Temple Lock
Telephone: 01628 824333
Postcode: SL7 1SA
This lock is quite unique in that when a new replacement lock was built in 1890, the builders left the old one in place alongside it. The old lock was modified with channels to enable light craft, skiffs and punts to be transferred up and downstream.
There was a weir and flash lock here from around 1544 - this was updated to a timber pound lock by the Thames Navigation Commissioners in 1773. The lock was rebuilt in 1782 and it remained like this until 1890 when a new lock was built alongside. The first lock keeper's house was built in 1777. Today's house was built in 1959.
Lock keeper
The lock keeper here at Temple is David Hemingway, who with his wife Verna, has lived in the lock house for 16 years. David, 47, has been with the Environment Agency since September 1980.
On sunny summer days, his wife opens a tea and refreshments shop on the lockside. When they're not working, they spend time on their small aluminium boat, named 'Beautin'.
David loves the isolation and the knowledge that when he wants to be, he's cut off from the outside world. 'It's a little bit of paradise here, although it is only a few minutes from the bustling town of Marlow.'
An interesting fact
Nearby Bisham Abbey is famous today as a national sports centre, but it has an important place in English history. It was founded in the 12th century and was part of the divorce settlement for Henry VIII's fourth wife, Anne of Cleves.
Location and facilities
For a map and a list of all the facilities at the lock visit...
> Location and facilities at Temple Lock