Shiplake 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 ...

and

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

situated 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 ...

in England between the villages of Shiplake and Lower Shiplake,

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

. It is just above the points where the

River Loddon The River Loddon is a tributary of the River Thames in southern England. It rises at Basingstoke in Hampshire and flows northwards for to meet the Thames at Wargrave in Berkshire. Together, the Loddon and its tributaries drain an area of . T ...

joins the Thames and

Shiplake Railway Bridge Shiplake Railway Bridge carries the Henley Branch Line to Henley-on-Thames, England across the River Thames, connecting Shiplake in Oxfordshire with Wargrave in Berkshire. It crosses the river just downstream of Shiplake Lock on the reach abov ...

crosses the river. The first pound lock was 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 1773. The weir is some distance upstream of the lock between the lock island and

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

bank.

History

There is reference to the weir and

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 ...

at this location in the 16th century when it was known as "Cotterell's", a name which persisted after the

pound lock A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft 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 lev ...

was built. It was the second downstream of the eight locks built after the navigation act of 1770, and was completed in fir wood in 1773. At this time the towpath upstream was transferred from the Berkshire to the Oxfordshire bank. The lock had to be rebuilt of oak in 1787 as the fir had decayed. There were two mills on the island at this time. The lock was rebuilt again in 1874 and the weir in 1885.Fred. S. Thacker ''The Thames Highway: Volume II Locks and Weirs'' 1920 - republished 1968 David & Charles The lock island was purchased by the

City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...

for camping in 1891, and in 1907 the ruined mills were demolished. Shiplake Lock was the first lock on the Thames to have hydraulic operation installed in 1961. During the winter of 2009/2010 the wooden lock gates were replaced with steel gates at a cost of £600,000.

The camping island

The reason for the purchase of Shiplake Lock Island by the Corporation was to preserve the amenities for bathing and camping. It was managed by the Corporation's City Lands Committee. However, managing at a distance proved a problem and the island was let in perpetuity in 1914 to the

Thames Conservancy The Thames Conservancy (formally the Conservators of the River Thames) was a body responsible for the management of the that river in England. It was founded in 1857 to replace the jurisdiction of the City of London up to Staines. Nine years la ...

. The camp was then divided into 18 plots and run by the lock keepers. Soon after taking over, the Conservancy allowed huts to be built near the tents. The use of these was restricted to cooking and they were not to be used for sleeping. (At that time, ladies were not allowed to sleep on the island at all, but had to retire to wooden huts on the Shiplake bank). The Thames Conservancy and its successor organisations the

National Rivers Authority The National Rivers Authority (NRA) was one of the forerunners of the Environment Agency of England and Wales, existing between 1989 and 1996. Before 1989 the regulation of the aquatic environment had largely been carried out by the ten region ...

and

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

have not been prepared to give more than a one-year lease to the plotholders. However, the community has remained remarkably static with plots passing down the family line.

Access to the lock

The lock can be reached from

Lower Shiplake Shiplake consists of three settlements: Shiplake, Shiplake Cross and Lower Shiplake. Together these villages form a civil parish situated beside the River Thames south of Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The river forms the parish boun ...

down Mill Road, and into Mill Lane, where there is a tarmac path to the lock along the edge of a field. And from the village of Shiplake, at Shiplake Church take the chalky path down to the riverbank, past Shiplake College's boathouse. The footpath at Shiplake then passes under the College (formerly Shiplake Court) and then the white Shiplake House.The lock is a few hundred metres along this part of the Thames Path.

Reach above the lock

The river skirts Shiplake on the Oxfordshire bank and eventually passes into

Sonning Sonning is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England, on the River Thames, east of Reading. The village was described by Jerome K. Jerome in his book ''Three Men in a Boat'' as "the most fairy-like little nook on the whole river". Geogr ...

Phillimore Island Phillimore Island is an elongated island in the River Thames in the county of Berkshire, England, near the villages of Shiplake, Oxfordshire and Wargrave, Berkshire. It is on the reach above Shiplake Lock. The island is named after the Phillim ...

is just above the lock, and on the hill on the Shiplake bank is Shiplake House and also Shiplake Court (now the premises of

Shiplake College ("The Example Teaches") , established = 1959 , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religious_affiliation = Church of England , head_label = Headmaster , head ...

). The college boat house is on the river bank at this point. Further on there is a double bend with two large islands

The Lynch The Lynch is an island in the River Thames in Berkshire, England. It is on the reach above Shiplake Lock near Lower Shiplake. The island is large and triangular shaped, forming a pair with the similar Hallsmead Ait. It is uninhabited and tre ...

, and

Hallsmead Ait Hallsmead Ait is an island in the River Thames in Berkshire, England. It is on the reach above Shiplake Lock near Lower Shiplake. The island is large and triangular shaped, forming a pair with The Lynch, a similar shaped island. It is uninh ...

followed by

Buck Ait Buck Ait is an island in the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England. It is on the reach above Shiplake Lock near Sonning. The island is uninhabited and tree-covered. It lies low, acting as a water-meadow in times of flood, opposite houses with l ...

. On the bank opposite the Ait is

St Patrick's Stream St Patrick's Stream or Patrick Stream is a backwater of the River Thames in England, which flows into the River Loddon near Wargrave, Berkshire. It leaves the Thames on the reach above Shiplake Lock near Buck Ait, downstream of Sonning. It is be ...

. This stream is believed to have been a tributary stream of the River Loddon which became an outfall when the water level was raised by the building of Shiplake Lock. Apart from a small development here, the river banks are open fields to

Sonning Bridge Sonning Bridge is a road bridge across the River Thames at Sonning, Berkshire. It links Sonning with Sonning Eye (Oxfordshire) and crosses the Thames on the reach above Shiplake Lock, just short of Sonning Lock. It is a brick arch bridge complet ...

. Sonning lock is a short was upstream of the bridge, but there is a large backwater branching before the bridge on the

Sonning Eye Sonning Eye is a hamlet on the River Thames in the Sonning Common ward of South Oxfordshire, England, in the civil parish of Eye & Dunsden (one of its four small settlements), at what is since 1974 the southernmost tip of Oxfordshire. Geograph ...

side which is crossed by

Sonning Backwater Bridges Sonning Backwater Bridges are the road bridges across the first two of three branches of the Thames at Sonning Eye, Oxfordshire, England. Built in 1986 to replace older wooden structures, one bridge spans a main weir stream – traditiona ...

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 ...

stays on the Oxfordshire bank to Sonning, where it crosses the bridge to the other side and continues to Sonning Lock.

Literature and the media

Shiplake Lock was a favourite place for fishing for the young

George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...

and his Buddicom friends.Jacintha Buddicom ''Eric & Us'' 2nd ed Finlay Publisher 2006

References

{{Reflist Locks of Oxfordshire Locks on the River Thames Weirs on the River Thames