Old Ford Lock

Old Ford Lock
	Old Ford Lock, Lee Navigation
Waterway	River Lee Navigation
County	Tower Hamlets; Greater London
Maintained by	Canal & River Trust
Operation	Mechanical/Manual
Length	88 feet (27 m)
Width	19 feet 6 inches (5.9 m)
Fall	9 feet 5 inches (2.9 m)
Distance to ; Bow Creek	1.25 miles (2 km)
Distance to ; Hertford Castle Weir	26.75 miles (43 km)
Coordinates	51°32′17″N 0°01′15″W

Old Ford Lock is a paired lock and weir on the River Lee Navigation, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, England. It is at Fish Island in Old Ford and takes it namesake from after the natural ford which used to exist in the area crossing the uncanalised River Lea.

Tidal section

Old Ford Lock marks the start of the Hackney Cut – an artificial channel built in the 18th century to cut off a large loop in the natural channel. The natural river rejoins the Navigation at this point – below the lock, having travelled 2 miles (3.2 km) from the Middlesex Filter Beds Weir, just below Lea Bridge; and passing to the east of the Navigation.

The Old River Lea (the natural channel), is joined by the River Lee Flood Relief Channel, and Dagenham Brook before connecting to the Bow Back Rivers, which join the tidal Bow Creek. Before the 1930s, there were tide gates installed on this channel to only permit boats to pass when the level in the (at that time) semi-tidal Lee Navigation and tidal Old River were the same. After the 1930s flood works on the Bow Back Rivers, and construction of the Carpenter's Road and Marshgate Lane locks, these – and the Pond Lane Flood Gates were redundant as this section was controlled by the new locks – and the (then) tidal lock at Bow Locks.

In 2000, Bow Locks were modified to keep the tide out; this reduced silting in this section of the canal – and made the water level completely controlled.

The Big Breakfast

For ten years, the neighbouring old Lock-keeper's cottages were used for television filming of The Big Breakfast, Channel 4's early morning show. The three cottages, which were converted into a single house for the show, have since been compulsorily purchased as part of the Olympic Stadium development plans for the 2012 Summer Olympics. As of 2017, the cottages have remained intact despite their 200-metre proximity to the stadium.[1]

On the opposite bank from the lock-keeper's cottages was the former factory of Percy Dalton, a London peanut processor, notable for their production of roasted nuts in their shells. The company began at this site, in Dace Road, in the 1930s, but is now based in Suffolk.

Breaking and Entering

An old foundry next to the "Big Breakfast" house was used as the main movie location for Anthony Minghella's film Breaking and Entering, starring Jude Law and Juliette Binoche.

Public access

Pedestrian and cycle access via the towpath which forms part of the Lea Valley Walk.

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References

Big Breakfast house to be sold 6 July 2002 (BBC News) Retrieved 15 July 2008

External links

Old Ford Locks No 19 (Canalplan AC Gazetteer)
Old Ford Locks - a history

Next lock upstream	River Lee Navigation	Next lock downstream
Pond Lane Flood Gates 1.7 miles	Old Ford Lock Grid reference: TQ372840	Bow Locks 1.25 miles

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[1] Big Breakfast house to be sold 6 July 2002 (BBC News) Retrieved 15 July 2008

Locks and Weirs on the River Lea, England
Counties	Bedfordshire Hertfordshire Essex Greater London
Locks	Hertford Lock Ware Lock Hardmead Lock Stanstead Lock Feildes Weir Lock Dobbs Weir Lock Carthagena Lock Aqueduct Lock Cheshunt Lock Waltham Common Lock Waltham Town Lock Rammey Marsh Lock Enfield Lock Ponder's End Lock Pickett's Lock Stonebridge Lock Tottenham Lock Pond Lane Flood Gates Old Ford Lock Bow Locks
Weirs	Horns Mill Weir Hertford Castle Weir Hartham Weir Ware Weir Feildes Weir Dobbs Weir Carthagena Weir Kings Weir Newmans Weir Middlesex Filter Beds Weir
Hertford Union Canal (branch from Hackney Cut)	Hertford Union Bottom Lock No. 3 Hertford Union Middle Lock No. 2 Hertford Union Top Lock No. 1 Regent's Canal
Limehouse Cut (branch, at Bow Locks)	Bromley Stop Lock Britannia Stop Lock Limehouse Basin
Bow Back Rivers (branches of the Old River Lea)	Three Mills Lock City Mill Lock Carpenter's Road Lock (Under restoration, est. completion March 2017) Marshgate Lane Lock (defunct) Three Mills Wall River Weir (These rivers form the waterways within the 2012 Olympic Park - they flow into Bow Creek)