Sonning to Caversham, Environment Agency 'Out and About' Guide
Sonning to Shiplake, Environment Agency 'Out and About' Guide
Maps
Right bank, length: 156'1", width: 17'11"
1580: Bishop - Sonning Weir belongs to Michael Blunte
1584: Mention of the “Weare Plot” and “Locke-heise”
1632: John Taylor – complained the sill of the flash weir is too high
1721: Lock, bucks, wares and fishery -
There are three water Wheeles & three Mills, besides one Mill which is used for grinding of course stuff when one of the other Mills doth not go, which belongs to Sonning Mills. But the said ffour mills do not nor can’t go together. There is but one entire stream above the head of the mills but about ffour or ffive yards above the Mills there is an arrow head about ffour or ffive yards length in order to carry the water the sharper through the thoroughes of the mills for the service of two of these wheels, & from the said Arrow head the stream continues divided until it meets again below the way and eyotts leading to the mills which is about fforty or ffifty yards below the taile of the said mill. The charge of keeping the engines and floodgates in repair is stated at fully £60 annually.
1770: Act to establish Eight Pound Locks of which this was the highest.
1773: Pound Lock opened.
1774: Lock house built.
1780: Lock “Going into decay” (It was built of fir)
1787: Pound Lock rebuilt in oak
1797: Mill rebuilt at a cost of £1,178-8s.-6¾d.
1827: Repairs to Pound Lock – during the stoppage the old flash lock was used.
1845: James Sadler, bee keeper and poet, appointed lock keeper -
Is there a spot more lovely than the rest,
By art improved, by nature truly blest?
A noble river at its base is running,
It is a little village known as Sonning.
1868: Lock rebuilt
1880:
Sonning Lock, Henry Taunt -
Sonning Lock, Henry Taunt, 1880
© Oxfordshire County Council Photographic Archive; HT2962
1881: George Leslie –
[Sonning] lock itself is a nice new one, much
celebrated for its roses and bees, which are both cultivated and attended to by
Mr. Sadler the lock-keeper;
this old gentleman is a great character on the river, and
possesses a variety of accomplishments.
He has paid great attention to the roses in his garden, having budded
a number of the finest varieties, some of which may
be seen blowing amongst the withies along the river banks, budded on to the
original wild-rose stems wherever they happen to grow.
Mr. Sadler is likewise a great bee-master and
maker of bee-hives of a very ornamental character.
Besides being known as a rose grower and
bee-master, he lays claim to celebrity as a poet, having written several
Georgic strains on the care and management of bees and roses, and other verses
which he calls “Summer Recreations”, one of which, No. 5, contains a capital
description of a trip down the Thames from Oxford to Windsor.
This commences with a sentiment with which I
most cordially agree:-
For strange and novel beauties
So widely people roam,
And often miss the loveliest spots
That lie about their home.
We aim not to disparage
Or weaken other claims,
But where can fairer scenes be found
Than on the river Thames?”
[ Rhyme alert! But if "Sonning" rhymes with "running" just maybe "Thames" can rhyme with "claims" ? ]
He then goes on to describe the various places of interest passed on the trip, some of the descriptions of which are singularly neat and appropriate, as for instance that on Reading:-
From hence the town of Reading
Is just one field across,
‘Mongst other things so widely known
For biscuits, seeds, and sauce.”
[ And perhaps he really did pronounce "sauce" as "soss" (or possibly "across" as "acrorce") ! ]
1898/9: Weirs reconstructed
1890: Above Sonning Lock, Francis Frith -
1890: Above Sonning Lock, Francis Frith
1905: Lock rebuilt
1916: New Lock House
1917: Below Sonning Lock, Francis Frith -
1917: Below Sonning Lock, Francis Frith
1955: Sonning Lock, Francis Frith -
1955: Sonning Lock, Francis Frith
1999:-
Alaska in Sonning Lock © John Eade
Alaska was built in 1883 by Horsham & Co. of Bourne End, Buckinghamshire and she was
subsequently purchased in 1887 from W.H. Barbrook of Walton-on-Thames for whom she had been built.
Her new owners were the Oxford firm of Salter Brothers, who used her on the weekly return
service from Oxford to Kingston and back. Passengers spent the day on the boat, enjoying the
delightful scenery along the journey, and stayed ashore in different hotels each night.
In later years Alaska was used as a private party boat at Oxford.
Alaska served in the wartime Thames River Patrol, was then sold in 1942 for service further
down the river with Joseph Mears and was laid up shortly afterwards.
After withdrawal, Alaska is reputed to have been poled from Kingston to Oxford by a new owner.
She settled in shallow water, was decked over and used as a boat hire pontoon.
In 1974 she was rediscovered and identified by boat historians, ex-crew members and Lloyds.
After being brought to a boatyard at Hurley, further research located her original engine at
Kingston. Boat and engine were restored over a period of several years and a new boiler provided.
In 1999, Alaska was acquired by Susanne & David Williams and leased to Thames Steamers for
Thames charter work.
From 2006, Alaska is owned and operated by her skipper Peter Green.
(Dreadnought Reach)
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