About The Thames

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Chertsey Lock

 

Way back in the 16th and 17th centuries there was a ford across the Thames here at Chertsey.  This part of the river was referred to as Laleham Gulls - an area of shallows causing all sorts of difficulties for barges and other river traffic. Interestingly, Chertsey was once an island, surrounded on all sides by marsh, and the Thames’s several tributaries.

 

The Corporation of the City of London eventually realised the need to improve navigation here and in 1811-18l5 they built a series of  locks along the Thames - Chertsey being one of them.

 

Chertsey Lock was made of timber but later rebuilt in stone. Although the lock was fitted with hydraulically-operated gates in the 1960s, the original manual oak beams were retained at the now long disappeared middle gates. These middle gates were fitted to very few locks on the river.

 

During one particular rebuild, the local landowner, Lord Lucan (ancestor of the infamous

 Lord Lucan) claimed that the lock and lock house spoiled his view. So the lock house was rebuilt lower into the ground.

 

Lord Lucan, who disappeared from his London home following the murder of his children’s nanny, used to own the land on which Chertsey Lock stands.

 

The lock is frequented by wildlife of many kinds, including kingfishers, herons, Egyptian geese, and the inevitable parakeets. Look out also for the occasional mink and stoat.

 

 


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