Descriptive Buildings Record (Level 2) at Bowston Weir, River Kent, Bowston

Photographs were taken using digital photography from each side of the River Kent. Due to the location of Bowston Weir, being within the river, the structure was photographed from locations where it was safe to do so. There was restricted access on the west bank of the river as this area is now residential and access was not possible immediately to the west of the weir due to this area being fenced off to the public. As the structure is located within the river, it was not possible to utilise a scale in the photographs. Bowston Weir appears to have been constructed in 1874 as part of the control of water for Bowston Paper Mill which was located on the west bank of the River Kent. A weir is a low dam that is constructed across a body of water, and is designed to hold back water and regulate its flow. It formed part of a system of water control which included the resulting mill dam or pond, which was formed when the weir was constructed, sluices and mill races. It is not clear if the fish passes, or ladders, which are now present within the weir formed part of its original design. The western of the passes appears to be shown on the Ordnance Survey map of 1914, but it has been suggested that one was constructed in 1948 and the other in 1991. A fish pass/ladder allowed fish to swim upstream, by-passing an obstacle such as a weir