19 November 2013
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Students to lead excavation of Lock Flight at Falkirk
A group of students will lead the excavation of a 200-year-old lock flight which will be brought back to life as a visitor attraction at the Falkirk Wheel. ...
A group of students will lead the excavation of a 200-year-old lock flight which will be brought back to life as a visitor attraction at the Falkirk Wheel. The lock flight, which has been left untouched since the 1930s, will be excavated as part of a 'signature project' by young students at the Scottish Waterway Trust's canal college.
Falkirk Provost Pat Reid joined the canal college students as they embarked on the project at the historic Falkirk flight, which featured eleven locks and connected the Union and Forth & Clyde canals until it was filled in between the 1930s, when the canals fell into disuse, and the 1960s, when they were officially closed to navigation. Over the next two years, the young students on each of the 14 week long programmes will work on the first three locks at the top of the flight. These locks beside the Union Canal remain accessible though the lower section of the lock flight, beside the Forth & Clyde Canal, was built over during the 1960s.
During the excavation, which is assisted by Scottish Canals’ heritage specialists and Archaeology Scotland and supported by Historic Scotland, the students and their volunteer mentors will learn how to archive, research and survey buried locks and listed structures and discover the engineering behind the Forth & Clyde and Union canals, which are both Scheduled Ancient Monuments.
After revealing the coping stones and upper chamber walls during the vegetation clearance and shallow excavation, the students will survey and record the condition of what they find.
A new historic attraction
It is hoped that following the excavation, canal college students will also help create interpretation materials telling the story of the lock flight and its modern day counterpart, The Falkirk Wheel. These materials may include interpretation boards at the lock flight and guided walks from The Falkirk Wheel.
Falkirk Provost Pat Reid said of the project: 'I know this spot very well having lived next to Lock 16 basin for several years as a child.
At the time there was also still a spur off the main railway line, which served the distillery and the local cooperage. Consequently this canal college project in particular is of great personal interest and I looking forward to seeing the young people in action over coming months.'
Karen Moore, Chief Executive of the Scottish Waterways Trust, said: 'Canal college has been designed to equip young people who are furthest from the job market with a wide range of heritage and environment skills. The learning opportunities of working on such an important and exciting live heritage project like this are fantastic.
'The students will gain invaluable experience in helping preserve an important part of the rich heritage of the Scottish canal network. They will also gain the satisfaction of creating a new heritage attraction which will be enjoyed by the communities of Falkirk as well as the 400,000 visitors welcomed by The Falkirk Wheel each year.'
Keep up to date with the latest history news, discoveries and research in every issue of History Scotland and Scottish Memories magazines, available in print and digital versions.
Falkirk Provost Pat Reid joined the canal college students as they embarked on the project at the historic Falkirk flight, which featured eleven locks and connected the Union and Forth & Clyde canals until it was filled in between the 1930s, when the canals fell into disuse, and the 1960s, when they were officially closed to navigation. Over the next two years, the young students on each of the 14 week long programmes will work on the first three locks at the top of the flight. These locks beside the Union Canal remain accessible though the lower section of the lock flight, beside the Forth & Clyde Canal, was built over during the 1960s.
During the excavation, which is assisted by Scottish Canals’ heritage specialists and Archaeology Scotland and supported by Historic Scotland, the students and their volunteer mentors will learn how to archive, research and survey buried locks and listed structures and discover the engineering behind the Forth & Clyde and Union canals, which are both Scheduled Ancient Monuments.
After revealing the coping stones and upper chamber walls during the vegetation clearance and shallow excavation, the students will survey and record the condition of what they find.
A new historic attraction
It is hoped that following the excavation, canal college students will also help create interpretation materials telling the story of the lock flight and its modern day counterpart, The Falkirk Wheel. These materials may include interpretation boards at the lock flight and guided walks from The Falkirk Wheel.
Falkirk Provost Pat Reid said of the project: 'I know this spot very well having lived next to Lock 16 basin for several years as a child.
In fact, the area was our playground and I can remember the remains of the old locks still evident in the undergrowth.
At the time there was also still a spur off the main railway line, which served the distillery and the local cooperage. Consequently this canal college project in particular is of great personal interest and I looking forward to seeing the young people in action over coming months.'
Karen Moore, Chief Executive of the Scottish Waterways Trust, said: 'Canal college has been designed to equip young people who are furthest from the job market with a wide range of heritage and environment skills. The learning opportunities of working on such an important and exciting live heritage project like this are fantastic.
'The students will gain invaluable experience in helping preserve an important part of the rich heritage of the Scottish canal network. They will also gain the satisfaction of creating a new heritage attraction which will be enjoyed by the communities of Falkirk as well as the 400,000 visitors welcomed by The Falkirk Wheel each year.'
Keep up to date with the latest history news, discoveries and research in every issue of History Scotland and Scottish Memories magazines, available in print and digital versions.
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