Maidenhead Waterways

[v · d · e]Boulters Lock

Legend River Thames Fleet River A4094 road bridge weir Hedsor Wharf weir bridges Cookham Lock Formosa Island Strand Water White Brook Maidenhead Ditch Mill Race Kayaking Boulter's Lock old mill Jubilee River -- -- (to Old Windsor Lock) Ray Mill Road West Grass Eyot Bridge Eyot Flood Relief Channel A4 Bath Road Bridge Street York Road Guards Club Island Reading - Paddington Railway Forlease Road York Stream Headpile Eyot Bray Lock and weir Bray Mill Proposed new lock M4 Motorway The Cut Bray marina River Thames

The Maidenhead Waterways are a system of waterways in Maidenhead, England. Currently disused, they are undergoing work to make them once more navigable to canal craft.

Long before pound locks were built on the main River Thames, the old waterways were controlled by 'flash locks', consisting of sluices or weirs with removable sections, and barges are believed to have once traded from wharves there. Although the channel is now dry, the remains of "Willow Wharf" can still be seen on the wall by the Police station at Town Moor.

The Moor Cut channel which crosses Town Moor was enlarged in the 1960s as part of the flood defence system, long before the Jubilee River was built. The two channels rejoin at Green lane and from there the waterway running down to the Thames is 45 to 50 feet (14 to 15 m) wide, but partly silted up and affected by fallen trees.

The stream connects to the River Thames and retains navigation rights, though it is impractical for boats to pass through the town sections today as they are silted up and overgrown. The old channel leaves the Thames just above Cliveden and eventually rejoins it just below Bray Lock by the Marina.

By October 2008, a renewal scheme was in progress, aiming to restore and upgrade the old waterways and allow boats into the centre of Maidenhead. The Maidenhead Waterways Restoration Group (MWRG) was founded in 2006 with the aim of restoring the waterways to a navigable standard, allowing small boats to travel into and around the town centre 'ring'. A lock and weir at Green Lane would raise and stabilise water levels in the town centre channels and refill the dry Moor Cut channel of the waterway.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead set up the Partnership for the Regeneration of Maidenhead (PRoM) in 2007, which launched its 20 Year Vision and Action Plan for rejuvenating the town centre in 2008. It sees the restored waterway as one of five defining projects which will help improve and shape the identity of the town for the future.

Maidenhead Civic Society's Chairman Bob Dulson is the independent chairman of PRoM and the society is also a strong supporter of plans to restore the waterways.

Waterways

• Fleet Ditch
• Strand Water
• York Stream
• Maidenhead Ditch
• Widbrook
• The Cut
• Maidenhead Flood Channel
• White Brook

See also

UK Waterways portal

• Canals of the United Kingdom
• History of the British canal system

References

External links

• House of Commons debate on Thames Flood Alleviation Scheme
• Maidenhead Advertiser, 17/05/07, quoting Maidenhead Civic Society
• Maidenhead Waterways Restoration Group
• Maidenhead Civic Society on York Stream

Next confluence upstream	River Thames	Next confluence downstream
River Wye (north)	Maidenhead Waterways	Clewer Mill Stream (south)

Coordinates: 51°31′05″N 0°42′44″W / 51.5180°N 0.7123°W / 51.5180; -0.7123