View source for Marsh Lock

{{Short description|Lock and weir on the River Thames in Berkshire, England}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2018}}
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{{Infobox waterlock
|lock_name = Marsh Lock
|image     = MarshLock01.JPG
|caption   = Marsh Lock from the upstream walkway with the weir on the left
|waterway  = [[River Thames]]
|county    = [[Berkshire]]
|length    = {{convert|41.19|m|ftin|abbr=on}} <ref name="EnvAgency" >{{cite web |url=http://a0768b4a8a31e106d8b0-50dc802554eb38a24458b98ff72d550b.r19.cf3.rackcdn.com/geth0309bpgk-e-e.pdf |title=A User's Guide to the River Thames |pages=29–30 |year=2009 |format=PDF|publisher=Environmental Agency |accessdate=12 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228133209/http://a0768b4a8a31e106d8b0-50dc802554eb38a24458b98ff72d550b.r19.cf3.rackcdn.com/geth0309bpgk-e-e.pdf |archive-date=2013-12-28 |url-status=dead}} Dimensions given in metres.</ref>
|width     = {{convert|6.42|m|ftin|abbr=on}}<ref name="EnvAgency" />
|fall      = {{convert|1.33|m|ftin|abbr=on}}<ref name="EnvAgency" />
|maint     = [[Environment Agency]]
|operation = Hydraulic
|first     = 1773
|latest    = 1914
|sealevel  = 105'
|enda      = [[Teddington Lock]]
|distenda  = 46 miles
|endb      =
|distendb  =
|map_image =
|coordinates = {{Coord|51.52803|N|0.88710|W|region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SU773816)|display=title}}<!-- Note: WGS84 lat/long, converted from OSGB36 grid ref -->
}}
{{Marsh Lock map}}
[[File:MarshLock03.JPG|thumb|Marsh Lock filled by a large riverboat]]
[[File:2008-05 Marsh Lock.JPG|thumb|Marsh Lock empty from the tail gates]]
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'''Marsh Lock''' is a [[lock (water transport)|lock]] and [[weir]] situated on the [[River Thames]] in the civil parish of [[Remenham]], which is in the English county of [[Berkshire]]. The lock is about {{convert|1|mi}} upstream of [[Henley Bridge]] and the centre of the Oxfordshire town of [[Henley-on-Thames]]. It is close to the Berkshire bank, but accessed from the [[Oxfordshire]] side via two long walkways, the downstream one being near [[Mill Meadows, Henley-on-Thames|Mill Meadows]]. The first pound lock was built by the [[Thames Navigation Commission]] in 1773.
The weir consists of a series of iron watergates running from the lock to the Oxfordshire bank near the mills. It is situated between the two walkways.

==History==
{{CSS image crop
|Image = Jan Siberechts - Henley-on-Thames from the Wargrave Road, Oxfordshire.jpg
|bSize = 400
|cWidth = 180
|cHeight = 200
|oTop = 40
|oLeft = 5
|Location = left
|Description = The flash lock in 1698, a detail of the painting ''[[Henley from the Wargrave Road]]'' by [[Jan Siberechts]]
}}
The earliest record of a [[flash lock]] is in 1580, but the lock and weir existed for some time before that. The 1698 painting ''[[Henley from the Wargrave Road]]'' by the Flemish artist [[Jan Siberechts]] includes this original flash lock in the picture. The pound lock was the third downstream of the eight locks built after the [[Thames and Isis Navigation Act 1750]] ([[24 Geo. 2]]. c. 8), and was completed in fir wood in 1773.  [[Humphrey Gainsborough]], a [[Nonconformist (Protestantism)|non-conformist]] [[Religious minister|minister]] at Henley Congregational Church, was concerned in the building of the lock. He was an [[inventor]] and the brother of the artist [[Thomas Gainsborough]]. By 1780, the lock was reported as decaying fast, and in 1787 it was rebuilt of oak. The first lock-house was built in 1813. Positioned as it was on the opposite side of the tow path, the lock was considered "Extremely inconvenient and dangerous for barges" in 1814, and there are some indications that the flash lock was still in use.
[[File:MarshLock02.JPG|left|thumb|Lower walkway from Mill Meadows]]
In 1843 the lock was in poor condition and plans were drawn up to rebuild it on the opposite side of the river. However, these came to nothing and the lower walkway was built about this time. The weir was rebuilt after 1879, but with some complaints about its unattractiveness. There were again proposals to move the lock across the river, but it was rebuilt of more solid timber and reopened in 1886.<ref>Fred. S. Thacker ''The Thames Highway: Volume II Locks and Weirs'' 1920 - republished 1968 David & Charles</ref> The lock was rebuilt again in 1914. The weir was reconstructed in 2004 by [[Mowlem]] PLC to a design by Halcrow Group.

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==Access to the lock==
Because the lock is unusually situated on the opposite side of the river to the [[towpath]], a long wooden bridge was built from the Oxfordshire bank to carry the path out to the lock island below the weir, and then back again to the riverbank above the weir. This feature is unique on the River Thames.

==Reach above the lock==
[[File:MarshLock04.JPG|left|thumb|View upstream from the upstream walkway]]
[[File:WargraveRiver01.JPG|left|thumb|View of Wargrave across the river from Shiplake]]
At the lock and beyond it on the Berkshire bank, there are steep hills, which give way to Wargrave Marsh, an expanse of water meadows, after the entrance to the [[Hennerton Backwater]]. At this point, Bolney Ferry used to operate across the river. The island here is called [[Ferry Eyot]], and it is followed by [[Poplar Eyot]] and [[Handbuck Eyot]]. This chain of islands lies off a range of large houses at [[Shiplake]].

The river then rejoins Hennerton Backwater and passes [[Wargrave]] on the Berkshire bank, while there is then open farmland on the Shiplake bank. The [[River Loddon]] flows in on the Berkshire side, and the river is crossed by [[Shiplake Railway Bridge]] just below Shiplake Lock. The [[Wargrave & Shiplake Regatta]] takes place on the reach downstream of the railway bridge in August.

==Thames Path==
The [[Thames Path]] follows the river on the western bank and then takes a diversion through Shiplake, rejoining the river at [[Shiplake Lock]]. This diversion arises because: firstly, the towpath used to cross the river at Bolney Ferry and return at Lashbrook Ferry, a short way upstream; secondly, there is no easy access to rejoin the path for the section between Lashbrook Ferry and Shiplake Lock.

==See also==
{{Portal|United Kingdom|Transport}}
* [[Locks on the River Thames]]
* [[Rowing on the River Thames]]
* [[River and Rowing Museum]]

{{S-start}}
{{River lock start|River=[[River Thames]]}}
{{River lock line|upstream=[[Shiplake Lock]] <br/> {{convert|4.80|km|abbr=on}} <ref name="EnvAgency2" >{{cite web |url= http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/recreation/131811.aspx |title=Environment Agency Distances between locks on the River Thames |date=19 November 2012 |work=web page |publisher=Environmental Agency |accessdate=21 November 2012}} Distances given in km</ref>|downstream=[[Hambleden Lock]] <br/> {{convert|4.59|km|abbr=on}}  <ref name="EnvAgency2" />|location=SU773816}}
{{S-end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Locks of Berkshire]]
[[Category:Henley-on-Thames]]
[[Category:Locks on the River Thames]]
[[Category:Weirs on the River Thames]]