

 

the old lock can be clearly seen in the aerial view on the link above when you zoom in enough.

Edited January 3, 2012 by hamsterfan

[Guest]

 

Pics here of marina under construction

 

http://www.apex-construction.com/gallery-lemonroyd-marina.html

 

Cheers - I'd clocked those but couldn't date them unfortunately - I think though they are of the more recent wok which has been done to add the additional pontoons and the security fence. I understand this has been done relatively recently.

[the grinch]

I seem to remember a local theory at the time about the "accidental breach" allowing them to access lots of extra coal and that it was "lucky" that they got all their large plant out safely.

 

very convienient if true!!

[Guest]

very convienient if true!!

 

I wonder though who paid for all the re-construction/re-routing work?? - I'm guessing the NCB as it was their activity that breached the river - that work must have cost and absolute fortune....when you see the area in the flesh (the weir/lock etc) you can appreciate the extent of the work undertaken...

 

would that be fully offset by the sale of the coal that became available I wonder...

 

ed to add..

unless of course it was the subject of an insurance claim....

Edited January 3, 2012 by MJG

[Guest]

edit out as didn't work!!

 

the old lock can be clearly seen in the aerial view on the link above when you zoom in enough.

 

Found it on Google Earth though -

 

Old Lemonroyd lock along with remnants of the old route clearly visible -

 

 

 

ed to add.

 

This one on bing seems to show remnants of the lock keepers cottage along side of the lock

 

Bing linky

Edited January 4, 2012 by MJG

[pearley]

You've got better eyes than me but I can tell you that the keepers house was betwwen the lock and the old river route.

 

There was also a very nice house at Woodlesford Lock trhat was demolished about the same time, after the lock was converted to full time DIY operation.

 

I guess no-one on here knows if there are still any remains of Kippax lock, where the canal section finally dropped down to the river.

 

And how about Leeds Lock, by the Armouries in its original form before it was electrified in the mid 90's?

 

Regards

Pete

[greywolf]

Found it on Google Earth though -

 

Old Lemonroyd lock along with remnants of the old route clearly visible -

 

 

 

ed to add.

 

This one on bing seems to show remnants of the lock keepers cottage along side of the lock

 

Bing linky

 

Apicture in the document section shows there to be a few buildings in that small area they suggest a boat builders associated with the canal rather than the river then there is the watermill in the river channel it is taken from the yorkshire weekly post and is said to be of the river aire in 1893

[Guest]

You've got better eyes than me but I can tell you that the keepers house was betwwen the lock and the old river route.

 

There was also a very nice house at Woodlesford Lock trhat was demolished about the same time, after the lock was converted to full time DIY operation.

 

I guess no-one on here knows if there are still any remains of Kippax lock, where the canal section finally dropped down to the river.

 

And how about Leeds Lock, by the Armouries in its original form before it was electrified in the mid 90's?

 

Regards

Pete

 

Indeed the house perimeter wall can clearly be seen in the bing link I posted. If you look at the very fist link I posted in the OP you can see the house in question on other parts of that web site and on aerial picture of the lock and breach posted further up the thread.

 

As to Leeds lock adjacent to the Armouries - AFAIK it is in exactly the same spot, but was previously two locks side by side and only the lock nearest the Armouries remained after mechanisation. The Mike Taylor book I've just bought about the history of the A&CN would seem to confirm this - I'm open to correction though.

 

You can see both here - one with gates one with a walkway.

 

 

Kippax locks appear to have been completely erased....

[the grinch]

the upper chamber on the right was still operational as a wet dock last time i passed through as far as i can recall, to use it required the lower chamber to be filled (which is also required to get a 70 foot boat through)the boat taken in and the lower chamber emptied again no idea on how long since it was used.

[Pluto]

The old lock chamber at Leeds has the same dimensions as locks on the L&LC, not unexpectedly as the size of the canal locks were based on those on the navigation. The second lock, still in use, was probably built circa 1830 when the navigation was being enlarged after extension to Goole, with the lower lock gate, extending the lock still further, being built after 1870. I have never come across any mention of the small lock being used as a drydock. The river above the lock was in continuous use by boats until the A&CN warehousing at Dock Street closed around 1975, so it would have been of little use as it would have been flooded every time a boat passed.

 

On the old Lemonroyd system, the original 1700 lock was part of the weir exposed in the river. This was probably bypassed circa 1770 by a short cut around the old weir, and in turn the new lock was bypassed in 1830 when Methley Cut was built, after which it was used as a drydock for some time. Methley Lock probably disappeared in the late nineteenth century when the canal section was extended towards Castleford to avoid a shallow river section. I can remember boats loading at the Astley staithe next to the lock site in the 1970s, but there was no sign of lock remains. The Lemonroyd Lock which disappeared after the breach dates from the extension of Methley cut upwards passed Fleet, where the only watermill in this immediate area stood. Castleford was the next one below it.

[Guest]

Out walking to-day and managed to get some shots of the old Lemonroyd lock site as it looks today.

 

Difficult to get close due the fact the site now sits in a fenced of area.

 

Bottom of the lock entrance -

 

 

 

One very lonely lock bollard.

 

 

This is what I take to be the boundary wall of the former lock house that stood next to the lock. By my estimation the A&C would roughly have been where the gravel path runs.

 

[Gazboatman]

Here's some from inside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The whole site is now open to the public and is very interesting. Well worth the hike up to see 'Oddball'..

 

[Neil TNC]

Old Lemonroyd Lock in 1993, not long before abandonment.