Inverness, Clachnaharry, Caledonian Canal, Clachnaharry Lock View from the north-west showing Clachnaharry Lock with both gates closed, with a boat awaiting the opening of the gates. The Canal Worksh ...

Description Inverness, Clachnaharry, Caledonian Canal, Clachnaharry Lock View from the north-west showing Clachnaharry Lock with both gates closed, with a boat awaiting the opening of the gates. The Canal Workshops are visible on the extreme right

Date 30/3/1999

Collection Records of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS), Edinbu

Catalogue Number D 64136

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 799587

Scope and Content Clachnaharry Lock, Caledonian Canal, Inverness, Highland, from north-west This shows the lock, built around 1807 by John Simpson and John Cargill, with workshops on the left and the main canal workshops on the right. The lock gates are topped with railed pedestrian walkways and the white-painted mooring ring (left) would be used to secure a boat before it entered the lock. In the background there is a hand crane which was probably used in conjunction with an adjacent sawmill which has been demolished. The original lock gates for the sea lock to the west were constructed with salt-water resistant Welsh oak and it seems likely that this timber was used for the original lock gates here. Between 1890 and 1906 the lock gates were replaced by oak and steel ones. By the mid-20th century the lock gates were fully mechanised. The Caledonian Canal was designed by Thomas Telford (1757-1834) and built between 1803 and 1822 at a cost of £840,000. It was the first example of a transport network funded by the government in Great Britain. The 96.5km-long canal provides a route for boats travelling between the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean as it runs from the Beauly Firth at Clachnaharry, Inverness, to Loch Linnhe at Corpach. Only 35.4km of this length is man-made while the other 61km runs through four lochs: Loch Dochfour, Loch Ness, Loch Oich and Loch Lochy. Unfortunately at 4.2m deep the canal was too small for most sea-going ships which led to it being altered and deepened between 1844 and 1847. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/517313