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Cookham Lock
Cookham Lock, Berkshire
Waterway	River Thames
County	Berkshire
Maintained by	Environment Agency
First built	1830
Latest built	1957
Length	183' 0" (55.77m)
Width	25' 0" (7.62m)
Fall	4' 3" (1.30m)
Above sea level	81'
Distance to Teddington Lock	33 miles

Cookham Lock is a lock with weirs situated on the River Thames near Cookham, Berkshire. The lock is set in a lock cut which is one of four streams here and it is surrounded by woods. Next to the lock island is Formosa Island, the largest on the non-tidal Thames.

There are several weirs here. Hedsor weir was placed across the main navigation channel when the lock was opened in 1830, causing loss of trade to the then owner Lord Boston who had a wharf there. Hedsor Water has been the subject of a legal dispute, the widow of Tiny Rowland considering it to be private, but her claim was rejected on the grounds that the navigable river is open to all. There is a lower weir, and Odney weir is on the channel next to Formosa Island.

Access to the lock

There is a road from Cookham to Formosa Island and the lock.

Reach above the lock

After the streams rejoin above the lock, the river is crossed by Cookham Bridge. Along the reach on the Buckinghamshire bank is Bourne End where the River Wye joins the Thames. Bourne End Railway Bridge crosses the river here and further on are Gibraltar Islands and the Marlow By-pass Bridge before Marlow Lock. The river is picturesque and described as Wind in the Willows country. Kenneth Graham based much of his book on this part of the Thames.

The Thames Path, which has passed through Cookham rather than by the lock, runs from Cookham Bridge along the southern bank until Bourne End Railway Bridge, where there is a footbridge. The path crosses this footbridge and then goes along the northern bank to Marlow.

Literature and the Media

Cookham was home to the artist Stanley Spencer's whose works include Swan Upping at Cookham.

See also

• Locks on the River Thames

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