Tinsley to Rotherham (2)

This is the second in a series of postings which will include some old photographs taken along the South Yorkshire Navigation. Today the navigation is used for leisure, however for many years it was an essential service for fledgling businesses during the early days of the industrial revolution.  Eventually overtaken for speed and carrying capacity by the railways. The railways like the waterways has since shrunk over time. Starting with the privations brought about by the Beeching axe. Now the navigation only has a limited commercial use being mostly leisure with a historical perspective. That harks back to a far different era.

Tinsley to Rotherham.

The flight of locks at Tinsley once numbered 12 but after changes were made to allow for a new railway bridge to cross the canal.  Two locks were combined into a single deep lock.  

This is the last lock at the bottom of the old flight with the old halfpenny foot bridge in the foreground. Along with the midland railway bridge in the background.

Jordan's Weir (on some maps labelled as Jordan's Dam) then Jordan's Lock are the next point along the navigation. The lock usually has little more than a foot of height difference in normal river conditions.  The weir is very broad and has an outfall from the nearby water treatment plant nearby. The lock keepers houses have long been demolished but the foundations still remain.

 
Holmes Lock is the next point. The lock keepers house has long been gone. Even the foundations have been removed. Steel Street to the left of the lock becomes the wonderfully named Dead Man's Hole on the other side of the lock.

The last lock before Rotherham is Ickles. This is where the Canal meets the river Don just after the confluence of the river Rother. The area was once part of the steel industry but over the years as places have closed down they have been swept away. the remnants of the old businesses are still to be seen in many cases resembling a bomb site.