Molesey 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 ...

in England at

East Molesey Molesey is a district of two twin towns, East Molesey and West Molesey, in the Borough of Elmbridge, Surrey, England, and is situated on the south bank of the River Thames. East and West Molesey share a high street, and there is a second reta ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

on 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 ...

. The lock was built 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 ...

in 1815 and was rebuilt by 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 ...

in 1906. It is the second longest on the river at ; it is the second lowest of the non-tidal river and third-lowest including

Richmond Lock Richmond Lock and Footbridge is a lock, rising and falling low-tide barrage integrating controlled sluices and pair of pedestrian bridges on the River Thames in south west London, England and is a Grade II* listed structure. It is the furth ...

on the

Tideway The Tideway is a part of the River Thames in England which is subject to tides. This stretch of water is downstream from Teddington Lock. The Tideway comprises the upper Thames Estuary including the Pool of London. Tidal activity Depending on ...

. Upstream of the lock are moorings for small boats, specifically

skiff A skiff is any of a variety of essentially unrelated styles of small boats. Traditionally, these are coastal craft or river craft used for leisure, as a utility craft, and for fishing, and have a one-person or small crew. Sailing skiffs have deve ...

, paddleboard, small speedboat and open

kayak A kayak is a small, narrow watercraft which is typically propelled by means of a double-bladed paddle. The word kayak originates from the Greenlandic word '' qajaq'' (). The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each s ...

hire, a tour boat pier, a kiosk and van parking space for ice cream and soft drinks. A few metres upstream is a combined side weir and front weir followed by an attached ait,

Ash Island Ash Island is a forested, drop-shaped island in the River Thames in England, across the weir of Molesey Lock within Greater London on its border. In the same way as Hampton Court, Ash Island's post town is East Molesey (KT8) and the island i ...

. A low backwater against the opposite bank which forms the waterside to homes sometimes called the Hampton Riviera continues to a small upper weir. Molesey Lock is within sight of the walls of

Hampton Court Palace Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...

in southwest London on the opposite bank through the arches of Hampton Court 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 memor ...

(220 m away).

Boat hire and touring

The lock's proximity to Hampton Court and boat hire at the site made it a popular venue for spectators in the Victorian and

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

eras, the tree-lined lock attracts large numbers of visitors for nine months of the year. Hire boat companies and ice cream sales attract visitors in all months apart from winter.

History

A lock was first proposed in 1802 because of then-shallows upstream at " Kenton Hedge and Sundbury Flatts above" — nothing came of the suggestion. In 1809 the proposal was resubmitted Parliament passed the Act for construction of the lock in 1812. Building began in 1814 and it opened in 1815 with an

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian ...

lockhouse. The first lock keeper was killed in a horse race at

Moulsey Hurst Moulsey Hurst is in West Molesey, Surrey on the south bank of the River Thames above Molesey Lock. It is one of England's oldest sporting venues and was used in the 18th and 19th centuries for cricket, prizefighting and other sports. This are ...

and his successor discharged after incidents of stealing from barges. In 1853 changes were made to the lock in anticipation of lower water levels caused by the extraction of water upstream.

Fish ladder A fish ladder, also known as a fishway, fish pass, fish steps, or fish cannon is a structure on or around artificial and natural barriers (such as dams, locks and waterfalls) to facilitate diadromous fishes' natural migration as well as move ...

s were added to the weir in 1864 and the boat slide built in 1871. Such was the popularity of boating that in 1877 the navigation commission stationed a boat and crew in busy days above the weir in case of accidents. The lock was rebuilt in 1906.Fred. S. Thacker ''The Thames Highway: Volume II Locks and Weirs'' 1920 - republished 1968 David & Charles On the small lock island is a plaque commemorating Michael J Bulleid whose work for

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus '' Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Onco ...

conservancy allows them to scale the river.

Access to the lock

The lock is upstream of Hampton Court Bridge on the right bank, which is here the south side. It is immediately accessible from Hurst Road/Riverbank (A3050) with pavements and a sloped approach and is from the platform at

Hampton Court railway station Hampton Court railway station is a suburban terminus station at East Molesey, in the Borough of Elmbridge in the county of Surrey, 100 yards short of Hampton Court Bridge, the midpoint of which is a boundary of Greater London. The station is do ...

terminus on the same bank.

Reach above the lock

After the lock cut is Tagg's Island which provides mooring for houseboats some of which are three storeys high. On the Surrey bank here is the "Eights Tree" a tall metal sculpture outside Molesey Boat Club. 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 terra ...

here is sometimes marked as the Hampton Riviera featuring the Swiss Cottage, the Astoria Houseboat and an array of period buildings at

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria Canada * Hampton, New Brunswick *Ha ...

such as Rotary Court.

Garrick's Ait Garrick's Ait (or Garrick's Eyot on Ordnance Survey maps), previously known as Shank's Eyot, is an ait in the River Thames in England on the reach above Molesey Lock, the nearest land being Moulsey Hurst (park) on the Surrey bank and the opposit ...

similar in size to Ash Island, is residential, by the Hampton-Molesey Hurst Ferry, which runs in the summer between Hampton and

park on the right bank. ;Left bank proceeding in reverse to flow Facing Hampton's church, a large pub across the A308 road ''The Bell'' and various brick-built cottages forming the original village conservation area of Hampton is Benn's Island, the second-smallest named island in the Thames. It is covered by Hampton Sailing Club's building and raised pontoons. Upstream is

Platts Eyot Platt's Eyot or Platt's Ait is an island on the River Thames at Hampton, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England, on the reach between Molesey Lock and Sunbury Lock. Geography The island was a typical ait used for growing osier ...

, where Motor Torpedo Boats were built during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. At Platt's Eyot on the left bank is Hampton Water Treatment Works and reservoirs set behind a minor road to

Shepperton Shepperton is an urban village in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, approximately south west of central London. Shepperton is equidistant between the towns of Chertsey and Sunbury-on-Thames. The village is mentioned in a document of 959 AD ...

and the Hampton School Boat Club Millennium boat house. Grand Junction Isle has a footbridge and a few chalets on it followed by riverside houses at Sunbury and

Sunbury Court Island Sunbury Court Island is a long, pedestrianised residential island of houses and bungalows in the River Thames in England on the 'Sunbury and Hampton' or 'Molesey' reach, above Molesey Lock in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England. __NOTOC__ Attrib ...

. Upstream of these is

Rivermead Island Rivermead Island is a flat grassy island in the River Thames on the reach above Molesey Lock at Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England which is owned mostly by Borough of Spelthorne, Spelthorne and as to a small part by Elmbridge Borough Council. ...

an expanse of public open space. The area of Sunbury Weir pool is used for

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits faci ...

and the narrow Creek backwater runs on the left bank adjoining

Wheatley's Ait Wheatley's Ait or Wheatley Eyot is an ait (island) in the River Thames of approximately on the reach above Sunbury Lock, close to the northern side and in the post town Sunbury-on-Thames however in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England ...

which has two sources: the River Ash and a minor tumbling bay-weir fed branch of the Thames which naturally formed the large residential island. ;Right bank proceeding in reverse to flow On the right bank is the large stretch of open ground at Moulsey Hurst, which has a heritage marker and an information panel opposite Platt's Eyot. Beyond the Eyot on this bank are the

Molesey Reservoirs The Molesey Reservoirs were a group of reservoirs in England near Molesey, Surrey, in the western suburbs of London. There was an adjacent water treatment works. The reservoirs were adjacent to the River Thames on the south side on the reach abo ...

behind the towpath to

Walton-on-Thames Walton-on-Thames, locally known as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Walton forms part of the Greater London built-up area, within the KT postcode and is served by a wide ran ...

, trees, high brick walls and a patch of meadow before

Sunbury Lock Sunbury Lock is a lock complex of the River Thames in England near Walton-on-Thames in north-west Surrey, the third lowest of forty four on the non-tidal reaches. The complex adjoins the right, southern bank about downstream of the Wei ...

. ;Sports and public regattas The stretch is home to two

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' ( land yacht) over a chose ...

and three

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

clubs, one of which is

skiffing Skiffing refers to the sporting and leisure activity of rowing (or more correctly sculling) a Thames skiff. The skiff is a traditional hand built clinker-built wooden craft of a design which has been seen on the River Thames and other waterways ...

and one for two large independent schools. Molesey Regatta takes place from Platts Eyot in July and

Sunbury Amateur Regatta The Sunbury Amateur Regatta is a regatta on the River Thames at Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, England with a rare visitors' boats lights display and fireworks event. It is for mainly traditional wooden types of boats with a few events for small scu ...

is held alongside Rivermead Island in August.

Sports clubs on the reach

* Molesey Boat Club Rowing Blade Black

* Hampton School Boat Club (shares Millennium Boathouse with LEH School) Van Mildert Boat Club Blade

* Sunbury Skiff and Punting Club Sunburyblade

* Lady Eleanor Holles School Boat Club (shares Millennium Boathouse with Hampton School) * Hampton Sailing Club * Aquarius Sailing Club * Hampton Canoe Club
1st Molesey (Jaguar) Sea Scout Group

1st Hampton Hill (Achilles) Sea Scout Group

Waterworks and reservoirs

There are reservoirs on both sides of the river above Sunbury Lock, created after the 1852 Metropolis Water Act made it illegal to take drinking water for London from the tidal Thames below Teddington Lock because of the amount of sewage in the river. The Hampton Waterworks were built on the northern bank in the 1850s by three companies — the Grand Junction Waterworks Company, the Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company, and the

West Middlesex Waterworks Company The West Middlesex Waterworks Company was a utility company supplying water to parts of west London in England. The company was established in 1806 with works at Hammersmith and became part of the publicly owned Metropolitan Water Board in 190 ...

. The reservoirs at Molesey on the southern bank were established in 1872, by the Lambeth Waterworks Company, followed three years later by the

Chelsea Waterworks Company The Chelsea Waterworks Company was a London waterworks Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water sup ...

. Both companies had previously built their reservoirs at

Seething Wells Seething Wells is a neighbourhood in southwest London on the border between Surbiton in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in Greater London, and Elmbridge in Surrey. The area was historically a waterworks that supplied London with water ...

below Molesey Lock, but the turbulence caused by the

River Mole The River Mole is a tributary of the River Thames in southern England. It rises in West Sussex near Gatwick Airport and flows northwest through Surrey for to the Thames at Hampton Court Palace. The river gives its name to the Surrey distri ...

River Ember The River Ember is a short river in the north of Surrey, England — a channel of the River Mole which splits in two south of Island Barn Reservoir, between East Molesey and Lower Green, Esher. The Ember, the larger channel, flows in an easte ...

and

The Rythe The Rythe is a river or stream in north Surrey, England which is generally open and which is a natural woodland feature for approximately half of its course before being variously culverted and a suburban garden feature, passing between Thames ...

meant there was too much mud brought in with the water.

Thames Path

The

Thames Path The Thames Path is a National Trail following the River Thames from its source near Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Woolwich foot tunnel, south east London. It is about long. A path was first proposed in 1948 but it only opened in 1996. The ...

stays on the Surrey bank (right bank) to Sunbury Lock. The next bridge is half-way along the long reach upstream,

Walton Bridge Walton Bridge is a road bridge across the River Thames in England, carrying the A244 between Walton-on-Thames and Shepperton, crossing the Thames on the reach between Sunbury Lock and Shepperton Lock. The bridge is the first Thames road br ...

. A large

tank trap Anti-tank obstacles include, but are not limited to: *The Czech hedgehog and Dragon's teeth are the most famous types of World War II anti-tank obstacles. *Anti-tank trenches were used on the western front during World War I, and in the Pacifi ...

from

is visible beside the right-bank reservoirs.

Literature and the Media

* Jerome K. Jerome wrote in the 1880s "I have stood and watched it sometimes when you could not see any water at all, but only a brilliant triangle of bright blazers and gay caps, and saucy hats, and many-coloured parasols, and silken rugs and cloaks and streaming ribbons..."Jerome, Jerome K. ''Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)''. Bristol: Arrowsmith, 1889 * The lock featured in an edition of the gardening make-over programme Ground Force

References

External links

Photographs of Molesey Lock
from the

Francis Frith Francis Frith (also spelled Frances Frith, 7 October 1822 – 25 February 1898) was an English photographer of the Middle East and many towns in the United Kingdom. Frith was born in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, attending Quaker schools at Ackwor ...

Collection
Memoryscape — Drifting: Molesey Lock

1st Molesey (Jaguar) Sea Scout Group
{{Elmbridge Locks on the River Thames 1815 establishments in England Geography of Surrey Transport in Surrey

Boat hire and touring

History

Access to the lock

Reach above the lock

Sports clubs on the reach

Waterworks and reservoirs

Thames Path

Literature and the Media

See also

References

External links