Grand Union Canal Aylesbury Arm Bridge Number 3 (Wilstone Bridge) And Lock Number 8 Adjoining On East

Wilstone Bridge and Lock Number 8 are located on the Aylesbury Arm of the Grand Union Canal, built between 1811 and 1813 by engineer Henry Provis for the Grand Junction Canal Company. The bridge is constructed of red brick in English bond, featuring granite capping on the piers that support the parapet. The adjoining lock is made of plum brick, with brick and granite copings, timber gates, and cast iron domed bollards.

The bridge is a narrow, hump-backed structure that carries Tring Road over the canal, characterized by a horseshoe arch with a 9-inch arch-ring. Its battered side walls are topped with a raised band of four courses at roadway level, and the parapet walls follow the curve of the hump. Square projecting end piers mark the outswept ends of the parapets. There are repairs in buff brick where tow-ropes have worn into the brickwork of the arch next to the towpath.

The lock, which has seen little alteration since the arm opened in 1815, is designed to accommodate a single narrowboat, with its lower end situated close to the east side of the bridge. It features double gates at the lower end equipped with gate-paddles, and a single gate at the upper end, which is hinged on the north side of the lock. This end has ground paddles only, with the gear set on timber posts. Stone edging extends about 8 meters to the east of the entrance. Dated cast iron hinge anchor plates from 1866 and 1854 are likely reused from other locations.