Locks: River Thames

The navigable River Thames starts out at the estuary to the North Sea between Kent and Essex. Navigation is possible right up to Lechlade. Once above the flood barrier at Charlton it has links into the London waterways – Bow Rivers at Blackwall; Regent’s canal, Limehouse Cut and Lee navigations through Limehouse basin; Grand Union canal at Brentwood. Further upstream the navigable River Wey leaves at Weybridge; the Kennet & Avon canal starts at Reading and access to the Oxford canal is made through either Sheepwash Channel in the centre of Oxford or Duke’s Cut just north of Oxford. The Thames and Severn canal used to join the at Lechlade but is now disused.

The River Thames is 215 miles long and has been an important trade route throughout its history. There are 44 locks on the non-tidal Thames, which begins nears Cirencester and ends at Teddington Lock.

Early locks were built in the 15th Century in some places but locks as we know them started to be built in the late 18th century.

Some people believe that the Romans may have been influenced by the Thames when they were choosing where to build London. According to the Museum in Docklands, the river was probably only tidal to where the City of London now sits when the Romans were choosing a site.

The first bridge in the capital was located where the current London Bridge stands. It has been rebuilt many times since the Romans first constructed a river crossing there around 2,000 years ago.

Before engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette built London’s sewer system, much of the capital’s waste was dumped in the river. In 1858, the stench from the river was so overpowering that Parliament had to be suspended and the government decided to find a way to rid the Thames of sewage.

The 13 locks from Reading to Oxford

Caversham Lock (4' 9")