Lock 15 at Woolsthorpe is pictured with the chamber walls almost entirely dismantled, as work progresses on the Lottery-funded volunteer project to completely restore two of the Grantham Canal’s locks.
Three weeks of Waterway Recovery Group canal camps in the summer soon discovered that the walls were in much worse condition than had been hoped: the walls and the buried brick buttresses which support them from behind had sagged inwards, meaning that the entire walls would need to be taken down and rebuilt. The dismantling has now been completed, revealing construction details hidden since famous engineer William Jessop designed them two centuries ago. Canal & River Trust Project Manager Karen Rice said it was “almost like opening a time-capsule”, while WRG’s Mike Palmer called it “a very rare viewpoint” to see a lock wall from.
Next comes the rebuilding phase, and more volunteers are sought to help bring this lock and the adjacent lock 14 back to life. If you want to help, email volunteer@granthamcanal.org.
