Moneypenny's Lock is on the Newry Canal south of Portadown and is administered jointly by the Museum Services and the Lough Neagh Discovery Centre on Oxford Island. The Newry Canal is the oldest "summit level" canal in the British Isles and was a major feat of 18th Century engineering and ingenuity. Moneypenny's Lock consists of the old lock chamber, the early nineteenth century lockkeepers house itself (named after the Moneypenny family who were lockkeepers there for eighty years) and a stables and bothy. The bothy provided overnight accommodation for the "lightermen" as they journeyed along the canal and the stables provided overnight accommodation for their horses! These buildings contain displays illustrating life on the canal, from the "canal folk" and the various types of boats which would have been seen on it, to the flora and fauna that lived in the surrounding area. In addition to the permanent displays, there is a moving model designed specially for schools which will show you how the lock gates at Moneypenny's were operated.

Tours of Moneypenny's Lockhouse are available by prior arrnangement with museum staff.

A visit to Moneypenny's would be of interest to any age group and is particularly relevant to those studying the Victorians and the history of transport, particularly since the story of the Newry Canal is linked very closely to the development of the railways, as you will see when you visit!