King's Lock
Interactive map of King's Lock
Waterway	River Thames
County	Oxfordshire
Maintained by	Environment Agency
Operation	Manual
First built	1928
Length	34.46 m (113 ft 1 in)[1]
Width	4.97 m (16 ft 4 in)[1]
Fall	0.77 m (2 ft 6 in)[1]
Above sea level	192 feet
Distance to Teddington Lock	97 miles

v t e King's Lock
Legend
River Thames Eynsham Lock & weir Wharf Stream River Evenlode Seacourt Stream Oxford Canal Dukes Lock (on Dukes Cut) railway bridge A40 road bridge King's Lock weir weir and old mill A34 road bridges Godstow Bridge weir weir Godstow Lock Seacourt Stream (ToOsney Lock) River Thames

King's Lock is alock on theRiver Thames in England. It is in open country about 1 km north ofGodstow, to the north ofOxford, Oxfordshire, at grid reference SP478102, on the southern bank of the river. The lock was one of the last pound locks built on the Thames, built by theThames Conservancy in 1928 to replace the formerflash lock. It has the smallest fall of any lock on the river, 0.77 m (2 ft 6 in).

The lock is on the southern side of a large island. On the opposite side of the river is the start of the Wolvercote Mill Stream leading toDuke's Cut, which connects the Thames to theOxford Canal. The Mill Stream rejoins the Thames belowGodstow Lock. King's Weir is on the other side of the island below Duke's Cut. There is a small visitor information centre at the lock.

There was a weir recorded at King's as far back as the 16th century. A pound lock was first proposed in 1817, but never built. A further proposal was made in 1845. The weir had a history of complaints about the water level and lack of attendance for theflash lock. Around 1872 a boatslide was built for the portage of small boats.^[2] The weir was rebuilt in 1885 but its replacement by a pound lock did not happen until 1928.

The lock can be reached down a long track along the right bank of the river from the Godstow road just where it passes under the A34 Oxford by-pass.There is a public footpath across the lock and weir.

Just upstream of the lock, the Thames reaches its northernmost point. About 1 km or half a mile upstream, on the southern bank, theSeacourt Stream separates off; this rejoins the Thames just south of the city centre, atKennington Railway Bridge.

Looking further upstream, the Thames runs through open country. About 2 km upstream, theRiver Evenlode joins from the northern side. Another 1 km upstream is theCassington Cut, now a branch of the Evenlode. A further 1 km upstream, Wharf Stream also joins on the same side just before Eynsham Lock.

TheThames Path follows the southern bank to Eynsham Lock.

• Locks on the River Thames

51°47′21″N1°18′25″W / 51.78905°N 1.3069°W /51.78905; -1.3069

• Locks on the River Thames
• Locks of Oxfordshire

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