Toomebridge Lock,

The Department's description

Exterior description and setting

Lock 1 on the Lower Bann Navigation, constructed by the Board of Public Works between 1847 and 1859. The lock is situated approximately half way along an artificial cut along the east bank of the River Bann. This cut runs from where the river exits Lough Neagh to just north of the former railway bridge over the Bann at Toomebridge. The drop through the lock is approximately 90cm (3ft) and enables the sluice gates across the north end of the lough to be navigated.

This single lock chamber is 6.25m (20ft 6in) wide. It is lined with brick and topped with a course of dressed stone blocks and kerb. Its quarter-round ends, beyond the gates, are of bolstered masonry blocks laid in regular courses.

There is a pair of timber lock gates at each end. Each gate has a vertical paddle (sluice gate), manually operated through a two-step rack-and-pinion mechanism. The gates have been replaced from time to time and are not original. Recesses in each wall immediately above the upper set of gates indicate the former presence of land paddles (ground sluices), but these were apparently abandoned in favour of the present gate paddles on account of frequent blockages by flotsam. The paddle mechanisms are accessed along cantilevered metal/timber footbridges affixed to the upper sides of each gate. These walkways also enable access to the west bank of the lock chamber.

There are stop plank grooves just beyond each pair of gates; these were used to seal off the chamber during repairs and maintenance. Depth gauges (calibrated in feet and inches) have been set into the slots on the west side and a galvanised metal ladder into the south-east slot. There is an identical ladder up the middle of the east side of the chamber.

Setting

There are three cast concrete mooring posts and a lifebelt post along each side of the chamber. At the north and south ends of the west bank are modern metal signs advertising the lock’s opening hours.

The ground along the east side of the lock is surfaced in tarmacadam. A low concrete curb runs c.2m in from the edge of the chamber. A modern galvanised metal barrier separates the lock area from a public footpath running along the east bank of the canal. The ground west of the lock is grassed and delineated by a modern galvanised palisade fence. A gate in the latter leads on to a concrete footpath which gives access to the weir and sluice gates controlling the level of Lough Neagh.

Just beyond the north-east end of the lock, concrete steps lead down to a steel footbridge which gives access to a landing pontoon. The bank has been cut away slightly and gabions installed to accommodate the pontoon. There is also an identical pontoon accessed by a concrete ramp and footbridge at the south-east end of the lock.

Lock Keeper's House

The lock keeper’s house is situated some distance north of the lock, close to the former railway bridge. The original single-storey house was replaced by the present one in the 1960s. It has a pitched concrete tile roof, uPVC gutters, cement-rendered walls, and square-headed openings with uPVC fittings. Although functionally related to the lock, it is not of listable quality.

Historical information

The Lower Bann Navigation runs from Lough Neagh to Coleraine and was constructed by the Board of Public Works between 1847 and 1859. It follows the river for most of its course, but canalised sections were necessary in places. The scheme was devised by John McMahon, the Board’s Engineer, and was also designed to alleviate flooding through dredging the river, removing rock shoals, and lowering the level of Lough Neagh by some 1.8m (6ft). Toome Lock is the first of five locks along the navigation, the others being at Portna, Movanagher, Carnroe and the Cuts at Coleraine. Upon completion, it was handed over to the Lower Bann Navigation Trust.

In 1929, responsibility was transferred to the Ministry of Finance and eventually to the Dept Agriculture for N. Ireland.

Since 2000, it has been the responsibility of Waterways Ireland. Floating landing jetties (pontoons) were added at both ends of the lock in 2004-05 and the lock gates refurbished in 2005 (new balance beams and heel posts).

References - Secondary sources:
1. McCutcheon, W.A. The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland, pp 71-75 (Belfast: HMSO, 1980).
2. Delany, R. Ireland’s Inland Waterways, pp 167-169. (Belfast: Appletree Press, 1986).
3. Waterways Ireland Annual Report & Accounts 2004.
4. Waterways Ireland Annual Report & Accounts 2005.

Criteria for listing: architectural interest

A. Style
B. Proportion
C. Ornamentation
D. Plan Form
F. Structural System
J. Setting

Criteria for listing: historic interest

X. Local Interest
Z. Rarity

Evaluation

This is the first of five locks on the Lower Bann Navigation and is situated along an extensive cutting running parallel with the river, just east of the sluice gates which maintain the level of water in Lough Neagh. It enables boats to negotiate the change in water level created by these gates. The lock gates are replacements, but are in keeping with the originals. Apart from the Newry Ship Canal, the Lower Bann Navigation is the only operational canal in Northern Ireland and this rare example of a working lock is therefore of some significance.