The heritage complex of Lock 38, built between 1831 and 1836, is located in the municipality of Dueñas (Palencia), at kilometer 109.840 of the Southern Branch of the Castile Canal. Its overall function was to overcome the canal’s difference in elevation, regulate the flow, and allow the controlled diversion of water to adjacent buildings, integrating navigation, maintenance, and auxiliary uses at a very accessible point, now crossed by the N-620 highway.
The main feature is Lock 38, a simple, rectangular-shaped lock approximately 27.80 meters long, 5.10 meters wide, and 3.90 meters high. It is constructed of limestone masonry and retains the supports for the operating winches. On the right bank, before the wing, an intake feeds the buried diversion that supplies the adjacent building and returns downstream; a second intake is located on the wing itself. On the left bank, a fixed-lip side spillway connects via a buried conduit and discharges directly into the wall of the lock basin.
Associated with the lock is the lock keeper’s house, built in 1930. It has a rectangular floor plan and a single story, with a gabled roof. Constructed of pressed brick with raised elements at the base, corners, lintels, and cornices, a wooden frame, and a flat ceramic tile roof, it retains wooden joinery and window grilles. It is currently unused and in fair condition.
A visit to Lock 38 offers a glimpse into the connection between hydraulic engineering and everyday life. The peri-urban setting of Dueñas, the canal’s course, and the proximity of its features invite a peaceful stroll that reveals both the technical and human dimensions of the Canal de Castilla.
