Lock No 48 And Bridge No 138 On Grand Union Canal

Lock No 48 and Bridge No 138 are located on the Grand Union Canal and date from around 1799, originally built as part of the Grand Junction Canal, which became the Grand Union Canal in 1929. The lower gate features a date on the hinge plate from 1868, while the upper gate has a date from 1884. The structure is made of buff brick with heavy stone edges at the lock. The timber gates have timber beams on the upper gates and iron beams on the lower gates. The lock measures 88 feet by 16 feet, designed to accommodate narrowboats in pairs, and includes an old timber bollard. The upper gates are equipped with ground paddles, while the lower gates have gate paddles.

Adjacent to the lower gates is a humped brick bridge with quadrant brick steps leading down. The bridge features battered abutments and a depressed round arch. Band marks are visible at the base of the parapet, which follows the curve of the hump. The copings are made of blue brick and are specially weathered. This bridge serves as a crossover where the towpath changes sides, with each parapet alternating between having a square terminal pier with stone capping and a tailing end that runs parallel with the canal.