Maps
Left bank, tel: 01628 824333, length: 134'7", width: 17'11"
Temple Mill Island, right bank below lock
A modern housing development with residents' mooring.
1544: The winch in Bisham, in tenure of John Brynkehurst,
Temple Mills “under one roof”, and a fishery
extending from Temple Locke, were granted to
Thomas Persse.
1585: Bishop – “John Brinkys” owner of the locke
1700s:
Daniel Defoe, Tours –
... three very remarkable mills, called the Temple Mills, for making Bisham Abbey battery-work, viz. Brass Kettles and Pans &c. of all sorts. And these works were attended with no small success, till, in the year 1720, they made a Bubble of it; and then it ran the fate of all Bubbles at that time.
[ This was the time of the famous “South Sea Bubble”.
What I think Defoe means happened to the mills,
was that shares were sold, and talked up until their value
was far above what the business was actually worth.
And when this was suddenly realised the share
holders demanded their money, the business could not find the cash
and so it failed. ]
1773: Temple Pound Lock was built
1777: A small brick lock house was built
1782: The Pound lock had to be rebuilt
1785: There was still a rope ferry.
1793: Temple Mills were still working brass and copper.
1796: Complaint by Thomas Toovey, bargemaster of Oxford, and others –
... that they had frequently been refused to have the Lock and Bucks drawn in such a manner as that the Western flashes which they had brought at different times from above Oxford might pass in a body as they ought to carry the barges on below and that they expected that very night a large flash to come down for the purpose of carrying a great number of boats now lying for want of water between Marlow and Stanes.
Fred Thacker says that the commissioners took energetic action –
About twelve o’clock, the water being then at best, the Lock and floodgates of the Mills were drawn, and suffered the flash to pass in a proper manner; which had the desired effect of carrying the barges through the whole of the Commissioners’ jurisdiction.
[ There
was apparently much less water in the Thames than there is today.
Barges drawing more than a couple of feet could only proceed
if a “flash” (surge) of water was let
off from the weir above. This was not
quite as alarming as it sounds. Flashes
travelled down river at something under one mile per hour – and therefore it was
entirely feasible for a towed barge to stay with a flash all the way down the
river – if the keepers co-operated and opened their weirs at the right
moment. Since some of them were also
millers, or employed by millers, with a vested interest in keeping as much head
of water for their wheels as possible – there were obviously problems likely to
arise. ]
1803: A new ferry boat
1866: A wire was stretched across the weir
1872: Weir rebuilt
1874: The lock was described as “a conglomeration of rotten piles”
1875: The wire, being only two feet above the
water, caused an accident (does that imply someone trying to use the old
flashlock?) Col. Williams was requested to remove the wire.
1878: Breakwater built below lock.
1880:
Temple Lock, Henry Taunt -
Temple Lock, Henry Taunt, 1880
© Oxfordshire County Council Photographic Archive; HT3336
1890: The new lock was built alongside the old
one. Rollers were built on the site of the old lock
2004: In Temple Lock -
Temple Lock, 2004
The author manually closing the top
gates after an early morning start.
[ for directionally challenged Oxford punters that is the back, stern, till or deck you can see – I have just entered the lock! Notice my good long rope and “44 locks navigated” brass plaque. ]
Temple Lock Sign, 2006
Map:Temple Footbridge
Replacing Temple Ferry which operated until 1953
1999: Temple Footbridge -
Temple Footbridge 1999
Temple Footbridge, Doug Myers © 2005
Map: Harleyford Marina
Entrance Left bank above footbridge
1829: A Tour on the Banks of the Thames -
The appearance of things at this point is peculiarly interesting ; on whichsoever side the eye turns is beheld lovely groves,
romantic cottages, green lawns, blissful bowers;
while the water rolling gently on, softly murmuring as it flows, gives an agreeable finish to so excellent a picture.
The number, too, of ladies and gentlemen who are to be seen in their skiffs enjoying the gentle motion of their fairy vessels
as they are slowly wafted over the silver wave, or engaged in their punts, "studious the finny creatures to deceive", all these
tend to throw a charm over the scene more easily felt than described.
1881: George Leslie -
Temple House on the right [bank], beyond its many windows and copper roof has not much interest.
Map: Harleyford Manor
1811: The Thames -
Harleyford Manor, 1811
'Views on the Thames' by William-Bernard Cooke, George Cooke, Samuel Owen and Peter de Wint -
HARLEY-FORD HOUSE
This handsome mansion is the seat of Sir William Clayton, Bart, and is situated
on the banks of the Thames, near the borough town of Marlow, in the county of Buckingham.
It was erected in the year 1755, after a design, and in the peculiar style of architecture
which distinguishes the works of Sir Robert Taylor.
It occupies part, and but a small part, of the ancient manor-house, which was an edifice of very old date,
and resembled in form and appearance, as it equalled in antiquity, the venerable mansion of Hurly-house,
the seat of Mr. Wilcox, on the Berkshire side of the river;
so that the surrounding scenery must have lost somewhat of its picturesque effect,
from the change of such an object for the modern structure.
It is built of a red brick, and though not on a large plan, contains something more
than a mere commodious suite of apartments.
It was ever a leading and favourite circumstance in the edificial designs of Sir Robert Taylor,
and, indeed, it first brought him into notice, that, however deficient his elevation might be
in classical beauty and correctness, or in the lesser domestic arrangements of the houses which he built,
he never failed to give a succession of as spacious rooms on the principal floor,
as the quantity of square feet allotted him, or the expence to which he was limited, would admit.
He never spared his semi-circular sweeps to encrease the dimensions of the apartments;
so that the exterior outline of many of his houses have a singular though not irregular appearance.
The uncommon height also which he gave to what may be called the living rooms,
when raised upon a basement story, threw his building rather in a disproportionate manner into the air.
He was fond, of balls, but on what principles of taste or beauty, we do not understand, as decorations.
Harleyford-house is not without them, and possesses the peculiarities which have been just enumerated.
The house might certainly have been shaped with a much better adaption, than it possesses,
to the surrounding scenery, which is not without a considerable portion of beauty.
Zucarelli made a painting of it, of which there is an engraving by Major;
and the truth of our observation, would, we think, be confirmed by an examination
of that very pleasing picture.
The mansion is placed on an easy slope, rising from the margin of the river,
which comprehends a fine view in each direction, —
to the town of Marlow, with its spire and bridge, one way;
and to Bisham-Abbey, the seat of Mr. Vansittart, the other.
The grounds on the opposite side of the water form a pleasing acclivity,
varied with wood and agricultural Cultivation.
The house is sheltered from the north by a fine grove of beech and other trees.
The lawn is ornamented with the oak and chesnut.
The walks are extensive, and open to very charming views.
Several small buildings are dispersed through the grounds,
the principal of which is a temple, dedicated to Friendship,
and was a tribute of regard to the Clayton family, by the late Doctor Thomas, Bishop of Rochester,
who erected it.
1875: Harleyford Manor, Henry Taunt -
Harleyford Manor, Henry Taunt, 1875
© Oxfordshire County Council Photographic Archive; HT1748
Harleyford Manor, left bank below Hurley weir
[ That house I identify as Toad Hall. I have no reason other than its idyllic river
setting and squat self confidence.]
1881: George Leslie -
On the Bucks side, Harleyford House itself is ugly enough, though no house on the river has a sweeter situation ; here are cannon balls and fortifications (against whom intended I do not know), neatly kept landing-places, the usual trespassers’ boards, and some lovely backwaters, in one of which is a very fine boathouse, with the stream running through it, near which a beautiful plane tree overhangs the water, beneath which tree the late Emperor of the French was very fond of lying in his boat, when on a visit here in bygone days.
In 1871 Sir William
Clayton sought permission to lay a boom across the channel by Harleyford
House. It was quite rightly refused –
though the reference to the French Emperor above might mean there was more to
this request than selfishness.
1881: George Leslie -
All the backwaters about Harleyford are very pretty, and in one of them Mr. Fildes painted his boat picture, “Fair, quiet, sweet rest”.
'Fair, quiet, sweet rest' by Sir Samuel Luke Fildes RA
There are generally a good many artists at Hurley, and two or three house boats can usually be seen moored off the lock-house. Lady Place and Hurley Mill, with its fine old weathercock, afford a great variety of subjects for the artist. Some curious old fishponds inside the grounds of Lady place, the well-known wall with its old ivy on it, the dovecot, barns, and gateways, all testify to the grandeur and beauty of the house that has perished. Not the least picturesque features about here are the little wooden bridges, where the tow-path changes sides; long may they exist, as it is ten to one if they are ever repaired it will be with iron. The boat-house just above, which belongs to Sir Gilbert East, is not an ugly one, and in time it will look very much better, as it is chiefly the varnish which spoils it now.
Map
In Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the
Willows, Mole and Rat are out on the river at night time searching for baby
Otter who has gone missing. They are
approaching a weir with islands below it, rather like Hurley …
Rat, who was in the stern of the boat, while
Mole sculled, sat up suddenly and listened with a passionate intentness. Mole, who with gentle strokes was just
keeping the boat moving while he scanned the banks with care, looked at him
with curiosity.
"It's gone!" sighed the Rat, sinking
back in his seat again.
"So beautiful and strange and new! Since it
was to end so soon, I almost wish I had never heard it. For it has roused a longing in me that is
pain, and nothing seems worth while but just to hear that sound once more and
go on listening to it for ever.
No! There it is again!" he cried, alert once more.
Entranced, he was silent for a long space, spell-bound.
"Now it passes on and I begin to lose
it" he said presently.
"O, Mole! The beauty of it! The merry bubble and joy, the thin clear
happy call of the distant piping! Such
music I never dreamed of, and the call in it is stronger even than the music is
sweet! Row on, Mole, row! For the music and the call must be for
us!"
The Mole, greatly wondering, obeyed.
"I hear nothing myself", he said, "but the wind playing in the reeds
and rushes and osiers."
The Rat never answered, if indeed he
heard. Rapt, transported, trembling, he
was possessed in all his senses by this new divine thing that caught up his
helpless soul and swung and dandled it, a powerless but happy infant in a
strong sustaining grasp.
In silence Mole rowed steadily, and soon they
came to a point where the river divided, a long backwater branching off to one
side.
With a slight movement of his head
Rat, who had long dropped the rudder lines, directed the rower to take the
backwater. The creeping tide of light
gained and gained, and now they could see the colour of the flowers that gemmed
the water's edge.
"Clearer and nearer still," cried the Rat joyously.
"Now you must surely hear it! Ah - at last - I see you do!"
Breathless and transfixed the Mole stopped
rowing as the liquid run of that glad piping broke on him like a wave, caught
him up, and possessed him utterly. He
saw the tears on his comrade's cheek, and bowed his head and understood. For a space they hung there, brushed by the
purple loosestrife that fringed the bank;
then the clear imperious melody imposed its will on Mole, and
mechanically he bent to his oars again.
And the light grew steadily stronger, but no birds sang as they were
wont to do at the approach of dawn; and
but for the heavenly music all was marvellously still.
On either side of them, as they glided onwards,
the rich meadow-grass seemed that morning of a freshness and a greenness unsurpassable. Never had they noticed the roses so vivid,
the willow-herb so riotous, the meadow-sweet so odorous and pervading. Then the murmur of the approaching weir began
to hold the air, and they felt a consciousness that they were nearing the end,
whatever it might be, that surely awaited their expedition.
A wide half-circle of foam and glinting lights
and shining shoulders of green water, the great weir closed the backwater from
bank to bank, troubled all the quiet surface with twirling eddies and floating
foam-streaks, and deadened all other sounds with its solemn soothing
rumble. In midmost of the stream,
embraced in the weir's shimmering arm-spread, a small island lay anchored,
fringed close with willow and silver birch and alder. Reserved, shy, but full of significance, it
hid whatever it might hold behind a veil, keeping it till the hour should come,
and, with the hour, those who were called and chosen.
Slowly, but with no doubt or hesitation
whatever, and in something of a solemn expectancy, the two animals passed
through the broken, tumultuous water and moored their boat at the flowery
margin of the island. In silence they
landed, and pushed through the blossom and scented herbage and undergrowth that
led up to the level ground, till they stood on a little lawn of marvellous
green, set round with Nature's own orchard trees - crab-apple, wild cherry, and
sloe.
"This is the place of my song-dream, the
place the music played to me," whispered Rat, as if in a trance.
"Here in this holy place, here if
anywhere, surely we shall find Him!"
Then suddenly the Mole felt a great Awe fall
upon him, an awe that turned his muscles to water, bowed his head, and rooted
his feet to the ground. It was no panic
terror - indeed he felt wonderfully at peace and happy - but it was an awe that
smote and held him and, without seeing, he knew it could only mean that some
august Presence was very, very near.
With difficulty he turned to look for his friend, and saw him at his side
cowed, stricken, and trembling violently.
And still there was utter silence in the populous bird-haunted branches
around them; and still the light grew
and grew.
Perhaps he would never have dared to raise his
eyes, but that, though the piping was now hushed, the call and the summons
seemed still dominant and imperious. He
might not refuse, were death himself waiting to strike him instantly, once he
had looked with mortal eye on things rightly kept hidden.
Trembling he obeyed, and raised his humble
head; and then, in that utter clearness
of the imminent dawn, while Nature, flushed with fullness of incredible colour,
seemed to hold her breath for the event, he looked in the very eyes of the
Friend and Helper; saw the backward
sweep of the curved horns, gleaming in the growing daylight;
saw the stern, hooked nose between the kindly
eyes that were looking down on them humourously, while the bearded mouth broke
into a half smile at the corners; saw
the rippling muscles on the arm that lay across the broad chest, the long
supple hand still holding the pan-pipes only just fallen away from the parted
lips; saw the splendid curves of the
shaggy limbs disposed in majestic ease on the sward;
saw, last of all, nesting between his very
hooves, sleeping soundly in entire peace and contentment, the little, round,
podgy, childish form of the baby otter.
All this he saw, for one moment breathless and intense, vivid on the
morning sky;
and still as he looked, he lived;
and still, as he lived, he wondered.
"Rat!" he found breath to whisper, shaking.
"Are you afraid?"
"Afraid?" murmured the rat, his eyes
shining with unutterable love.
"Afraid! Of Him? O, never, never! And yet - and yet - O, Mole, I am afraid!"
Then the two animals, crouching to the earth,
bowed their heads and did worship.
[ If C S Lewis could portray Christ as
Aslan the Lion, then why not our God as Pan the Piper? This is not some betrayal of Christianity in
favour of an older religion - rather it is a question of the setting within
which the eternal truths are portrayed.
There is nothing but goodness and holiness and joy here.
Whatever your faith and lack of it, you know
and appreciate that.
Those who would introduce evil into such a story bear a great and terrible responsibility.
Kenneth Grahame has given us a story of
the experience of the numinous - the holy awe at the presence of the divine
- which is almost unique, as far as I am aware, in that it is so English and set
on the river. Those who use manually
propelled boats know something of the silence and beauty that led him to this
evocation of holiness. Cherish it!
And … there are now baby otters back on the Thames!
Which is all to say that the islands
below Hurley weir are a very special place. ]
I had for years instinctively identified
Hurley as the place to set the quotation above – but now I have come across
authority for it -
1893: The Rural Pan, An April Essay, Kenneth Grahame 1893 -
Meanwhile, nor launches nor lawns tempt him that pursueth the rural Pan. In the hushed recesses of Hurley backwater where the canoe may be paddled almost under the tumbling comb of the weir, he is to be looked for; there the god pipes with freest abandonment.
1909: Fred Thacker (writing about the Thames above Oxford in The Stripling Thames) -
And who knows, for eyes that can see and for ears that can hear, from what fringe of willows
or rushy island the shaggy god may not emerge to cut and fashion a reed
and blow thereon with mad delight some "unheard, sweeter melody"?
For neither is he dead, nor Syrinx; herebouts they still inhabit
as surely as anywhere in England.
The reeds that rustle in the breeze
Still whisper of the god's pursuit
Slim Syrinx startled turns and flees
Great Pan has shrilled his oaten flute!
1906: G.E.Mitton -
Certain places are frequently associated with
certain seasons of the year, and to my mind at Hurley it is always summer. The
smell of the new mown hay on the long island between the lock channel and part
of the main stream, the faint, delicate scent of dog-roses, and all the other
scents that load the summer air, seem to linger for ever in this sheltered
place.
The backwater running up on the other side of this island to the weir is
a very enticing one. Thirsty plants dip their pretty heads to drink of the
water that comes swirling from the weir like frosted glass, and trees of all
sorts-ash, elm, horse-chestnut, and the ubiquitous willows and poplars-lean
over the water in crooked elbows, giving a sweet shade and a delicious
coolness.
The weir is a long one, broken by islands into three parts. Another
long island is parallel to the first one. Indeed, Hurley is a complicated
place, and one that is ever new.
1793: Temple and Harleyford, Boydell taken from somewhere near Danesfield House (Hotel) -
Temple & Harleford. June 1, 1793. J.
Farington R.A. delt. J.C. Stadler sculpt.
(Published) by J. & J. Boydell, Shakespeare Gally. Pall Mall & (No. 90)
Cheapside (London).
The Hurley Lock Cut is on the right bank
Map: Silly Bridge - Hurley Lock Cut Lower Footbridge
1834: Timber footbridge rebuilt (there was probably a
swing bridge here before that)
1880:
Silly Bridge, Henry Taunt -
Silly Bridge, Henry Taunt, 1880
© Oxfordshire County Council Photographic Archive; HT2803
Hurley Backwater, Mortimer Menpes, 1906
1906: G.E.Mitton -
In order to reach the lock one passes under a high wooden foot-bridge, “the marrow” to one further up. On the lock island is a large red-brick mill-house, near which stand one or two evergreens; while on an apple tree in the lock-keeper's garden is a fine growth of mistletoe, of which he is justly proud.
2005: Hurley Lock Cut Lower Footbridge
Hurley Lock Cut Lower Footbridge, Doug Myers © 2005
Map: Freebody’s Boatyard
Right bank on cut below lock 01628 824382 -
Freebody's boatyard is heaven -
heaven that is for anyone who appreciates mahogany and brass and steam and has
lots and lots of money - but we can all dream … This is the centre of all the
steam and antique electric boats on the Thames.
You may see apparently wrecked and decrepit
boats here waiting for restoration.
Nothing is beyond help if you have the money.
The final product is magnificent.
1998: The local paper had an article on Freebody's -
In Hurley, Peter Freebody, 68, is the latest in
a long line of boatbuilders and can trace his family working on the Thames
back to 1257. His world famous workshop in Mill Lane employs
14 people and builds and restores boats using traditional wood. His cheapest
boats cost around £10,000. Mr Freebody has sent boats all over Britain
and the world. But it is very much a family trade. Mr Freebody said:
“I was told I was going to be a boatbuilder, my grandmother told me.
I went to Gordon Road School in Maidenhead, and left in 1949
when my grandfather got me an apprenticeship in Cookham Dean.
It was completely in my genes. I have been working here since I was six when I
used to come in and help out.”
Mr Freebody uses traditional methods to build
boats, and says little has changed in 40 years.
[ I punted against Peter Freebody in a regatta in perhaps 1980? - but I was too nervous and did not allow for the sticky clay on my side of the course - and so delighted the crowd by losing my pole - why do people so love to see a punter come to grief? ]
Upstream to HURLEY LOCK
Estuary
PLA
QEII Br
Barrier
Tower Br
Custom Ho
London Br
; Frost Fairs
Cannon St Rb
The Great Stink
Southwark Br
Millenium Br
Blackfriars Rb
Blackfriars Br
Waterloo Br
Charing Cross Rb
Westminster Br
Lambeth Br
Vauxhall Br
Victoria Rb
Chelsea Br
Albert Br
Battersea Br
Battersea Rb
Wandsworth Br
Fulham Rb
Putney Br
Hammersmith Br
Barnes Rb
Chiswick Br
Kew Rb
Kew Br
RICHMOND
Twickenham Br
Richmond Rb
Richmond Br
TEDDINGTON
Kingston Rb
Kingston Br
Ditton Slip
Hampton Br
MOLESEY
SUNBURY
Walton Br
Desborough Cut
SHEPPERTON
Chertsey Br
CHERTSEY
M3 Br
Laleham Slip
PENTON HOOK
Staines Rb
Staines Br
Runnymede Br
BELL WEIR
Magna Carta Is
OLD WINDSOR
Albert Br
Datchet
Victoria Br
Black Potts Rb
ROMNEY
Eton
Windsor Br
Windsor Rb
Windsor Slip
Elizabeth Br
BOVENEY
Dorney Lake
York Cut
Summerleaze Fb
MonkeyIsland
New Thames Br
BRAY
Bray Slip
Maidenhead Rb
Maidenhead Br
Below Boulters
BOULTERS
Cliveden
Hedsor
COOKHAM
Cookham Slip
Cookham Br
BourneEnd RFb
Quarry Woods
A404 Br
MARLOW
Marlow Br
Bisham
TEMPLE
HURLEY
Medmenham
Culham Ct
Aston Slip
HAMBLEDEN
Temple Is
Fawley Ct
Remenham
Regatta
Phyllis Ct
Henley Slip
Leander
Red Lion
Henley Br
Angel on Br
Landing
Hobbs Boatyard
Hobbs Slipway
MARSH
Hennerton
Bolney
Wargrave
Shiplake Rb
R.Loddon
SHIPLAKE
Sonning Br
SONNING
Dreadnought
K&A Canal
CAVERSHAM
Reading Br
Caversham Br
Reading Slip
Purley
MAPLEDURHAM
Hardwick Ho
Whitchurch Br
WHITCHURCH
Hartswood Reach
Gatehampton Rb
Goring Gap
Goring Br
GORING
Swan
CLEEVE
Moulsford
Moulsford Rb
Papist Way Slip
Winterbrook Br
Wallingford Br
BENSON
Shillingford Br
R.Thame
DAYS
Burcot
Clifton Hampden
Clifton Church
Clifton H Br
Barley Mow
Long Wittenham
CLIFTON
Appleford Rb
Sutton Courtenay
Sutton Br
CULHAM
Culham Cut Fb
Abingdon Slip
Abingdon
Abingdon Br
ABINGDON
Nuneham Rb
Nuneham
Nuneham Park
Radley Boats
SANDFORD
Rose Island
Kennington Rb
Isis Br
Iffley Mill
IFFLEY
Oxford Rowing
Isis
Donnington Br
Riverside Slip
Boathouses
Punting
Lower Cherwell
Upper Cherwell
Islip
Head of River
Salters Steamers
Folly Br
Bacons Folly
Oxford Fb
Osney Fb
Weir stream
Osney Rb
Bullstake Stream
Osney Marina
OSNEY
Osney Br
Four Rivers
OLD RIVER
CANAL
Medley Weir Site
Medley Fb
Bossoms
Perch
Trout
GODSTOW
Godstow Nunnery
Godstow Br
Thames Br
KINGS
River Evenlode
EYNSHAM
Swinford Br
Oxford Cruisers
PINKHILL
Farmoor
Stanton Harcourt
Bablock Slip
Arks Weir Site
NORTHMOOR
Harts Fb
//Rose Revived
Newbridge
//Maybush
River Windrush
below Shifford
SHIFFORD
Shifford Fb
Tenfoot Fb
Trout Inn
Tadpole Br
RUSHEY
Old Mans Fb
RADCOT
Radcot Cradle Fb
Swan Inn
Radcot New Br
Radcot Old Br
GRAFTON
Eaton Hastings
Kelmscott
Eaton Fb
BUSCOT
Bloomers Hole Fb
Trout Inn
St Johns Br
ST JOHNS
Halfpenny Br
Marina Slip
LIMIT
Inglesham
Hannington Br
Kempsford
Castle Eaton Br
Marston Meysey
A419 Br
Cricklade
SOURCE?
THAMES HEAD
SEVEN SPRINGS