Meon Marsh Sealock And Bridge

Meon Marsh Sealock and Bridge is a former sea lock and bridge located in Titchfield. The lock was likely constructed around 1611 for Henry, the second Earl of Southampton, while the bridge dates from the 18th century and has undergone later alterations. The lock features retaining walls made of coursed squared stone with cyma-moulded coping stones that extend a short distance to the north-west and south-east. Each end of the walls has a recess, which probably housed the original gate or sluice mechanism. The space between the walls is filled by the inserted 18th-century bridge, which is made of crudely-cut stone and has three small round arches with roussoirs. A stone pier on the north-west side bears mason's marks. On the north-east side, the retaining walls consist of large rubblestones, with some coping on the north-west side, and the space between the walls is filled with sandbags, which are not of special interest. The lock is believed to have been completed in 1611 as part of the Earl of Southampton's plan to close the Meon estuary and replace the navigable tidal channel with a canal that would also drain and irrigate the meadows. This makes it a surviving structure from one of England's earliest canal navigation systems. The canal became obsolete within 100 years of its construction, and the bridge was added later. Archaeological excavations at the southern corner on the north-east side uncovered masonry and a plan form similar to that on the south-west side, including a mortice for a second sluice gate. It appears that boats would gather on either side of the lock, waiting for tidal changes and the necessary rise or fall in water levels to access the sea.