Bingley Five Rise Locks facts for kids
The Bingley Five-Rise Locks are a famous set of canal locks on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Bingley, England. They are called a "staircase lock" because boats go up or down five different levels, one after another, like climbing stairs. This amazing structure helps boats travel over a big change in land height.
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What are the Bingley Five-Rise Locks?
The Five-Rise Locks are made of five lock chambers connected directly. There are no flat sections of water (called "ponds") between them. This means the bottom gate of one lock chamber is also the top gate of the chamber below it.
How do the Locks Work?
In total, there are five chambers and six gates. The Leeds and Liverpool Canal is a wide canal. So, each lock chamber is about 14 feet (4.3 m) wide. Each gate is made of two halves. These halves swing open from opposite sides of the canal. When closed, they form a "V" shape, pointing towards the higher water level.
Water pressure helps keep the gates shut tightly. When the water levels on both sides of a gate are the same, the gate can be opened. This allows a boat to move into the next chamber.
Steepest Locks in the UK
The Bingley Five-Rise Locks are the steepest set of locks in the United Kingdom. They climb about 59 ft 2 in (18.03 m) over a distance of 320 ft (98 m). This is a very steep climb, like a slope of 1 in 5. The middle and bottom gates are the tallest in the whole country.
Because these locks are complex to use, a full-time lock keeper is usually on duty. This person helps boaters, especially those who are new to canals. The locks are also locked up at night. Barry Whitelock was the lock keeper here for nearly 30 years. He even received an MBE award for his work. He retired in 2017.
There is also a beautiful waterfall next to the locks. This is an overflow system. When boats go down the locks, the water level in each chamber rises a little. The extra water flows out through channels into this main waterfall.
Protected Landmark
The Bingley Five-Rise Locks are a very important historical structure. They are a Grade I listed building. This means they are protected because of their special historical and architectural importance.
History of the Locks
The Bingley Five-Rise Locks first opened on March 21, 1774. Building them was a huge engineering achievement for that time. When the locks and the canal section opened, about 30,000 people came to celebrate. The very first boat to use the locks took only 28 minutes to pass through. The local newspaper, the Leeds Intelligencer, wrote about this first journey.
A shorter set of locks, the Bingley Three Rise Locks, also opened at the same time. They are just a short distance downstream.
Visiting the Locks
The Bingley Five-Rise Locks are a popular tourist attraction. Many people come to watch boats go through the locks. People who enjoy watching canal boats are sometimes called "gongoozlers".
Maintaining the Locks
These amazing locks need a lot of care to keep them working well. They had major repair work done in 2004 and again in 2006. During these times, the lock gates and paddles were replaced.
In January 2012, the locks were drained of water. This allowed workers to put in brand new lock gates. These new gates are made from English green oak wood. Each gate, along with its balance beam, weighs over 5 tonnes!
