Introduction

This evening, I am focusing on Maryhill Locks, Glasgow. This is a a fascinating example of18th century engineering. Location is the western end of the Forth & Clyde Canal.

Here is a video clip of the Lock Basin.

Information on Maryhill Locks, Glasgow

The canal was started in 1768 and completed in 1790. During this period there was an eight year hiatus when funding dried up. The canal runs for 35 miles from the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland to the River Clyde in the west. Navigation rights ceased in 1963 but were later restored when the canal was reopened in 2001. It is now mainly used by pleasure craft.

The architect/engineer in overall charge of the canal construction was John Smeaton. One of the supervising engineers on the project was Robert Whitworth. The latter being responsible for the Maryhill Locks, key features of which are:

• A flight of five locks, from Lock 21 to Lock 25 entailing a drop of 12.2m.
• Each lock has standard measurements of 22.6m x 6.1m.
• Each lock is designed to hold enough water in the basin between it and the next lock.This was to allow more than one vessel to use each lock at once. This arrangement optimised use of the facility.
• Opening from the Locks Basin to Maryhill Road was constructed a small dry dock in 1790. This was known as Kelvin Dock (as shown in video clip above) and is the Canal’s oldest boat building yard.
• Robert Whitworth also worked on construction of the nearby Kelvin Viaduct which carries the canal over the Kelvin Valley.

River Kelvin Valley

This is a fascinating piece of early industrial history and engineering which is accessible from Maryhill.

More Information

For more information on Scotland’s industrial history, it’s cities and much more please refer to the Visitors’ Guide to Scotland, ISBN 978-1-9161332-0-4. This book is also available via Kindle.