Pocklington Canal Top Lock And Canal Head

POCKLINGTON

550/0/522 POCKLINGTON CANAL 20-FEB-86 POCKLINGTON CANAL TOP LOCK AND CANAL H EAD (Formerly listed as: POCKLINGTON CANAL LOCK OF CANAL HEAD)

GV II Lock and end basin of Pocklington Canal, c.1818, designed by George Leather.

MATERIALS: Red brick with gritstone dressings.

PLAN: The lock chamber has parallel sides, splayed at each end beyond the gates and stepped at the lower end. The basin, which is c. 200m long and widens out above the lock, also has straight sides, with a shouldered bottle neck narrowing at the far end. Dredging has shown a solid base in some locations, possibly stone setts; these may be associated with former warehousing around the basin. The lock gates and manual and hydraulic gearing mechanism have been restored to traditional design.

HISTORY: The Pocklington Canal was constructed at the beginning of the C19 to transport mainly agricultural goods from the East Riding to the larger urban centres to the south and west. A Bill was placed before Parliament in 1814 and the canal was designed by George Leather Jnr, an experienced navigation engineer who worked on Goole Docks and the Knottingley and Goole Canal. The canal was opened in 1818, running for 9.5 miles from the River Derwent at East Cottingwith to a mile south of Pocklington. The cost was £32,695, which was actually less than the original estimate.

Coal, lime, fertiliser and industrial goods were carried to Pocklington, and agricultural produce was sent to the West Riding. After 1847, when the canal was sold to the York and North Midland Railway, there was a decline in trade and the last cargo was carried on the canal in 1932. In 1963 ownership passed to British Waterways. It is now navigable as far as Melbourne, and some of the locks have been restored by the Pocklington Canal Amenity Society (formed in 1969), but it is a remainder waterway and there are no plans to restore the canal fully.

Top Lock formerly had more buildings surrounding the basin area. It was restored in 2001.

SOURCES: Pocklington Canal Amenity Society, The Pocklington Canal, (2008)

REASONS FOR DESIGNATION The Top Lock and Canal Head are designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons: * They are pre-1840 canal structures and form part of a sequence of listable structures along the length of the canal * They were designed by George Leather, a well-known navigation engineer and designer * The principal structure of the lock and basin remains intact, with restoration revealing the original brick and stone and the re-establishment of the lock structure carried out to traditional design.