Prescott Channel
{{Short description|Canal in East London, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2015}}
{{Infobox Canal
|name = Prescott Channel
|image = Prescott Channel.jpg
|image_caption = Prescott Channel in July 2006
|former_names =
|original_owner =
|engineer =
|other_engineer =
|date_act = 1930
|date_use =
|date_completed =
|date_closed = 1960s
|date_restored = 2009
|len =
|len_in =
|original_boat_length =
|original_boat_length_in =
|len_note =
|beam =
|beam_in =
|original_beam =
|original_beam_in =
|beam_note =
|start_point =
|original_start =
|start_note =
|end_point =
|original_end =
|end_note =
|branch =
|branch_of =
|connects_to = Bow Back Rivers
|locks = 1
|original_num_locks =
|lock_note =
|elev =
|elev_note =
|status = Open
|navigation_authority = Canal & River Trust
}}
File:Site of Three Mills Lock.jpg
The Prescott Channel was built in 1930–35 as part of a flood relief scheme for the River Lee Navigation in the County Borough of West Ham, England, and was named after Sir William Prescott, the then chairman of the Lee Conservancy Board.[http://www.glias.org.uk/news/229news.html Notes and News] (April 2007) (Greater London Industrial Archaeology Society) Rubble from the demolished Euston Arch was used in 1962 to improve the channel,Euston Arch found at bottom of river, The Times (4 June 1994). which forms part of the Bow Back Rivers.
Details
Three Mills Lock is a lock in the channel to allow passage of freight for the London 2012 Olympics by a process of canalisation (with the result of stopping the tidal flow) on the channel and the River Lee northwards.{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6401527.stm |title=East End rivers set for upgrade |work=BBC News |date=28 February 2007}} It was constructed between March 2007{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7307252.stm |work=BBC News |title=Waterways face new Olympian task |date=6 April 2008 |accessdate=22 May 2010}} and June 2009.{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8084464.stm |title=Waterway revived as Olympic route |work=BBC News |date=5 June 2009}} Additional benefits credited to the project include the potential for leisure boats to use the Bow Back Rivers at all times. A major benefit for British Waterways was the increased value of the land which it holds in areas no longer subject to flooding, which it was expected would exceed the cost of the project.{{cite web|url=http://www.britishwaterways.co.uk/media/documents/Prescott_Channel_Water_Control_Structure_Project_Explanatory_Statement.pdf|title=Prescott Channel Water Control Structure Project Explanatory Statement|author=British Waterways|date=August 2006|access-date=14 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219175153/http://www.britishwaterways.co.uk/media/documents/Prescott_Channel_Water_Control_Structure_Project_Explanatory_Statement.pdf|archive-date=19 February 2012|url-status=dead}}
The lock is 62 metres long, 8 metres wide and 2.4 metres deep, and can hold two 350 tonne barges (other locks on the Lower Lee limited barges to about 120 tonnes). It was designed by Tony Gee and Partners and built by Volker Stevin.{{cite web |url=http://www.britishwaterways.co.uk/newsroom/all-press-releases/display/id/2446 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310025525/http://www.britishwaterways.co.uk/newsroom/all-press-releases/display/id/2446 |archive-date=10 March 2012 |publisher=British Waterways |title=New lock provides sustainable legacy for London |date=5 June 2009}}
On 2 June 2008, work on the channel brought up a {{convert|2200|lb|t|0|adj=on}} Hermann Second World War time bomb. Residents were evacuated, tube and rail services were disrupted, and flights from London City Airport were curtailed during the emergency. The 67-year-old, booby-trapped bomb was finally made safe, after five days, in a controlled explosion that threw 400 tonnes of sand into the air. Major Matt Davies, of the Army Bomb disposal unit said "If it had gone off in wartime there would have been large fragments up to a mile away which could have destroyed buildings and sewers". He added "This is the biggest unexploded bomb we have found in central London."[http://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/content/towerhamlets/advertiser/news/story.aspx?brand=ELAOnline&category=news&tBrand=northlondon24&tCategory=newsela&itemid=WeED06%20Jun%202008%2022%3A31%3A52%3A950 "Hermann" the German bomb says farewell with a bang—after 67 years] (East London Advertiser, 6 June 2008) accessed 9 June 2008
In 2009, again as part of the project to build the lock, 29 stones from the Euston Arch were raised from the river bed and presented to the Euston Arch Trust. One stone had already been salvaged in 1994 by Dan Cruickshank, as part of a BBC Television programme called One Foot in the Past.
Criticisms of canalisation
Three Mills Lock was delivered ten months behind the planned schedule, which severely limited its usefulness to the builders of the various Olympic Park venues. A further planned use was for the delivery of materials for the Crossrail project.{{cite web |url=http://www.construction-manager.co.uk/features/testing-water/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029200519/http://www.construction-manager.co.uk/features/testing-water/ |archive-date=29 October 2013 |title=Testing the Water |publisher=Construction Manager |date=February 2010 |access-date=11 August 2013}} However the lock has in fact rarely been used by freight barges.
In August 2013, a long period of hot dry weather followed by heavy rain washed polluted road run-off water into the Lower Lea, causing deoxygenation of the water. The role of the canalisation of the Bow Back Rivers in and around the Olympic Park, with its consequences for tidal flow have been implicated in the considerable levels of fish kill which resulted from the incident."[http://www.gamesmonitor.org.uk/node/2097 Fish killed in the River Lea. Pushed to their limits by environmental mismanagement]" (Martin Slavin, Gamesmonitor, July 2013) accessed 11 August 2013.{{Unreliable source?|date=February 2021}}
See also
{{Portal|United Kingdom|Transport}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Other sources
- East London Record, No. 18 (1996)
External links
- [http://www.britishwaterways.co.uk/ British Waterways ]
- [https://www.flickr.com/groups/prescottchannel/ Prescott Channel FLICKR group]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070311055936/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/07/08/npresc108.xml&pPage=/core/Matt/pcMatt.jhtml £15m sluice system is Prescott's watergate]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20061009043010/http://www.mike-stevens.co.uk/metrocuts/bowbacks/prescottsluice.htm Prescott Sluice]
- [http://society.guardian.co.uk/gall/0,,1817219,00.html Lea Valley Regeneration]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20061009042919/http://www.mike-stevens.co.uk/metrocuts/bowbacks/threemillswall1.htm Three Mills Wall River]
Geo links for Prescott Channel
- {{Coord|51.527262|-0.00398|region:GB_type:waterbody_scale:5000|display=inline,title}}
Category:1930s establishments in England