Godstow Lock | |
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Waterway | River Thames |
County | Oxfordshire |
Maintained by | Environment Agency |
Operation | hydraulic |
First built | 1790 |
Latest built | 1924 |
Length | 33.52 m (110 ft 0 in) [1] |
Width | 4.95 m (16 ft 3 in) [1] |
Fall | 1.57 m (5 ft 2 in) [1] |
Above sea level | 190' |
Distance to Teddington Lock | 96 miles |
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Godstow Lock is a lock on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England. It is between the villages of Wolvercote and Wytham on the outskirts of Oxford. The first lock was built of stone by Daniel Harris for the Thames Navigation Commission in 1790. [2] It is the lock furthest upstream on the river which has mechanical (electro-hydraulic) operation - every lock upstream of Godstow utilises manual beam operation instead.
The main weir is a short way upstream but there is another weir at Godstow Bridge just above the Trout Inn. These feed into a backwater (Wolvercote Mill Stream) which has come from above King's Lock by Wolvercote.
Prior to the construction of the lock, Godstow Bridge served as a form of lock, which remained in service for some time after the construction of Godstow Lock in 1790. After the lock was constructed there were complaints about the raising of the water levels and the effect this had on the meadows upstream at Pixey Mead. After some years of dilapidation, the lock underwent major repair in 1872. River users would often avoid the lock by navigating up the stream past Wolvercote. The lock house was built around 1896 on condition that it sold no refreshments to protect the interests of The Trout Inn. Previously the lock-keeper had lived on a houseboat. [3] The lock was last rebuilt in 1924.
The lock is a short way from Godstow Bridge and can be reached on foot from there.
Beside the lock at Godstow are the ruins of Godstow Nunnery. Above the lock, the river is crossed by Godstow Bridge and the A34 Road Bridge carrying the Oxford By-pass. Upstream of Godstow the river becomes narrower and more winding as it passes Pixey Mead.
The Thames Path continues on the western side to King's Lock.
In the meadows near the lock, an Oxford mathematics tutor Charles Lutwidge Dodgson used to have picnics with his friend Dean Henry Liddell and his daughters Lorina, Alice and Edith. Here he made up a story which began
Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank and having nothing to do..... when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her...
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, known as The Clappers, passes over the weir and all three islands to connect Lower Caversham to Reading.
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.
Cookham Lock is a lock with weirs situated on the River Thames near Cookham, Berkshire, about a half-mile downstream of Cookham Bridge. The lock is set in a lock cut which is one of four streams here and it is surrounded by woods. On one side is Sashes Island and on the other is Mill Island connected to Formosa Island, the largest on the non-tidal Thames.
Godstow Bridge is a road bridge across the River Thames in England at Godstow near Oxford. The bridge is just upstream of Godstow Lock on the reach to King's Lock and carries a minor road between Wolvercote and Wytham.
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 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.
St John's Lock, below the town of Lechlade, Gloucestershire, is the furthest upstream lock on the River Thames in England. The name of the lock derives from a priory that was established nearby in 1250, but which no longer exists. The lock was built of stone in 1790 by the Thames Navigation Commission.
Temple Lock is a lock and weir situated on the Buckinghamshire bank of the River Thames near Temple Mill Island opposite Temple Meadows and not far from Hurley, Berkshire. It was first built by the Thames Navigation Commissioners in 1773.
Marlow Lock is a lock and weir situated on the River Thames in the town of Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England, about 300m downstream of Marlow Bridge. The first pound lock was built by the Thames Navigation Commission in 1773.
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 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.
Boveney Lock is a lock on the River Thames situated on the Buckinghamshire bank opposite the Windsor Racecourse and close to Eton Wick. Boveney is a village a little way upstream on the same side. The lock was first built in 1838 by the Thames Navigation Commission. The lock was rebuilt in 1898 closer to the Buckinghamshire bank, and a set of boat rollers were installed on the old site.
Cleeve Lock is a lock on the River Thames, in Oxfordshire, England. It is located just upstream of Goring and Streatley villages, on the eastern side of the river within the village of Goring. There was a hamlet of Cleeve, after which the lock is named, but it dropped out of use, as always part of Goring.
Abingdon Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England, less than 1 mile east and upstream of Abingdon, Oxfordshire, on the opposite bank of the river. It was originally built in 1790 by the Thames Navigation Commission.
Osney Lock is a lock on the River Thames in Oxford, England, where the village or island of Osney is next to the river.
King's Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England. It is in open country to the north of Oxford, Oxfordshire, on the southern bank of the river. The lock was one of the last pound locks built on the Thames, built by the Thames Conservancy in 1928 to replace the former flash lock. It has the smallest fall of any lock on the river, 0.77 m.
Shifford Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England. It is in the centre of a triangle formed by the small villages of Shifford, Duxford and Chimney in Oxfordshire. It is at the start of a navigation cut built with the lock by the Thames Conservancy in 1898. This was the only new lock built on the non-tidal Thames in the era of falling revenue after the Thames Conservancy took over responsibilities of the Thames Navigation Commission. It replaced a flash lock in a weir about 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) downstream.
Rushey Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England. It is on the northern bank of the river in Oxfordshire, at a considerable distance from any village, the nearest being Buckland Marsh, a hamlet on the road to Buckland to the south of the river.
Buscot Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England, near the village of Buscot, Oxfordshire.
Daniel Harris was an English builder, prison governor, civil engineer, and architect prominent in Oxford.