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....and finally... Staveley Town Lock - Opens next week


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It has been a long time coming and it has taken a lot of blood sweat and tears from a lot of people (not to mention a lot of £££ - many of which were donated by the good people of this forum)

 

Staveley Town Lock on The Chesterfield Canal will be officially opened in just over one weeks time on Saturday 28th May.

 

On 6th June 2011 it looked like this:

 

1%206-6-2011.jpg

 

Today it looks like this:

 

STA1.JPG

 

It has gates and working paddles, It has a ladder and beautiful coping stones. It has a cill and the grilles are on the intake. All it really needs now is some water to fill it and some boats to go through it.

 

So far, Chesterfield Canal Trust has spent about £100,000 on building the Lock and Harbour.
About £45,000 of this has come in donations If you would like to donate, please click here: http://www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/index.php/home/home-353525/view/productdetails/virtuemart_product_id/19/virtuemart_category_id/4

 

If you would like to see many other photos of how the lock looks now and the story of the build over the last four years please click here: http://www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/index.php/gallery/photos/475-staveley-town-lock

 

I am so proud of what our Work Party have achieved (with a good deal of help from those wonderful Wergies and contractors for Derbyshire County Council) Here is another view of it from the other end.

 

STA0.JPG

 

The official opening will be part of The IWA Trailboat Festival which Chesterfield Canal Trust is hosting on 28th and 29th of May (Bank holiday weekend) This means that there will be around 30 boats on the canal that weekend and no doubt all of them will want to try out the newest lock on the system. We will have no fewer than five trip boats operating on the canal that weekend so if you fancy coming to try the lock out for yourself come along to the festival:

 

Full details are here:

http://www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/index.php/latest-news/press-releases/717-all-aboard-chesterfield-canal-prepares-to-host-national-trailboat-festival

 

There is also a flotilla of boats setting off to do the entire length of that that end of the canal on Monday 30th of May and so for those who can't wait a few more years for us to join it up so you can get your own boat there there is an opportunity to navigate that section on one of our trip boats. The cost is £15 for the day. Staveley Town Basin to Tapton and back, in the company of 30+ other boats.

10 miles, 10 locks. Please ring 07925 851569 to book before paying.

 

A second bit of history will be in the making next week when the historic boat Python will be craned onto this section of canal for the duration of the festival. This will mean that Python will be the first Historic boat to use this newly restored section of canal and the first historic boat to use the new lock. This has been enabled with huge thanks to Brook Garden Centre:

logo_brook.png

 

Here is their website: http://www.brookgardencentre.co.uk/

 

I can hear many of you scratching your heads trying to work out why a garden centre would sponsor a historic boat so I will put you out of your misery. They have a reptile centre and, according to their website:

 

Our wide range of exotic pets includes snakes (corn snakes, rat snakes, king snakes, milk snakes, western hognose, common boas, blood pythons and royal pythons); plus adorable Horsefield and Hermans Tortoises and our dragon range, which includes Bearded dragons, Rankins dragons and Water dragons. All these make really interesting pets, come and ask our experts for some interesting stories. We also have spiders, Tarantulas, scorpions and leopard Geckos.

 

So if you want to own your own python then that is the place you can get one, or any of the paraphanailia you will need to look after it properly.

 

Here is a photo of our Python:

 

fradley%20python.jpg

 

She has her hold packed ready to fly off on her short break next Thursday. Do I need to mention - I am excited! biggrin.png

  • Greenie 1
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Good stuff, and inspiring for everyone involved in other schemes!

 

Will it be open for trailable boats in the near future? smile.png

 

The section is already open for trailable boats (a licence needs to be applied for from Derbyshire County Council who are the navigation authority for this stretch)

 

My understanding is that while the lock will be open and operational for the duration of the festival there will be a stoppage on it afterwards (I am unsure of the duration) the reason being that the pound below that we refer to as Hartington Harbour still requires further work to complete and so it will need to be de-watered for this to happen.

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Great news and well done all involved in this work. Can I ask the width the lock is built to?

 

Yes you can ask, I will need to find out. Let me get back to you (and if I don't please nudge me, you will understand that all concerned are incredibly busy in the run up to the festival)

  • Greenie 1
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Congratulation - it looks wonderful!

It's not often you get to see a lock in such pristine condition - needs a few boats though it to make it look "used"...

 

Yes, and knock all those sharp corners off the stone and brickwork!

 

This is great news Jan, congratulations to the Chesterfield Canal Trust

 

What's next?

 

Richard

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Yes, and knock all those sharp corners off the stone and brickwork!

 

This is great news Jan, congratulations to the Chesterfield Canal Trust

 

What's next?

 

Richard

 

Isn't that what trip boats are for?

 

I am sure we can find some new crew we can train up ............ ;)

 

Talking of trip boats.... it is ALL happening here next week. You may have read the thread about the brand new trip boat that we are having made to replace our much loved John Varley? (We got the money for the shell and some fittings from the Derbyshire Police & Crime Commissioner's NICE fund - proceeds of crime) We take delivery of it next week. (latest photos of this boat can be seen here: http://www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/index.php/latest-news/general-news/697-john-varley-replacement

 

If you follow the link within that link you will go to Tristar's website with even more photos of the build.

 

Woe betide any crew member that scuffs that beautiful new paintwork on that beautiful new lock eh?

 

 

The new boat will be officially named at 7.45 p.m. on Wednesday 25th May at Staveley Town Basin. All welcome

 

The ceremony to name the boat will be the traditional one used for "Chesterfield Boats" involving tipping a mirror and some beer into the cut. The last time this naming ceremony took place it was for Dawn Rose. Details are here: http://www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/index.php/on-the-water/new-dawn/644-worksop-water-day-dawn-rose-named

 

What with official lock opening ceremonies and officialy boat naming ceremonies I do wonder how we have time to organise a festival too!

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2.3m, 7'8" in old money (I am reliably informed)

 

Tim

 

Thanks Tim, daft as it is I worry about little things like restoration groups working to CRT 6'10" standards and then old boats not fitting into new canals.

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Forgive me, what's next on the canal restoration, Jan?

 

http://www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/index.php/restoration/restoration-future-plans

 

Richard

 

Forgive you for forcing me to talk about my favourite canal? No never! ;)

 

 

That is a VERY good question.

 

We have to call a temporary halt to restoration on the section where we have been so busy in recent years because HS2 seem unable to tell anyone what their plans are (yes the announcement keeps getting put back and the costs keep going up - perhaps they need the Wergies to step in and build it for them - it could save us all a fortune!) If HS2 does go ahead and use the line they published then it will mean our plans for the areas it interacts with the line of the restoration will be seriously compromised. It interacts with the line in no fewer than FIVE places so you will understand how frustrating it for those guys with shovels and diggers who just want to get on with restoring the canal!

 

Recently we have been looking closely at "The other end" - namely the Norwood Tunnel. We understand that there is a section of the tunnel from the Eastern portal (which is the cirrent end of navigation) that is still perfectly good and the long term plan is (as anyone who reads that link you so kindly shared will know) to use the first section of that tunnel before the collapse as a tunnel. It will then open out into a cutting with some additional locks to get the canal to the correct level to pass under the M1 motorway (sadly the highways authority won't let us install a swing bridge there instead) It is thought that maybe if we can just get the "intact" section of tunnel open and useable again then we could make the head of navigation a bit more of a destination than it currently. Switching attention to the other end and focusing on the tunnel would have a big impact on public perception because there are still boaters on our own canal that I have heard telling people in the pub "It will never join up because they can't get past the tunnel collapse" People are under the impression that because it was that collapse that caused the closure of the canal all those years ago it is something that is impassable. It never was, it just needed the money and desire to get it done. Chesterfield Canal Trust have the desire and we are willing to put our money where our mouth is. We believe that CRT and the other authorities and landowners also share our desire so watch this space. There is after all a perfectly good marina already built in Kiverton that nobody can reach by boat. Until the canal gets there it is working well as a fishery but if the canal got that far then CRT would have another source of income from letting out the moorings there.

 

There is another section at Renishaw that we believe could be opened up fairly easily. It would not be joined up to either of the other ends yet but if we worked on that it could help some of the problems that are occuring with a very small section that was opened as part of a housing development. It has no feed at present and so it is little more very short section of smelly overgrown ditch that local people use to dump rubbish but if we could open up a longer stretch then we could incorporate a feed so it did not dry out and stagnate and perhpas engage local youth with kayaks or fishermen so it is loved again.

 

The two sections are under different local authorities and, once completed would be managed by different navigation authorities and so you will understand there are high level discussions going on to work out where the guys with the diggers and shovels go next.

 

Personally I think they all deserve to go off and have a couple of weeks on a sunny beach building sandcastles before they start again - they have certainly earned it!

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Personally I think they all deserve to go off and have a couple of weeks on a sunny beach building sandcastles before they start again - they have certainly earned it!

 

No more than that though, as a group you seem to have a bit of momentum going.

 

Richard

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No more than that though, as a group you seem to have a bit of momentum going.

 

Richard

 

Oh we certainly do ..... there were many among the Work Party who wanted to try and get the canal finished BEFORE HS2 finalised their plans, they decided among themselves that if the canal was already built then HS2 would have to work around it.

 

I have to admit I do like their thinking :)

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Oh we certainly do ..... there were many among the Work Party who wanted to try and get the canal finished BEFORE HS2 finalised their plans, they decided among themselves that if the canal was already built then HS2 would have to work around it.

 

I have to admit I do like their thinking smile.png

 

haha cant fault their logic.

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More progress:

 

STA38.JPG

How lovely do those coping stones look?

 

Meanwhile they bund was being created:

 

STA33A.JPG

 

That is as far as the boats will go this weekend.

 

The basin finally has (a few) mooring rings:

 

STA23.JPG

If HS2 had not stopped us there would have been mooring pontoons in the basin along with buildings around it by now

 

Instead they are installing a temporary pontoon to assist with the access for the trailboats that will start arriving anytime now.

 

STA21.JPG

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It is amazing how quickly "next week" becomes "this week" but yesterday the lock was in operation for the very first time.

 

The first boat through was "Madelaine" - because it has a large open bow section that would allow as many of The Work Party involved n building the lock an opportunity to be on the first boat through. (The rumours that Chesterfield Canal Trust did not want to use one of "their own" boats as the first guinea pig are completely untrue laugh.png )

 

I don't have any photos to share of that first boat through (yes I missed it by 5 minutes!) I do have a photo that was sent to me by Robin Stonebridge and as I know some of you know the characters involved I will share it as I know you will see the fun in it.

 

13268088_10154122125884070_3528066721160

 

What I do have is some pictures of the third boat through, Python!

 

13268358_1089219401101504_42873992971569

 

For those of you who were concerned about the lock dimensions - there is plenty of room:

13256382_1089235261099918_73952510473158

 

Out of the lock and under the bridge:

 

13320476_1089003927789718_35648990883594

Looking back into the lock:

 

13268144_1089004011123043_92005494393650

 

In boating terms when you say that someone is preparing a lock for you you think of them going ahead to set it in your favour. Yesterday the Work Party were preparing the lock while we are in it!

 

13254839_1089004021123042_21377431146094

 

The cement under one balance beam was still wet but it had to be tested that it works!

 

So there is history in the making, the first ever boat on the Register of Historic Ships to navigate on that stretch of the canal. I need to do a little more research but we were considering yesterday if Python might be the oldest motorised boat that has ever navigated that section. I need to find out if they had motorised boats up there in 1907 - I suspect it might have been a tad early for the good people of The Chessie to be adopting that type of new fangled engineering when a good hoss did the job. Perhaps one of the historians reading this can help?


I just found a photo online of the first boat through:

 

Lockz.JPG

 

Very well done to all of you involved.

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I remember standing looking at this concrete arch in 2013:

 

17.jpg

 

If you had told me that three years later I would be taking Python through it I would never have believed it!

 

Now - lets get the other 8 miles joined up so we don't need a crane to get Python there next time.

 

Want to help?

 

http://www.chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk/index.php/restoration/work-party-265192/157-staveley-town-lock-donations

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