- Cromwell Lock
-
Cromwell Lock is a large navigation lock on the River Trent in Nottinghamshire, and marks the tidal limit of the river[1]. The first lock to be built on the site was constructed by the Trent Navigation Company, having been authorised by an Act of Parliament obtained in 1906. Construction began in late 1908, as soon as the Company had raised sufficient capital.[2] The lock was extended in 1935, when an extra pair of gates were added downstream of the main lock, effectively forming a second lock.[2] The lock was further improved in 1960, when the two locks were made into one, capable of holding eight standard Trent barges.[2] The weir by the side of the lock is one of the largest on the Trent.
On the 28th of September 1975, during an eighty mile, night navigation exercise in extreme weather conditions, ten members of the 131 Parachute Squadron, Royal Engineers were killed after a power failure caused the weir lights to go out and their boat went over the lock[3].[4]
Cromwell Lock is defined by the Ordnance Survey as the nearest tidal location to Coton in the Elms in Derbyshire, which is the furthest point from the sea in Great Britain, 72 kilometres (45 mi) away.[5]
References
- ^ http://www.waterscape.com/media/documents/84.pdf
- ^ a b c The Canals of the East Midlands, (1970), p203, Charles Hadfield, David and Charles, ISBN 0-7153-4871-X
- ^ http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?hl=en&safe=active&q=cache:MMTO6TwMDAIJ:http://www.commandoveterans.org/cdoGallery/v/events/Services/131+Parachute+_amp_+Commando+Engineers_+Cromwell+Lock+Memorial.JPG.html+%22royal+engineers%22%2B%22cromwell+lock%22&ct=clnk
- ^ Palace Barracks Memorial Garden - Northern Ireland, Falklands Islands, Felix Memorial Garden
- ^ BBC report centre of England
Categories:- Locks of England
- River Trent
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
