Description

BOSTON

TF3244NW WITHAM BANK
716-1/4/248 Grand Sluice, bridge and lights
02/05/86

II

Sluice bridge and lights 1764-66. Altered 1883 and C20. By
John Grundy and Langley Edwards, with alterations by John
Williams. Gritstone, red brick, blue brick, concrete, steel.
Arranged with 3 channels on west and wider channel and lock on
east bank for boats to pass through. On the south/seaward side
the river west wall and 2 cutwaters are the original C18
gritstone. The eastern one has been adapted and partly rebuilt
in 1883 in blue brick. On the north side it has been extended
to form a lock mooring platform. The cutwaters on the north
side have been partly rebuilt in concrete. The seaward doors
are side hung hydraulically operated iron-bound timber doors.
On the landward side the 3 channels have pulley operated drop
doors operated from a steel gantry. The navigable channel has
2 sets of lock gates.
The road bridge is in red brick with 4 segmental arches now
supporting a C20 concrete bridge top with iron railings. At
each corner, diagonally set is a c1930s panelled ashlar pier
with moulded plinth and cornice, bearing openwork painted iron
supports containing 4 elongated decorative pendants supporting
lantern light.
The construction of the grand sluice, which required an Act of
Parliament, resulted in the first major expansion of the town
since the Middle Ages. Beside the eastern bank wall is a stone
bearing this inscription: "Lock opened by Edmund Turner Esq.
on 8th December 1883. John Evelyn Williams engineer, William
Rigby, contractor.".

Listing NGR: TF3237844503

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26668517

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides): Written by Charles O'Brien, 2014 Edition, Publisher: Yale University Press [Hardcover]
• 
  The green guide for historic buildings: how to improve the environmental performance of listed and historic buildings
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Listed Buildings and Other Heritage Assets