Hedsor Water is a backwater

Backwater (river)

A backwater is a part of a river in which there is little or no current. It refers either to a branch of a main river which lies alongside it and then rejoins it or to a body of water in a main river which is backed up by an obstruction such as the tide or a dam.-Alternative channel:If a river has...

 of 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,...

 near Cookham

Cookham

Cookham is a village and civil parish in the north-easternmost corner of Berkshire in England, on the River Thames, notable as the home of the artist Stanley Spencer. It lies north of Maidenhead close to the border with Buckinghamshire...

, 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...

 which leaves the river above Cookham Lock

Cookham Lock

Cookham Lock is a lock with weirs situated on the River Thames near Cookham, Berkshire. The lock is set in a lock cut which is one of four streams here and it is surrounded by woods. On one side is Sashes Island and on the other is Mill Island connected to Formosa Island, the largest on the...

 and rejoins at the tail of the lock cut, running alongside Sashes Island

Sashes Island

Sashes Island is an island in the River Thames in England at Cookham Lock near Cookham, Berkshire. It is now open farmland, but has Roman and Anglo-Saxon connections....

. Hedsor Water was once the main course of the Thames but was by-passed for navigation by the construction of Cookham Lock in 1830. Navigation is only possible for the first 100 metres from the downstream end where a few temporary moorings are available.

Cookham lock opened in 1830, but no weir was built at this time. In 1832 Lord Boston

Baron Boston

Baron Boston, of Boston in the County of Lincoln, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1761 for the court official and former Member of Parliament, Sir William Irby, 2nd Baronet. He had earlier represented Launceston and Bodmin in the House of Commons...

 of Hedsor House

Hedsor House

Hedsor House is a Georgian style mansion in England in the southern most point of Buckinghamshire in the village of Hedsor, Taplow. Perched overlooking the River Thames, a Manor house at Hedsor can be dated back to 1166 when the estate was owned by the de Hedsor Family...

 claimed compensation for loss of towpath rights along Hedsor Water which he was granted. In 1837 a weir was found necessary and built across Hedsor Water, leading to further litigation from Lord Boston for loss of trade to the wharf he owned there. Hedsor Wharf, on the upper reach of Hedsor Water had been an important trading post. The paper made at nearby Cookham Paper Mill was shipped from there and the stone used to build Shardeloes

Shardeloes

Shardeloes is a large 18th century country house located one mile northwest of Amersham in Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom. . A previous manor house on the site was demolished and the present building constructed between 1758 and 1766 for William Drake, the Member of Parliament for Amersham.-Design...

 was brought from Oxford

Oxford

The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...

 to Hedsor Wharf. This time the only compensation he received was the building of a 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 the weir. This was removed when the lock was rebuilt in 1869, as Lord Boston had built eel buck

Eel buck

Eel bucks are a type of fish trap that was prevalent in the River Thames in England up to the 20th century. It was used particularly to catch eels which were a staple part of the London diet....

s in the stream in the meantime.

In 2003 Hedsor Water was the subject of a High Court judgement against Josie Rowland, the widow of Tiny Rowland

Tiny Rowland

Roland "Tiny" Rowland was a British businessman and chairman of the Lonrho conglomerate from 1962 to 1994...

and current owner of Hedsor Wharf Estate, who wanted to stop the Water being used as a public right of way.