Ufton Lock

Ufton Lock is a degated lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, between Padworth and Sulhamstead, Berkshire, England.

History
Ufton Lock was built in c. 1834, making it the last lock on the waterway to be built. It was engineered by John Blackwell, who had dug a new 600 yd cut to avoid the meandering River Kennet between Padworth and Sulhamstead. The lock's depth was just 1 ft, which was to improve the head of water at Towney Lock, 0.6 mi upstream. When the waterway was restored in the 1960s, restoring the shallow lock was deemed unpractical and instead the rebuilt Towney Lock was deepened to cater for the difference in level. The lock gates were removed, although the chamber masonry and bollards have been retained as a landing stage for the adjacent swing bridge.

The canal is now administered by the Canal & River Trust.