Tinsley's Locks gets the Full Monty

The 19th century lock flight, made famous for its appearance in the opening scene of iconic British film, The Full Monty, is one of many across 2000 miles of waterways in England and Wales to be restored this year as part of a £45m overhaul.

The Sheffield & Tinsley Canal, which was was built in the early 19th century by engineer William Chapman at a cost of £76,000 – around £5 million in today’s money - is having its 30-year-old lock gates replaced at Locks 5, 6, 10 and 11. The work is being carried out by the Canal & River Trust.

The Trust’s waterway manager, Jon Horsfall, said: “This is skilled work today so it’s simply incredible how the original canal builders created the Sheffield & Tinsley Canal. Hundreds of boats pass through these locks each year so they get huge use but perhaps a lot of people won’t realise the skill and craftsmanship involved in caring for them, as well as their history. Lock 6 was hit by a bomb back in 1940 as part of the Second World War bombing campaign and suffered considerable damage.”

In addition to this maintenance programme, the Trust is conducting a three month survey to uncover ‘what lurks beneath’ the canals. Across the country, hundreds of shopping trolleys, traffic cones, car tyres, bottles and plastic bags are hauled out of the canals by the Trust and its volunteers at a cost of nearly £1 million each year. Over 20 shopping trolleys have been discovered under Lock 10, which sits next to Sheffield’s Meadowhall shopping centre. The Trust, which is calling for an end to rubbish being dumped in its waterways, will be announcing the results in the spring.