Cleeve Lock is a 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 ...

, in Oxfordshire,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It is located just upstream of Goring and Streatley villages, on the eastern side of the river within the village of Goring. There was a hamlet of Cleeve, after which the lock is named, but it dropped out of use, as always part of Goring. The first lock was built in 1787 by the Thames Navigation Commissioners. The reach above the lock is the longest, and the reach below it is the shortest, on the non-tidal river. The weir runs to an island below the lock, and there are further weirs between islands downstream.

Access to the lock

The lock can be reached on foot from Streatley, or by a track which comes off the A329 road to Wallingford.

History

There was a

flash lock A flash lock is a type of 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 Roman times. Develop ...

recorded on the site in the 16th century. The first pound lock was built of oak in 1787 alongside a meadow which was then known as Winch Meadow. It was originally to be called Streatley Lock, but in the event took its name from the village of Cleeve on the opposite side of the river. Until 1869 Cleeve Lock and Goring Lock were usually operated a single keeper. The lock was rebuilt in 1874.Fred. S. Thacker ''The Thames Highway: Volume II Locks and Weirs'' 1920 - republished 1968 David & Charles

Reach above the lock

The six and a half mile reach is the longest on the river. Much of it is open country apart from the small village of

Moulsford Moulsford is a village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire. Before 1974 it was in the county of Berkshire, in Wallingford Rural District, but following the Berkshire boundary changes of that year it became a part of Oxfordshire. Moulsford is ...

and the larger town of Wallingford. There were two ferries along the reach at Little Stoke and at Chalmore Hole near Wallingford because the towpath changed sides. Brunel's

Moulsford Railway Bridge Moulsford Railway Bridge, also known locally as "Four Arches" bridge, is a pair of parallel bridges located a little to the north of Moulsford and South Stoke in Oxfordshire, UK. It carries the Great Western Main Line from Paddington, London ...

crosses at some islands near Moulsford, where there was formerly another flash lock. Winterbrook Bridge a new road bridge crosses just downstream of Wallingford, relieving traffic on the ancient multi-arched Wallingford Bridge. There are two historic, interesting venues once purely public houses along the river – these have been turned into expensive restaurants.Paul Goldsack ''River Thames: In the footsteps of the famous'' Englis Heritage/Bradt 2003 The river is an active rowing location with the

Oxford University Boat Club Oxford University Boat Club (OUBC) is the rowing club for male, heavyweight oarsman of the University of Oxford, England, located on the River Thames at Oxford. The club was founded in the early 19th century. The Boat Race The club races agai ...

and Oxford Brookes University boat club both having club houses on the reach near Wallingford, where Wallingford Rowing Club is also based. The Wallingford Long Distance Sculls take place on the reach in October. 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 ...

keeps on the western bank all the way, but to compensate for those situations when the towpath changed sides it goes inland at Moulsford following the main road for quite a distance before returning to the river. There is also very small diversion away from the river in Wallingford and then the path stays on the western bank to Benson Lock where it crosses over to the other side of the river. The path is paralleled on the other side of the river as far as Winterbrook Bridge by the Ridgeway.

Literature and the Media

In Jerome K. Jerome's ''

Three Men in a Boat ''Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)'',The Penguin edition punctuates the title differently: ''Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog!'' published in 1889, is a humorous account by English writer Jerome K. Jerome of a tw ...

'', the narrator recounts a tale of a long and anxious journey down to Cleeve Lock, caused because he had an out of date map showing an intermediate lock at Wallingford. This has a historical basis in fact.

Chalmore Lock Chalmore Lock was a lock and weir which operated between 1838 and 1883 on the River Thames in England near Wallingford, Oxfordshire. History Chalmore Lock was built in 1838 by the Thames Navigation Commissioners at a place called Chalmore Hole b ...

at Chalmore Hole was established in 1838 (near the current site of the Oxford University Boat Club building), being called a "summer or low-water lock and weir". Although it appears to have been in decline by 1873 the inhabitants of Wallingford petitioned for its retention. It was removed in 1883 after a damning report from Sir John Hawkshaw.

External links

Cleeve Lock, Goring, Oxfordshire
at viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk

References