Canal's Most Terrifying Invention.

Quick footnote: The entire canal sections here are on private land (We were unaware of this at the time as the signs had been vandalised). The Trust are in the process of redoing them. So please do avoid walking in between them!

Welcome to The Somersetshire Coal Canal. More specifically welcome to Combe Hay and the incredible architecture the canals gave us. This area really holds a thousand secrets from the canal era, over two dozen abandoned locks, an inclined plane, and quite possible the most bizarre and terrifying canal invention you have ever heard of.

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[pwhitewick]

Quick footnote: The entire canal sections here are on private land (We were unaware of this at the time as the signs had been vandalised). The Trust are in the process of redoing them. So please do avoid walking in between them!

[janecapon]

The stone work is absolutely beautifully done. The masons who made it must have been very proud of their work. Even though it was never intended to be seen.

[Sarge]

There wouldn't, or shouldn't, have been a need for anyone to be on a barge inside the caisson. Using barge poles (One of those things you would touch something unpleasant with.) a barge could have been pushed in at one level and pulled out at the other level. Remember that barges didn't have engines in the early days, they were pulled by horses, hence the canalside path being called a 'towpath'.
Great video again by the way, that place must have been a great sight to see, judging by the level of Paul's excitement!

[AndyCallaway]

Fun fact: The Bends are also known as caisson disease, due to over 100 cases of the disease occurring during construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. They use caissons to lower workers to the river bed to dig the foundations.

[RendallRen]

The terrifying invention you're here to learn about starts at 7:33 👌

[joemercs]

Interesting that the caissons idea is analogous to the Falkirk wheel. It is important to note that regardless of whether the barge was full of coal or empty the weight of the water-tight chamber always remains the same; the principle being that a floating barge will displace its own mass of water. The Falkirk wheel has two lifts at 180 degrees to one another effectively balancing each other out and so very little energy is used to perform the lift.

[TreeHive]

I have lived in bath most of my life and walked past these many times on walks and been interested in their history. So, thank you for putting this fascinating video together!!!

[johnspurgeon]

Always good to see people's reaction to this amazing area just south of Bath. It was the canals, railways, mines, houses, Mills etc hereabouts which first introduced me to industrial archaeology 60 years ago. Imagine my surprise cing across these locks on my bike before restoration began!

[Rail_Focus]

It's sad to see the canal abandoned, but it's also fascinating to be able to see and explore the canal workings.

[malcolmsmith]

It goes to show how stone blocks are much more stable than brick walls! Oh, the ‘sluices’ are known as “Paddles”, and the associated winding mechanism as “paddle gear”. Question - was there any evidence at all on the ground of the former caisson lifts? Any depressions or masonry?

FYI, lock gates only last in service about 25 years at best, and so the ones you saw were probably installed no earlier than the 1870s, 25 years before the canal closed to traffic.

Fascinating, a site that I must find time to visit. Thank you for another fascinating and enjoyable video!

[alangknowles]

It took me a while to understand this concept and advantage over something such as the Anderson Lift.
Then I realised, when this was made, it was before steel ropes were invented and massive cast iron pillars couldn't be cast.

[raphaelnikolaus]

Now that's some lovely preserved (and partially even re?-stored) locks! What a sight.

[martynbuzzing]

How interesting was that? It's great that someone has cleared away the greenery and exposed the magnificent stonework. Thanks

[steveperry]

One of your best discoveries there, fascination glance into the roots of the industrial revolution and its remaining marks still on the landscape.

[shanestephens]

Been interested in canals, railways and our industrial heritage for some time but never knew about cassions. Thanks for all your efforts you go to making these videos.

[thomasdieckmann]

Thanks - great clip and fascinating waterways-

[Qwertyone]

Used to spend many summer days sat down there, so peaceful

[brianwillson]

Yet another brilliant entertaining and educational Whitewick video. Very many thanks for your efforts.

[JayYoung-rovu]

LOVE the long shot of the locks!

Our nearby capital city has an appropriately named road with 3 locks in a row. They are marshy/wet, so not a good walk through. A nearby suburb restored their lock and made it part of a city park. Oddly, a canal was the start of two neighboring villages who merged early on to form this suburb under a new name.

[emaartamor]

Great content Paul and Rebecca, one of your best. This canal has been in my 'to visit' list since you filmed about it last time. You are always igniting my enthusiasm for history, especially local history as I'm in west Wiltshire.