Romney 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 River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

in England near

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

and Eton, about half a mile downstream of

Windsor Bridge The Windsor Bridge or Windsor Town Bridge, an iron and granite arch bridge over the River Thames, is located between the towns of Windsor and Eton in the English county of Berkshire. The Thames Path crosses the river here. The bridge carries p ...

. It is on the Windsor side of the river next to a boatyard and adjoins Romney Island, a long strip-shaped

ait An ait (, like ''eight'') or eyot () is a small island. It is especially used to refer to river islands found on the River Thames and its tributaries in England. Aits are typically formed by the deposit of sediment in the water, which accumu ...

in the middle of the river. The first lock was built by the

Thames Navigation Commission The Thames Navigation Commission managed the River Thames in southern England from 1751 to 1866. In particular, they were responsible for installing or renovating many of the locks on the river in the 18th and early 19th centuries History The f ...

in 1798. The weir is some distance upstream near the end of Romney Island and runs across the river to Cutlers Ait. A small 200kW hydroelectric generation station was installed in 2011 to supply electricity to

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original c ...

History

The first proposal for a pound lock was in 1774 which was to be further upstream at Firework Ait by

. However nothing happened until the lock was opened on the present site in 1797, built of oak. There was no weir at the site previously and because of protests, none was built at that time. Barges were still liable to pay the lock fee even if they used the other channel. By the following year a weir was found to be indispensable, and so it was built. The lock 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 1869 and the weir was rebuilt further upstream at the beginning of the 20th century.Fred. S. Thacker ''The Thames Highway: Volume II Locks and Weirs'' 1920 - republished 1968 David & Charles The lock was rebuilt again in 1979/80.

Access to the lock

The lock can be reached from Windsor down a long single track road which starts from the car park behind Windsor and Eton Riverside railway station.

Reach above the lock

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

is on 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 ...

, beyond Cutler's Ait immediately upstream of which is the compact town Eton itself where

crosses. On the Windsor bank the river skirts the town centre and set close to it upstream of Windsor Bridge is an islet, the smallest named on the Thames, Firework Ait and similarly Deadwater Ait. Just upstream of the islets are the

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "on ...

-designed Windsor Railway Bridge for the second railway serving the town which crosses Baths Island, and the late 20th century road bridge Queen Elizabeth Bridge. Cuckoo Weir Stream is a short backwater taking a left bank route under Queen Elizabeth Bridge — 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 ...

associated with

Clewer Clewer (also known as Clewer Village) is an ecclesiastical parish and an area of Windsor in the county of Berkshire, England. Clewer makes up three wards of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, namely Clewer North, Clewer South and Cl ...

is the confluence of the Clewer Mill Stream. The main river then has a sharp Z-bend near

Windsor Racecourse Windsor Racecourse, also known as Royal Windsor Racecourse, is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Windsor, Berkshire, England. It is one of only two figure-of-eight courses in the United Kingdom, the other being at Fontwell Park. Des ...

, then continues past open fields near the village of Eton Wick before it reaches Boveney Lock.

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 ...

on the reach has been reduced by the 2006 creation of

Dorney Lake Dorney Lake (also known as Eton College Rowing Centre, and as Eton Dorney as a 2012 Summer Olympics venue) is a purpose-built rowing lake in England. It is near the village of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, and is around 3 km (2 miles) west of Wi ...

in the ancient and modern civil and ecclesiastical parishes

Dorney Dorney is a village and civil parish in the Unitary Authority of Buckinghamshire, England, bordering on the River Thames to the west and south, and bisected by the Jubilee River. In 2011 it had a population of 752. It is west of neighbouring ...

. ;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 ...

follows the track on the south bank to Windsor and then crosses Windsor Bridge to the north (Eton) side, where it continues to Boveney Lock. RomneyLock02

References

{{coord, 51.49174, -0.60422, type:landmark_region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SU970779), display=title Locks on the River Thames

History

Access to the lock

Reach above the lock

See also

References