The lock separates the Calder & Hebble Navigation from the River Calder
Link downstream (east) of the centre of Wakefield. A navigation is a man-made watercourse running parallel to and connecting with a natural river, making it possible for ships to pass obstacles or sections of river which would otherwise be impassable.
Downstream of Wakefield, the Aire and Calder Navigation
Link had made the River Calder navigable up to Wakefield as early as 1704. However, the weir
Link in the river bend in the city was a barrier to further progress up the river, so goods had to be unloaded, carried around the weir and loaded onto another boat. The Calder and Hebble Navigation was built from 1759 to 1770 to avoid this process.
The bottom section of the navigation cuts through the river bend at Wakefield and is connected to the river by the Fall Ing Lock at the bottom end, and by Wakefield Flood Lock
Link about a kilometre upstream, above the weir. The cut is normally at the river level above the weir, with boats entering freely at the western end and using the lock here at Fall Ing to drop to the level below the weir. The lock at the other end just protects the peninsula from flooding if the river is in spate.
The navigation continues upstream as far as Sowerby Bridge near Halifax, where it connects to the Rochdale Canal
Link .
The bridge carries the riverside footpath into the centre of Wakefield.