Monument record MLI83227 - Black Sluice, Boston
Summary
Black Sluice, Boston
Type and Period (3)
Protected Status/Designation
- None recorded
Full Description
PRN 13629
The black sluice stands at the end of the South forty foot drain where the man-made drainage canal enters the tidal Haven. The original sluice and part of the drain were built about 1635-1638 but were largely destroyed by local opponents of the drainage scheme. Not until the act of 1765 was the Black Sluice rebuilt and the South forty foot drain extended to its present length of twenty one miles to Bourne. The third and final Black Sluice was built just to the south of the 1765 sluice and was opened in 1846. {1}
The 1765 sluice was built by Langley Edwards and rebuilt in 1846-50 by Cubitt. It was then improved in the 1960s, though the lock was destroyed at some point in the 20th century when a pumping station was built. {2}
Extant structures on the Haven side of the sluice, east of London Road, were recorded through a building survey carried out in December 2007. Although much of western side of the nineteenth century sluice had been destroyed by the extension of the pumping station in the 1960s, the sluice on the Haven side of London Road is relatively unscathed. Three piers and a section of river wall, all constructed in ashlar stone blocks, are thought to have formed part of the original structure. Together the features form three openings, while vertical slots in the stonework would have allowed the control of waterlevels through the raising and lowering of timber gates. Three extant iron winches are thought to be original and were probably related to the operation of the gates. The two southerly openings are now controlled by pairs of tidal doors, while the northernmost features a modern metal gate. The latter (formerly the navigation lock) is the most altered of the openings, having been much rebuilt in concrete. Immediately east of the sluice are two dolphins (stand-alone structures, used to guide and/or moor vessels) comprising concrete blocks on timber supports. {3}{4}
Sources/Archives (4)
- <1> SLI8087 Article in Serial: 1988. Lincolnshire History and Archaeology. Vol.23, pp.90-92.
- <2> SLI9583 Bibliographic Reference: Neil R. Wright. 2004. Lincolnshire's Industrial Heritage - A Guide. BN26, p.12.
- <3> SLI12630 Report: Archaeological Project Services. Nov 2008. Building Recording at Black Sluice Lock. BBSL07.
- <4> SLI12631 Archive: Archaeological Project Services. Nov 2008. Building Recording at Black Sluice Lock. LCNCC 2007.252.
Map
Location
| Grid reference | Centred TF 326 428 (17m by 63m) |
|---|---|
| Civil Parish | BOSTON, BOSTON, LINCOLNSHIRE |
Related Monuments/Buildings (0)
Related Events/Activities (2)
- Event - Survey: Black Sluice, Boston (ELI3373)
- Event - Survey: Building recording at Black Sluice Lock, Boston (ELI9335)
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External Links (0)
Record last edited
Mar 21 2021 8:35PM
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