Bell Weir Lock is a

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

by the

right bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography, as follows. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrai ...

Runnymede Runnymede is a water-meadow alongside the River Thames in the English county of Surrey, and just over west of central London. It is notable for its association with the sealing of Magna Carta, and as a consequence is, with its adjoining hi ...

which is a

water meadow A water-meadow (also water meadow or watermeadow) is an area of grassland subject to controlled irrigation to increase agricultural productivity. Water-meadows were mainly used in Europe from the 16th to the early 20th centuries. Working water-m ...

associated with

Egham Egham ( ) is a university town in the Borough of Runnymede in Surrey, England, approximately west of central London. First settled in the Bronze Age, the town was under the control of Chertsey Abbey for much of the Middle Ages. In 1215, Magna ...

of importance for the constitutional

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the ...

. It is upstream of the terrace of a hotel and the a bridge designed by

Edwin Lutyens Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens ( ; 29 March 1869 – 1 January 1944) was an English architect known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era. He designed many English country houses, war memori ...

who designed an ornamental park gate house along the reach. The bridge has been widened and carries the M25 and

A30 road The A30 is a major road in England, running WSW from London to Land's End. The road has been a principal axis in Britain from the 17th century to early 19th century, as a major coaching route. It used to provide the fastest route from Londo ...

across the river in a single

span Span may refer to: Science, technology and engineering * Span (unit), the width of a human hand * Span (engineering), a section between two intermediate supports * Wingspan, the distance between the wingtips of a bird or aircraft * Sorbitan ester ...

. The lock was first built by the

Thames Navigation Commission The Thames Navigation Commission managed the River Thames in southern England from 1751 to 1866. In particular, they were responsible for installing or renovating many of the locks on the river in the 18th and early 19th centuries History The f ...

in 1817; it has one weir which is upstream. The lock is the eighth lowest of forty-five on the river and is named after the founder of the forerunner of the adjoining hotel who took charge of the lock and weir on its construction.

History

A proposed location for a pound lock (impounded water as opposed to a

flash lock A flash lock is a type of lock for river or canal transport. 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. Developme ...

) in 1811 was across the next bend upstream. The lock and embankments were built at its present site in the winter of 1817–1818. It was known as Egham Lock, but took its name from Charles "Charlie" Bell who founded in the 18th century an inn by the site, The Anglers Retreat, which he continued to operate when entrusted with keeping the lock and weir. The weir collapsed under weight of ice in 1827, so too the lock in 1866. Lock and weir were rebuilt in 1867. The lock had to be rebuilt in stone in 1877. A new weir was completed in 1904.

Access to the lock

The lock can be reached on foot from the A308 road and is behind the Runnymede Hotel.

Reach above the lock

The reach runs through

Old Windsor Old Windsor is a large village and civil parish, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. It is bounded by the River Thames to the east and the Windsor Great Park to the west. Etymology The name originates from old ...

. Immediately on the

left bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography, as follows. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrai ...

(right heading upstream) is a water input and management facility at the

Hythe End Wraysbury is a village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in England. It is under the western approach path of London Heathrow airport. It is located on the east bank of the River Thames, roughly midway between Win ...

part of

Wraysbury Wraysbury is a village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in England. It is under the western approach path of London Heathrow airport. It is located on the east bank of the River Thames, roughly midway between Wind ...

that supplies the

Staines Reservoirs The Staines Reservoirs are two large pumped storage reservoirs sitting to the east of the King George VI Reservoir near Heathrow airport in Surrey within the Colne Valley regional park. The village of Stanwell is mainly to the north east, and ...

followed by low-rise housing with gardens as on " The Island"; woods facing

Magna Carta Island Magna Carta Island is an ait in the River Thames in England, on the reach above Bell Weir Lock. It is in Berkshire facing water-meadows forming Runnymede. Its civil and ecclesiastical parish is Wraysbury so it was transferred from Buckinghamsh ...

tucked close followed by

Pats Croft Eyot Pats Croft Eyot is a small island in the River Thames in England on the reach above Bell Weir Lock, near Wraysbury, Berkshire and Runnymede, Surrey. The island is privately owned and is inhabited. See also *Islands in the River Thames This ...

; and more riverside dwellings at

and on

Friary Island Friary Island is an island in the River Thames in England on the reach above Bell Weir Lock, on the approach to Old Windsor Lock at Wraysbury, Berkshire. It is just across the river from Old Windsor, where there was a friary from which it took ...

. The right bank has riverside houses and a greater recreation area then the Runnymead meadows and Arts and Crafts architecture (

) gate houses. The Bells of Ouseley public house commemorates bells of

Osney Abbey Osney Abbey or Oseney Abbey, later Osney Cathedral, was a house of Augustinian canons at Osney in Oxfordshire. The site is south of the modern Botley Road, down Mill Street by Osney Cemetery, next to the railway line just south of Oxford sta ...

, Oxford which at the abbey's dissolution disappeared into the mud in official records. A longer built-up stretch follows at

. There are no bridges or ferries. The reach is home to Wraysbury Skiff and Punting Club. Egham Regatta is held near Hythe End in June; Wraysbury and Old Windsor Regatta is held in August. Pleasure boats from the recreation ground can be launched upstream. The refreshment terraces of a hotel and spa adjoin the lock; hot-tub tugs and others with awnings operate. Its restaurants are The Lock and the Left Bank.Runnymede Hotel
beside Bell Weir Lock

Thames Path

The

Thames Path The Thames Path is a National Trail following the River Thames from its source near Kemble, Gloucestershire, Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Woolwich foot tunnel, south east London. It is about long. A path was first proposed in 1948 but it onl ...

, having changed sides at Staines Bridge runs along the right bank to Old Windsor Lock.

Literature and the media

Three Men in a Boat ''Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)'',The Penguin edition punctuates the title differently: ''Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog!'' published in 1889, is a humorous account by English writer Jerome K. Jerome of a tw ...

Jerome K Jerome Jerome Klapka Jerome (2 May 1859 – 14 June 1927) was an English writer and humourist, best known for the comic Travel literature, travelogue ''Three Men in a Boat'' (1889). Other works include the essay collections ''Idle Thoughts of an Idle ...

records

External links

Bell Weir Lock
at visitthames.co.uk

References

{{coord, 51, 26, 18, N, 0, 32, 16, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Locks on the River Thames