Shifford Lock
Telephone: 01367 870247
Postcode: OX18 2EJ
Shifford was one of the last locks to be built on the Thames. The original river meandered south in a loop to Duxford village. The beam pound lock was constructed on dry land, and it was only when it was finished in 1897 that the new river route (named Shifford Lock Cut) was excavated, incorporating the lock. Nowadays the old river is navigable only by canoe.
Lock keeper
Lock Keeper here is Keith Minns who lives in the Lock House with his wife Miranda and their children. 'This job is the best in the world. We often took river holidays, and it was from a very young age that I decided that I wanted to be a Lockkeeper,' he says.
Keith arrived here at the remote Shifford Lock in October 2004, having spent several years previously as District Relief Keeper covering the 20 locks between St John's and Day's, and then Relief Keeper at Northmoor, Shifford and Pinkhill locks.
An interesting fact
Shifford Lock did not get mains water, drainage or gas until the early 1990s.
Location and facilities
For a map and a list of all the facilities at the lock visit...
> Location and facilities at Shifford Lock