| Three Mills Lock | |
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Three Mills Lock |
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| Waterway | River Lee (Bow Back Rivers) |
| County | Tower Hamlets Greater London |
| Operation | British Waterways |
| First built | 2008–09 |
| Length | 62 metres (203 ft) |
| Width | 8 metres (26.2 ft) |
| Fall | tidal |
| Geographical Data | |
Three Mills Lock, also known as the Prescott Lock is a lock on the Prescott Channel on the River Lea in London. The project was led by British Waterways[1] and the lock officially opened on 5 June 2009.
The lock cuts off this section of the Bow Back Rivers from the tide, creating new opportunities for leisure boats, water taxis, trip boats and floating restaurants. It also helps freight traffic such as barges carrying construction materials to the sites of the 2012 Olympics and Stratford City.
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The new lock is 62 metres long, 8 metres wide and 2.4 metres deep, and is able to hold two 350-tonne barges (the present locks on the nearby Lee Navigation limit barges to about 120 tonnes).[2] The lock structure incorporates two large rising radial gates for flood control in the Bow Back Rivers.
A site in the river, just south of this lock is the resting place of the remains of the Euston Arch.[3][4] A footbridge is incorporated into the design of the lock, and British Waterways claim there will be associated improvements to the navigation and tow path, as a part of the Olympic legacy.
The effect of building the lock, together with the Three Mills Wall River Weir is to lock out the tide just north of the House Mill. This means that this section of the Bow Back Rivers have ceased to be tidal. The lock has been constructed so that barges from two large building projects (the London 2012 Olympics and Stratford City) may pass through the lock, taking spoil out and delivering building materials on to the sites, via a new wharf on the Waterworks River.[5] The barges will pass directly into the northern section of Bow Creek to the River Thames. The head of water created by the lock may be used to fill the mill pound and once more allow operation of the Three Mills tidal mill.
An unexploded 2,200-pound (998 kg) Hermann bomb from World War II was found on 2 June 2008. The bomb was made safe, in a controlled explosion, after five days of disruption to tube and rail services.[6][7]
The lock opened officially on Friday 5 June 2009, and has begun limited operations.[8] But expected use of the lock is expected to be just "one barge a week"[9]
West Ham and Bromley-by-Bow are the nearest London Underground stations. The nearest Docklands Light Railway stations are Bow Church and Pudding Mill Lane
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