Tyle Mill Lock () is a

lock 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 ...

situated near

Tyle Mill Tyle Mill is a mill on the River Kennet near Sulhamstead, Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berk ...

and the village of

Sulhamstead Sulhamstead is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Berkshire, England. It occupies an approximate rectangle of land south of the (Old) Bath, Somerset, Bath Road (A4 road (Great Britain), A4) between Reading, Berkshire, ...

on 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 cent ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Tyle Mill Lock was built between 1718 and 1723 under the supervision of the engineer

John Hore John HoreAlternative spellings of Hore's surname include "Hoar" and "Hoare" (baptised 13 March 1680 – 12 April 1763Other sources give Hore's year of birth as 1690, and year of death as 1762) was an English engineer, best known for making the Ri ...

of Newbury, and this stretch of the river is now administered by the

Canal & River Trust The Canal & River Trust (CRT), branded as in Wales, holds the guardianship of 2,000 miles of canals and rivers, together with reservoirs and a wide range of heritage buildings and structures, in England and Wales. Launched on 12 July 2012, the ...

and known as the Kennet Navigation. It has a rise/fall of 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m). The lock became derelict in the 1950s and then formed the head of the navigation from the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

. As a result, British Waterways created a

winding hole A winding hole () is a widened area of a canal (usually in the United Kingdom), used for turning a canal boat such as a narrowboat. In sea ports an area for turning ships is usually called a turning basin. Etymology The word is commonly believed ...

and installed a sanitary station in the old

pillbox Pillbox may refer to: * Pill organizer, a container for medicine * Pillbox hat, a woman's hat with a flat crown, straight upright sides, and no brim * Pillbox (military), concrete dug-in guard posts * Pillbox affair The Pillbox affair, also known ...

below the lock. It was restored in 1973 but remained out of commission until 1976 when work on locks further west had been completed. Close to the lock are a

wharf A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring locatio ...

and

swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pi ...

Swing bridge gallery

Image:Sulhamstead Tyle Mill swing bridge.JPG, Sulhamstead Tyle Mill swing bridge road traffic Image:Sulhamstead Tyle Mill swing bridge 2.JPG, Sulhamstead Tyle Mill swing bridge opening Image:Sulhamstead Tyle Mill swing bridge 4.JPG, Sulhamstead Tyle Mill swing bridge canal traffic

Swing bridge gallery

References

See also