Blake's Lock is a
lock
Lock(s) or Locked 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 entertainme ...
situated on the
River Kennet in
Reading,
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. It is on the short reach of the River Kennet which is administered as if it were part of 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, s ...
and is hence owned and managed by the
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 ...
.
History
The first mile of the Kennet from its junction with the River Thames has been navigable since the 13th century. Blake's Lock was originally a
flash lock known as Brokenburglok. In 1404 the
Abbot
Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...
of
Reading Abbey, who had control of the River Kennet, made an agreement with the town's
guild
A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...
to allow craft to pass through the lock between sunrise and sunset on payment of a one
penny
A penny is a coin (: pennies) or a unit of currency (: pence) in various countries. Borrowed from the Carolingian denarius (hence its former abbreviation d.), it is usually the smallest denomination within a currency system. At present, it is ...
toll. By 1794, not much had changed, with
John Rennie, the engineer of the
Kennet and Avon Canal describing it as "a very bad and inconvenient staunch lock".
The lock was converted to a timber-constructed
pound lock in 1802 to improve navigation from the Thames into the River Kennet enabling boats to travel all the way to the
Bristol
Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...
area. The lock retains its manual beams (not the originals, new beams were fitted in 2006), so far avoiding the progress towards hydraulic power.
[ The lock was closed during winter 2017-18 for work that included repairing and re-sheeting the lock gates and refurbishing the chamber walls.
]
Riverside Museum at Blake's Lock
Next to the lock is the Riverside Museum at Blake's Lock which tells the story of Reading's two rivers — the Kennet and the Thames. The museum occupies two former industrial buildings, the Screen House and the Turbine House. Exhibits include a gypsy caravan and information about the Romani people
{{Infobox ethnic group
, group = Romani people
, image =
, image_caption =
, flag = Roma flag.svg
, flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress
, po ...
, a medieval mill wheel, preserved turbine
A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced can be used for generating electrical ...
machinery, and seasonal art exhibits.
See also
* Locks on the River Thames
* Locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
Riverside Museum at Blake's Lock
{{Coord, 51.45582, N, 0.95506, W, region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SU727735), display=title
1802 establishments in England
Locks of Reading, Berkshire
Locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal
Buildings and structures completed in 1802