Molesey Lock
Telephone: 020 8940 4482
Postcode: KT9 9AW
A stone's throw from Hampton Court Palace is Molesey Lock, built relatively recently in 1815 by the Corporation of London.
Before this lock was built, Hurst Park (on the south bank by the lock) was known as Moulsey Hurst. During droughts, the Thames was liable to become too shallow for river craft to pass through. The heavily laden barges were held up, sometimes for weeks at a time while the bargemen waited for the weather to turn. When it did, the higher water levels allowed the barges to float through.
The lock's 1905 rebuild was carried out to accommodate the long 200ft naval craft built at Platt's Eyot, just upstream of the lock. Between the 1800s and early 1900s, Molesey was probably the most popular lock on the Thames - on summer Sundays.
Lock keeper
Steve Bolam has been Lock Keeper here since May 2002, having started as a temporary district relief at Sunbury in 1998 and working his way up the ranks as a boatman and assistant Lock Keeper at Teddington before taking up residency at Molesey Lock.
It was when he was with friends who worked the locks that he thought he would like to be a lock keeper. One of his friends, an EA Inspector, suggested he apply for a job at Sunbury lock. He says: 'I enjoy the work, especially the people we meet, boat owners and the residents here on the island (Ash Island). There's always someone to talk to.'
An interesting fact
In 2005, the BBC's garden make-over programme, Ground Force, visited Molesey Lock's Steve Bolam and re-designed his garden.
Location and facilities
For a map and a list of all the facilities at the lock visit...
> Location and facilities at Molesey Lock