St Katherine's Dock Lock - St Katherine's Way, London, UK - Waterway Locks, Planes and Lifts on Waymarking.com

A plaque at the side of the lock explains the operation. It says:
"High and low tide on the Thames vary by 9 - 10 metres. / A vessel entering St Katherine Docks must first pass / through a lock which raises it from the river's level to the / level in the dock. / The water level in the lock is lowered by opening a / gravitational two way valve (b) and draining water into the / river. When the levels of the lock and river match, the outer / gate is lowered and the waiting vessel enters the lock. / The outer gate is raised and water levels between lock and / dock are equalised by drawing water through another / valve (a). Then the inner gate is lowered and the vessel / enters the dock. The procedure is reversed to allow vessels to leave."

A series of diagrams illustrate the above.

These days it is just pleasure craft that use the dock. The days of freighters is long gone.

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The entry to this harbour is via a lock that can be accessed about two hours before high water, to 1.5 hours after high water. (Watch the cross set in the approach). The lock is large, at around 30' x 100'. It operates between 6 AM and 8:30 PM in the summer and between 8 AM and 6 PM in winter. It leads into the central basin, and there are two further basins which are accessed underneath small lifting bridges. Visitors are normally berthed in the central basin.

Text source: (visit link)

Waterway Name: River Thames Connected Points: River Thames and St Katherine's Dock (St Katherine's Yacht Haven). Type: Lock Date Opened: 10/25/1828 Elevation Difference (meters): 10.00 Site Status: Operational Web Site: [Web Link] Date Closed (if applicable): Not listed

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