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Publication Date: 07 October 2008
The Droitwich Canals Partnership celebrated the restoration of the Barge Lock, which links the Junction Canal with the Barge Canal in Droitwich on 26th September. Teams of Waterway Recovery Group volunteers worked on the lock, undertaking silt clearance, re-pointing and repairing the brickwork and installing lock ladders and bollards, throughout the summer. British Waterways installed the new lock gates. Funding for the work came from an appeal by The Waterways Trust that was strongly supported by IWA.
The Barge Lock provides access to the river Salwarpe in Droitwich Spa, and was significant for the town as the Junction Canal it linked into provided a direct link from Droitwich to the Worcester & Birmingham Canal and the inland waterway network of the Midlands. The Junction Canal, including the Barge Lock, was constructed in 1854 from red brick with sandstone copings and is 4.9 metres wide and 24 metres long between corresponding pairs of gates. It was unusual in originally having two sets of gates at each end, arranged so that boats could rise or fall when entering the river depending on the relative level of the river.
Droitwich Canals Trust is holding an open day on the Droitwich Junction Canal on 12th October, when boaters will be able to use the locks further up the canal previously restored and funded by WRG and IWA.
