Father Thames and St John's Lock

Father Thames, a half-reclining river god, lies beside St John's Lock on the edge of Lechlade-on-Thames. The Italian sculptor Raffaelle Monti modelled him in cement in 1854 for the grounds of the Crystal Palace, and after a spell at the river's source he was moved to the lockside in 1974. St John's Lock, built in 1791, is the first lock on the Thames. The statue is listed Grade II.

History

The statue and the lock tell two different stories: one of Victorian display, the other of the working river.

From the Crystal Palace to Thames Head

Monti made the figure for the grounds of the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, in south London, as part of a display of rivers and oceans. He was modelled in Portland cement rather than carved in marble, and he is signed R Monti on the base. He survived the fire that destroyed the Crystal Palace in 1936 and was later acquired by the Thames Conservancy, which in 1958 set him up at Thames Head, the traditional source of the river in Trewsbury Mead near Coates. Repeated vandalism there led to his move to St John's Lock in 1974.

St John's Bridge and the lock

The lock takes its name from the bridge and the medieval hospital beside it. Before 1228, the Victoria County History says, Isabel de Mortimer and her husband Peter FitzHerbert founded a hospital of St John the Baptist on the north side of the bridge, and Peter built a gateway onto the bridge in 1228. The prior collected tolls for its upkeep in the fourteenth century. The hospital was dissolved in 1472, and in about 1520 some of its buildings were pulled down and the stone used to mend the bridge. The present St John's Bridge, a few metres downstream of the lock, was rebuilt in 1831 by the local builder Peter Cox.

At the end of the eighteenth century, the commissioners who ran the upper Thames bypassed the bridge with a short new cut and a lock. The Victoria County History dates it to 1791. It is the first lock a boat meets coming down the river and the last going up.

What to see

Walk along the lockside to see the statue up close, beside the lock-keeper's house. The listing reads his symbols: the shovel he holds stands for the navvies, the men who dug the canals and cuts, and the bales and the barrel at his feet for the trade the river carried. Look for Monti's signature on the base.

Watch a boat work through the lock if one comes by. Just downstream, the River Leach joins the Thames near St John's Bridge.

Visiting

The lockside is free and open at all times, on the Thames Path. The statue lies beside the lock-keeper's house, so be considerate when the lock is working. Visit Thames describes the lock's company of boaters, walkers and picnickers. The meadows either side can flood in winter, and walkers report cattle and geese beside the path at times.

Getting there

St John's Lock is about 1km south-east of Lechlade's Market Place, beside the A417 at St John's Bridge; the Environment Agency gives its postcode as GL7 3HA. On foot, follow the Thames Path downstream from Halfpenny Bridge, or walk the Lechlade and St John's Lock loop, which passes the statue near the end before crossing the meadows back to town. Stagecoach West's bus 77 between Cirencester and Highworth stops in the Market Place four or five times a day each way, Monday to Saturday, with no Sunday service. We could not confirm a public car park at the lock; park in Lechlade and walk.

Nearby

The Trout Inn stands beside St John's Bridge; it was recorded as the Baptist's Head by 1692, after the hospital, and renamed the Trout before 1831. Back in town are St Lawrence's Church and The New Inn, and the River Thames at Lechlade has its own page. Downstream, the Thames Path continues to Buscot Lock and St Mary's, Buscot, with its Burne-Jones windows.