SECTION 43

GROVE

GROVE BRIDGE TO GROVE PARK BRIDGE

Length:
O.S. Reference: 401894 to 424903
Water Level height A.O.D.:
Features:

Milestone 44
Grove Common Lock and tailbridge
Track crossing
Smallmarch Lock 409898
Spirit Lock
Liftbridge
Grove Bottom Lock 420901
Milestone 45
Culvert
Grove Park Bridge 424903

DESCRIPTION

What Jack Dalby said in 1985.
"Across the road the canal can be traced past the backof the former Grove Wharf buildings, now named "Ormond Terace", easily recognisable by the massive Swindon stone window and door surrounds. The nearby Grove Common Lock can be reached by a signposted footpath crossing the A338. Both the lock and its tailbridge are in fair condition. Along the embankment to the east the canal has been filled and cultivated up to Smallmarch Lock (409898). The chamber is almost completely filled with tree trunks and household rubbish - a common fate for accessible - and sometimes inaccessible - locks!
Beyond the canal has been reduced to a clean drainage ditch at the end of which there are traces of the brickwork of Spirit Lock. Eastward the bed arries on past the abutments of the vanished Crabtree Lane lift bridge soon reaching Grove Bottom Lock at 420901. The course beyond has been levelled but appears again at a farm crossing. To the right of the filled bridge a fancy culvert of stone carries a drain under the approach. The bed then continues to the road crossing at 423903. The elegant iron bridge once here has gone but luckily a photograph exists."

East of the A338 the canal reappears as a ditch, tree-lined and carrying out water. There is a farm crossing just south of Ormond Terrace.
Behind this row, part of the canal would appear to be included in back gardens.

Continuing north, behind the new 'mobile home' and the ex-pub the canal is kept separate from their gardens and is therefore intact.

Grove Common Lock

Just north of "The Limes" can be found the remains of this lock. This is in good condition by Wilts & Berks standards, but overgrown. The tailbridge has been rebuilt. A short length north of this bridge remains, before a stretch of fully infilled canal, which now forms a separate field, on a low embankment, until the crossing at Smallmarch Lock. The towpath hedge forms the left hand field boundary along this stretch.

Parapets 25kB And a view of the roadway over, showing the parapets.
As far as we can tell, from excavating more than one bridge site, this is the original configuration on this canal.
The short upper parapet is made "safe" by the opening of the bottom gates of the lock.

A recent development (October 2001) is the Gypsy Lane Community Wood, in the field to the north of the Canal.
Those of us who worked on the lock will have memories of struggling across the muddy ploughed-up footpath between the crops in this field.
Hopefully the new use of this field will allow clearance of the Canal line alongside, which was infilled and planted with the same crop as the field; what a pity the Canal could not have been excavated, and the spoil strewn on the field, before the trees were planted! Notice 35kB

Forest 62kB

Smallmarch Lock
This is now almost full of various types of rubbish, although the basic brickwork appears reasonable.
There is now a wide stretch of water filled canal lasting to the site of Crabhill Lift Bridge. Part of the original brickwork can be located.

From there onwards for a field length the watercourse narrows to a drainage ditch - although the strip of land remains wide - mostly scrub.
The strip of land then narrows - from fence to fence 6 yds? at the end of which the remains of Spirit Lock can be located, across the ditch which has somehow crossed from the offside to the towpath side. The coping stones of the lock are mostly visible, flush with the ground surface. Between here and Grove Bottom Lock the water course widens again, and acts as a drainage ditch. Between the locks can be located the abutments of a a lift bridge, brickwork is reasonable for its age.

Grove Bottom Lock
In reasonable condition as far as brickwork, not much rubbish, and a sluice through which water passes.
The picture was taken in 1987.

There then follows about 100 yards of overgrown canal bed, which holds water. At the far end of this stretch the water is diverted to the nearby stream. The canal disappears, reappearing nearer to the road at the site of a swing bridge, passing a collapsed brick culvert which carries the water out of the canal bed.

The canal can be followed from there to the road crossing. The road rises visibly to the crossing at which point there was once an iron bridge (Grove Park Bridge)- no remains can be seen.

RESTORATION

Apart from the reconstruction of Grove Common Lock tailbridge, no work is permitted on this section at present.

RIGHT OF WAY

From Grove Bridge on the A338 the towpath is a public right of way right up to the last field boundary before Grove Park Drive, where it turns right.

WATER SUPPLIES

Needs much research.

HOSTELRIES

None within easy reach.

Previous section

Home

Back to Canal Index

Next Section

Updated: 28.10.2001

Just north of "The Limes" can be found the remains of this lock. This is in good condition by Wilts & Berks standards, but overgrown. The tailbridge has been rebuilt. A short length north of this bridge remains, before a stretch of fully infilled canal, which now forms a separate field, on a low embankment, until the crossing at Smallmarch Lock. The towpath hedge forms the left hand field boundary along this stretch.
	And a view of the roadway over, showing the parapets. As far as we can tell, from excavating more than one bridge site, this is the original configuration on this canal. The short upper parapet is made "safe" by the opening of the bottom gates of the lock.
A recent development (October 2001) is the Gypsy Lane Community Wood, in the field to the north of the Canal. Those of us who worked on the lock will have memories of struggling across the muddy ploughed-up footpath between the crops in this field. Hopefully the new use of this field will allow clearance of the Canal line alongside, which was infilled and planted with the same crop as the field; what a pity the Canal could not have been excavated, and the spoil strewn on the field, before the trees were planted!