Wolverhampton locks preparing to take 'flight'

Last weekend, the Canal and River Trust opened up Lock 7 of the Old Main Line Canal in the city's boundaries.

The event was billed as the 'Wolverhampton Lock Flight', in order to give the local community a real sense of how important the Canal networks are to the local area, as well as the wider region of the West Midlands.

Before the start of my 30-minute tour on Sunday morning, there was a vibe of fascination among myself and other visitors, as those working for the trust had opened up Lock 7 for a 48-hour period, giving an insight into the much-needed renovation works that are nearing completion.

Prior to the venture into what has become a temporary building site, Gavin Passmore, a Community Development Manager within the trust gave his verdict on how important events like this have become.

"It's really important. We've got a big urban area where lots of people live next to the canals."

"For my team in particular, we want the local community to connect with their local canal. Our tagline is "Life is better by water," he continued.

"For us, it's about the local community coming out and seeing what's in and around this space, as the locks and canals have been here for around 200 years. It's fantastic that people come out and find out about things they didn't know," Passmore concluded.

The History of Canal Locks

The lock gates within a canal are replaced between every 25 to 40 years, as they are listed structures all across the United Kingdom, and they are produced out of oak, as other materials would destroy the architectural character.

As a result, each individual network is given a unique lock system, and the wooden patterns and dyes used to signify that are stored in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.

The network in the Wolverhampton boundary has a total of 21 locks, spanning from the 'Top Lock' just north of Wolverhampton station, all the way to number 21, where it joins the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal near Aldersley.

The Job of Restoring 'Lock 7'

The next part of the event saw us venture down into 'Lock 7', which was definitely a unique experience, and it put into perspective how much hard and strenuous work has been passed down through the generations of the working-class community of Wolverhampton and the West Midlands to continuously restore pride and structures in the network.

Once inside of the ongoing restoration works, I was able to gain a perspective from two of the workers involved in this project, who shared their knowledge on differing aspects of the job to myself and a small group of visitors.

One of those was Daniel, a bricklayer for the trust who also completed a two-year apprentice prior to his current role, which includes filling in missing bricks within lock walls.

These lock walls are between 1ft to 1m in thickness.

"Some of the work we are doing is replacing lock ladders that have been damaged or broken, as well as making sure we match new legislation from the government," he began.

"We're taking any preventative measures to stop any leaks in the future in regards to any brickwork that's falling out of the wall or is corroded, so we're going around to make sure that it's all structurally sound."

As previously mentioned, the current workers have access to a number of tools that weren't available to their predecessors, which is something the trust are taking full advantage of.

He concluded: "We're looking at using Modern technology when we can, as then they (the bricks) will be stronger and last longer, and it gives us a chance to make sure the structure remains for as long as possible. We do the gates and ladders at the same time, which could take 2-4 weeks."

As Daniel referenced, there are a number of leaks that occur. These stem from an array of litter which builds up in the water, which causes major management issues and could see canals and/or locks closed during periods of drought.

Carl is another working on the restoration as a Craft Operative, and he gave me further insight into the inner-workings.

"My role is to replace the gates at this particular lock," he stated.

"On average it takes 1-2 weeks at an estimated cost of between £12,000 - £36,000 (depending on condition) . That includes changing the sills and refitting the gates to the humps.

Further figures include an estimated overall cost of £100,000 for each lock, when crucial aspects such as security, welfare and rescuing of fish in the local proximity are taken into account.

Similarly to other facets of the Old Main Line Canal, these structures have been in place for years, but how long exactly?

Carl ended with: "The original gates tend to last between 20-25 years, and the new ones will be made in a factory in Bradley, Bilston, and they're all handmade oak products,"

More information on the Canal and River Trust can be found on their website.