Five Rise Lock

Bingley Five Rise Locks, not the biggest in the UK but the steepest rising nearly 60 feet (16 metres) over a distance of 320 ft (97 metres).  The crowds turned out in 1774 when it opened to see this wonder of the waterways and people still come to see a piece of working history.

At the top the plaque not only mentions the Leeds to Liverpool Canal's first engineer who designed the locks, John Longbotham, but also credits the local stonemasons whose work can still be seen for the locks retain most of their original stonework

There have been modern additions such as the metal lock ladders so if anyone falls in they can get out easily (in the 18th century you would have had to haul yourself up the lock gates).  The lock gates of course haven't lasted

but their replacements are made of oak like the originals.

Here is a boat tying up at the bottom ready to make the journey up; no tripping up over an excitable dog because it has been tied up first

and was waiting patiently to get back on board.

 The boats coming down made their way out (the water can be seen gushing down in lock). The journey down takes 20-30 minutes now the locks are ready for those wanting to take the journey up however

this will take longer,  between 45 minutes and 1 hour.

but there will be company because they go up two by two

not to mention the many curious onlookers like me.

They reach the calm waters of the canal at the top to carry them on their way

but my destination was the tea room on the opposite bank which in past times was the stable block for horses.

An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet, this week sojourning at R here

 

Clock This

One clock tower and two times but both correct.  One is reading the sun and the actual time, the other having done its 'spring forward' an hour is showing Summer Time.  The clock dates from 1856 and was made by one of the great clock makers of England, Potts of Leeds. The mechanism was designed by Edmund Beckett (later Lord Grimthorpe) who was also responsible for the rather more famous mechanism that chimes Big Ben in London.

But this particular clock is on the All Saints Church in the market town of Bingley, West Yorkshire. It is thought that a church has stood on this spot since Saxon times but the present gritstone building dates from the Tudor period (15th/16th Century). The tower was added later but then heightened with a new belfry in 1739.  The interior has also been altered through the years but other alterations are going to happen outside in the near future. 

The memorial stones that make up the path to the church (the inscriptions don't show up well in my photograph) are due to go because of health and safety concerns as they get very slippy in wet weather and there have been a number of falls.  I wondered why they were there and discovered that their original place was in the churchyard which was closed in 1904 when a main road was built through it to the east of the church.  There are 145 stones, some on this path 

others surround the church and the steps to the left of this photograph form a layered patio area.

Photo from: All Saints Bingley website

which the church's website shows in appropriately wet weather.  It has not been decided where the old gravestones are going, one idea was to put some in the nearby rose garden which needs some TLC and the rest to be relocated to the municipal cemetery.  In the meantime when work does eventually start they will be put into storage until their ultimate destination is decided but the question is are there really only 145 slabs or as the lawyer that was dealing with the planning application mentioned they may be layered.  A plan of the 145 stones and those inscriptions that could be read have been transcribed and the information put on the church's  website. for the growing number of genealogists.

Here is the Bingley clock mechanism in motion.  Beware for the gentle and mesmerising ticking will change into a startling cacophony as the clock strikes or maybe it was because I had my computer sound on maximum by mistake. I love a chiming clock.



An entry to ABC Wednesday, a journey through the alphabet, this week sojourning at C here