Chertsey Lock

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Chertsey Lock
ChertseyLock.JPG
Chertsey lock with Chertsey Bridge beyond
Waterway River Thames
County Surrey
Maintained by Environment Agency
OperationHydraulic
First built1813
Latest built1913
Length61.16 m (200 ft 8 in) [1]
Width6.40 m (21 ft 0 in) [1]
Fall1.22 m (4 ft 0 in) [1]
Above sea level37 feet (11 m)
Distance to
Teddington Lock
13 miles (21 km)
Coordinates 51°23′27″N0°29′10″W / 51.39083°N 0.48611°W / 51.39083; -0.48611 Coordinates: 51°23′27″N0°29′10″W / 51.39083°N 0.48611°W / 51.39083; -0.48611
Power is available out of hours
Chertsey Lock
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River Thames
above Penton Hook Lock
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marina: Thorpe
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weir
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Penton Hook Lock
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Abbey River
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Intake channel to
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Queen Mary Reservoir
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Burway Ditch
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Abbey River (end)
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weir
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Chertsey Lock
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B375 Chertsey Bridge
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Thames above Shepperton Lock

Chertsey Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England, against the left bank, an area of Green Belt including Laleham Park, the largest public park in Spelthorne. It faces the town of Chertsey and is the fifth-lowest of the forty-four locks along the non-tidal course of the river. Owing to a course alteration both banks at the site of the lock have been since medieval times in Surrey. Stone-built Chertsey Bridge built in 1785 is 210 m south (downstream) of the lock. The lock was built by the City of London Corporation in 1813, lengthened in 1893 and again in 1913.

Contents

The lock adjoins a small thin island created in its building accessible by boat that connects Chertsey Weir.

History

Upstream lay shallows known to ground boats, Laleham Gulls; to resolve this, proposals including the building up of banks, a weir and lock were made. The land was surveyed for a lock in 1793, producing a Bill which was disallowed by parliament. [2] An 1805 proposal followed for a cut along the length of Laleham, with a pound lock at the lower end; it was resisted by local landowners. A proposal was authorised by parliament in 1810 a short way upstream which Lord Lucan, owner of the manor of Laleham, asked to have modified to be out of view of his home which he expended monies in building and redesigning, hosting in the same era the temporarily ousted Portuguese monarch, Laleham Manor House (later apartments in a listed building). [3] A new Act in 1812 authorised the downstream site where building was implemented.

The lock was opened in 1813 and the lock-house on the left bank completed. [2] The lock was lengthened in 1893 and again in 1913. [2] The lock was built with two compartments. [2] The central gates have since been removed. [2] Parochially the low-lying left bank is an exclave of the town of Chertsey reflecting a former sharp bend of the river which ate into the rest of the bank above Dumsey Meadow, since 1974 administered by Spelthorne Borough Council combined with Surrey County Council. [4]

Access and amenities

The lock is accessible via the left (towpath) bank which adjoins humped Thames Side, a road, downstream are eating and drinking establishments with hotel facilities, the Kingfisher and the Boathouse on opposite banks close to Chertsey Bridge.

Reach above the lock

Chertsey Weir with the M3 Motorway Bridge ChertseyWeir.JPG
Chertsey Weir with the M3 Motorway Bridge
Right Bank

Below Penton Hook Marina at the top of the reach adjoining houses and small boatyards is the offtake of the Abbey River enclosing Laleham Burway, Chertsey a very large island on the right bank which rejoins the Thames below Chertsey Lock; has housing in the north then areas of reeds and nettles; inland are a small reservoir and groundwater water works.

Left

The left bank across and near Penton Hook Island is part of the clustered village of Laleham until Penton Hook Lock a line of riverside houses with gardens. This is followed by Burway and Sir William Perkins School Rowing Clubs. From inland a humped road follows the river and Laleham Park to Chertsey Lock. In rowing, Burway Junior Regatta and Burway Head are annual races. An inlet along the upper left bank feeds around 200 million imperial gallons (910,000 m3) per day of water into the Queen Mary Reservoir. [5] Downstream the river is crossed by a bridge carrying the M3 motorway.

Thames Path

The Thames Path follows the left bank above and below the lock.

See also

Next lock upstream River Thames Next lock downstream
Penton Hook Lock
3.13 km (1.94 mi) [6]
Chertsey Lock
Grid reference: TQ053668
Shepperton Lock
3.32 km (2.06 mi) [6]

Related Research Articles

Teddington Lock Series of locks on the River Thames in London

Teddington Lock is a complex of three locks and a weir on the River Thames between Ham and Teddington in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. Historically in Middlesex, it was first built in 1810.

Caversham Lock Lock and weir on the River Thames in Berkshire, England

Caversham Lock is a lock and main weir on the River Thames in England at Reading, Berkshire. Both the lock and main weir are connected to De Bohun Island. The Thames Navigation Commissioners built the original lock in 1778. Additional sluices north of View Island and Heron Island form the whole weir complex. A footbridge passes over all three islands to connect Lower Caversham to Reading via a route other than George Street and Reading Bridge.

Marsh Lock Lock and weir on the River Thames in Berkshire, England

Marsh Lock is a lock and weir situated on the River Thames in England, about 1 mile upstream of Henley Bridge in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. The lock is close to the Berkshire bank, but accessed from the Oxfordshire side via two long walkways, the downstream one being near Mill Meadows. The first pound lock was built by the Thames Navigation Commission in 1773.

Laleham Human settlement in England

Laleham is a village on the River Thames, in the Borough of Spelthorne, approximately 17 mi (27 km) west of central London, England. Historically part of the county of Middlesex, it was transferred to Surrey in 1965. Laleham is downriver from Staines-upon-Thames and upriver from Chertsey.

Chertsey Bridge

Chertsey Bridge is a road bridge across the River Thames in England, connecting Chertsey to low-lying riverside meadows in Laleham, Surrey. It is 550 yards (500 m) downstream from the M3 motorway bridge over the Thames and is close to Chertsey Lock on the reach above Shepperton Lock. The bridge is a seven-arch tied arch white stone bridge built 1783–85 and is a Grade II* listed building. It has a weight restriction of 18 tonnes for LGVs.

Thames Conservancy

The Thames Conservancy was a body responsible for the management of the that river in England. It was founded in 1857 to replace the jurisdiction of the City of London up to Staines. Nine years later it took on the whole river from Cricklade in Wiltshire to the sea at Yantlet Creek on the Isle of Grain. Its territory was reduced when the Tideway was transferred to the Port of London Authority in 1909.

Hambleden Lock Lock on the River Thames in Berkshire, England

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Iffley Lock Lock on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England

Iffley Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England near the village of Iffley, Oxfordshire. It is on the southern outskirts of Oxford. The original lock was built by the Oxford-Burcot Commission in 1631 and the Thames Navigation Commission replaced this in 1793. The lock has a set of rollers to allow punts and rowing boats to be moved between the water levels.

Shepperton Lock Lock on the River Thames in Surrey, England

Shepperton Lock is a lock on the River Thames, in England by the left bank at Shepperton, Surrey. It is across the river from Weybridge which is nearby linked by a passenger ferry.

Laleham Burway

Laleham Burway is a 1.6-square-kilometre (0.62 sq mi) tract of water-meadow and former water-meadow between the River Thames and Abbey River in the far north of Chertsey in Surrey. Its uses are varied. Part is Laleham Golf Club. Semi-permanent park homes in the west forms residential development along with a brief row of houses with gardens against the Thames. A reservoir and water works is on the island.

Molesey Lock Lock on the River Thames in Surrey, England

Molesey Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England at East Molesey, Surrey on the right bank.

Staines Bridge Bridge across the River Thames in England

Staines Bridge is a road bridge running in a south-west to north-east direction across the River Thames in Surrey. It is on the modern A308 road and links the boroughs of Spelthorne and Runnymede at Staines-upon-Thames and Egham Hythe. The bridge is Grade II listed.

Sunbury Lock Lock on the River Thames in Surrey, England

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Staines Railway Bridge

Staines Railway Bridge carries the Waterloo to Reading Line across the Thames in England.

Penton Hook Lock Lock on the River Thames in Surrey, England

Penton Hook Lock is the sixth lowest lock of forty four on the non-tidal reaches of the River Thames in England. It faces an island which was until its construction a pronounced meander and is on the site of its seasonal cutoff. It is against the left bank marking the church parish medieval border of Laleham and Staines upon Thames in Surrey for many centuries. Until 1965 their county was Middlesex. At 266 ft (81 m) it is the third longest lock on the river.

Bell Weir Lock Lock on the River Thames in England

Bell Weir Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England by the right bank, Runnymede which is a water meadow associated with Egham of importance for the constitutional Magna Carta. It is upstream of the terrace of a hotel and the a bridge designed by Edwin Lutyens who designed an ornamental park gate house along the reach. The bridge has been widened and carries the M25 and A30 road across the river in a single span. The lock was first built by the Thames Navigation Commission in 1817; it has one weir which is upstream. The lock is the eighth lowest of forty-five on the river and is named after the founder of the forerunner of the adjoining hotel who took charge of the lock and weir on its construction.

Old Windsor Lock Lock on the River Thames in Berkshire, England

Old Windsor Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England on the right bank beside Old Windsor, Berkshire. The lock marks the downstream end of the New Cut, a meander cutoff built in 1822 by the Thames Navigation Commissioners which created Ham Island. The lock and a wider footbridge give access to the island. Two weirs are associated; the smaller adjoins and the larger is upstream. The lock is the ninth lowest of the forty-five on the river.

Romney Lock Lock on the River Thames in Berkshire, England

Romney Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England near Windsor and Eton, about half a mile downstream of Windsor Bridge. It is on the Windsor side of the river next to a boatyard and adjoins Romney Island, a long strip-shaped ait in the middle of the river. The first lock was built by the Thames Navigation Commission in 1798.

Penton Hook Island

Penton Hook Island is a mainly wooded former peninsula created into a series of three weir-divided islands in the River Thames in England, so created in river modifications since 1815 with a navigable lock and weir stream channel to form meander cutoffs. It has a lock and weirs that are the divide between the Laleham Reach, above Chertsey Lock and Staines Reach, above Penton Hook Lock.

The Abbey River is a right-bank backwater of the River Thames in England, in Chertsey, Surrey — in the town's northern green and blue buffers. The L-shaped conduit adjoins mixed-use flood plain: water-meadows landscaped for a golf course, a motorway and a fresh water treatment works on the island it creates, Laleham Burway to its east and north in turn. Its offtake from the Thames is at the apex of Penton Hook, Staines upon Thames below its lower weir close to the Chertsey-Thorpe boundary in the Borough of Runnymede. Its outfall is the weir pool of Chertsey Lock back into the Thames, visible from Chertsey Bridge. The Environment Agency plans to build similar channels to the upstream Jubilee River, one of which will intersect the watercourse, another of which will be close to its outfall, thereby compensating for loss of its historic bypass functions.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Environment Agency Dimensions of locks on the River Thames". web page. Environmental Agency. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 18 November 2012. Dimensions given in metres
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Fred. S. Thacker The Thames Highway: Volume II Locks and Weirs 1920 - republished 1968 David & Charles
  3. Historic England. "Laleham Abbey (Grade II*) (1187014)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. "Diocese of Guildford - Chertsey - St Peter's". The Church of England. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  5. Spelthorne Borough Council A Walk round Laleham village Archived 3 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  6. 1 2 "Environment Agency Distances between locks on the River Thames". web page. Environmental Agency. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 22 November 2012. Distances given in km.