St John's Lock

St John's Lock, below the town of Lechlade, Gloucestershire, is the furthest upstream lock on the River Thames in England. The name of the lock derives from a priory that was established nearby in 1250, but which no longer exists. The lock was built of stone in 1790 by the Thames Navigation Commission.

St John's Lock
St John's Lock, with Lechlade in the background
WaterwayRiver Thames
CountyGloucestershire
Maintained byEnvironment Agency
OperationManual
First built1790
Latest built1905
Length33.60 m (110 ft 3 in) [1]
Width4.52 m (14 ft 10 in)[1]
Fall0.85 m (2 ft 9 in)[1]
Above sea level233 ft (71 m)
Distance to
Teddington Lock		123 miles
St John's Lock
 River Thames to Cricklade
 Thames and Severn Canal
 River Coln
 Usual limit of navigation
 Lechlade
 A361 Halfpenny Bridge
St John's Lock
 weir
 A417 St John's Bridge
 weir
 River Leach
 River Cole
 River Thames

The main weir is downstream, just below St John's Bridge, where the River Cole and the River Leach join the Thames on opposite banks.

A statue of Old Father Thames by Raffaelle Monti is outside the lock house. The statue was commissioned in 1854 for The Crystal Palace's grounds, was later moved to the traditional source of the Thames at Thames Head, and then in 1974 relocated to St John's Lock.[2] The statue is Grade II listed.[3]

History

The need for a pound lock here arose from the opening of the Thames and Severn Canal upstream in November 1789. It was built by J. Nock in 1790, and in its early days complaints were made of tolls being evaded by bullying bargemen. The first lock house was built in 1830, the lock-keeper being required to give up residence at the Trout Inn in accordance with Commission's rule that lock-keepers should not be publicans. The lock was reported to be in a poor state by 1857 and in 1867 was repaired. In 1905 the lock was rebuilt and a new lock-keeper's bungalow built on the other side of the lock.[4]

Access to the lock

The lock can be reached easily from St John's Bridge which is about a mile out of Lechlade on the A417 road.

Reach above the lock
Statue of Father Thames by Raffaelle Monti at St John's Lock

The river winds for three quarters of a mile to Lechlade, where it passes under Halfpenny Bridge (or Ha'penny Bridge), which is so named because it was once a toll bridge. Half a mile after Lechlade there is a connection to the former Thames and Severn Canal, which linked the Thames to the River Severn via the Stroudwater Navigation and the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. The Thames and Severn Canal is the subject of a restoration plan, and so navigation beyond Lechlade may one day be possible again. The River Coln also joins the Thames at the canal junction, where there is sufficient room to wind a 70 ft narrowboat with care. There are no more locks upstream on the River Thames, with Lechlade normally considered to be the end of the navigable river, but there is a right of navigation as far as Cricklade, and small craft may be able to travel for a further three miles beyond Lechlade when there is plenty of water.[5]

The Thames Path follows the remaining towpath along the southern bank past Lechlade to Inglesham, extending as far as the connection with the now disused Thames and Severn Canal, one and a half miles upstream.[6]

See also

References
  1. "Environment Agency Dimensions of locks on the River Thames". web page. Environmental Agency. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2012. Dimensions given in metres
  2. Sharp, David (2001) The Thames Path, National trail guides 16, London : Aurum, ISBN 1-85410-773-9, p.46
  3. Historic England. "Thames Head Statue, St John's Lock (1182045)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  4. Fred. S. Thacker The Thames Highway: Volume II Locks and Weirs 1920 - republished 1920 David & Charles
  5. Nicholson Waterways Guide, Volume 7 (2006) ISBN 0-00-721115-5
  6. "Limit of Navigation - Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide".
  7. "Environment Agency Distances between locks on the River Thames". web page. Environmental Agency. 8 November 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2012. Dimensions given in metres

51.68932°N 1.68025°W / 51.68932; -1.68025

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