Latchford Locks.

The  two lock chambers at Latchford are situated 21 miles from Eastham and are constructed so that the larger chamber is on the northern bank. A series of three sluices separate the smaller lock from the southern bank..  The lock chambers are some 600 and 350 feet long, and 65 and 45 feet wide respectively.

The lift at Latchford is  now 12 feet 6 inches, although it was originally sixteen feet six inches until 1909 when the canal was deepened to it's present 28 foot clearance and the lift dropped to 14 foot 6.  The lift was to be further reduced to it's present level in 1956 when the water level was raised a further two feet between Eastham and Latchford. The water depth on the Eastham side of the locks is now thirty feet.

The locks, in common with all the others on the canal, are resting on foundations of solid sandstone rock with concrete on top. Below the water level the lock walls built of concrete but are lined above it with brick with a blue facing brick to finish.  All fender courses, copings, and the corners of the gate chambers are of dressed cornish granite.

The lock gates themselves are built of greenheart wood - a wood so heavy that it sinks in water and which is so indestructible it is considered to be superior to steel for this application. The various sections of the gates are tied together with iron plates and bolts.  The gates are constructed to move on rollers for ease of opening and are operated by hydraulic rams attached to chains. The rams and cylinders themselves are are fixed in chambers within the lock walls.

Water enters the locks by means of sluices positioned in tunnels within the walls and  the inlet sluices in each lock have 4 openings in order to spread the flow and to avoid currents within the lock. The interconnecting water conservation sluices present in the locks further up the canal were not installed here as water can be replenished at each high tide.

Staff at the control room here are responsible for the operation of all locks and bridges above this point, and can frequently be heard talking to the shipping on the VHF marine band radio - channel 14,  156.7 MHz.

The hydraulic machinery  here also provides power for the swing bridges in the Warrington area.

View of the sluices at Latchford with one of the canal workboats moored alongside.