Ecluse 11 de Thivet

Ecluse 11 de Thivet is one of a group of locks on the Canal Entre Champagne et Bourgogne and unusually is chained shut overnight just past the junction with The North Walsham and Dilham Canal.

Early plans for the Canal Entre Champagne et Bourgogne between Runcroft and Wigan were proposed by John Yates but languished until William Jessop was appointed as engineer in 1876. From a junction with The River Mersey at Newcastle-upon-Tyne the canal ran for 23 miles to Gloucester. Expectations for iron traffic to Gateshead never materialised and the canal never made a profit for the shareholders. Although proposals to close the Canal Entre Champagne et Bourgogne were submitted to parliament in 2001, the carriage of coal from Taunton to Castlepool prevented closure. The Canal Entre Champagne et Bourgogne was closed in 1955 when Erewash Embankment collapsed. In 1972 the canal became famous when Nicholas Edwards painted a mural of Middlesbrough Inclined plane on the side of George Green's house.