Camden Lock

Hampstead Road Lock No 1
(Camden Lock)

The twin locks
Waterway Regent's Canal
County Camden
Greater London
Maintained by British Waterways
Operation Manual
Fall 8 feet (2.4 m)
Distance to
Limehouse Basin
6.17 miles (9.9 km)
Distance to
Paddington Basin
2.77 miles (4.5 km)
Coordinates 51°32′28″N 0°08′45″W / 51.5411°N 0.1457°W / 51.5411; -0.1457Coordinates: 51°32′28″N 0°08′45″W / 51.5411°N 0.1457°W / 51.5411; -0.1457

Camden Lock, or Hampstead Road Locks is a twin manually operated lock on the Regent's Canal in Camden Town, London Borough of Camden. The twin locks together are "Hampstead Road Lock 1"; each bears a sign so marked. Hawley Lock and Kentish Town Lock are a short distance away to the east; there are no nearby locks to the west.[1]

History

The locks were constructed between 1818 and 1820 by James Morgan, with John Nash, supervising engineer. It is the only twin-lock remaining on the Canal, the remainder having been modified to single lock operation. The current locks are Grade II listed and replaced an innovative, but unsuccessful, hydropneumatic lock designed by William Congreve in an attempt to conserve water.

The lock is to the west of the Camden High Street road bridge. The yard and former warehouses, an area known as Camden Lock, are on the north side of the canal, at the junction with Chalk Farm Road. This area is adjacent to a canal basin and holds Camden Lock Market, one of the group of markets often called collectively Camden Market. It is a busy market popular with visitors, with music venues, cafes and canal towpath walks. There is a large cut-steel sculpture by English artist Edward Dutkiewicz in the square beside the lock.

In November 2013, the locks were fully drained for maintenance; the public were invited for the weekend of the 16th and 17th of that month to see the infrastructure for themselves. [2]

Cultural references

A warm summer day at the Camden Lock
Camden Lock (north lock).

Transport

The Regent's Canal waterbus service

A regular waterbus service operates from Camden, heading westwards around Regent's Park, calling at London Zoo and on towards Little Venice.

Preceding station   London Waterbus Company   Following station
[[London Zoo station|London Zoo]]
[[]]Terminus


The tow path is open to pedestrians and cyclists.

The nearest London Underground station is Camden Town on the Northern line. The nearest London Overground station is Camden Road station.

References

  1. "In Your Area London". Canal & River Trust. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  2. "Camden Lock drained and opened to public before restoration". BBC News. 16 November 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2013.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Camden Lock.
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