Richmond Lock and Footbridge

Coordinates: 51°27′44″N 0°19′02″W / 51.46222°N 0.31722°W / 51.46222; -0.31722
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Richmond Lock
Richmond Lock and Footbridge, viewed from near Isleworth, London
Map
51°27′44″N 0°19′02″W / 51.46222°N 0.31722°W / 51.46222; -0.31722
Listed Building – Grade II*
Official nameRichmond Footbridge, Lock and Sluices
Designated25 May 1983
Reference no.1250044
WaterwayRiver Thames
CountyGreater London
Maintained byPort of London Authority
First built1894
Length250 feet (76.2 m)
Width26 feet 8 inches (8.1 m)
FallHalf tide lock (10 feet (3 m))
Above sea level2 feet (0.61 m) (maximal low tide below lock) to greater than 20 feet (6.1 m) (usual maximal high tide above lock)
Richmond Lock
— the Richmond & Twickenham reach of the Tideway
Legend
 River Thames: Kingston reach
Teddington Weir
Teddington Lock Footbridges
moorings
rollers
Skiff Lock
Launch Lock
Barge Lock
Obelisk marking PLA - EA powers' boundary
Ham Lake, Ham Lands
Swan Island, Twickenham
Radnor House School
Eel Pie Island: footbridge
hard moorings for deep-draft ferries
Ham House and Gardens
Marble Hill House and Gardens
Glover's Island
Star and Garter mansion
and Richmond Hill, London
A305 Richmond Bridge
Skiff, gig moorings, raised pontoon
for deep vessels
 Corporation Island
Richmond Railway Bridge
A316 Twickenham Bridge
Richmond Lock and Footbridge
N.B. barrage lifted near and at high tide
 River Thames

Richmond Lock and Footbridge is a

GMT or after 21:30 when BST
is in use. At high tide the sluice gates are raised and partly hidden behind metal arches forming twin footbridges.

It was built to maintain the lowest-lying head of water of the forty-five navigable reaches of the Thames above the rest of the Tideway. Below the structure for a few miles, at low tide, the navigable channel is narrow and restricts access for vessels with the greatest draft. The next major point of mooring below the lock is, accordingly, at Brentford Dock.

Description

The chief engineer who designed the core of the structure, F.G.M. Stoney, took out seven patents relating to sluices between 1873 and 1894.[1] Hunt and Steward, surveyors, designed the lockhouses.[1] Ransomes & Rapier of Ipswich designed the ironwork including the arches.[1] The structure was built between 1891 and 1894.

The structures

The superstructure was built horizontally in three sections, the middle section forms the bulk and has, itself, three

spans
.

The lock is the first section, topped by the first of five ornate metal arches which spread over the other sections. The middle section has mechanically rising-to-parapet-height sluice gates forming sheets of metals above and close to the water line which is created by these structures when lowered. The final section is a set of two facing ramps in part with canoe/boat rollers.

Purpose

The lock and barrages were installed in 1894 by the Thames Conservancy to maintain a broad navigable depth of water upstream of Richmond. The rising barrage ensures upstream at least 1.72 metres (5 ft 8 in) of water is in the standard navigation channel (away from banks) to the next lock, Teddington, and an annual draw-off (an all-tides lifting of the sluice gates) takes place to enable dredging to keep the advertised 1.72 metres (5 ft 8 in) minimum channel depth.[2][3][4][5]

Ownership and operation

In 1908 an act[

which?] transferred responsibility for all points of the river downstream of a point 350 yards (320 m) below Teddington Lock to the Port of London Authority thereby including this structure.[6]

Reasons for construction

Richmond Footbridge Sluices, Lock and Slipway Act 1890
Act of Parliament
Port of London Act 1968
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

When the

53 & 54 Vict.
c. ccxxiv). This is among a small minority of Thames locks not to have been built around an island or islands (aits).

Richmond Footbridge

Details of design

Detail of arches showing thousands of bricks at core of tall, great piers and forming most of the structure

A barge lock was constructed against the north-east ("

balustrade is above the arches finished with black lanterns, metal pillars and simple finials. The piers house the barriers and the arches support a pair of horizontal decks (walkways). Against the opposite bank is a gently elevated slipway accessed from upstream and downstream parts of the river. As a superstructure was required to hold the suspended barriers, authorities agreed to build this in the form of two footbridges.[8][9]
The bridge was formally opened on 19 May 1894 by the then Duke of York (who later became King
George V), having cost £61,000 (equivalent to £7,100,000 in 2021).[1]

Richmond Lock is a half-tide lock and (half-tide) barrage which incorporates a public footbridge. The footbridge crosses the conventional lock, the barrages and the slipway, which comprises three vertical steel sluice gates suspended from the footbridge structure. Each sluice gate weighs 32 tons, is 66 feet (20 m) in width and 12 feet (3.7 m) in depth. The lock permits passage of vessels up to 250 feet (76 m) long by 26 feet 8 inches wide.

For about two hours each side of the published time of

high tide the three sluice gates are raised into the footbridge supports above, and river traffic can pass through the barrage unimpeded. For the rest of the tidal cycle sluice gates are lowered – ships and boats must use the lock alongside the barrage at a cost of £10 per boat
. Rowing boats and kayaks can use the roller solid slipways which reach an apex above the height of the barrages. The maximum fall of the lock is 10 feet (3.0 m).

Historic operation

The sluice gates were manually operated by lock keepers, who lived in housing mostly contained under the pedestrian steps and landing on both banks.[1]

From the date of the bridge's opening until some time during

pound).[10] The toll booths and the remains of the turnstile housings remain. Since two unconnected footbridges exist, one either side of the sluice-gate-holding brickwork and mechanisms, four toll booths and turnstiles had to be provided to collect the tolls.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Historic England (25 May 1983). "Richmond Footbridge, Lock and Sluices (1250044)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 November 2008.
  2. ^ "The River Thames – Lock Details". www.the-river-thames.co.uk. Retrieved 31 October 2007.
  3. ^ "Richmond Lock and Weir". Port of London Authority. Retrieved 31 October 2007.
  4. ^ "Lock Mechanism, Richmond Lock, London". The Victorian Web. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Richmond Lock 2003". Christine Northeast. Retrieved 31 October 2007.
  6. ^ Thacker, Fred S. The Thames Highway: Volume 1 General History David & Charles 1968
  7. ^ "Richmond Lock and weir draw-off 2017" (PDF). Port of London Authority. 1 June 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  8. ^ "Richmond Lock". London Bridges. Just Tour Limited. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  9. ^ Cooper, John. "Richmond Footbridge". PBase.com. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  10. ISBN 9781857942293
    .

Sources
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Richmond Lock and Footbridge.

External links

Next bridge upstream River Thames Next bridge downstream
Twickenham Bridge Richmond Lock and Footbridge
Grid reference TQ170751		 Kew Bridge
Next lock upstream River Thames Next lock downstream
Teddington Lock Richmond Lock and Footbridge
Grid reference TQ170751		 none
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richmond_Lock_and_Footbridge&oldid=1214987459"