Downstream Drop not available because Boveney Lock is not online
Flow data.
Mean flow 58.2 cumecs; high flow exceeded 10% of the time 127 cumecs; low flow exceeded 95% of the time 15.3 cumecs
Bray to Boulter's,
Bray to Boveney, Environment Agency 'Out and About' Guides
Left bank, tel: 01628 621650, length: 134'4", width: 17'11"
Bray Lock was once bypassed by the York Stream which went the other side of Bray and into Maidenhead.
Amerden Camping on left bank just below lock. Follow track about half a mile.
No signs. Exposed mooring.
There is a mill here recorded in the Domesday Book – and therefore a weir.
1632: John Taylor – Three Mills
1770: Brindley – Level’s Paper Mill
1794: Rennie – Lavender’s Mill for corn “of little value”
1833: A suggested lock -
a pair of gates withinside of Parting Eyot
[ Parting Eyot is an old name for the lock island ]
A most important improvement to the navigation for 2 or 3 miles above
1840: The navigation channel was the present weir stream and barges were towed from the left
bank, their lines sweeping the intervening island.
1845: Bray pound lock without sides was built -
Bray Lock, 1845
1865: Pound lock used only at low water times,
being left open when the river was full.
1870: Bray Lock keeper, Edward Morris, Henry Taunt -
Bray Lock, Edward Morris the lock keeper, Henry Taunt, 1870
© Oxfordshire County Council Photographic Archive; HT1500
1880: William Morris, Putney to Kelmscot -
Thursday August 12.
... Proceeded safely as far as Bray Lock where the 'Ark' came into collision
with two barges which were aground on the shallows;
Starboard cabin door slightly damaged.
(Deuce of a stream below Bray Lock almost rapids - hence the squash - very pleasant banks though.)
Hove to on right bank just above Bray Lock. WM set to cooking in seclusion of cabin,
and in due time filled the whole party with delight and with provisions of a most satisfactory kind
(note very thick soup, rice, vegetables, meat, etc., results shewing both knowledge
and skill).
Cornell Price was appointed boteler by acclamation (his own). Liquor excellent.
There was a man at work over osiers there, & made sort of stack of
them. The bundles were useful at dinner time: wasps more plenty than welcome.
Washed up and started again at 5 o'clock.
1883: Bray Weir, Henry Taunt -
Bray Weir, Henry Taunt, 1883
© Oxfordshire County Council Photographic Archive; HT4005
1885: Dickens – the
lock was “a rotten and dangerous structure”.
The fall was only a few inches.
Both lock and weir were reconstructed.
1885: Eel Bucks at Bray Lock, Henry Taunt -
Eel Bucks at Bray Lock, Henry Taunt, 1885
© Oxfordshire County Council Photographic Archive; HT4897
1960: Bray Lock, Francis Frith -
1960: Bray Lock, Francis Frith
Bray Weir on the River Thames near Maidenhead was refurbished during the summers of 1993 and 1994.
The existing structure, which had become unsound and unsafe to operate,
was replaced by nine vertical-lift (or buck) gates.
Construction works within a cofferdam and utilizing floating plant were undertaken in two phases.
Following demolition of the existing weir, a network of reinforced concrete beams
was supported on new driven piled foundations.
Twin leaf gates slide in guides and span between new steel A-frames,
and are lifted by pairs of threaded spindles rotated by actuators operating through gearboxes.
Fine flow control is achieved by allowing overtopping of the upper leaves of the gates.
Following commissioning, operational difficulties resulting from seal vibration
and excessive friction on the spindles necessitated design modifications.
2004: Photo -
Bray Lock in 2004
1883: St Michael, Bray, Henry Taunt -
St Michael, Bray, Henry Taunt, 1883
© Oxfordshire County Council Photographic Archive; HT4002
1849: Bray on Thames from the Towing Path -
Bray on Thames from the Towing Path, 1849
The Vicar of Bray
1662: "Worthies of England" by Fuller -
The vivacious vicar [of Bray] living under King Henry VIII, King Edward VI, Queen Mary,
and Queen Elizabeth, was first a Papist, then a Protestant, then a Papist,
then a Protestant again. He had seen some martyrs burnt (two miles off) at Windsor,
and found this fire too hot for his tender temper.
This vicar, being taxed by one for being a turncoat and an inconstant changeling, said,
"Not so, for I always kept my principle, which is this - to live and die the Vicar of Bray".
1792: Picturesque View on the Thames by Samuel Ireland -
... the village of Bray, rendered famous by its accomodating Vicar, who, during the reign of
Charles the Second, and the four succeeding
Monarchs, never failed to conform to the prevailing
principle of the times ; and, as it is
told, when reprobated for his apostacy, justified himself by saying,
"He had always been governed by what he thought a very laudable maxim —
never on any terms (if he could avoid it) to part with his vicarage";
or, as the song has said for him,
Old principles I did revoke,
Set conscience at a distance;
Passive obedience is a joke,
A jest is non-resistance.
WHETHER this Vicar of Bray, the object
of so much raillery, ever existed at all, or
whether it was levelled at Vicars in general,
I know not ; certain it is, that in the reign
of Charles the Second, Dr. Caswell was Vicar
of Bray, in Berkshire, near fifty years, and
that he was not considered as particularly accommodating in his principles to the changes
of the times. His successor, whose name
was Brown, also held this vicarage fifty
years ; and he too was deemed steady in his
principles ; he died about thirty years since.
These facts may possibly do away the imputation
of apostacy from the respectable names I
here mention.
The following story has been
in circulation relative to a Vicar of Bray, for
the truth of which I cannot vouch: -
CHARLES the Second had been hunting in Windsor Forest, and in the chase was separated from his attendants.
In returning, he lost his road, and came to Bray after it was dark, where, on enquiring for the Vicar's house, and being introduced,
he told him that he was a traveller who had lost his way, and having spent all his money, begged that he would render him assistance to proceed
on his journey, and that he would soon repay him with the greatest honesty.
The Vicar told him he was an impostor, and bade him go out of his house with great rudeness.
But the Curate (who was with the vicar) said that he pitied the traveller, and lent him a little money.
The King then discovered who he was, and upbraiding the Vicar for his inhumanity, said,
"The Vicar of Bray shall be Vicar of Bray still, but the Curate shall be Canon of Windsor."
— and it is said that the King made his word good.
1885: Dickens's Dictionary of the Thames -
The most prominent object in the village from the river is the fine old church, close to which stands the vicarage, with trim gardens, and smooth shaven lawns running down to the river. A profusion of fine trees adds to the beauty of the view, and the place is very happily situated at a beautiful bend of the river. It is not so surprising that the ancient vicar, so celebrated in song, should have persistently determined to live and die vicar of Bray. For a secluded and quietly beautiful place of residence few more agreeable spots can be found ...
The Vicar of Bray, (Versions vary slightly - and the historical setting has moved to later times,
but the story is the same) -
(As Charles Mackay says in "The Thames and its Tributaries" - 'a well known song upon his tergiversations'!)
Listen to 'The Vicar of Bray' -
In good King Charles's golden days,
When Loyalty no harm meant;
A Furious High-Church man I was,
And so I gain'd Preferment.
Unto my Flock I daily Preach'd,
Kings are by God appointed,
And Damn'd are those who dare resist,
Or touch the Lord's Anointed.
And this is law, I will maintain
Unto my Dying Day, Sir.
That whatsoever King may reign,
I will be the Vicar of Bray, Sir!
When Royal James possest the crown,
And popery grew in fashion;
The Penal Law I shouted down,
And read the Declaration:
The Church of Rome I found would fit
Full well my Constitution,
And I had been a Jesuit,
But for the Revolution.
And this is Law, &c.
When William our Deliverer came,
To heal the Nation's Grievance,
I turn'd the Cat in Pan again,
And swore to him Allegiance:
Old Principles I did revoke,
Set conscience at a distance,
Passive Obedience is a Joke,
A Jest is non-resistance.
And this is Law, &c.
When Royal Ann became our Queen,
Then Church of England's Glory,
Another face of things was seen,
And I became a Tory:
Occasional Conformists base
I Damn'd, and Moderation,
And thought the Church in danger was,
From such Prevarication.
And this is Law, &c.
When George in Pudding time came o'er,
And Moderate Men looked big, Sir,
My Principles I chang'd once more,
And so became a Whig, Sir.
And thus Preferment I procur'd,
From our Faith's great Defender,
And almost every day abjur'd
The Pope, and the Pretender.
And this is Law, &c.
The Illustrious House of Hannover,
And Protestant succession,
To these I lustily will swear,
Whilst they can keep possession:
For in my Faith, and Loyalty,
I never once will faulter,
But George, my lawful king shall be,
Except the Times shou'd alter.
And this is Law, &c.
One of my clerical forefathers took the opposite stance from the Vicar of Bray.
He lost his house and income and job when he could not accept the coming
of William referred to above. Refusing to take the new oath of allegiance, having promised
loyalty to the previous regime, he became a "non-juror".
His tomb stone set out his position quite emphatically -
|
The body of Mr. Thamas Eade lies here. A faithful shepherd that did not pow’rs fear; But kept old Truth, and would not let her go, Nor turn out of the way for friend or foe. Who was suspended in the Dutchman's days, Because he would not walk in their strange ways. Daemona non armis sed morte subegit Jesus, As Christ by death his rampant foes trod down, Soe must all those that doe expect a crown |
Shadows of departing day at Bray, Alexander Ansted -
Shadows of departing day at Bray, Alexander Ansted
Headpile Eyot, right bank
Upstream to Bray Slipway
Estuary
PLA
QEII Br
Barrier
Tower Br
Custom Ho
London Br
; Frost Fairs
Cannon St Rb
The Great Stink
Southwark Br
Millenium Br
Blackfriars Rb
Blackfriars Br
Waterloo Br
Charing Cross Rb
Westminster Br
Lambeth Br
Vauxhall Br
Victoria Rb
Chelsea Br
Albert Br
Battersea Br
Battersea Rb
Wandsworth Br
Fulham Rb
Putney Br
Hammersmith Br
Barnes Rb
Chiswick Br
Kew Rb
Kew Br
RICHMOND
Twickenham Br
Richmond Rb
Richmond Br
TEDDINGTON
Kingston Rb
Kingston Br
Ditton Slip
Hampton Br
MOLESEY
SUNBURY
Walton Br
Desborough Cut
SHEPPERTON
Chertsey Br
CHERTSEY
M3 Br
Laleham Slip
PENTON HOOK
Staines Rb
Staines Br
Runnymede Br
BELL WEIR
Magna Carta Is
OLD WINDSOR
Albert Br
Datchet
Victoria Br
Black Potts Rb
ROMNEY
Eton
Windsor Br
Windsor Rb
Windsor Slip
Elizabeth Br
BOVENEY
Dorney Lake
York Cut
Summerleaze Fb
MonkeyIsland
New Thames Br
BRAY
Bray Slip
Maidenhead Rb
Maidenhead Br
Below Boulters
BOULTERS
Cliveden
Hedsor
COOKHAM
Cookham Slip
Cookham Br
BourneEnd RFb
Quarry Woods
A404 Br
MARLOW
Marlow Br
Bisham
TEMPLE
HURLEY
Medmenham
Culham Ct
Aston Slip
HAMBLEDEN
Temple Is
Fawley Ct
Remenham
Regatta
Phyllis Ct
Henley Slip
Leander
Red Lion
Henley Br
Angel on Br
Landing
Hobbs Boatyard
Hobbs Slipway
MARSH
Hennerton
Bolney
Wargrave
Shiplake Rb
R.Loddon
SHIPLAKE
Sonning Br
SONNING
Dreadnought
K&A Canal
CAVERSHAM
Reading Br
Caversham Br
Reading Slip
Purley
MAPLEDURHAM
Hardwick Ho
Whitchurch Br
WHITCHURCH
Hartswood Reach
Gatehampton Rb
Goring Gap
Goring Br
GORING
Swan
CLEEVE
Moulsford
Moulsford Rb
Papist Way Slip
Winterbrook Br
Wallingford Br
BENSON
Shillingford Br
R.Thame
DAYS
Burcot
Clifton Hampden
Clifton Church
Clifton H Br
Barley Mow
Long Wittenham
CLIFTON
Appleford Rb
Sutton Courtenay
Sutton Br
CULHAM
Culham Cut Fb
Abingdon Slip
Abingdon
Abingdon Br
ABINGDON
Nuneham Rb
Nuneham
Nuneham Park
Radley Boats
SANDFORD
Rose Island
Kennington Rb
Isis Br
Iffley Mill
IFFLEY
Oxford Rowing
Isis
Donnington Br
Riverside Slip
Boathouses
Punting
Lower Cherwell
Upper Cherwell
Islip
Head of River
Salters Steamers
Folly Br
Bacons Folly
Oxford Fb
Osney Fb
Weir stream
Osney Rb
Bullstake Stream
Osney Marina
OSNEY
Osney Br
Four Rivers
OLD RIVER
CANAL
Medley Weir Site
Medley Fb
Bossoms
Perch
Trout
GODSTOW
Godstow Nunnery
Godstow Br
Thames Br
KINGS
River Evenlode
EYNSHAM
Swinford Br
Oxford Cruisers
PINKHILL
Farmoor
Stanton Harcourt
Bablock Slip
Arks Weir Site
NORTHMOOR
Harts Fb
//Rose Revived
Newbridge
//Maybush
River Windrush
below Shifford
SHIFFORD
Shifford Fb
Tenfoot Fb
Trout Inn
Tadpole Br
RUSHEY
Old Mans Fb
RADCOT
Radcot Cradle Fb
Swan Inn
Radcot New Br
Radcot Old Br
GRAFTON
Eaton Hastings
Kelmscott
Eaton Fb
BUSCOT
Bloomers Hole Fb
Trout Inn
St Johns Br
ST JOHNS
Halfpenny Br
Marina Slip
LIMIT
Inglesham
Hannington Br
Kempsford
Castle Eaton Br
Marston Meysey
A419 Br
Cricklade
SOURCE?
THAMES HEAD
SEVEN SPRINGS