Sandford Lock

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Sandford Lock
Sandford Lock from the tail gates
Waterway	River Thames
County	Oxfordshire
Maintained by	Environment Agency
Operation	Hydraulic
First built	1631
Latest built	1973
Length	174’ 0” (53.03m)
Width	21’ 9” (6.62m)
Fall	8' 10” (2.69m)
Above Sea Level	176'
Distance to Teddington Lock	89 miles
Geographical Data
Coordinates	51°42′29″N 1°13′59″W / 51.708048, -1.233104
Power is available out of hours

Sandford Lock
legend River Thames weir Iffley Lock rollers and weir Hinksey Stream A423(T) Isis Bridge Kennington Railway Bridge Rose Isle Fiddlers Elbow weir weir Sandford Lock and mill River Thames

Sandford Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England, situated at Sandford-on-Thames which is just South of Oxford. It is connected to a large island which is one of three at this point. Before the present lock, there was the navigation weir or flash lock on the old river channel behind the second island. This was described in 1624 as ‘Great Lockes’. It was replaced in 1631 when the Oxford-Burcot Commission built one of the first pound locks in England here. The old lock has since been filled in but its position is still visible (the position of the upper gates can be seen in the stonework above the present upper gates). A new lock on the present site was opened in 1836 which lasted until the most recent improvements when the present lock was built in 1972.

Sandford Lock has the deepest fall of all locks on the Thames at 8ft 9in (2.69 metres).

The main weir connects the second island to the opposite bank on the Kennington, Oxfordshire side. This is the location of the infamous Sandford Lasher, a treacherous weirpool where many have drowned. Another weir links the two lower islands.

Contents 1 Access to the lock 2 Reach above the lock 3 Incidents 4 Literature and the media 5 See also 6 External links

[edit] Access to the lock

The lock can easily be reached at the end of Church Lane from Sandford on Thames.

[edit] Reach above the lock

After the third island which is Fiddler's Elbow the river makes a sharp turn at Rose Isle. On the west bank is the town of Kennington, Oxfordshire. Further upstream are Kennington Railway Bridge where the Hinksey Stream joins the Thames again and Isis Bridge carrying the Oxford southern by-pass.

The Thames Path follows the western bank to Iffley Lock crossing the Hinksey Stream on the Kennington Towpath bridge.

[edit] Incidents

A 19th century obelisk records the deaths of five Christ Church College students who drowned here - Richard Philmore and William Gaisford in 1843 and George Dasent in 1872.

In 1921, Michael Llewelyn Davies, the foster son of writer J. M. Barrie, and one of the main inspirations for the character of Peter Pan, drowned just short of his 21st birthday in the Sandford Lasher – in reportedly calm water – along with his close friend Rupert Buxton (also 21).

[edit] Literature and the media

Sandford Lasher and its dangers are mentioned in chapter 18 of Jerome K Jerome's Three Men in a Boat (1889).

The pool under Sandford lasher, just behind the lock, is a very good place to drown yourself in. The undercurrent is terribly strong, and if you once get down into it you are all right. An obelisk marks the spot where two men have already been drowned, while bathing there; and the steps of the obelisk are generally used as a diving-board by young men now who wish to see if the place really IS dangerous.

Ironically, Jerome was a close personal friend of Barrie and so probably knew Michael Llewelyn Davies.

[edit] See also

• Locks on the River Thames

[edit] External links

• River Thames at Sandford Lock at waterscape.com

Next lock upstream	River Thames	Next lock downstream
Iffley Lock 1.68 miles	Sandford Lock Grid reference: SP531013	Abingdon Lock 4.66 miles