Chalmore Lock

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The Chalmore Lock was a lock with a defense that in the 1838-1883 Thames at Wallingford in Oxfordshire , England , existed.

history

Chalmore Lock was built in 1838 by the Thames Navigation Commission on a site called Chalmore Hole between Cleeve Lock and Benson Lock . The lock was intended as a summer or low water lock. Most of the time it was open on both sides. The height difference was only 45 cm at the lowest water level in summer. When it was built, it was described as a weir with two gates. Its usefulness was evident soon after construction, when a boat ran aground upriver on a shoal and was released within five minutes after the gates were closed. There was a lock keeper and a fee was charged to use it. However, the lock fell into disrepair and the Thames Conservancy sought to remove it. Nevertheless, after 1874, the residents of Wallingford tried to preserve it, as they feared the location would be detrimental to its removal. In 1881 the Thames Conservancy deepened the river downstream of Wallingford Bridge and in the winter of that year drift ice destroyed much of the weir. In 1883 the lock was finally dismantled.

Mention in the literature

The Chalmore Lock is the subject of an incident in the novel Three Men in a Boat (1889) by Jerome K. Jerome . This involves a boat trip from Benson Lock that is expected to reach Wallingford Lock quickly. But since the card used is out of date, the journey leads to Cleeve Lock with increasing unrest as night falls.

William Staniland included The Lay of Chalmore Lock in his 1884 book Songs after Sunset .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The borough of Wallingford: Introduction and castle. In: PH Ditchfield, William Page: A History of the County of Berkshire. Volume 3. Victoria County History, London 1923, pp. 517-531.
  2. ^ Fred S. Thacker: The Thames Highway. Volume II: Locks and Weirs. 1920 - 1968 reissued, David & Charles, Newton Abbot.
  3. ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives: South Oxfordshire District Council & Vale of White Horse District Council - Strategic Flood Risk Assessment Appendices@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.southoxon.gov.uk
  4. ↑ Chalmore Lock Site, Chalmore Hole, Old Wallingford Lock. thames.me.uk, accessed February 19, 2016 .
  5. ↑ William Staniland: Songs after Sunset. E. Stock, London 1884, pp. 150-153. ( archive.org ).

Coordinates: 51 ° 35 ′ 44.5 "  N , 1 ° 7 ′ 19.6"  W.