Had you been a mule pulling a barge in the late 1700s you might be passing right through the Octava Esclusa del Real Canal de Manzanares. This is the eighth lock of the Real Canal del Manzanares. It is located nearly 13 km from the start of the canal. We are near Perales del Río in Getafe at a place called La Torrecilla.
The Octava Esclusa del Real Canal de Manzanares was the last lock completed in the canal’s first phase. Construction likely began around 1790. By 1792 there was a statement that the ninth lock was already under construction. The Octava Esclusa del Real Canal de Manzanares must have been under construction at that time too. However in 1793 Antonio Ponz said that seven locks had been completed. This suggests that work was underway on the Octava Esclusa del Real Canal de Manzanares but it wasn’t yet operational.
The Octava Esclusa del Real Canal de Manzanares had a bridge from the beginning. It was an important passage for livestock. The bridge is quite wide almost eight meters. The arch is made of solid brick. The spandrels are made of aljez masonry a common feature of that early construction phase.
In 1848 Madoz provided a brief description of the Octava Esclusa del Real Canal de Manzanares. He noted that the foreman’s house had rooms used for canal construction management. Madoz also revealed the canal’s neglect at that time. He mentioned a drainage outlet to the river from the lock. Its vault had collapsed blocking and disabling it.
Today the Octava Esclusa del Real Canal de Manzanares is half-buried. Its bridge still serves the Cañada Real Galiana that crosses over it. Sadly the lock’s basin is filled with weeds and local waste. It is difficult to see it as anything more than a ditch full of trash. In wet seasons foul water accumulates. The channel is blocked by tributary collectors going to the nearby Depuradora Sur. A solution is needed to restore dignity to these significant remains. The foreman’s house is ruined. Its ruins form the base of a rather poor rural building that is seemingly in use.
This Octava Esclusa del Real Canal de Manzanares was the last one built by Carlos III. The engineers designed its gallipuente or bridge to be wide and strong. It had to serve two purposes. Surprisingly the bridge is still in use today. Heavy vehicles cross it constantly. The lock’s basin and the foreman’s house have not fared as well. They are on private property. The owner uses the basin as a garbage dump destroying the best-preserved lock from Carlos III’s era.
The Octava Esclusa del Real Canal de Manzanares is located where the canal crosses the Cañada Real Galiana. Next to it stood the foreman’s house. It seems this was the maintenance center for the canal’s second section. Madoz described how the lock drained into the river. However its basin never emptied completely. This allowed navigation up to this point.
Of the first section this lock is in the best condition. Its sturdy gallipuente has incredibly withstood the test of time. The Galiana passes over it today with constant heavy vehicle traffic. Above its arch is a wide stone base. This would have made it difficult to handle the towrope used by mules to move boats. Two holes above the arch allowed the rope to pass from one side of the bridge to the other. This is a unique detail not typically found on a gallipuente.
Unfortunately access and visibility are limited by a fence recently erected around the Octava Esclusa del Real Canal de Manzanares. Despite this it is clear that the lock’s basin has had other uses in recent years. Despite the enclosure the stone masonry bridge with its wide solid abutments is in perfect working order. From its arch one can see the lock’s basin also made of stone masonry.
The great condition of the Octava Esclusa del Real Canal de Manzanares makes it a prime example of how the other seven locks looked. Its expropriation seems urgent. Let’s take a moment to appreciate this feat of engineering. It represents a grand dream of connecting Madrid to the sea.