Removing Cleeve Weir
Removing the remains of Cleeve Weir in January 1970.
The remains of Cleeve weir were removed in January 1970, and the river dredged up to Marlcliff in early 1970. The land drainage requirements of the River Authority precluded reinstatement of the original navigation levels and hence the new lock and a weir, at ‘low summer level’, were built at Marlcliff, where a marl slab provided a natural step in the river level.
This photograph is one of a series showing the construction of the navigation works for two periods during the ‘restoration’. The first period covers May 1969 to the end of July 1970, during which time the first three locks; George Billington, Harvington (Robert Aickman) and Marlcliff (I.W.A.) were built. The second period was June 1971 to June 1972 which spanned the construction of Barton (Elsie & Hiram Billington), Luddington (Stan Clover) and Stratford (Colin P. Witter) Locks.
The Upper Avon from Evesham to a junction with the Southern Stratford Canal, in Stratford on Avon, was restored to through navigation by the Upper Avon Navigation Trust between 1969 and 1974, when it was formally re-opened by the Queen Mother. The navigation had been abandoned in the 19th Century and very little of the former navigation works remained. It was made navigable again by building nine new locks and three new weirs and by dredging a substantial length of the river to provide a navigable depth.
Removing Cleeve Weir
Removing the remains of Cleeve Weir in January 1970.
The remains of Cleeve weir were removed in January 1970, and the river dredged up to Marlcliff in early 1970. The land drainage requirements of the River Authority precluded reinstatement of the original navigation levels and hence the new lock and a weir, at ‘low summer level’, were built at Marlcliff, where a marl slab provided a natural step in the river level.
This photograph is one of a series showing the construction of the navigation works for two periods during the ‘restoration’. The first period covers May 1969 to the end of July 1970, during which time the first three locks; George Billington, Harvington (Robert Aickman) and Marlcliff (I.W.A.) were built. The second period was June 1971 to June 1972 which spanned the construction of Barton (Elsie & Hiram Billington), Luddington (Stan Clover) and Stratford (Colin P. Witter) Locks.
The Upper Avon from Evesham to a junction with the Southern Stratford Canal, in Stratford on Avon, was restored to through navigation by the Upper Avon Navigation Trust between 1969 and 1974, when it was formally re-opened by the Queen Mother. The navigation had been abandoned in the 19th Century and very little of the former navigation works remained. It was made navigable again by building nine new locks and three new weirs and by dredging a substantial length of the river to provide a navigable depth.