Schutsluis

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed, in Dutch. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

Description

Lock with weir / Weir / Dam lock (Werkhoven).

NEW HOLLANDSE WATERLINIE

Introduction

LOCK WITH WEIR / WEIR / DAM LOCK (Werkhoven) built around 1870, specially for the purpose of the canalization and arrangement as 'inundation canal' of the Kromme Rijn. The defence system of the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie was primarily based on the controlled flooding of (large) land areas. Controlled inundation required an ingenious system of waterworks, such as locks, weirs and canals, with which the necessary water level could be quickly set and maintained within narrow limits. Many different types of locks were employed, depending on the location where they functioned in the system. Sometimes already existing navigation, drainage or check locks were used, but many new ones were also built or existing ones were (substantially) adapted. The lock at Werkhoven was specially built for use within the framework of the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie, but could also be used for navigation. To this end, the work comprises two parallel, approximately equally wide watercourses: the southwestern one is the lock, the northeastern of the two watercourses contains a weir / weir system / dam lock. This 'parallel construction' occurs relatively infrequently. Any excess water could potentially be discharged along it. The lock was constructed at a large bend cut-off in a channel bed slightly relocated at that location. Little is now recognizable of this latter part of the old channel bed. A long stretch of rough vegetation remains in the landscape, parallel to the main flow; the cut-off is still clearly recognizable. The river, already dammed for centuries upstream at Wijk bij Duurstede and fed only via a culvert from the Neder-Rijn, was barely navigable until around 1870 and the works were also intended to improve this. The lock at Werkhoven formed part of a series of three similar examples, of which the one in the upstream-located Cothen still exists. These two locks offered passage for vessels up to just over 25 m in length and 5 m in width. The no longer existing lock at Wijk bij Duurstede was smaller and could accommodate vessels up to 20 x 4 m. All three of them - just like the culvert lock and other works at Wijk bij Duurstede - were paid for by the military Corps of Engineers, which also took the initiative for the canalization. This was carried out in the years 1866-1871. The weir / weir / dam lock was modernized in 2005 by the installation of an electrically controlled valve weir mechanism; the watercourse was also extended and a fish pass was installed. A modern footbridge with iron railing crosses the weir. All this represents a not inconsiderable loss of authenticity. Furthermore, most of the cast iron and wrought iron components found on and around the lock have been replaced by sheet iron replicas and iron tubework. At the same time, the wooden lock gates were renewed. In the vicinity lies the original, but partly altered lock keeper's house.

Description

The LOCK WITH WEIR / WEIR / DAM LOCK (Werkhoven) comprises a relatively small lock, executed almost entirely in brick, which can be closed by means of two sets of mitre gates and possibly also with inserted sluice planks. The length of the lock built around 1870 is approximately 35 m (including head structures) and the width approximately 5.00 m. The chamber length is approximately 28 m. Along the lock, iron balustrades on iron balusters. On the lock heads, partly provided with natural stone coping plates, four iron winches with lever handles for operating the gates. The wooden gates open toward the upstream side and are provided with walkways with iron railings and with iron winches and sluice gates. On the upstream side, parallel to the lock, an approximately equally wide but just over 10 m long, mortared and provided with natural stone elements watercourse, executed as a weir / weir / dam lock with grooves, in which a total of five rows (1 x 1 and 2 x 2) of sluice planks could be lowered.

Valuation

The LOCK WITH WEIR / WEIR / DAM LOCK (Werkhoven) is of general importance because of:

* Cultural-historical values as part of the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie as designed by C.R.T. Kraijenhoff and initially realized from 1815 by him, Jan Blanken and major-engineer Willem Offerhaus and subsequently strengthened and improved by others for approximately 125 years.

* Architectural-historical values, in particular as an expression of civil and water engineering related to military-strategic objectives, which is based on the system of water management, inundation and access defence (19th century).

This is an expression of historical water engineering related to military-strategic architecture, namely a water barrier with weir serving military functions, with the secondary function of a (civil) lock.

* Ensemble value and situational values as part of the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie in general and because of the special role in the control of the water level in the canalized Kromme Rijn by means of several other waterworks and because of the relationship with the lock keeper's houses.

* The component is representative because it emphasizes the application of lock and weir works in the functioning of the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie in combination with civil functions. The component has relative rarity due to the parallel construction of lock and weir / weir / dam lock.

* The component is largely authentically preserved because the main form, architectural detailing and various components have remained recognizable (preserved or in replica) and functional.