Shepperton 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 ...

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, s ...

, in England by 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. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrain alongsid ...

Shepperton Shepperton is a village in the Borough of Spelthorne, Spelthorne district, in north Surrey, England, around south west of central London. The settlement is on the north bank of the River Thames, between the towns of Chertsey and Sunbury-on-Tha ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

. It is across the river from

Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge, Elmbridge district in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a cro ...

which is nearby linked by a passenger ferry. In 1813, 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 local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's f ...

built 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 chamber in a permanently fixed position i ...

and the short cuts (cuttings) – the nearer expanded an existing

meander cutoff A meander cutoff is a natural form of a cutting or cut in a river occurs when a pronounced meander (hook) in a river is breached by a flow that connects the two closest parts of the hook to form a new channel, a full loop. The steeper drop in gra ...

, beyond which lies a fresh cutting and old main stream of the river. These each have associated weirs. Shepperton Weir is between Shepperton Lock Island and Hamhaugh Island; and Shepperton Upper Weir is between Hamhaugh Island and the Hamm Court area of

Addlestone Addlestone ( or ) is a town in Surrey, England. It is located approximately southwest of London. The town is the administrative centre of the Runnymede (borough), Borough of Runnymede, of which it is the largest settlement. Geography Addlesto ...

, Surrey on the opposite bank. Upstream of the lock island is the Thames Court pub/restaurant on the near bank, downstream of Pharaoh's Island which was given to

Lord Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

after the

Battle of the Nile The Battle of the Nile (also known as the Battle of Aboukir Bay; ) was fought between the Royal Navy and the French Navy at Abu Qir Bay, Aboukir Bay in Ottoman Egypt, Egypt between 1–3 August 1798. It was the climax of the Mediterranean ca ...

in 1798. The lock is the fifth from the estuary of the river of a total of forty-five.

History

A weir is recorded at Shepperton in the 1086

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

and in the 14th century.'Shepperton: The hundred of Spelthorne (continued)', in A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 3, ed. Susan Reynolds (London, 1962), pp. 1-12. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol3/pp1-12 A reference to a sluice or dam at Shepperton occurs in 1293 and tolls being raised on passing barges which would imply a

flash lock A flash lock is a type of lock (water transport), 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 ...

. The lock was built in 1813 on the site of a small watercourse known as Stoner's Gut which ran across the

. Stoner's Gut had posed difficulties to navigation and barges usually went to Weybridge including from the 17th century up the

Wey and Godalming Navigations The River Wey Navigation and Godalming Navigation together provide a continuous navigable route from the River Thames near Weybridge via Guildford to Godalming (commonly called the Wey Navigation). Both waterways are in Surrey and are owned b ...

to the south. Various accounts at the end of the 18th century record flood waters using the gut and of a chapel built on piles over the river which was washed away. An alike event in one account washed away much of the main church of the town downstream by the river, prompting its being largely rebuilt in 1614. The gut was for a time dammed. In 1805 came the first suggestion for a lock. After strong opposition, the proposal was put forward again in 1809 and a wooden lock was subsequently built. A stone lock was built in 1899, next to the existing wooden one which was then filled in and removed. A small island upstream of the lock, was called Dog Ait at some point. This became corrupted into "Dockett" as in Dockett Eddy Lane. Dog Ait is shown on 19th century Ordnance Survey maps (1883, 1896) as being the previous name for Pharaoh's Island.

Access to the lock

The lock is on the left bank, and can be reached from a lane with two entrances having a name for its two halves, the eastern from Old Shepperton has a walkway, the lane adjoins the towpath (

Thames Path The Thames Path is a National Trail following the River Thames from one of its sources 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 ...

). More than two parking areas exist. From the Weybridge side the lock can be reached by the ferry.

Reach above the lock

Immediately above the lock is Pharaoh's Island, a gift from the nation to Admiral Nelson following the

. It did not gain its name until the early 20th century. The left bank is more open and has riverside houses until Dumsey Meadow a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

.Biodiversity action Reporting System, Dumsey Meadow
The right bank is built up at the edge of

Chertsey Chertsey is a town in the Borough of Runnymede, Surrey, England, southwest of central London. It grew up around Chertsey Abbey, founded in AD 666 by Earconwald, St Erkenwald, and gained a municipal charter, market charter from Henry I of Engla ...

itself, has a water meadows public park at Chertsey Meads with playground and a low-rise residential estate close to the lock, the Hamm Court area of

, Surrey. Chertsey Bridge crosses the river 210 metres below Chertsey Lock. The right bank weir pool at the top of the reach becomes the Abbey River, nearly adjoining the site of the Anglo-Saxon

Chertsey Abbey Chertsey Abbey, dedicated to St Peter, was a Benedictine monastery located at Chertsey in the English county of Surrey. It was founded in 666 AD by Saint Erkenwald who was the first abbot, and from 675 AD the Bishop of London. At the same ti ...

. Chertsey Regatta in skiffing is held alongside Dumsey Meadow in August.

Sports and businesses

The opposite bank is close to two rowing clubs and a large canoeing and kayaking club. Weybridge Ait has a recreational rowing club, Weyfarers R.C. 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 ...

has a control centre and boats on the Lock Island. A nautical shop and boat repair business is on the near side.

Thames Path

The

changes to the left, northern ("Middlesex") bank to Chertsey Lock and passes through the sharp meander Dumsey Meadow, a site of Special Scientific Interest.

Literature and the media

The lock in

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

Our Mutual Friend ''Our Mutual Friend'', published in 1864–1865, is the last novel completed by English author Charles Dickens and is one of his most sophisticated works, combining savage satire with social analysis. It centres on, in the words of critic J. ...

'' at Plashwater Mill is based on Shepperton lock. In

H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...

The War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells. It was written between 1895 and 1897, and serialised in '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US in 1897. The full novel was ...

'' one of the main battles fought against the invaders from Mars takes place between Weybridge and Shepperton lock. The 1987 John Boorman film '' Hope and Glory'' was filmed at Shepperton lock.

Notes and references

;References ;Notes {{Spelthorne 1813 establishments in England Locks on the River Thames