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From Bradley Workshops to Glastonbury Festival


The life story of a lock gate

After more than 20 years in use, the lock gates at Maunsel Lock on the Bridgwater & Taunton Canal had reached the end of their working life. But when they were craned out of the canal last month, it was not the end of their story. Instead, the gates are heading to Worthy Farm to be reused at the world-famous Glastonbury Festival.

Built at Bradley workshop

The lock gates were built at Bradley workshop, now one of only two workshops in the country that build and repair lock gates. Hundreds of the gates are produced by Bradley workshop’s highly skilled craftsmen every year. They use ceiling-mounted cranes to rotate the gates, allowing the carpenters to work on both sides. The gates require very careful handling, as they are made of solid oak, and weigh several tonnes.

The gates were first craned into position at Lower Maunsel Lock in 1988.

Working life on the canal

The lock gates spent their 23-year working life at Lower Maunsel Lock on the Bridgwater & Taunton Canal. This picturesque spot in Somerset is popular with cyclists, walkers and canoeists, as well as the many narrowboats that would have passed through the gates over the years. The lock is the location of a Canal Centre and tea shop, and a stop on the Somerset Space Walk – a 22 km walking route that forms a scale model of the solar system.

The lock gates were re-planked a few times over their lifetime, to stop leaks, but 20 years is about the average time for a wooden lock gate to last, and this year it became necessary to replace them.

Recycled at Glastonbury

The lock gates now need time to dry out, but they will be made use of at a future Glastonbury Festival. Michael Eavis, Glastonbury Festival founder, said: “It’s great that British Waterways has donated these wonderful lock gates to us, and even better that they have come from the local area. The gates may have come to the end of their working waterway life but there’s still plenty of use in them for us. From building beautiful bridges to sound-proofing our noisiest circus arena, and with lots more ideas still to come, I guarantee these gates will not be wasted.”

This will not be the first time British Waterways lock gates have been recycled at Glastonbury. Last year, lock gates from the Kennet & Avon Canal were used to build a new bridge over a river on the site, called Bella’s Bridge. The bridge was a memorial to Arabella Churchill, a granddaughter of Winston Churchill and a key founder of the festival, who died in 2007.

This year, more gates from the Kennet & Avon Canal, including some from the iconic Caen Hill flight, were used to clad and soundproof the outdoor circus arena, the Campo Pequeno, which promises to play host to everything from Mexican wrestling to a DJ set by the Friendly Fires.

Last updated: 21/06/2011

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