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Molesey Lock
The lock after the release of 160,000 Rubber ducks at the start of the Great British Duck Race in September 2007
51°24′17″N 0°20′45″W / 51.40472°N 0.34583°W / 51.40472; -0.34583 (Molesey Lock)
Waterway	River Thames
County	Surrey
Maintained by	Environment Agency
Operation	Hydraulic
First built	1815
Latest built	1906
Length	81.78 m (268 ft 4 in)
Width	7.56 m (24 ft 10 in)
Fall	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Above sea level	20'
Distance to Teddington Lock	4.8 miles
Power is available out of hours

v t e Molesey Lock
Legend
Tumbling Bay weir River Ash (distributary of Colne) storm weir River Thames above Sunbury Lock Sunbury Weir Sunbury Lock Ait or Island boat rollers Sunbury locks (manual lock) Rivermead Island Sunbury Court Island Grand Junction Isle Portlane Brook Platts Eyot Benn's Ait and St Mary's Church, Hampton Garrick's Ait and main channel Tagg's Island Ash Island weir Molesey Lock River Thames: Kingston Reach

Molesey Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England at East Molesey, Surrey. It is near Hampton Court Palace to the west of London.

The lock was built by the City of London Corporation in 1815 and is the second longest on the river at 81.78 m (268 ft 4 in). Beside the lock there are rollers for the portage of small boats. On the other side of the large weir sits Ash Island, with a backwater behind it continuing to a smaller weir upstream.

The lock's proximity to Hampton Court and easy access made it a popular venue for spectators in the Victorian era, and the tree-lined lock still attracts large numbers of visitors.

History

A lock was first proposed in 1802 because of the shallows upstream at "Kenton Hedge and Sundbury Flatts above" but nothing came of the suggestion. In 1809 the proposal was resubmitted and the Act for the construction of Molesey Lock was passed by Parliament in 1812. Building began in 1814 and it opened in 1815 with an Italianate lockhouse. The first lock keeper was killed in a horse race at Moulsey Hurst and his successor discharged after incidents of pilfering from barges. In 1853 some changes were made to the lock in anticipation of lower water levels caused by the extraction of water upstream. Fish ladders were added to the weir in 1864 and the boat slide built in 1871. Such was the popularity of boating in these days that in 1877 a boat and crew were stationed above the weir in case of accidents. The lock was rebuilt in 1906. On the small lock island is a plaque commemorating Michael J Bulleid whose work for salmon conservancy has allowed these fish to travel up the river.

Access to the lock

The lock is about 100 yards upstream of Hampton Court Bridge on the South side. It is immediately accessible from the main Hurst Road/Riverbank (A3050) and is only a short way from Hampton Court railway station.

Reach above the lock

After the lock cut is Tagg's Island which provides mooring for houseboats some of which are three storeys high. On the Surrey bank here is the "Eights Tree" an original sculpture outside Molesey Boat Club. The Middlesex bank has interesting features like the Swiss Cottage and the Astoria Houseboat and there is then an array of period buildings at Hampton. Garrick's Ait is another island which is also residential, just by the Hampton Ferry, which runs in the summer between Hampton and Moulsey Hurst on the Surrey bank. Close to Hampton is Benn's Island which is completely covered by Hampton Sailing Club's building and mooring. Upstream of this is the island of Platts Eyot, where Motor Torpedo Boats were built during World War II. At Platt's Eyot on the Middlesex bank are the Hampton Water Treatment Works and reservoirs, and on the river in front of them is the Hampton School Boat Club Millennium boat house. Then there is Grand Junction Isle with a few chalets on it and riverside houses at Sunbury and Sunbury Court Island. Upstream of these is Rivermead Island an expanse of public open space. On the Surrey bank is the large stretch of open ground at Moulsey Hurst, which has an interesting heritage marker opposite Platt's Eyot. Beyond the Eyot on the Surrey bank are the Molesey Reservoirs behind trees and high brick walls and then a patch of meadowland before Sunbury Lock. The area around the weir pool is used for kayaking from the weir and the Creek backwater runs behind Wheatley's Ait where the River Ash joins the Thames. The stretch is home to several sailing and rowing clubs. Molesey Regatta takes place from Platts Eyot in July and Sunbury Amateur Regatta is held alongside Rivermead Island in August.

Sports clubs on the reach

• Molesey Boat Club
• Hampton School Boat Club
• Lady Eleanor Holles School Boat Club
• Hampton Sailing Club
• Aquarius Sailing Club
• 1st Molesey (Jaguar) Sea Scout Group
• Hampton Hill Sea Scouts

Waterworks and reservoirs

There are reservoirs on both sides of the river above Sunbury Lock, created after the 1852 Metropolis Water Act made it illegal to take drinking water for London from the tidal Thames below Teddington Lock because of the amount of sewage in the river. The Hampton Waterworks were built on the northern bank in the 1850s by three companies — the Grand Junction Waterworks Company, the Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company, and the West Middlesex Waterworks Company. The reservoirs at Molesey on the southern bank were established in 1872, by the Lambeth Waterworks Company, followed three years later by the Chelsea Waterworks Company. Both companies had previously built their reservoirs at Seething Wells below Molesey Lock, but the turbulence caused by the River Mole, River Ember and The Rythe meant there was too much mud brought in with the water.

Thames Path

The Thames Path stays on the Surrey bank all the way to Sunbury Lock. There are no bridges that cross the full width of the river on this reach, although there is a large tank trap beside the reservoirs.

Literature and the Media

• Jerome K. Jerome wrote in the 1880s "I have stood and watched it sometimes when you could not see any water at all, but only a brilliant triangle of bright blazers and gay caps, and saucy hats, and many-coloured parasols, and silken rugs and cloaks and streaming ribbons..."

• The lock featured in an edition of the gardening make-over programme Ground Force

See also

• Locks on the River Thames
• Rowing on the River Thames
• Sailing on the River Thames
• London water supply infrastructure

References

1. ^ "A User's Guide to the River Thames" (PDF). PDF file. Environmental Agency. 2009. pp. 29–30. Retrieved 7 November 2012. Dimensions given in metres
2. Fred. S. Thacker The Thames Highway: Volume II Locks and Weirs 1920 - republished 1968 David & Charles
3. An Act to make better Provision respecting the Supply of Water to the Metropolis, (15 & 16 Vict. C.84)
4. A Guide to the Industrial Archaeology of the Borough of Elmbridge
5. Jerome, Jerome K. Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog). Bristol: Arrowsmith, 1889

External links

• Photographs of Molesey Lock from the Francis Frith Collection
• Memoryscape — Drifting: Molesey Lock
• 1st Molesey (Jaguar) Sea Scout Group

v t e Borough of Elmbridge
Towns, villages and neighbourhoods	Cobham Cobham Downside Stoke d'Abernon Little Heath Esher Claygate Esher Hinchley Wood West End Surbiton Long Ditton Thames Ditton Thames Ditton Weston Green Molesey Molesey (in traditional parish, East Molesey and West Molesey) Leatherhead Leatherhead, Oxshott Walton on Thames Ashley Park Burwood Park Hersham Walton-on-Thames Weybridge Oatlands St George's Hill Weybridge
Notable parks	Cigarette Island Park Esher Commons Giggs Hill Green Hurst Park Molesey Heath Oxshott Heath and Woods Painshill Weybridge Heath
Places of worship	St George's Church, Esher St Mary's Church, Stoke d'Abernon Church of St Nicholas, Thames Ditton Weybridge United Reformed Church
Education	ACS International Schools Brooklands College Danes Hill School Esher Church of England High School Esher Sixth Form College Feltonfleet School Heathside School Hinchley Wood School Milbourne Lodge School Notre Dame School Reed's School Three Rivers Academy St George's College (part)
Transport	Railway stations Claygate Cobham & Stoke d'Abernon Esher Hampton Court Hersham Hinchley Wood Oxshott Thames Ditton Walton-on-Thames Weybridge Roads M25 A3 A244 A307 A3050 Notable other Thames Path London Outer Orbital Path Wey Navigation
Buildings and structures	Bessborough Reservoir Brooklands Brooklands Museum Claremont Estate Cobham Park Cobham Training Centre Esher Place Hurst Park Racecourse Knight Reservoir Island Barn Reservoir London Bus Museum Molesey Lock Molesey Reservoirs Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir Sandown Park Racecourse Sunbury Lock Wayneflete Tower
Sport	Dittons Skiff and Punting Club East Molesey Cricket Club Esher RFC Metropolitan Police F.C. Molesey Boat Club Molesey F.C. Surbiton Hockey Club Thames Ditton Lawn Tennis Club Thames Valley Skiff Club Walton Casuals F.C. Walton & Hersham F.C. Walton Rowing Club Weybridge Rowing Club
Places listed are articles notable as settlements, arranged by post town The M25 motorway follows approximately a boundary and is included for its regional importance.

• Locks on the River Thames
• 1815 establishments in England
• Geography of Surrey