Lock Number 1 Onto Sowerby Basin, Sowerby Bridge

Lock Number 1 onto Sowerby Basin is a canal lock located on the Rochdale Canal in Sowerby Bridge, built around 1798 for the Rochdale Canal Company. It is constructed from large blocks of coursed stone, featuring quoins and some upper blocks that are punch-dressed. The lock has recesses in each side wall at either end for lock gates, which have been removed, and at the lower (eastern) end, there is a second pair of gate recesses. At the upper end, the lock-gate recesses include culvert entrances, and iron buffers are attached to the tops of the round-cornered entrance walls.

The Rochdale Canal was opened in sections between 1798 and 1804. The original survey was conducted by James Brindley in 1776, followed by a resurvey by John Rennie in 1791. The construction was supervised by engineer William Jessop and resident engineer William Crossley. The design included a second pair of gates at one end of the lock to accommodate both larger crafts measuring 74 feet by 14 feet 2 inches by 4 feet, coming from the Manchester end, and shorter crafts measuring 57 feet 6 inches by 14 feet from the Calder and Hebble Navigation. This design aimed to shorten the lock's use and save approximately 50 tons of water with each filling or emptying, although it is uncertain if this system was ever implemented.