Temple Lock
Lock and weir on the River Thames in Buckinghamshire, England
title: "Temple Lock" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["locks-of-buckinghamshire", "locks-on-the-river-thames", "weirs-on-the-river-thames"] description: "Lock and weir on the River Thames in Buckinghamshire, England" topic_path: "general/locks-of-buckinghamshire" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Lock" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Lock and weir on the River Thames in Buckinghamshire, England ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox waterlock"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| lock_name | Temple Lock |
| image | TempleLock02.JPG |
| caption | Temple Lock looking downstream toward Temple Mill Island |
| waterway | River Thames |
| county | Buckinghamshire |
| maint | Environment Agency |
| operation | Hydraulic |
| first | 1773 |
| latest | 1890 |
| length | 41.02 m |
| width | 5.46 m |
| fall | 1.23 m (4 ft 1 in) |
| sealevel | 92' |
| enda | Teddington Lock |
| distenda | 39 miles |
| :: |
|lock_name = Temple Lock |image= TempleLock02.JPG |caption= Temple Lock looking downstream toward Temple Mill Island |waterway = River Thames |county = Buckinghamshire |maint = Environment Agency |operation = Hydraulic |first = 1773 |latest = 1890 |length = 41.02 m |width = 5.46 m |fall = 1.23 m (4 ft 1 in) |sealevel = 92' |enda = Teddington Lock |distenda = 39 miles |endb = |distendb = | map_cue= | map_image= | map_text= | map_width= | coordinates= | lat= | long= | extra= ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/TempleLock01.JPG" caption="Looking upstream towards the footbridge"] ::
Temple Lock is a lock and weir situated on the Buckinghamshire bank of the River Thames near Temple Mill Island opposite Temple Meadows and not far from Hurley, Berkshire. It was first built by the Thames Navigation Commissioners in 1773.
The weir runs across from the lock to the Berkshire bank a short distance upstream of the lock.
History
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/TempleLock04.JPG" caption="Warning notices at the lock"] ::
There are references to a flash lock and winch in the 16th century. There was also a ferry at the lock.
The pound lock was built in 1773, the sixth downstream of the eight constructed after the passing of the 1770 navigation act. Like the others it had to be rebuilt in 1782 and though estimates were obtained for stone and timber, timber was chosen because it was cheaper.
In 1890 a new lock was built alongside the original one.
Access to the lock
The lock is on the Buckinghamshire bank and can only be reached on foot along the towpath from Marlow or Hurley.
Reach above the lock
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/TempleLock03.JPG" caption="Weir at Temple Lock"] ::
The reach is one of the shortest on the river with little of note on it. There was formerly a ferry at the top of the lock cut taking the towpath across the river. In 1989 the Temple Footbridge was built across the river at this point to replace the ferry which had ceased operation in 1953.
Thames Path
The Thames Path crosses Temple Footbridge from the Buckinghamshire to Berkshire side. The path then crosses back across footbridges between the islands at Hurley where Hurley lock is located.
References
References
- (8 November 2012). "Environment Agency Dimensions of locks on the River Thames". Environmental Agency.
- Fred. S. Thacker ''The Thames Highway: Volume II Locks and Weirs'' 1920 - republished 1968 David & Charles
- (19 November 2012). "Environment Agency Distances between locks on the River Thames". Environmental Agency.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::