What's this?

[skc101fc]

58 minutes ago, eggsarascal said:

Makes sense, do you think the two wooden posts behind the brickwork in the left hand channel would be part of the structure to accommodate drop/stop boards?

Yes, I'd expect to find a rebate between the posts and the brick piers for boards to slip into or a second set of posts,  now lost, that again boards would have dropped into. The spillway to the right, now built up wth debris and tree roots suggest that it was also important to keep water moving in the downstream sections of the watercourse, whilst lifting water levels upstream for other working purposes.  Is this part of a canal feed system Eggs?

 

[skc101fc]

As an aside to this, another local resident was gifted the piece of land including the structures I talked of earlier (there's actuaully about six other small sluices to go to differing fields plus the one major one). He reinstated the drop boards for personal pleasure of being able to play with the water levels. This hadn't been done for 70+ years. Suddenly thames water needed him to record water flows, heights, volumes etc when without the boards they'd had no interest whatsoever, and now he couldn't even permanently remove the boards again as this would constitute an unauthorised and uncontrolled flow!

[eggsarascal]

40 minutes ago, skc101fc said:

Yes, I'd expect to find a rebate between the posts and the brick piers for boards to slip into or a second set of posts,  now lost, that again boards would have dropped into. The spillway to the right, now built up wth debris and tree roots suggest that it was also important to keep water moving in the downstream sections of the watercourse, whilst lifting water levels upstream for other working purposes.  Is this part of a canal feed system Eggs?

 

The truth is, I don't know if it's a part of the canal network, if it is its not like any feeder channel I've seen before, perhaps @Canal Navvy could shine some light on it. The fella who posted the original picture suggested it could possibly Longleat estate?

[Canal Navvy]

Don't recognise it though there is something very similar on the Wilts & Berks canal for level control. The channel on the left combines the ability to drop the level for maintenance with being able to fine tune the water level , the bit that curves round to the right would lead from a broad weir set at a level that flood water can't Overtop the banks.

[Steven P]

I'm looking at it as a sluice gate on the left. To the right appears to be a dug channel maintaining a level - water take off, to the left the stream drops. Could be a mill race, canal water or something... and the dug channel could be quite lengthy to get a head of water if required to drive machinery further on. On the right the channel has filled over time and on the left with the active stream the water has kept that channel open.