The locks as you see them today represent three further stages
in the modernisation and improvement to the navigation of the River
Weaver, carried out between 1791 and 1889 under the management of
the River Weaver Navigation Trustees, who ran the river from 1760
to 1948,when the inland waterways were nationalised.
During the reign of the Trustees, the river was subject to several
improvement schemes, each designed to straighten and deepen its
course, and to reduce passage times by building fewer, deeper
locks.
Examples of all this are to be seen at Vale Royal Locks today.
The oldest lock chamber at Vale Royal is the one at the West
side of the site; currently this is used as a weir/sluice whose
purpose is to control the level of the water impounded above the
lock.
Originally built in 1791, this lock was 88' long X 18' wide, with
4'6" of water over the sills. Engineered by John Johnson, it was
constructed of masonry blocks and brick, and was the only lock at
this site for 71 years. It was operated manually, the gates
originally having balance beams like today's canal locks.
By 1861, increased traffic on the river necessitated doubling
the locks.A larger,deeper lock was constructed alongside the
existing one and additional Lock-Tenders were employed. This new
lock is known today as the small lock, and although considerably
modified in later years, is still used for the passage of smaller
vessels. It was engineered by Edward Leader Williams, who served
the Weaver from 1856-1872, was constructed of masonry and brick,
and was 100' long x 22'wide, with 10' of water over the sills. The
original manual operating mechanism for the gates and paddles is
still in use.
Further increases in both size of vessel and volume of traffic
persuaded the Trustees to again upgrade the river in the last
quarter of the 19th century. The Big Lock on the East of the site
was constructed between 1887 and 1889 when it was opened to
traffic. Engineered by Lionel Bury Wells, it represented a major
change in operating practice, the gates being powered by
water-driven Pelton Wheels. The dimensions of the lock-chamber are
220' long x 42'6" wide, with 15' of water over the sills, the lock
being constructed of sandstone blocks with limestone coping-stones
and rubbing-bands. The large size, and speed of operation meant
that a steam flat towing three 3OO-ton dumb-barges could pass the
lock in 15 minutes, making the Weaver an extremely efficient
navigation.
So it remains, although the cessation of the salt trade sadly
means that no commercial traffic passes Vale Royal Locks today.
Text by and reproduced with the kind permission of Peter
Shaw, Lock-Keeper at Vale Royal.
The cache is a half litre lock 'n' lock box containing a FTF
certificate and some swaps. It is located at the junction of two
public footpaths. Coordinates are an average of 150 readings.