The Kennet and Avon Canal. constructed between 1794 and 1810, rises 237 feet by means of 29 locks, 16 of them in a straight line at Caen Hill. The locks were built by John Rennie up the side of steep hill where the locks are so close together that the normal arrangement of pounds between locks would not have provided sufficient water storage for the operation of the locks. Rennie's solution to this problem was to provide long side pounds beside the locks. The locks became derelict shortly after the WW2 and, after years of restoration work along the whole of the canal, were reopened by HM The Queen on 8th August 1990.
Canals
Links: www.engineering-timelines.com
By: Hinkkanen
