Romney Lock
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| Romney Lock | |
|---|---|
 Romney Lock from downstream | |
 | |
| Waterway | River Thames |
| County | Berkshire |
| Maintained by | Environment Agency |
| Operation | Hydraulic |
| First built | 1798 |
| Latest built | 1980 |
| Length | 78.50 m (257 ft 7 in) [1] |
| Width | 7.45 m (24 ft 5 in)[1] |
| Fall | 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in)[1] |
| Above sea level | 60 feet (18 m) |
| Distance to Teddington Lock | 23 miles (37 km) |
| Power is available out of hours | |
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Romney Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England near Windsor and Eton, about half a mile downstream of Windsor Bridge. It is on the Windsor side of the river next to a boatyard and adjoins Romney Island, a long strip-shaped ait in the middle of the river. The first lock was built by the Thames Navigation Commission in 1798.
The weir is some distance upstream near the end of Romney Island and runs across the river to Cutlers Ait. A small 200kW hydroelectric generation station was installed in 2011 to supply electricity to Windsor Castle.[2][3]
The first proposal for a pound lock was in 1774 which was to be further upstream at Firework Ait by Windsor Bridge. However nothing happened until the lock was opened on the present site in 1797, built of oak. There was no weir at the site previously and because of protests, none was built at that time. Barges were still liable to pay the lock fee even if they used the other channel. By the following year a weir was found to be indispensable, and so it was built. The lock was rebuilt by the Thames Conservancy in 1869 and the weir was rebuilt further upstream at the beginning of the 20th century.[4] The lock was rebuilt again in 1979/80.
Access to the lock
The lock can be reached from Windsor down a long single track road which starts from the car park behind Windsor and Eton Riverside railway station.
