Netham Lock () is the point at
Netham
Easton is an inner city area of the city of Bristol in the United Kingdom. Informally the area is considered to stretch east of Bristol city centre and the M32 motorway, centred on Lawrence Hill. Its southern and eastern borders are less define ...
in
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city i ...
at which boats from the
River Avon, acting as part of the
Kennet and Avon Canal
The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of , made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the c ...
, gain access to Bristol's
Floating Harbour.
Construction started in 1804 to build the tidal
New Cut and divert the
River Avon along the
Feeder Canal to the harbour; a system designed and built by
William Jessop
William Jessop (23 January 1745 – 18 November 1814) was an English civil engineer, best known for his work on canals, harbours and early railways in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Early life
Jessop was born in Devonport, Devon, the ...
and later improved by
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "one ...
.
A
weir
A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
carries the river into the New Cut and boats use the adjacent
lock. High
tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another.
Tide tables can ...
s often pass over the weir, and the river is effectively tidal to the
next lock upstream at Hanham. Some
spring tides can also pass over the weir at Hanham, making the river tidal as far as
Keynsham Lock.
Access to the harbour is only possible during the day when the lock keeper will open the gates unless the water level in the river between Netham and Hanham is above or below the level of the harbour.
The maximum dimensions of a vessel which can pass through Netham Lock are:
*Length:
*Beam:
*Draught:
*Headroom:
The lock-keeper's cottage, built in the early nineteenth century, is a
grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Ir ...
building and has a plaque listing it as Bristol Docks building number 1.
The floral displays around the cottage and on the banking have attracted praise.
Netham Lock and the weir form part of Bristol's flood defence mechanisms and it was announced in December 2008 that they would be upgraded as part of the £11 million City Docks Capital Project.
See also
References
External links
{{authority control
Buildings and structures in Bristol
Transport in Bristol
Bristol Harbourside
River Avon, Bristol