Above: City Road Lock, 1973 Below: City Road Lock, 1885
Above:Water point alongside the lock in 1970. The former stables is now a cafe
Locks allow canals to change level, using the same operating system since they were built. Lock keepers worked twelve hour shifts when both lock chambers were in constant use. As commercial traffic declined, one chamber was made into a weir and the lock keeper job disappeared. City Road Lock had a forge and stables for a change of horse between the large inland ports at Paddington and Limehouse. The lock keeper’s cottage on the opposite bank was replaced in the 1950s by three houses for British Waterways’ workers next to Anderson’s Timber Merchants.
Above: City Road Lock from the west, around 1900 Note the huge timber yard and unloaded barges behind the lock keeper. Both lock chambers were in operation allowing boats to go in both directions at the same time.
Above: City Road Lock from the east, 2019
Below: The Angel Canal Festival is an annual event around the lock. Musical entertainment on the lock-side in 2005
