The

River Medway The River Medway is a river in South East England. It rises in the High Weald, East Sussex and flows through Tonbridge, Maidstone and the Medway conurbation in Kent, before emptying into the Thames Estuary near Sheerness, a total distance ...

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 ...

flows for from

Turners Hill Turners Hill is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. The civil parish covers an area of , and has a population of 1,849 (2001 census) increasing to 1,919 at the 2011 Census. The village is located three ...

, in

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an a ...

, through

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Malling, it had an estimated population ...

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

and the

Medway Towns Medway is a unitary authority district and conurbation in Kent, South East England. It had a population of 278,016 in 2019. The unitary authority was formed in 1998 when Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with the Borough of Gillingham to f ...

conurbation in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, to 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 ...

Sheerness Sheerness () is a town and civil parish beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 11,938, it is the second largest town on the island after the nearby tow ...

, where it shares the latter's estuary. The Medway Navigation runs from the Leigh Barrier south of Tonbridge to Allington just north of Maidstone. It is in length. 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 en ...

is the

navigation authority A navigation authority is a company or statutory body which is concerned with the management of a navigable canal or river. Rights of a navigation authority Whilst the rights of individual authorities vary, a navigation authority will typically hav ...

responsible for the navigation.

The route

Until 1746 the river was impassable above Maidstone. To that point each village on the river had its

wharf A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more Berth (moorings), berths ...

or wharves: at Halling,

Snodland Snodland is a town in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, England. It lies on the River Medway, between Rochester and Maidstone, and from central London. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 10,211. History "Snoddingland" ...

New Hythe New Hythe is a village in mid-Kent, England on the banks of the River Medway approximately northwest of the county town of Maidstone. It derives its name from the Old English word Hythe, meaning haven or landing place. It is in the parish of ...

and

Aylesford Aylesford is a village and civil parish on the River Medway in Kent, England, northwest of Maidstone. Originally a small riverside settlement, the old village comprises around 60 houses, many of which were formerly shops. Two pubs, a village ...

. Cargoes included corn, fodder, fruit, stone and timber. AllingtonLock2

In 1746 improvements to the channel meant that barges of could reach

East Farleigh East Farleigh is a village and civil parish in the local government district of Maidstone, Kent, England. The village is located on the south side of the River Medway about two miles (3.2 km) upstream from the town of Maidstone. Heritage The ...

Yalding Yalding is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. The village is situated south west of Maidstone at a point where the Rivers Teise and Beult join the River Medway. At the 2001 census, the parish, which incl ...

and even Tonbridge. The channel was further improved to

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Sta ...

in 1828. There are eleven locks on the river. The lowest, opened in 1792, is at Allington, and is the extent of tides. The others are

Teston Teston /ˈtiːstən/ The Place Names of Kent,Judith Glover,1976,Batsford. or /ˈtiːsən/ BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of British Names — is a village in the Maidstone District of Kent, England. It is located on the A26 road out of Maidsto ...

Hampstead Lane Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

, Stoneham Old Lock (disused), Sluice Weir Lock, Oak Wier Lock East Lock, Porter's, Eldridge's and Town Lock in

(see table). The locks will take craft up to by , and vessels with a draft of can navigate the river. The shallowest point is just below Sluice Weir Lock which is prone to silting after heavy rain.The Medway navigation, Leaflet, March 1991, NRA-National Rivers Authority The draughts along the navigation are: Tonbridge to Yalding 4 feet; Yalding to Maidstone 5 feet 6 inches; Maidstone to Allington Lock 6 feet 6 inches. Headroom is 8 feet 6 inches below Tonbridge. College Lock, in Maidstone, was removed in 1899. Stoneham Old Lock was dismantled in 1915 as part of a reconstruction of that section of the waterway. The locks on the navigation are as follows.

References

{{Reflist Transport in Medway River navigations in the United Kingdom

The route

See also

References