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Shepperton Lock
Shepperton lock (2005)
Waterway	River Thames
County	Surrey
Maintained by	Environment Agency
First built	1813
Latest built	1899
Length	174' 5" (53.16m)
Width	19' 10" (6.04m)
Fall	6' 8" (2.03m)
Above sea level	33'
Distance to Teddington Lock	10 miles

Shepperton Lock is a lock on the River Thames, England. It is located on the border between Surrey and Middlesex, near where the River Wey and the River Bourne meet the Thames.

A weir is recorded here in the 1086 Domesday Book. In 1813, the City of London Corporation built a wooden pound lock here. A stone lock was built in 1899, next to the existing wooden one which was then filled in and removed.

The lock connects to Lock Island where there is a river police station and Hamhaugh Island where a canoeing club is based. The Shepperton to Weybridge Ferry service runs from below the lock to the end of Thames Street, Weybridge, where there are two rowing clubs and a canoeing club. Overlooking the lock and the islands is the Thames Court pub/restaurant.

The lock is just upstream of D'Oyly Carte Island, the former home to the Gilbert and Sullivan operas producer, Richard D'Oyly Carte.

Access to the lock

The lock is on the Middlesex bank, and can be reached from Shepperton down Ferry Road or from Chertsey via Dockett Eddy Lane leading to Towpath. There is usually ample parking space. From the Weybridge side it can only be reached by ferry.

Reach above the lock

Immediately above the lock is Pharaoh's Island, which was a gift from the nation to Admiral Nelson following the Battle of the Nile. The Middlesex bank is quite open with several larger houses along it until Dumsey Meadow a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The Surrey side is built up until Chertsey Meads, the site of the Anglo-Saxon Chertsey Abbey sacked by the Vikings, and the edge of Chertsey itself. Just before Chertsey Lock, Chertsey Bridge crosses the river. The Thames Path follows the Middlesex bank all the way to Chertsey Lock.

Literature and the Media

The lock in Charles Dickens Our Mutual Friend at Plashwater Mill is based on Shepperton lock.

In H. G. Wells The War of the Worlds one of the main battles fought against the invaders from Mars takes place between Weybridge and Shepperton lock.

See also

Locks on the River Thames

References

• The River Thames Guide — About the Thames — Shepperton Lock

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