Grafton Lock

Grafton Lock[1]
Waterway	River Thames
County	Oxfordshire
Maintained by	Environment Agency
Operation	Manual
First built	1896
Length	113’ 6” (34.59m)
Width	15’ 1” (4.59m)
Fall	3’ 8” (1.11m)
Above sea level	223'
Distance to Teddington Lock	118 miles

Grafton Lock
Legend River Thames Buscot Lock and weirs footbridge moorings Eaton Footbridge moorings Grafton Lock & weir River Thames

Grafton Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England on the northern bank between Kelmscott and Radcot Oxfordshire. The lock was built by the Thames Conservancy in 1896.

The weir is on the other side of the lock island at the upstream end.

Grafton Lock Meadow at the lock is a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Contents 1 History 2 Access to the lock 3 Reach above the lock 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

History

There was previously a weir with a flash lock on the site known variously as Day's, East, New Lock or Lower Hart's. The name Lower Hart's was to avoid confusion with another Hart's Weir upstream which was eventually replaced by Eaton Footbridge in 1936.

The Thames Conservancy removed the weir in 1869, and the first suggestion for a permanent pound lock was made in 1892, four years before it opened.^[2]

Access to the lock

The lock can be reached on foot along the river or by road on a turning off Langley Lane which connects to the A4095.

Reach above the lock

On the southern bank the river passes Eaton Hastings. On the north bank is Kelmscott and Kelmscott Manor, the country retreat of William Morris.

Further upstream the river is crossed by Eaton Footbridge There are moorings at this point reflecting the history of the site which had a weir and flash lock until 1936.

The Thames Path follows the northern bank to Buscot Lock.

See also

• Locks on the River Thames

References

External links

• Grafton Lock at thames.me.uk
• Picture of Grafton Lock at geograph.org.uk

Next lock upstream	River Thames	Next lock downstream
Buscot Lock 3.34 miles	Grafton Lock Grid reference: SU271992	Radcot Lock 1.85 miles