Boulter's Lock, River Thames

[Pluto]

Looking through the French internet catalogue Gallica, I found this which is in the National Library of France.

[mark99]

In our drawing room we have a large framed version of this above the fireplace. When we pass through this lock we observe a print is in the Lockies building too.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 16, 2019 by mark99

[magnetman]

It's amazing to think how busy Boulter's lock once was. So busy that they even built an electric motor powered boat elevator for small boats to bypass the lock. wooden slats like a conveyor belt apparently.

Not much left of it but it must have been quite an impressive contraption. The location is between the lock and the new footbridge over the Weir stream. 

 

Boat elevator at Boulter's lock. 1913. 

 

 

I regularly go up and down the Cliveden reach (above Boulter's) in my electric canoe and even in midsummer there is hardly a soul around just a few boats passing through and a handful of little hired dinghies. How times change. 

Edited December 16, 2019 by magnetman

[The Dreamer]

2 hours ago, magnetman said:

I regularly go up and down the Cliveden reach (above Boulter's) in my electric canoe and even in midsummer there is hardly a soul around just a few boats passing through and a handful of little hired dinghies. How times change.

About twenty-five years ago I used to manage a newsagents on Bridge Road in Maidenhead.  On my days off, I had a little launch that we used to bumble around those parts on, and the boating traffic was still quite heavy through the lock. Twenty years before that my parents had a Freeman 23 moored at the Racecourse Marina, and some Sundays we waited up to two hours to get through Boulters.  Sadly times have changed, most of the hire bases have been sold up as waterside apartments are more lucrative than holiday boats, and most of the gin palaces only go out twice a year!  Even the riverside pubs are going the same way now, again, when we were in Maidenhead, there was always a hope that Skindles would reopen, sadly it’s now housing too...

[magpie patrick]

3 hours ago, Pluto said:

Looking through the French internet catalogue Gallica, I found this which is in the National Library of France.

The lock keeper is doing something with that long pole - pink gin delivery? 

 

I'm guessing it may have a more serous function though, but am unclear what it might be

[OldGoat]

37 minutes ago, The Dreamer said:

About twenty-five years ago I used to manage a newsagents on Bridge Road in Maidenhead.  On my days off, I had a little launch that we used to bumble around those parts on, and the boating traffic was still quite heavy through the lock. Twenty years before that my parents had a Freeman 23 moored at the Racecourse Marina, and some Sundays we waited up to two hours to get through Boulters.  Sadly times have changed, most of the hire bases have been sold up as waterside apartments are more lucrative than holiday boats, and most of the gin palaces only go out twice a year!  Even the riverside pubs are going the same way now, again, when we were in Maidenhead, there was always a hope that Skindles would reopen, sadly it’s now housing too...

It's not only the gin palaces that don't go out - it's the smaller cruisers as well!

Daft really - there's some great cruising to be had on the Thames - but folks are overcautious and afraid of the current and other mostly perceived hazards.

It really is a matter of cruise it or lose it. Even August is only busy downstream of (say) Henley and after 1700hrs you have the river to your selves.

[OldGoat]

11 minutes ago, magpie patrick said:

The lock keeper is doing something with that long pole - pink gin delivery? 

 

I'm guessing it may have a more serous function though, but am unclear what it might be

Less exciting than the above but AFAIK it was to collect the toll fee.

In those days you paid a small fee for every lock through which you passed (as do commercial boats even now - mebe that contributes to the decline of trip boats).

The lockie on duty -almost - looks like the current resident, though current trends mean that they have no uniform to wear.  Shame!

[TheBiscuits]

17 minutes ago, magpie patrick said:

The lock keeper is doing something with that long pole - pink gin delivery? 

 

I'm guessing it may have a more serous function though, but am unclear what it might be

It looks like the people in the boat are putting coins in the bucket/scoop on the end of the pole.

 

Was there a toll?

 

Crossposted with the answer from @OldGoat

[OldGoat]

6 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

It looks like the people in the boat are putting coins in the bucket/scoop on the end of the pole.

 

Was there a toll?

 

Crossposted with the answer from @OldGoat

Tolls were in force until - at least the 1950s and probably until the end of the Thames Conservancy when Thames Water took over. 

If the EA ever get around to automating the weirs (and that's not going to happen without a lot of money being thrown at it. Then the lockies will disappear and you'll all have to work the locks yourself. 

For some inexplicable reason I've seen even experienced narrow boaters flummoxed by the electrical control gear (people won't read the printed instructions on the side of the cabinets).

[cuthound]

4 hours ago, Pluto said:

Looking through the French internet catalogue Gallica, I found this which is in the National Library of France.

 

As it is in a French Library I can only conclude the photo must been taken during the Norman Occupation of England. ?

[The Dreamer]

1 hour ago, cuthound said:

As it is in a French Library I can only conclude the photo must been taken during the Norman Occupation of England. ?

You can imagine the chatter in a Paris “we take a walk down the Left Bank, find a cafe for a Pastis, or maybe a coffee, stop and look at the old books and the still wet paintings.  In Britain, well...”

[Dave123]

I think it is the perceived lack of places to moor that puts most folks off the Thames. The adjacent canals are as busy as ever. But as the average age of boaters increases they don't want to do long days or have big climbs/jumps to high or shallow banks so don't want adventurous wild moorings.

[Slim]

On ‎16‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 12:15, magpie patrick said:

The lock keeper is doing something with that long pole - pink gin delivery? 

 

I'm guessing it may have a more serous function though, but am unclear what it might be

 

I'm sure that when I was a youngster in the mid 50's Boveney lock had one of those skiff ramps. It was on the far side of the lock near the weir. My godfather lived nearby and we visited regularly. His son and I always went fishing there.

Edited December 17, 2019 by Slim

[Tony Brooks]

4 minutes ago, Slim said:

 

I'm sure that when I was a youngster in the mid 50's Boveney lock had one of those skiff ramps. It was on the far side of the lock near the weir. My godfather lived nearby and we visited regularly. His son and I always went fishing there.

I have seen Eton College boys using those rollers, they would row right up to Bray lock and back.

[OldGoat]

3 minutes ago, Slim said:

 

I'm sure that when I was a youngster in the mid 50's Boveney lock had one of those skiff ramps. It was on the far side of the lock near the weir. My godfather lived nearby and we visited regularly. His son and I always went fishing there.

Boveney still has a ramp, but I don't know if it's usable.

Teddington had one as well as a skiff (very narrow - less than a canal lock) and there's one other - but I can't recall where.

Is there something lurking round the back of Sunbury ?

[magnetman]

56 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

Boveney still has a ramp, but I don't know if it's usable.

Teddington had one as well as a skiff (very narrow - less than a canal lock) and there's one other - but I can't recall where.

Is there something lurking round the back of Sunbury ?

Rollers at Molesey lock. 

 

Also rollers just inside the river Mole after the Hampton court station bridge. 

 

i used the Mole rollers last year. They are well looked after as there are quite a lot of small motordinghies and launches in the reach above and the only access to the Thames is via the rollers. Well worth a visit for anyone who has a canoe, kayak or dinghy. A little bit surreal as it is a man made diversion of a natural river with a lot of flood defence works but still interesting to have a look at. 

 

I think the Boveney rollers probably are useable. They are certainly a very attractive feature of the lock. 

 

Half way up the lock cut above Romney Lock there is a tiny Weir which I think may have originally been rollers. Not sure. It looks the right sort of shape but discharges a bit close to the main Weir so may be something else. 

 

Of course the other approach which was taken at Cookham lock was to have 3 sets of gates so you could have a fast lock or a slow lock depending on traffic density and types of vessels passing through. 

Edited December 17, 2019 by magnetman

[Tony Brooks]

Boulters had/has three sets of gates but I think it was a result of lock lengthening to meet traffic demands rather than anything else.

[OldGoat]

30 minutes ago, magnetman said:

Rollers at Molesey lock. 

 

Also rollers just inside the river Mole after the Hampton court station bridge. 

 

i used the Mole rollers last year. They are well looked after as there are quite a lot of small motordinghies and launches in the reach above and the only access to the Thames is via the rollers. Well worth a visit for anyone who has a canoe, kayak or dinghy. A little bit surreal as it is a man made diversion of a natural river with a lot of flood defence works but still interesting to have a look at. 

 

I think the Boveney rollers probably are useable. They are certainly a very attractive feature of the lock. 

 

Half way up the lock cut above Romney Lock there is a tiny Weir which I think may have originally been rollers. Not sure. It looks the right sort of shape but discharges a bit close to the main Weir so may be something else. 

 

Of course the other approach which was taken at Cookham lock was to have 3 sets of gates so you could have a fast lock or a slow lock depending on traffic density and types of vessels passing through. 

The long time served lockie at Romney (there have been two or three lockies since) told me that the weir was a channel relief - but I don't understand what use it might have been. On the landward side of the cut there's a channel - but that was water intake / cooling for the steam powered generator for the Castle.

 

The inner set of Cookham is hardly ever used - mainly because nobody could understand how the electrics worked - thus was mainly would by hand.

 

All thes quirks make the river quite interesting - and something to do while you wait for the lock to fill / empty. Most lockies are happy to chat if it's not busy.

 

[magnetman]

24 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

Boulters had/has three sets of gates but I think it was a result of lock lengthening to meet traffic demands rather than anything else.

There would be no reason to put in extra gates when a lock is lengthened you could just keep two sets. A third set allows a small lock to be used thereby saving time. 

16 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

Most lockies are happy to chat if it's not busy.

 

I like it when they make the tea. 

 

The Romney Weir I was referring to is not the one just above the lock. It's half way up the lock cut. Very small with a flat foot bridge over it. Just a slope which is why I wondered if it was originally rollers. The Romney lock keeper was that Dave Ford with the sheepdogs? He was a good bloke previously district relief including Cookham. Danny the latest keeper at Cookham is pretty cool as well but I think he's looking at somewhere further up river. Cookham is nice but it's a bit of a nuisance with the double gated road access. 

Edited December 17, 2019 by magnetman

[OldGoat]

52 minutes ago, magnetman said:

There would be no reason to put in extra gates when a lock is lengthened you could just keep two sets. A third set allows a small lock to be used thereby saving time. 

I like it when they make the tea. 

 

The Romney Weir I was referring to is not the one just above the lock. It's half way up the lock cut. Very small with a flat foot bridge over it. Just a slope which is why I wondered if it was originally rollers. The Romney lock keeper was that Dave Ford with the sheepdogs? He was a good bloke previously district relief including Cookham. Danny the latest keeper at Cookham is pretty cool as well but I think he's looking at somewhere further up river. Cookham is nice but it's a bit of a nuisance with the double gated road access. 

That's the one!  My information was current when we were moored on the Wey. Now tha we're moored above Marlow, we hardly ever go downstream (especially with all the hassle from a dodgy parking company) - so I forget who is who.

[mark99]

IIRC Teddington Lock has a Skiff thingamy.

[OldGoat]

33 minutes ago, mark99 said:

IIRC Teddington Lock has a Skiff thingamy.

I thought I'd said that in post #15.

Perhaps communications down the A23 is a bit slow / erratic  (smiley thinghy)

[magnetman]

A skiff lock. I'm not sure if you can still use that lock. It's quite a nice little lock with telescopic balance beams. 

I did ask the keeper there once whether I would be allowed to use it if I turned up in a heavy  canoe and he said either use the rollers or if licensed / BCU membership you go through the normal lock. 

 

Whether it works or not I don't know but it is a very pleasing thing to look at. Almost like it's a toy lock. 

 

ETA canalplanac have a picture which looks recent so maybe it is indeed useable. 

 

Makes me doubt my telescopic balance beam comment but I think they are sliding ones. 

 

Edited December 17, 2019 by magnetman

[OldGoat]

14 hours ago, magnetman said:

A skiff lock. I'm not sure if you can still use that lock. It's quite a nice little lock with telescopic balance beams. 

I did ask the keeper there once whether I would be allowed to use it if I turned up in a heavy  canoe and he said either use the rollers or if licensed / BCU membership you go through the normal lock. 

 

Whether it works or not I don't know but it is a very pleasing thing to look at. Almost like it's a toy lock. 

 

ETA canalplanac have a picture which looks recent so maybe it is indeed useable. 

 

Makes me doubt my telescopic balance beam comment but I think they are sliding ones. 

 

A great photo - thanks.

I haven't been down there since "Teddington_Lock" retired and / or they fitted new bottom gates to the barge lock.

[mark99]

It's like Captain Scarlet - when the wall start to close in.