A lock keeper, lock tender, or lock operator looks after a canal or river

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 ...

, operating it and if necessary maintaining it or organizing its maintenance. Traditionally, lock keepers lived on-site, often in small purpose-built cottages. A lock keeper may also be the operator for the lock's

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 ...

and, in many cases lock keepers play an important role in moderating and controlling water levels in response to drought and heavy rain. With the decline in commercial traffic the occupation is dying out on inland waterways, at least in Britain. Many previously staffed locks are now unstaffed. The Kentucky River Museum is located in a former lock operator's dwelling.

Pay and other compensation

The Lehigh Coal & Navigation Company in 1900 paid their lock keepers US$18 per day, with a rent free house. They often had small stores to sell groceries to passing boats and, among their duties, made minor repairs along the canal and at locks. On the

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal and occasionally called the "Grand Old Ditch," operated from 1831 until 1924 along the Potomac River between Washington, D.C. and Cumberland, Maryland. It replaced the Potomac Canal, ...

the lock keeper had a rent free house, an acre of land for a garden, and was paid a base of $150 a year. If he kept more than one lock, it was $50 for each extra lock, with a maximum of 3 locks.Kytle, Elizabeth. ''Home on the Canal'', Seven Locks Press, 1983. , p. 87

Duties

Lockkeepers were on call 24 hours a day during the boating season. On the

, the lock keepers were required to remove the windlasses from all lock paddles at night, to prevent unauthorized use. But they had to get up and man the lock if a boat came through at night. Lock keepers had to enforce company rules against independent and wily boat captains. In some cases, they had to check waybills that the boats had. They also were responsible for the level (canal pound) by their lock, to fix leaks and other minor repairs. Some lock keepers simply left the job and disappeared. In June 1848, when Asa Aud had taken French leave, William Elgin the district superintendent, appointed John Boozell as tender of Lock 25 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.Unrau p. 800 Often lock keepers sold alcohol on the side, one notable example being A. S. Adams of Lock 33 (Harpers Ferry) on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. where the Salty Dog Tavern was known for its availability of liquor and easiness of women. To help a boat get out of a lock (going downstream) the lockkeeper would sometimes provide a ''swell'', that is, opening the paddle valves (wickets) on the upstream gates so that the rush of water would flush the boat out. Some wily lock keepers would demand money from the boatmen for this "service". If a boat ran aground between locks, they would sometimes ask a passing boat (going upstream) to tell the next lock keeper to give an extra heavy swell, by opening all the wickets on the upstream lock thus raising the water level temporarily, so that they could get unstuck. 160px, Man tending inclined plane 7 East on the Morris Canal The

Morris Canal The Morris Canal (1829–1924) was a common carrier anthracite coal canal across northern New Jersey that connected the two industrial canals at Easton, Pennsylvania across the Delaware River from its western terminus at Phillipsburg, New Jers ...

had inclined planes as well as locks, and the former required keepers also, although one cannot exactly call them "lock keepers" since they did not tend a lock, but an inclined plane which did much of the same function as a lock, lifting or lowering boats from one level to another, albeit with a cradle which carried the boats.

Incidents

There were often conflicts between the boat captains and the lock keepers. In July 1874 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, there was a notorious incident, where the boat's tow line caught and tore the lock railing and the captain of the boat insisted on scrubbing the boat's sides with a broom while still in the lock. The lock keeper demanded that the captain remove the boat from the lock, which he refused. The lock keeper's son opened one of the gates pinning the captain's son against the boat. There was soon a fist fight, and the captain's wife knocked one of the keeper's sons off the boat. Things escalated to rock throwing, clubbing, and the lock keeper's sons returned with a shotgun and revolver, which misfired. When the boat did resume its journey, the lock keeper followed on horseback, all the way to Cumberland (the end of the canal) with a club threatening to settle things. There were plenty of incidents with negligent lock keepers. On September 11, 1895 at Lock 22, the boat ''Excelsior'' arrived, and tried to lock through. The lock keeper was so drunk, he opened the lower gate paddles too early. The boat hit the mitre sill, broke in half, and sank with its 113 tons of coal. Richard A. Moore, the owner of the boat, collected over $1,300 in damages, and the lock keeper was fired. In England, there has been recent controversy over the Environment Agency's attempt to remove resident lock keepers on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

. This has been met with widespread disapproval.

Promotions

Many people who began as lock keepers were later promoted in the company. Many district superintendents of the

began as lock keepers, but because of their good reputation, were promoted. These included Elgin and John Y. Young in the 1830s and 1840s, John Lambie in the 1840s. A. K. Stake began at locks 41–41 from 1847 to 1848, Lewis G. Stanhop at locks 41–42 also in 1848, and Overton G. Lowe at Lock 56 when the canal opened to Cumberland — these three individuals were later promoted and continued working for the Canal company well into the 1870s.

Modern locks

Locks on commercial canals are usually power operated. The lock keeper, who no longer lives on site, controls the whole process from a control room overlooking the lock. In the modern age the control of traffic and locks on canals is being centralised. A single control centre can remotely operate several locks and moveable bridges in a wide area, overseeing the process using CCTV. For example, the

Tilburg Tilburg () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, in the southern province of North Brabant. With a population of 222,601 (1 July 2021), it is the second-largest city or municipality in North Brabant after Eindhoven and the seventh-larg ...

control centre in the

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will remotely control 18 locks and 28 moveable bridges from 2015 on. This allows for a reduction in manpower while still providing round-the-clock service to water traffic. As the controller now has overview over the traffic moving through one lock after another, he can anticipate the arrival of boats by turning the lock in advance, having boats wait for another coming from behind to handle them simultaneously, or decide whether to turn a lock empty for a boat going in one direction or to wait for one going in the other direction. On the

, the traditional locks have been retained, though the majority are now motorised, using a hydraulic system to operate the gates; however, when unpowered, the gates and sluices can still be operated by use of the pedestal cranks at either end of the lock chamber.

Quotations

:''The floral tastes of the lock-keeper generally make

Sonning Lock Sonning is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England, on the River Thames, east of Reading. The village was described by Jerome K. Jerome in his book '' Three Men in a Boat'' as "the most fairy-like little nook on the whole river". Ge ...

very bright and gay.'' :: —

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

(1812–1870) :''Is there a spot more lovely than the rest,'' :''By art improved, by nature truly blest?'' :''A noble river at its base running,'' :''It is a little village known as Sonning.'' :: — James Sadler,

Sonning Sonning is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England, on the River Thames, east of Reading. The village was described by Jerome K. Jerome in his book '' Three Men in a Boat'' as "the most fairy-like little nook on the whole river". Geo ...

lock keeper (1845–1885).

References

External links

Lock Keepers at Gloucester

Lock-keeper's house, Newforge
from the

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