Description

5389
TQ 06 NE SP/485 THAMES SIDE
No 240 (former Chertsey
Lock-house)

II 0/485

2. Lock-house, late 1812-13; altered 1830s and post 1897. Built to the design
of Stephen Leach, Clerk of Works to the Corporation of the City of London. Painted
brick and stuccoed. Slate roof. One storey and cellar. The lock-house has a centre
gabled wing with central chimney breast projection with arcading; flight of steps to left
hand half-glazed door with modern porch; sash window with glazing bars and horns to
right hand. Pilastered flanking wings, in late C19 with parapets. The N. Wing has a
wide round-arched blocked opening in north end wall and a front elevation with left
hand sash window with horns and glazing bars and a post-1897 canted bay window with
sash lights to right hand. Front elevation of south wing similar but with blocked
window opening to right hand. S. elevation of S. wing with post-1897 3-light sash
window with horns, replacing ledged doors in an arch similar to that in N. elevation of
N. Wing. Interior: cellar under centre wing with stone flagged floor and exposed wood
ceiling beams and joists. Cellar under N. wing with brick floor and two blocked door
openings in rear wall. On main floor, mid to late C19 fireplace surrounds; panelled
doors; steps up to original centre wing from flanking wings; centre wing with king-post
truss with ridge piece. One of 6 lock-houses apparently designed by Stephen Leach and
built in early C19, in association with new locks, by the Corporation of the City of
London on the River Thames between Penton Hook, near Staines, and Teddington. The
other five houses were purpose-built to two storeys and cellar, and to an almost
identical pattern. Although of similar style, the Chertsey lock-house seems to have
been purpose-built to one storey and cellar only, apparently so as not to impair the
outlook of Lord Lucan from his Laleham mansion. In 1835 it was proposed, in line with
changes in other lock-houses, "To take off the roof, raise the back wall, chimneys,
partitions, floors and window frames...". In 1838 Mrs Smallman, lock-keeper, petitioned
the connection of a portion of the Warehouse adjoining the lock-house into two small
rooms. The pre-1897 appearance ofChertsey lock-house is shown in John Leyland, 'A
Picturesque Journeying from Richmond to Oxford', of circa 1897. The Chertsey house is
one of 3 remaining lock-housesbuilt to the original design. See also minutes of City
Corporation Committee for improving the Navigation of the River Thames (Port of London
Authority Library).

Listing NGR: TQ0546466788

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26291773

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Specifications for Building Conservation: Volume 1: External Structure: Practical Examples v. 2
• 
  Old House Care and Repair
• 
  Department for Communities Listed Historic Buildings of Northern Ireland: Information Guide for the 2nd Survey of Historic Buildings
• 
  Old House Eco Handbook: A Practical Guide to Retrofitting for Energy-Efficiency & Sustainability
• 
  Kent: North East and East (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)