Hambleden Lock
Encyclopedia
Hambleden Lock is a lock
with a long weir
situated on the River Thames
in England. The lock is on the Berkshire
bank between Aston and Remenham
. It was 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.
The great weir is impressive and there are walkways over it from the lock to the small village of Mill End
on the Buckinghamshire
bank. Here is situated the picturesque Hambleden Mill
, and the site of a Roman villa
is nearby.
, 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.
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. The lock was rebuilt in 1994.
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.
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
.
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.
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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.
Caleb Gould's gravestone at Remenham
has the elegy
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
with a long weir
Weir
A weir is a small overflow dam used to alter the flow characteristics of a river or stream. In most cases weirs take the form of a barrier across the river that causes water to pool behind the structure , but allows water to flow over the top...
situated on the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
in England. The lock is on the Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
bank between Aston and Remenham
Remenham
Remenham is a village and civil parish on the Berkshire bank of the River Thames near Henley-on-Thames in southern England.-Rowing:The parish covers the starting point of the Henley Royal Regatta course. Remenham Club is a private members club for rowers, with a good view of the river halfway along...
. It was built by the Thames Navigation Commission
Thames Navigation Commission
The Thames Navigation Commission used to manage the River Thames in southern England. In particular, they were responsible for installing or renovating many of the locks on the river in the 18th and early 19th centuries.- History :...
in 1773, The lock is named after the village of Hambleden
Hambleden
Hambleden is a small village and civil parish within Wycombe district in the south of Buckinghamshire, England. It is about four miles west of Marlow, and about three miles north east of Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire....
, a mile (1.5 km) to the north.
The great weir is impressive and there are walkways over it from the lock to the small village of Mill End
Mill End
Mill End is a small hamlet in the parish of Hambleden in the south of Buckinghamshire, England, on the main A4155 road between Henley-on-Thames and Marlow. It is on the River Thames. Mill End consists of about 30-50 houses, some on the river bank and others on the northern side of the main road....
on the Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
bank. Here is situated the picturesque Hambleden Mill
Hambleden Mill
Hambleden Mill is a historic watermill on the River Thames at Mill End, near the village of Hambleden in Buckinghamshire, England. It is next to Hambleden Lock and has now been converted into flats.- External links :*...
, and the site of a Roman villa
Roman villa
A Roman villa is a villa that was built or lived in during the Roman republic and the Roman Empire. A villa was originally a Roman country house built for the upper class...
is nearby.
History
The mill at Hambleden is mentioned in Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
, 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
Flash lock
Early locks were designed with a single gate, known as a flash lock or staunch lock. The earliest European references to what were clearly flash locks were in Roman times....
) 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.
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
Greenlands
Greenlands is a country house situated by the River Thames in Buckinghamshire, just outside Henley-on-Thames. Built in the nineteenth century, it now forms the core of Greenlands Campus of the University of Reading, and is used by their Henley Business School as the base for its MBA and corporate...
, 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
Temple Island
Temple Island is an island in the River Thames in England just north of Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. The island is on the reach above Hambleden Lock between the Buckinghamshire and Berkshire banks, and is part of Remenham in Berkshire...
, which is the start of the Henley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta
Henley Royal Regatta is a rowing event held every year on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. The Royal Regatta is sometimes referred to as Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage...
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
Remenham
Remenham is a village and civil parish on the Berkshire bank of the River Thames near Henley-on-Thames in southern England.-Rowing:The parish covers the starting point of the Henley Royal Regatta course. Remenham Club is a private members club for rowers, with a good view of the river halfway along...
. The regatta lawns continue up to Henley Bridge
Henley Bridge
Henley Bridge is a five-elliptical-arched stone road bridge built in 1786 at Henley-on-Thames over the River Thames, between Oxfordshire and Berkshire. The bridge links Hart Street in Henley with White Hill leading up a steep hill to Remenham Hill...
, while the town of Henley on Thames stretches along the Oxfordshire bank.
After Henley Bridge
Henley Bridge
Henley Bridge is a five-elliptical-arched stone road bridge built in 1786 at Henley-on-Thames over the River Thames, between Oxfordshire and Berkshire. The bridge links Hart Street in Henley with White Hill leading up a steep hill to Remenham Hill...
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
Rod Eyot
Rod Eyot or Rod Ait is an island in the River Thames in England near Henley-on-Thames on the reach above Hambledon Lock. It is close to Mill Meadows and the River and Rowing Museum....
, and Mill Meadows
Mill Meadows
Mill Meadows is part of the flood plain of the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. It is an area of natural beauty close to the town centre of Henley. Marsh Lock and Rod Eyot are also close by and the River and Rowing Museum, established in 1998, is located there...
provides public open space on the Henley side of the river. The River and Rowing Museum
River and Rowing Museum
The River and Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, is located on a site at Mill Meadows by the River Thames. It has three main themes represented by major permanent galleries, the non-tidal River Thames, the international sport of rowing and the local town of...
is situated here. On the Berkshire bank the land rises steeply with a wooded escarpment hanging over Marsh Lock
Marsh Lock
Marsh Lock is a lock and weir situated on the River Thames in England near 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...
.
Sports clubs on the reach
- Upper Thames Rowing ClubUpper Thames Rowing ClubThe Upper Thames Rowing Club is an English rowing club. It is based on the River Thames near the town of Henley-on-Thames, with a clubhouse and frontage on the course of the Henley Royal Regatta. The club was established in 1963....
- Remenham ClubRemenham ClubThe Remenham Club is a private members club near the village of Remenham on the Berkshire bank of the River Thames near Henley-on-Thames, on the reach of the river that plays host to the annual Henley Royal Regatta....
- Leander ClubLeander ClubLeander Club, founded in 1818, is one of the oldest rowing clubs in the world. It is based in Remenham in the English county of Berkshire, adjoining Henley-on-Thames...
- Henley Rowing Club
Thames Path
The Thames PathThames Path
The Thames Path is a National Trail, opened in 1996, following the length of the River Thames from its source near Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Thames Barrier at Charlton. It is about long....
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 & Canoe use
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
Remenham
Remenham is a village and civil parish on the Berkshire bank of the River Thames near Henley-on-Thames in southern England.-Rowing:The parish covers the starting point of the Henley Royal Regatta course. Remenham Club is a private members club for rowers, with a good view of the river halfway along...
has the elegy
- This world’s a jest,
- And all things show it;
- I thought so once,
- And now I know it.
See also
- Locks on the River ThamesLocks on the River ThamesThe English River Thames is navigable from Cricklade or Lechlade to the sea, and this part of the river falls 71 metres . There are 45 locks on the river, each with one or more adjacent weirs...
- Crossings of the River ThamesCrossings of the River ThamesThis is a list of crossings of the River Thames including bridges, tunnels and ferries. There are 214 bridges, over 20 tunnels, six public ferries and one ford.-Barrier and boundary:...
- Rowing on the River ThamesRowing on the River ThamesThe River Thames is one of the main rowing areas in England, with activity taking place on the Tideway and on the 45 separate lock reaches on the non tidal section. The river hosts two major rowing events The Boat Race and Henley Royal Regatta, and a large number of other regattas and long distance...
- Kayaking and Canoeing on the River ThamesKayaking and Canoeing on the River ThamesThe River Thames in England is a very popular river for kayakers and canoeists, and is home to several canoe clubs, including the Royal Canoe Club which is the oldest canoe club in the world.The tidal section is used by sea kayakers and experienced tourers...