| Richmond Lock | |
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 Interactive map of Richmond Lock | |
| 51°27′44″N0°19′02″W / 51.46222°N 0.31722°W /51.46222; -0.31722 | |
Listed Building – Grade II* | |
| Official name | Richmond Footbridge, Lock and Sluices |
| Designated | 25 May 1983 |
| Reference no. | 1250044 |
| Waterway | River Thames |
| County | Greater London |
| Maintained by | Port of London Authority |
| First built | 1894 |
| Length | 250feet (76.2 m) |
| Width | 26 feet 8 inches (8.1 m) |
| Fall | Half tide lock (10 feet (3 m)) |
| Above sea level | 2 feet (0.61 m) (maximal low tide below lock) to greater than 20 feet (6.1 m) (usual maximal high tide above lock) |
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Richmond Lock and Footbridge is alock, rising and fallinglow-tide barrage integrating controlled sluices and pair ofpedestrianbridges on theRiver Thames in southwestLondon, England, and is a Grade II*listed structure.[1] It is the furthest downstream of the forty-five Thames locks and the only one owned and operated by thePort of London Authority. It was opened in 1894 and is north-west of the centre ofRichmond in a semi-urban part of southwest London. Downstream areSyon Park andKew Gardens on opposite banks. It connects the promenade at Richmond with the neighbouring district ofSt. Margarets on the west bank during the day and is closed at night to pedestrians – after 19:30GMT or after 21:30 whenBST 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 theforty-five navigable reaches of the Thames above the rest of theTideway. Below the structure for a few miles, at low tide, the navigable channel is narrow and restricts access for vessels with the greatestdraft. The next major point of mooring below the lock is, accordingly, atBrentford Dock.
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 ofIpswich designed the ironwork including the arches.[1] The structure was built between 1891 and 1894.
The superstructure was built horizontally in three sections, the middle section forms the bulk and has, itself, threespans.
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.
The lock and barrages were installed in 1894 by theThames 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 enabledredging to keep the advertised 1.72 metres (5 ft 8 in) minimum channel depth.[2][3][4][5]
ThePort of London Act 1908 (8 Edw. 7. c. 68) transferred responsibility for all points of the river downstream of a point 350 yards (320 m) belowTeddington Lock to thePort of London Authority thereby including this structure.[6]
| Richmond Footbridge Sluices, Lock and Slipway Act 1890[a] | |
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| Act of Parliament | |
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| Long title | An Act to authorise the construction of a Footbridge with removable Sluices and a Lock and Slipway on the River Thames in the parishes of Richmond and Isleworth and for other purposes. |
| Citation | 53 & 54 Vict. c. ccxxiv |
| Territorial extent | United Kingdom |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 14 August 1890 |
| Commencement | 14 August 1890[b] |
| Repealed | 26 July 1968 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Port of London Act 1968 |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
When theLondon Bridge of 1209 to 1831 was demolished the removal of its bulky and elaborate piers resulted in the tides upstream returning to the rapid flows as they were downstream and before its forming of a near-barrier. That bridge was particularlydam-like when it housed 200 buildings in the Tudor period and in depictions at the time of theGreat Fire of London which spared the bridge. This change, together with dredging of the lower river (lowest reaches) and construction of Teddington Lock and weir, meant that for hours of each day the Thames at Richmond, Twickenham, Ham, Petersham and northern Teddington, was a shallow watercourse running past great mud and shingle banks. The exception was after weeks of above-average rainfall when the river is known asin spate however such outflow hinders navigation upstream.[7] By the late 19th century water extraction above Teddington had increased tofour of five of the city's main waterworks and after light or normal rainfall more barges found it impossible to navigate the reach during and for hours around the two low tides each day. In 1890, after many years of petitioning, an act of Parliament was enacted to build the half-lock and weir, theRichmond Footbridge Sluices, Lock and Slipway Act 1890 (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).
A barge lock was constructed against the north-east ("Surrey") side. This is followed by four immense brickpiers protected by largeashlar stonecutwaters (starlings). These in turn support relatively thin stonedressings reaching to the metal parapet level, carved in a classical style withreredos andcornices, supporting painted metal arches. A matching-colourbalustrade is above the arches finished with black lanterns, metal pillars and simplefinials. The piers house the barriers and the arches support a pair of horizontaldecks (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 KingGeorge V), having cost £61,000 (equivalent to £8,400,000 in 2023).[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 incheswide.
For about two hours each side of the published time ofhigh 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[update]. 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).
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 duringWorld War II, pedestrians were charged a toll ofone (old) penny, i.e.1⁄240 of apound. However, sightseers who went onto the bridge and left from the same side had to pay tuppence (two old pence,1⁄120 of apound).[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]
| Next bridge upstream | River Thames | Next bridge downstream |
| Twickenham Bridge | Richmond Lock and Footbridge Grid referenceTQ170751 | Kew Bridge |
| Next lock upstream | River Thames | Next lock downstream |
| Teddington Lock | Richmond Lock and Footbridge Grid referenceTQ170751 | none |
