Molesey Lock

View to the Moseley Lock

The Molesey Lock is a lock in the River Thames at Molesey , in Surrey , England . It is located near Hampton Court Palace in south-west London .

The lock was built in 1815 by the City of London Corporation and is the second longest on the Thames at 81.78 m. Next to the lock there is a boat slide for smaller boats. After a large weir there is Ash Island and a second smaller weir.

Its proximity to Hampton Court and easy access made it a popular destination in Victorian times and still attracts many visitors today.

history

A lock was first proposed in 1802 due to the shallows at Kenton Hedge and Sunbury Flatts , but the proposal was not pursued. In 1809 the proposal was submitted again and a resolution to build the lock was passed by parliament in 1812. Construction began in 1814 and the opening was in 1815. The first lock keeper was killed in a horse race and his successor was dismissed after theft on ships. In 1853 some changes were made to the lock, as a lower water level was expected upstream as water was withdrawn there. A fish ladder was built at the weir in 1864 and the boat slide was added in 1871. Boat trips were so popular at the time that in 1877 a boat and a crew were stationed at the weir to help out in the event of an accident. The lock was renewed in 1906. On the small lock island there is a commemorative plaque for Michael J. Bulleid , whose use enables the salmon to migrate upstream again.

The river above the lock

After the lock canal, the islands of Tagg's Island and Garrick's Ait follow . The Hampton Ferry operates between Hampton and Moulsey Hurst in the summer . This is followed by the islands of Benn's Island and Platt's Eyot . This is followed by the Grand Junction Isle and Sunbury Court Island . The River Ash flows into the Thames at Wheatley's Ait .

Waterworks and reservoirs

At Platt's Eyot there is a waterworks and reservoirs on the north side of the river, as well as the former reservoirs of the Moseley Reservoir on the south side . There are water storage lakes here on both sides of the river as they were built under the Metropolis Water Act, passed in 1852. The law forbade the extraction of drinking water below the Teddington Lock because the river carried too much sewage. The waterworks at Hampton were built on the north side of the river in the 1850s by the Grand Junction Waterworks Company , the Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company, and the West Middlesex Waterworks Company . The reservoirs on the south side of the river at Molesey were built in 1872 by the Lambeth Waterworks Company and three years later by the Chelsea Waterworks Company . Both companies previously had reservoirs at Seething Wells below Molesey Lock but the tributaries of the River Mole , River Ember and The Rythe brought too much mud into the water.

The Thames Path runs all the way to Sunbury Lock on the south side of the river.

See also

• Locks and weirs of the Thames

Web links

Commons : Molesey Lock  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ^ Environment Agency A User's Guide to the River Thames. (PDF)
2. ^ Fred S. Thacker: The Thames Highway. Volume II: Locks and Weirs. 1920 - 1968 reissued , David & Charles, Newton Abbot, ISBN 0-7153-4233-9 .
3. ^ An Act to Make Better Provision respecting the Supply of Water to the Metropolis. (15 & 16 Vict. C 84)
4. ^ A Guide to the Industrial Archeology of the Borough of Elmbridge at moleseyhistory.co.uk.

Coordinates: 51 ° 24 '17.3 "  N , 0 ° 20' 45.2"  W.