Bromley Stop Lock was a lock on the

Limehouse Cut The Limehouse Cut is a largely straight, broad canal in the East End of London which links the lower reaches of the Lee Navigation to the River Thames. Opening on 17 September 1770, and widened for two-way traffic by 1777, it is the oldest can ...

in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets that was situated near the junction of

and the

River Lee Navigation The Lee Navigation is a canalised river incorporating the River Lea (also called the River Lee along the sections that are navigable). It flows from Hertford Castle Weir to the River Thames at Bow Creek; its first lock is Hertford Lock and its ...

Bow Locks Bow Locks No. 20 () is a set of bi-directional locks in Bromley-by-Bow in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and Newham. The locks link the tidal Bow Creek to the River Lee Navigation, which is a canalised river. These locks were first built ...

. Stop locks were initially installed where there was a change of canal ownership to prevent the loss of water from one canal to another. Bow Locks were originally tidal, i.e. not a falling lock. They would be opened at high tide to fill the Limehouse Cut and to maintain navigation in the River Lee Navigation. This lock could be closed should anything go wrong with the process to maintain the level of the Cut, at the level in

Limehouse Basin Limehouse Basin is a body of water 2 miles east of London Bridge that is also a navigable link between the River Thames and two of London's canals. First dug in 1820 as the eastern terminus of the new Regent's Canal, its wet area was less than ...

. Today, the lock is redundant and very little of it remains. One gate at the lower end of the lock is visible within a patch of weeds behind the modern floating tow-path.

Public access

Pedestrian and cycle access via the towpath which forms part of the

Lea Valley Walk The Lea Valley Walk is a long-distance path located between Leagrave, the source of the River Lea near Luton, and the Thames, at Limehouse Basin, Limehouse, east London. From its source much of the walk is rural. At Hertford the path follows t ...

Public transport

The nearest Docklands Light Railway station is

Devons Road Devons Road is a road in Bow Common and Bromley-by-Bow in east London. Part of the B140 road, it gives its name to the Devons Road DLR station. Motive power depots The North London Railway established a large motive power depot at Bow around 18 ...

External links

''Site of Bromley Stop Lock No 20''
(Canalplan AC Gazetteer)

Locks of London Former buildings and structures in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Locks of the Lee Navigation Stop locks Bromley-by-Bow {{London-struct-stub