The balance lock was a type of

boat lift A boat lift, ship lift, or lift lock is a machine for transporting boats between water at two different elevations, and is an alternative to the canal lock. It may be vertically moving, like the Anderton boat lift in England, rotational, like ...

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

. An experimental balance lock was built as part of the

Dorset and Somerset Canal The Dorset and Somerset Canal was a proposed canal in southwestern England. The main line was intended to link Poole, Dorset with the Kennet and Avon Canal near Bradford on Avon, Wiltshire. A branch was to go from the main line at Frome to the ...

and work was started for four more, but the project failed for financial reasons and they were not completed.

History

When the

was authorised by an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

in 1796, the builders were faced with the need for many locks, as the branch to

Frome Frome ( ) is a town and civil parish in eastern Somerset, England. The town is built on uneven high ground at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, and centres on the River Frome. The town, about south of Bath, is the largest in the Mendip d ...

needed to accommodate a change in level of . James Fussell was a knowledgeable ironworker, and proposed the building of boat lifts to raise and lower the boats, rather than conventional

locks Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

. There had been some precursors, for John Duncombe had invented a counterbalanced lift in 1790, while working as the engineer on the

Ellesmere Canal The Ellesmere Canal was a waterway in England and Wales that was planned to carry boat traffic between the rivers Mersey and Severn. The proposal would create a link between the Port of Liverpool and the mineral industries in north east Wales an ...

, and Robert Wheldon was proposing to use lifts on the nearby

Somerset Coal Canal The Somerset Coal Canal (originally known as the Somersetshire Coal Canal) was a narrow canal in England, built around 1800. Its route began in basins at Paulton and Timsbury, ran to nearby Camerton, over two aqueducts at Dunkerton, through a ...

. From the documents which accompanied the

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

when it was submitted to parliament, it is evident that Fussell's plans were already well-formulated. However, since the design was untested, an experimental boat lift was built at the top of Barrow Hill. It would be capable of handling boats weighing 10 tons, and would raise them by . In many respects, it was similar to those later built by James Green on the

Grand Western Canal The Grand Western Canal ran between Taunton in Somerset and Tiverton in Devon in the United Kingdom. The canal had its origins in various plans, going back to 1796, to link the Bristol Channel and the English Channel by a canal, bypassing Land ...

, which also used counterbalanced caissons. However, there were differences. One was that Fussell's design used chains which passed round wheels attached to the caisson, the end of which was fixed to the top of the structure, whereas Green fixed his chains to a bar on the caisson. Fussells design included guide rails running up the chamber, which steadied the caisson, and he used a separate chamber beneath the caisson to hold extra water, which made the top tank heavier, and thus provided the motive power to cause the lift to operate. The design of his balance lock formed the basis for a patent application, number 2284, which he obtained in 1798. Balance lock on the Somerset and Dorset Canal - geograph

Balance lock on the Somerset and Dorset Canal - geograph

The trial lift was completed, and a series of tests were carried out in September and October 1800. The ''Bath Chronicle'' carried a report of the test on 16 October, stating that the lift had been operated several times, without any difficulty or problems, and that engineers had inspected it carefully and declared themselves entirely satisfied. The company intended to build five more lifts on Barrow Hill, and pits for four of them were excavated. Some stone work was also begun, but the company ran out of money, and the project was abandoned following the failure to raise additional money in 1803.

Details

Following excavations at the site in 2005 and 2006, the structure was estimated to be high and long. The total width was around , which included the two pits and a central spine wall.

Bibliography

* *

References

External links

Dorset and Somerset canal, with information on locks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balance Lock Locks (water navigation)

History

Details

See also

Bibliography

References

External links