Godstow Lock

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Godstow Lock
Waterway	River Thames
County	Oxfordshire
Maintained by	Environment Agency
Operation	hydraulic
First built	1790
Latest built	1924
Length	110’ 0” (33.52m)
Width	16’ 3” (4.95m)
Fall	5’ 2” (1.57m)
Above Sea Level	190'
Distance to Teddington Lock	96 miles

Godstow Lock
legend River Thames Eynsham Lock & weir Wharf Stream River Evenlode Seacourt Stream Oxford Canal Dukes Lock (on Dukes Cut) railway bridge A40 road bridge King's Lock weir weir and old mill A34 road bridges Godstow Road bridges weir weir Godstow Lock Seacourt Stream (To Osney Lock) River Thames

Godstow Lock is a lock on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England. It is near the village of Wolvercote on the outskirts of Oxford, but on the opposite side of the river. The first lock was built of stone by the Thames Navigation Commission in 1790. It is the highest lock on the river with mechanical operation.

The main weir is a short way upstream but there is another weir at Godstow Bridge just above the Trout Inn. These feed into a backwater which has come from Kings Lock by Wolvercote.

Contents 1 Access to the lock 2 Reach above the lock 3 Literature and the Media 4 See also 5 External links

[edit] Access to the lock

The lock is a short way from Godstow Bridge and can be reached on foot from there.

[edit] Reach above the lock

Beside the lock are the ruins of Godstow Nunnery. Above the lock, the river is crossed by Godstow Bridge and the Oxford Bypass. Upstream of Godstow the river becomes narrower and more twisty.

The Thames Path continues on the western side to King's Lock.

[edit] Literature and the Media

In the meadows near the lock an Oxford mathematics tutor Charles Dodgson used to have picnics with his friend Dean Henry Liddell and his daughters Lorina, Alice and Edith. Here he made up a story which began

Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank and having nothing to do..... when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her..

[edit] See also

• Godstow
• Locks on the River Thames

[edit] External links

• Godstow Lock at riverthames.co.uk
• Picture of Godstow Lock at geograph.org.uk

Next lock upstream	River Thames	Next lock downstream
King's Lock 1.13 miles	Godstow Lock Grid reference: SP485089	Osney Lock 2.40 miles