Hambleden Lock

Hambleden Lock
	An old tug boat leaves the lock
Waterway	River Thames
County	Berkshire
Maintained by	Environment Agency
Operation	Hydraulic
First built	1773
Latest built	1994
Length	61.00 m (200 ft 2 in)
Width	7.70 m (25 ft 3 in)
Fall	1.44 m (4 ft 9 in)
Above sea level	101'
Distance to ; Teddington Lock	43 miles
	Power is available out of hours

Last updated August 08, 2022

Hambleden Lock

Legend

					River Thames

					Marsh Lock and weir

					Site of mill

					Rod Eyot

					A4130 Henley Bridge
					Henley Reach
					Regatta Course
					Temple Island

					Hambleden Lock
					weir
					Site of mill
					moorings

					River Thames

Hambleden Lock is a lock with a long weir situated on the River Thames in England, about 2 miles downstream of Henley Bridge. The lock is on the Berkshire bank between Aston and Remenham. Built by the Thames Navigation Commission in 1773, the lock is named after the village of Hambleden, a mile (1.5 km) to the north.

History

The mill at Hambleden is mentioned in Domesday Book, which implies there was also a weir here then. There is reference to the weir, with a winch (for pulling boats through the flash lock) in 1338. The pound lock was the fourth downstream in the series of locks built after the 1770 navigation act. The others were built of fir which had to be replaced by oak after a dozen years. In 1777 a small brick house was built and Caleb Gould became keeper. This eccentric, who baked bread for bargemen, ate a dish of onion porridge every night, wore a long coat with many buttons and walked daily to Hambleden marking a cross on the ground where he reached, was in post at the lock for 59 years and was succeeded by his son.

Weir, mill and walkway at Hambleden HambleLock02.JPG — Weir, mill and walkway at Hambleden

There is reference to continuing use of the flash lock and winch at the weir until the middle of the nineteenth century. The channel downstream of the lock which takes navigation clear of the weir and weir pool was excavated in 1825. The lock was completely rebuilt in 1870 after years of complaint about its condition. In 1884 the new weirs were built and after public complaints the walkway was built to reopen the ancient right of way.^[2] The lock was rebuilt in 1994.

Access to the lock

The lock can be reached from the village of Aston on the same side, after a short walk; access to the track leading to the lock is immediately to the west of the Flower Pot pub. From the opposite side the walkways across the weirs provide easy access from Mill End.

Reach above the lock

View downstream towards Temple Island HambleLockReach01.JPG — View downstream towards Temple Island

Looking upstream from Henley Bridge Henley01.JPG — Looking upstream from Henley Bridge

The river curves round to the south, passing, on the Buckinghamshire bank, Greenlands, a large country house built in the nineteenth century which is now the home of the Henley Management College. After the turn is Temple Island, which is the start of the Henley Royal Regatta course. The regatta is rowed upstream over a wide straight course of 1 mile, 550 yards (2,112 m). On the Berkshire bank are open fields, lawns and Remenham Farm, part of the village of Remenham. The regatta lawns continue up to Henley Bridge, while the town of Henley on Thames stretches along the Oxfordshire bank.

The annual Henley Festival is also held on the reach, stretching between just upstream of Hambleden village and just short of the next lock upstream from Hambleden, Marsh Lock.

After Henley Bridge is the Henley river front with boat hire and a landing stage for riverboat cruises. After a small wooded island is the larger Rod Eyot, and Mill Meadows provides public open space on the Henley side of the river. The River and Rowing Museum is situated here. On the Berkshire bank the land rises steeply with a wooded escarpment hanging over Marsh Lock.

Sports clubs on the reach

Thames Path

The Thames Path stays on the Berkshire bank to Henley Bridge, and is here in better condition for the benefit of the rowing coaches who cycle along it. It crosses Henley Bridge and continues on the Oxfordshire bank to Marsh Lock.

Kayak and canoe use

Looking upstream from the lock HambleLock03.JPG — Looking upstream from the lock

Since the 1940s kayakers and canoeists have used the weir structure for recreation.

In each of the four sluices a concrete ramp of about 16 deg has been fixed to the weir apron, on top of these a hinged steel plate is fixed. The hinged steel plate is adjustable between the 16 deg of the base concrete ramp and approx 28 deg. The adjustment of the steel plate is currently by pneumatic bellows installed between the plate and the concrete base.

Literature and the media

Jerome K Jerome wrote of "the rather uninteresting river residence of my newsagent - a quiet unassuming old gentleman, who may be met with about these regions, during the summer months, sculling himself along in easy vigorous style, or chatting genially to some old lock-keeper, as he passes through". The newsagent in question was W H Smith whose residence was Greenlands.

Caleb Gould's gravestone at Remenham has the elegy

This world’s a jest,
And all things show it;
I thought so once,
And now I know it.

Related Research Articles

Henley Royal Regatta Recurring rowing event in Henley-on-Thames, UK

Henley Royal Regatta is a rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It differs from the three other regattas rowed over approximately the same course, Henley Women's Regatta, Henley Masters Regatta, and Henley Town and Visitors' Regatta, each of which is an entirely separate event.

The English River Thames is navigable from Cricklade or Lechlade to the sea, and this part of the river falls 71 meters (234 feet). There are 45 locks on the river, each with one or more adjacent weirs. These lock and weir combinations are used for controlling the flow of water down the river, most notably when there is a risk of flooding, and provide for navigation above the tideway.

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.

Sonning Lock is a lock and associated weir situated on the River Thames at the village of Sonning near Reading, Berkshire, England. The first lock was built by the Thames Navigation Commission in 1773 and it has been rebuilt three times since then. There is a weir a little upstream at the top of the island where Sonning Backwater separates from the main course of the river.

Bray Lock is a lock and weir on the River Thames in England near Bray and Dorney Reach, and is just above the M4 Bridge across the Thames. The lock is on the Buckinghamshire side of the river on the opposite bank from Bray itself and Maidenhead which are in Berkshire. Here, the county line stands roughly halfway between the lock and the opposite bank, following the course of the Thames itself. The pound lock was built by the Thames Navigation Commission relatively late, in 1845. The lock keeper's cottage is on an island between the lock and the weir.

Shiplake Lock Lock on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England

Shiplake Lock is a lock and weir situated on the River Thames in England between the villages of Shiplake and Lower Shiplake, Oxfordshire. It is just above the points where the River Loddon joins the Thames and Shiplake Railway Bridge crosses the river. 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.

The Thames Path is a National Trail following the River Thames from its source near Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Thames Barrier at Charlton, south east London. It is about 184 miles (296 km) long. A path was first proposed in 1948 but it only opened in 1996.

Henley Bridge is a road bridge built in 1786 at Henley-on-Thames over the River Thames, between Oxfordshire and Berkshire. The bridge has five elliptical stone arches, and links Hart Street in Henley with White Hill leading up a steep hill to Remenham Hill. It crosses the Thames on the reach between Hambleden Lock and Marsh Lock, carrying the Thames Path across the river. It is a Grade I listed building.

Kingston Rowing Club (KRC) is a rowing club in England founded in 1858 and a member club of British Rowing.

Remenham is a village and civil parish on the Berkshire bank of the River Thames opposite Henley-on-Thames in southern England. It is particularly well known for the steep approach, known as Remenham Hill or White Hill, into Henley.

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.

Marlow Lock Lock and weir on the River Thames in Buckinghamshire, England

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.

Sunbury Lock Lock on the River Thames in Surrey, England

Sunbury Lock is a lock complex of the River Thames in England near Walton-on-Thames in north-west Surrey, the third lowest of forty four on the non-tidal reaches. The complex adjoins the right, southern bank about 1⁄2 mile (0.80 km) downstream of the Weir Hotel.

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.

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.

Boveney Lock Lock on the River Thames in Buckinghamshire, England

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.

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

Hurley Lock is a lock and weir on the River Thames in England, situated in a clump of wooded islands close to the village of Hurley, Berkshire. The lock was first built by the Thames Navigation Commissioners in 1773.

References

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
↑ Fred. S. Thacker The Thames Highway: Volume II Locks and Weirs 1920 - republished 1968 David & Charles

External links

Photograph of the weir with Hambleden Mill behind

Next lock upstream	River Thames	Next lock downstream
Marsh Lock 4.59 km (2.85 mi) ^[1]	Hambleden Lock Grid reference SU782852	Hurley Lock 5.89 km (3.66 mi)^[1]
Next crossing upstream	River Thames	Next crossing downstream
Henley Bridge	Hambleden Lock	Temple Footbridge

Coordinates: 51°33′37″N0°52′24″W / 51.56027°N 0.87333°W / 51.56027; -0.87333

1 2 "Environment Agency Distances between locks on the River Thames". web page. Environmental Agency. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2012. Distances given in km

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[EnvAgency-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] Fred. S. Thacker The Thames Highway: Volume II Locks and Weirs 1920 - republished 1968 David & Charles

[EnvAgency2-3] 1 2 "Environment Agency Distances between locks on the River Thames". web page. Environmental Agency. 19 November 2012. Retrieved 21 November 2012. Distances given in km

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Hambleden Lock

Contents

History

Access to the lock

Reach above the lock

Sports clubs on the reach

Thames Path

Kayak and canoe use

Literature and the media

See also

Related Research Articles

References

External links