Clifton Lock
The Clifton Lock is a lock on the River Thames in Oxfordshire , England . The lock is south of Clifton Hampden and north of Long Wittenham . The lock is at the start of the Clifton Cut , which diverts the main shipping route from Long Wittenham. The lock was completed in 1822 by the Thames Navigation Commission .
The main weir was built 13 years after the lock and lies in the course of the old main arm of the river. A small weir is located just above the lock.
history
The Clifton Lock is one of the few places where there was no weir in the area of the untidy river. There was only one ferry at this point. Problems for shipping were known at this point for a long time and the first proposal to build a lock was made in 1793, followed by another in 1811.
The construction of the lock was delayed due to problems with the landowner. At the time of completion in 1822, no weir was built, which led to further lawsuits. It is reported that the Lord Mayor of London visited Oxford by ship in 1826 and that his sloop and the support boats were held up at this point for a “considerable time”.
In 1835 a weir was finally built along the old main shipping route, which was enlarged in 1877. In 1884 the bridges were renewed.
The river above the lock
The Clifton Cut is nearly a mile long. In the further course of the main arm, the Appleford Railway Bridge crosses the river. Shortly before the Sutton Bridge, the river divides again into the old main arm at Sutton Courtenay and the Culham Cut .
The Thames Path runs along the north bank of the river to Culham Lock .
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Robert Crawford Dillon: The lord mayor's visit to Oxford, in the month of July, 1826. Written at the desire of the party. Longman, Rees, Orme, Browne and Green, London 1826, pp. 74/75. OCLC 12997810 , ( archive.org ).
- ^ Fred S. Thacker: The Thames Highway. Volume II: Locks and Weirs. 1920 - 1968 reissued, David & Charles, Newton Abbot.
Coordinates: 51 ° 38 ′ 55 " N , 1 ° 12 ′ 38.9" W.