Marlow to Hurley, Marlow to Cookham, Environment Agency 'Out and About' Guides
Maps
Marlow Weir for canoists.
See also.
Above lock keep to left bank away from weir
Before 1066: A mill in Marlow
1086: Marlow Mill (and therefore weir) in the Domesday Book
1306:-
... a certain windasium (winch) upon the Thames here.
That of course is the crucial item which
changes a weir from being simply a means of achieving power for a watermill
into a means of navigation. Many of our
ancient weirs will be found to be set at such an angle that there is land
immediately above them on which a winch can be sited to give a straight pull up
the weir. And Marlow is a perfect
example. Indeed it is hard to see the
rationale for the position of the weir in any other way.
For what a windasium might have looked like see
above Hurley Lock.
1585: Stripe’s Stow, Survey of London – he mentions many weirs -
especially one lock, called Marlow Lock, of which there had been great complaints. It was held by one Farmour. The streams there were so strong, and the water had such a dismal fall, that four men within a short time were lost; three whereof drowned, and a fourth had his brains dasht out. And all the recompence the poor widow had, was that Farmour gave her five shillings. But beside the danger, it was very expensive to the poor bargemen, the millers selling the water in the stream for above £300 a year.
The millers depended on the head of
water for their power to grind the wheat and therefore ultimately for their
income. If barges needed to come through
the weir then that head had to be reduced greatly by opening the weir and so
they charged for that. In addition
barges trying to negotiate shallow areas below the weir would pay for a flash
of water to float them through.
1632: John Taylor (the “water poet”) -
Then Marlow locke is worst, I must confess,
The water is so pinched with shallowness.
1697: Samuel Clarke of London, gentleman, was charged -
in that he did, on the first of April, 1697, by force of arms, at the parish of Bissam, Berks, hinder navigation in the River Thames, from time immemorial a common navigable river for all subjects of the King, … by erecting a lock … whereby the King’s subjects have been hindered in navigating and rowing, and many boats have been lost to the common nuisance.
1767: Parliamentary evidence given in 1793 recorded
that a total of 56,365 tons of merchandise passed upwards through Marlow
Flashlock.
[ That is over 150 tons every day of the year. Somebody was working
hard on that windasium!]
1773: The first pound lock was set up on the
Buckinghamshire side above the site of the modern lock.
Rollers were placed at suitable points to
guide barges into it. Winching was
probably necessary both above and below the new pound lock.
1780:-
the pound lock in a very shattered and decaying state; the largest barges often stick, and cannot get through without force
1787: the shallows below the lock were so bad that
temporary stops were suggested. (Short
timber dams set slantwise partly across the river, narrowing the fairway but
scouring out and deepening what remained.
There was still then no lock at Cookham to help the situation)
1793: A witness stated that after flashes he had
“walked over the channel at Marlow without wetting his feet”
Flashing is “a very abominable practice,
because after the flash is drawn, and the flash lock shut again, it leaves the
river almost dry for twenty four hours.”
Marlow Weir from the Bridge, Robert Havell -
Marlow Weir, Havell
[I think the old bridge was lower down than the suspension bridge. ]
1826: A new pound lock in stone was built
downstream of the old pound lock.
1827: The old pound lock was to be filled in
1848: The old pound lock was actually filled in.
Thames House now stands on the site.
1872: Weir ordered to be rebuilt.
1881: George Leslie -
We had fine weather during our stay at Marlow,
and I frequently took my two eldest children for a bathe in the river.
I punted down through the lock to the little
backwater behind the race, as it is called;
it is very shallow here, and out of
the sight of travellers on the main stream.
I swung my punt right across the stream, so that it touched both banks,
and was thus held firmly by the current; my little chicks could then safely
paddle in the water about two feet deep above the boat, and there was no
occasion to hold them, as even if they were knocked over by the stream, they
must be carried back to the punt again.
They enjoyed it very much; when they came out, the floor of the
punt, warmed by the sun, was very “comfy” for their feet, and a luxurious large
rough bath towel soon dried them up.
I thought this method of bathing far better for
children than from a machine at the sea-side, as they were not frightened in
the least, and grew quite bold; they
looked so very pretty in the water, the banks on either side fringed with
forget-me-nots, the bottom all fine gravel and sand, and the water beautifully
clear and sparkling in the sun, that I longed to paint a picture of them, and
should have done so, were it not so very difficult, and quite beyond my powers
as an artist to do justice to the scene.
1880: Marlow Weir and Lock from the church, Henry Taunt -
Marlow Weir and Lock from the church, Henry W Taunt, 1880
© Oxfordshire County Council Photographic Archive; HT2835
1896: From "A Tale of the Thames" by Joseph Asby-Sterry -
...Below is the stream, rushing, seething, and boiling, lashing through the sluices, tumbling over the weir,
swirling between the rymers, eddying around the willow-grown isles, sweeping over the shallows,
in a hurry to get away from the artificial cut to the lock, and apparently in a greater hurry to join it some distance below.
There is marvellous music about Marlow Weir.
It is wondrous soothing, indescribably comforting, to smoke a lazy pipe and listen to it.
There is a joyous note, with a sweet undercurrent of sadness in a minor key, that is singularly fascinating,
and at the same time thrillingly touching.
And when, from time to time, the musical bells ring out from All Saints' Church, you enjoy a rare harmony
that is difficult to describe, and would appear to be beyond the grasp of the most subtle of musical notators.
A lingering lullaby, a soothful song, a peaceful poem, a comforting cantata - call it what you will -
it is impossible to deny the fascination of the music of marlow Weir.
Oh, muse for a while by the tossing tide -
'Tis good to ponder, and moon, and dream
Where the dimpled waters curve and glide
To ceaseless song of the swirling stream!
When today seems gone, and the past seems near -
As thoughts revert unto bygone times -
While the sweet sad music of Marlow Weir
Is gaily gladdened by Marlow Chimes!
The foam flies fast as the flood runs by;
The ripples redden with gleam of sun;
The sun sinks low and the saffron sky
To twilight deepens - the day is done
While the lightsome laughter of yester year,
The poem of youth, with its reckless rhymes,
Seems mingled with music of Marlow Weir,
And finds an echo in Marlow Chimes!
1900s: Postcard -
Marlow Weir from above lock, 1900s
Marlow Weir, Haslehurst 1906
© Oxfordshire County Council Photographic Archive;
1906: Mortimer Menpes, A General view of Marlow Weir –
A General View of Marlow Weir, Mortimer Menpes, 1906
Upstream to MARLOW LOCK
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