Stanstead Lock (No4) 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 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 i ...

close to the villages of

Stanstead Abbotts Stanstead Abbotts (alternatively Stanstead Abbots) is a village and civil parish in the district of East Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire, England; it lies on the county boundary with Essex. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,983. ...

and St Margarets. The lock which incorporates a rare example of a

swing-bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pi ...

, has the reputation of being one of the country's most difficult to negotiate.London canals- Stanstead lock
Retrieved 27 June 2008

Location

The lock-keeper's house is located on an island formed by a section of the

River Lee Flood Relief Channel The Lee Flood Relief Channel (FRC) is located in the Lea Valley and flows between Ware, Hertfordshire, and Stratford, east London. Work started on the channel in 1947 following major flooding and it was fully operational by 1976. The channel inc ...

that flows through the automatic

sluice gate Sluice ( ) is a word for a channel controlled at its head by a movable gate which is called a sluice gate. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway and can be considered ...

adjacent to the lock. Located to the south of the lock is the Stanstead marina.

Public transport

St Margarets (Hertfordshire) railway station St Margarets railway station is on the Hertford East branch line off the West Anglia Main Line in the east of England, serving the villages of Stanstead St Margarets and Stanstead Abbotts, Hertfordshire. It is down the line from London Liverpo ...

External links

Stanstead marina

References

{{Locks and Weirs on River Lea Locks of the Lee Navigation Locks in Hertfordshire Great Amwell