Restoration of the Graving Dock Lock – 2015/2016

Restoration of the Graving Dock Lock – 2015/2016

The Graving Dock Lock was a dry dock used for the repair and maintenance of barges. It is situated about half a mile south of the canal terminus at Ventiford basin. Restoration work involved the partial dismantling of the massive lock masonry, clearing it of tree roots and repointing. A boiler used in the process of bending wooden boards has been reinstalled into its housing.

Volunteers from the Waterways Recovery Group spent two weeks carrying out the work. They are all members of the Inland Waterways Association and give of their free time to restore old canals all over the country.

The work was funded by a grant to enable the restoration of this nationally unique and important canal structure.
– This project was supported by a restoration grant from the Association for Industrial Archaeology (AIA). The AIA is the national society for industrial heritage, and has supported and promoted the study, preservation and presentation of industrial heritage in Britain since 1973. For more information please visit www.industrial-archaeology.org

– The Waterway Recovery Group attracts a wide range of people, from young volunteers taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme; to waterway enthusiasts who wish to make a contribution to restoring and preserving the system; to people who just want to get outdoors, have fun and learn new skills. www.waterways.org.uk/wrg/

The lock had become overgrown and choked with vegetation, as seen in this photo from 2002.

Trees had grown through the granite walls.Clearance was always going to be a major job requiring money for equipment and materials, and manpower.

The experienced WRG volunteers made rapid progress. The difference could clearly be seen after just one week.

Here you can see where a tree had to be removed by hand.

Those on the opposite wall needed the use of heavy machinery. This work was carried out in early October by local contractors.

All  credit  is  given  to  Castleford  Engineering  and  particularly  Andy  on  the  machine  in  the  early  works  with  mason  Davin,  seen here  placing  one  of  the  granite  blocks.  The  skill  shown  by  both  in  moving  such  huge  pieces  with  such  a  delicate  touch  was  a joy to watch!

The scaffolding was finally removed at the end of October to reveal a sight not seen for a generation.
Work continued in the Spring of 2016.
Our wonderful mason, Davin, and his assistant have repointed the cobbles along the base of the dry dock using as many of the original stones as could be found on-site. Also, we aim to complete the rebuild of the boiler structure – see below. This is a continuation of the restoration work started in 2015.
The majority of this years work is funded by Tesco who teamed up with Groundwork earlier this year to launch its Bags of Help initiative in hundreds of regions across England and Wales. The scheme sees three community groups and projects in each of these regions awarded grants of £12,000, £10,000 and £8,000 – all raised from the 5p bag charge. Shoppers voted us into second place in the Teignbridge event in March.
We  are  very  grateful  to  Tesco  for  including  the  work  of  the  Stover  Canal  Trust  in  their  scheme  –  work which is done for the benefit of the community at large, whose support we also appreciate.
During  October  2016  we  contracted  a  large  machine  to  dredge  the  silt  from  the  bottom  of  Graving  Dock  Lock  and  to  remove some  large  tree  roots  from  the  area  of  the  overflow  weir.  Castleford  Engineering  is  a  local  firm  from  Liverton  who  specialise  in water  based  civils  work  and  helped  us  last  year  with  the  reconstruction  of  the  lock  walls.  Local  mason  Davin  Foster  from Bishopsteignton  trades  as  the  Rural  Craftsman  and  was  also  on  hand  to  lend  his  experience  in  rebuilding  the  weir.  Davin reinstated the lock walls last year and regrouted the bed of the graving dock earlier this year. 
The works used the last of the funds we won in a public vote from the Tesco ‘Bags of Help’ scheme.
Tree root removal takes no time with the right equipment!
And re-placement of the masonry is so much easier…
The finished restoration.
The lock pictured during the December 2015 flooding.

The lock pictured during the December 2015 flooding.

Reconstruction of the Boiler.

Also on site were the remains of the structure where water was boiled to steam the wooden planks into shape.
The base was reinstated and the cauldron was retrieved from the bed of the lock.
The brickwork was built up to form the flue which directed smoke and hot air around the cauldron for maximum efficiency.
Here is the boiler in October 2016. Craftsman Rob Brotherston has used Lime mortar in the authentic reconstruction
And here in June 2017 with the steambox in place.
Our thanks go to all the people and organisations that have made the restoration possible.