This is the point where the Lagan Canal enters Lough Neagh. Sadly,
as is the case with most of the remainder of this waterway, it has
been neglected and has fallen into a sad state of disrepair. The
lock gates are long gone but the walls of the lock remain and
provide a good impression of the rise and fall that barges had to
make leaving or entering Lough Neagh.
To reach this slightly out of the way cache, you should take the
main road from Lurgan to Aghalee (B12). About a quarter of a mile
past the bridge over the motorway, take the Leansmount Road on the
left. Follow the road and as you pas "Leansmount House" and the
tight "S" bend on which it sits, there is a small laneway on the
right bordered by farm buildings. Take this to the first sharp
right hand bend. (see the map).
This place holds other memories for me as when we were kids we
used to come down here to fish for perch just beyond the lock.
A Potted History of the Lagan
Canal
The Lagan Canal stretches for 27 miles from Belfast to Lough
Neagh passing through 27 Locks. At it's peak use, it was one of the
most successful commercial navigations in Ireland. The development
of road and rail led to the demise of the Lagan Canal and its
abandonment in the 1950’s.
The Lagan Navigation or Canal was constructed to transport goods
to and from Belfast and Lough Neagh. The navigation is made up of
sections of the River Lagan and man made cuts of canal. The
navigation seperates from the River Lagan at Union Locks,
Sprucefield where the summit level, the highest point of the
navigation, carries the waterway towards Aghalee and onto Lough
Neagh. The later section was an artificially constructed cut of
canal entirely separate from the River Lagan.
The building of the Lagan Canal was begun in 1756 and within a
year the first six miles from Belfast were completed. It would take
another forty-six years to complete the project. The first engineer
was called Thomas Omer; he had first worked on the Newry
navigation. In September 1763 the navigation was opened as far as
Lisburn and the Lord Hertford, a sixty-ton lighter, made the first
voyage. This boat belonged to Thomas Gregg, a prominent Belfast
merchant. Between 1763 and 1765 the river was made navigable as far
as Sprucefield and here construction ceased. The original estimate
of £20,000 to open the entire canal had proved totally inadequate;
indeed by this time nearly twice that amount had been spent. The
funds were to be raised by levying one penny a gallon on ale and
four pennies a gallon on spirits within the wider district of
Lisburn.
In 1782 the Marquis of Donegal entered into an agreement with an
English engineer called Richard Owen. Owen had worked on the
Liverpool and Leeds Canal. He was to be paid £200 a year for four
years to construct the remainder of the canal, sadly the allocated
timescale proved rather elusive. One of the finest pieces of
architecture that he built was the aqueduct above Spencer’s
Bridge, built of sandstone quarried in the Earl of
Hillsborough’s estate about two miles away in the town land
of Kilwarlin. Sadly the custodians of our built heritage had the
foresight to build the M1 motorway on the bed of the canal between
Sprucefield and Moira. This magnificent aqueduct was built just
beyond the Moira roundabout. It with many of the fine bridges was
demolished. The waterway reached Aghalee in 1792 and the canal
finally reached Ellis Gut, a bay in Lough Neagh in 1793. The canal
was formally opened on New Year’s Day in 1794, virtually 216
years ago to the day. This final section of the canal had cost the
Marquis £62000 mostly from his own private funds.
The Cache
The cache is a small tab-locked box with log book, pencil,
sharpener and, when placed, two small glass ornaments. It is
suitable for Geocoins and small Travel Bugs. As this is approx 50
metres from the laneway it is not readily accessible for wheelchair
users. Also keep a close watch on young children as the lock walls
are not fenced.