Locks..... a bit of history.

[oldgit]

For many years the Medway was tidal right the way up to Maidstone town centre, quite a bit further up than Allington.

Even this was not the first lock,as prior there had been a Flash Lock on the site.
This view is more or less where the old lock stood and the land adjacent is known as Lockmeadow for obvious reasons

Allington came later in order to improve the navigation for commercial craft,they powers that be had to fight tooth and nail to over come objections by assorted interested neer do wells looking for some easy money including fish weir owners,mill owners and riperian owners on the make .
This picture is of the original Lock at Allington

and today

 

[bradtarga34]

Very interesting, did you take the original photo's as well?

 

[oldgit]

Very interesting, did you take the original photo's as well?

Nah ....all early photos by B1 who was well into his seventies even by then ,you can see him chatting up the bird to the lower right while waiting for the lock keeper to finish watering the flowers and let him into the lock!

 

[byron]

Nah ....all early photos by B1 who was well into his seventies even by then ,you can see him chatting up the bird to the lower right while waiting for the lock keeper to finish watering the flowers and let him into the lock!

Sure it isn't the other dude quietly taking a leak?

 

[teddington_lock]

waiting for the lock keeper to finish watering the flowers and let him into the lock!

Nothing changes eh ?

 

[Gavi]

Sure it isn't the other dude quietly taking a leak?

Isn't he equipped to do that from the wheel these days?

 

[byron]

Isn't he equipped to do that from the wheel these days?

They didn't have Chlorestery bags in those days. But Yes, he is fitted now.

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

My late grandfather managed the Baltic Saw Mills in Tonbridge for years. He used to tell tales of when some of the wood was delivered by barge, and indeed sawn timber taken away again. My recollection is that I was apparently alive the last time it happened, so post June 1963, although I didn't (knowingly) see it happen.

Lovely pictures.

 

[oldgit]

Bit more .....

This is the flash lock ??? just above Maidstone at Farleigh,with a bridge in the background, it was used by the Roundheads to out flank the Royalists who had taken up positions in the county town.

This is the pound lock about 50 years later on

and the present day.

.
The timber yard would have been very close to here .
Tonbridge town lock.The end of the road, beyond here is the very low bridge which is the limit of navigation for most craft,beyond that is a shallow channel connecting to a three mile cut which was never flooded due to the money running out.

Always wondered who it was that worked out it would be quicker to fill 40 ft of river as opposed to to 3 or so miles?

 

[Medway_Squirrel2]

Must correct you Mr OG! The middle photo "50 years on" is Teston Lock not East Farleigh. You can see what's left of the old mill building which is still there today albeit covered in a lot more foliage..

Medway Squirrel

 

[oldgit]

"Must correct you Mr OG! "

Argh...,you are absolutely 100% correct,the old ruins of the cricket bat/ball factory lurk in the background somewhere just next to the weir. ?

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

Next time I'm up at Sunbury I will try and root out an old pilot book from the club's bookshelves with full Medway details, there is an aerial photograph of Tonbridge Town Lock showing all the timber yards and wharves pre 1968 and the Great Flood that should scan nicely for the interest of forumites.

Mind you, B1 and OG probably see that as quite recently and may have their own copies

The original plan was to make the river navigable to Penshurst to give access to the wood resources of the De L'Isle estate and iron products from the Ashdown Forest and also the Powder Mills near Leigh. Between Tonbridge and the Leigh Barrier can be found the remains of a partially completed lock chamber, the "straight mile" embankment and some artifical channel. Not only did the money run out but the Big Bridge (effective head of navigation for cruisers) in Tonbridge was not built with barge traffic in mind and killed any possible revival of the project. The other major problems were simply not enough traffic to justify the additional costs and the tendancy of the Medway to rapid changes in level and silting in the winter. Thames Barges could not easily use the river all the way to Tonbridge all year round, which didn't help!

Much of that is from vague recollection of a school project on the river, ever so many years back!

 

[ianc1200]

Andrew

What is "the leigh Barrier"? We took my inflatable up about 3 or 4 miles above Tonbridge and finished up with a concrete wall which appeared to be like a resevoir surround, was this the Leigh Barrier?

IanC

 

[Celica]

Tutsham Mill

The mill at Teston was an oil mill called Tutsham Mill, it burnt down in the late 1800's, the cricket ball factory was up in Teston Village. Further to the Penshurst canal, there was other plans to join the Medway at Branbridges to a new canal that would continue to headcorn and also join the River Rother. This was going to be called the weald of Kent canal, and there was acually an act of parliament made to do this and I believe still current if you have the money!!!

 

[Andrew_Fanner]

Andrew

What is "the leigh Barrier"? We took my inflatable up about 3 or 4 miles above Tonbridge and finished up with a concrete wall which appeared to be like a resevoir surround, was this the Leigh Barrier?

IanC

Yes it is, head of navigation for powered craft unless you fancy portage, required massive eathworks throughout Haysden and can hold back 6M gallons or so and then release it in a controlled manner. The result of years of flooding in Tonbridge and some of the carelessly placed 1960s housing estates on the flood plains, previously only the Sports Ground was affected upstream of Big Bridge. On the site of a sluice, weir and flood bypass chute that was popular with folk in canoes.

The water has been more or less at the top a couple of times since. The discharge channel is straight and deep, but Long Reach under Lucifer Bridge into which is passes is not, then it has the channels each way round the Sports Ground which fill fast, the majority goes under the Big Bridge and via the wharf to the main wier. The rest uses the back river and bypasses the main weir so it can flood Botany (more flood plain, now big Sainsburys and industrial estate) once a grazing area and cattle market. Once its past Cannon Lane Bridge its pretty much no longer the town's problem, its passed downstream to Five Oak Green, Wateringbury and Yalding

Amusingly the town's swimming pool is in a berm, with flood doors at every entrance.
I used to take the school sculling team up to the Barrier and use the long channel for taining, straight and wide water. There again, I've taken a scull most of the way to Penshurst, but I was a bit of a fruitloop, if I could get a canoe there, I'd try a scull. I stopped because the rive was too narrow for the oars.