User:MIDI/Drafts/Deepcut Locks

The Deepcut Locks (also known as the Frimley Locks ) is a lock flight on the Basingstoke Canal near Pirbright in Surrey. The flight consists of 14 pound locks, and has a rise of approximately 95 feet. The "Deepcut" is a 1000 yd cut upstream of the lock flight.

Construction
The canal was originally surveyed by Joseph Parker in c. 1788, and  William Jessop was subsequently appointed as engineer. The route of the canal necessitated a long and deep cutting above the proposed lock flight; this "deep cut"—1000 yd long and up to 70 ft deep—gave rise to the name of the local area and in turn the name of the lock flight. After construction began some time after October 1788, with John Pinkerton as contractor, concerns arose around the canal's survey as well the management skills of Jessop's resident engineer, William Wright. Jessop requested John Rennie evaluate the original survey, and he found serious errors. Wright was replaced by Henry Eastburn in April 1790. In his Biographical Dictionary of Civil Engineers, Skempton suggests that Jessop left the entirety of the works for Eastburn to oversee.

In spring 1792, Eastburn reported to the canal's proprietors that "32 miles of canal are finished or almost so; and that the parts under immediate execution are in a forward state, and that half a mile only remains to be begun". At this point, Lock 24 was half-built. By August 1792, the Deep Cut had been constructed, and most—if not all—of the 14 pound locks in the 95 feet flight were complete.

Two lock cottages served the flight. At the bottom of the flights is Howfield Cottage, where lockkeeper Edward Webb resided at the turn of the 20th century. A second lock cottage (with dry dock) was built at the top of the flight, adjacent to lock 28.

Operation
A number of the locks in the flight were named after their location:
 * Lock 17 became known as Cowshot Manor Lock after the nearby 16th-century Cowshot Manor house
 * Lock 22 became known as Guards' Lock after the Brigade of Guards encamped at Pirbright; a wharf near the lock served the camp
 * Lock 24 became known as Washerwoman's Lock after the residents of the adjacent cottages who took in laundry for the officers at Pirbright Camp
 * Lock 25 became known as Curzon Bridge Lock

The Basingstoke Canal is known for its water supply problems. The Deepcut Locks lift the canal almost to its summit pound, and water that collects in the Ascot to Guildford railway cutting is pumped into the canal via a pipe running along the south side of Frimley Park. A similar scheme has been investigated that would see water pumped from the South Western main line which runs nearer and parallel to the cutting and lock flight.

Decline and restoration
In 1925, the lock cottage at Frimley Lock was demolished and rebuilt; the adjacent dry dock was infilled during the 1930s.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the canal was restored from dereliction. A volunteer programme known as the "Deepcut Dig" took place in October 1977. The event had over 600 people performing clearance, repair and maintenance work on the flight. During the canal's restoration, two aits were created in the upper flight's flashes through dredging. These were named Fred's Ait and Roy's Ait, after a contractor (Fred Hill) and canal warden (Roy Fowles) respectively.

In the 1980s, the dry dock was renovated and reopened.

Like much of the canal, the flight has always suffered from severe water supply problems and consequently only opens to boat traffic three days per week.