LATTON LOCK
Lock |
State |
Date |
Length |
Length - Working Distance |
Width |
Fall |
Latton Lock |
Built turfsided |
1766/9 |
89' 6'' |
86' 0'' |
13' 6'' |
6' 0'' |
Latton Lock |
Rebuilt in brick/concrete |
1915 |
89' 6'' |
86' 0'' |
13' 6'' |
6' 0'' |
Griggs’ Report
1844:No 7 Lock called Latton Lock affected by a mill. A mere trifling (sic)
footbridge for the Lock keeper. Brickwork below the lock gates is aged.
Depth of water on the lower sill 3’ 3’’. Ditto on the upper sill 3’ 6’’.
The lower gates are weak, the planking bad. Dated 1815. Brickwork above
the lower gates pretty good. The side timbering in the lock is very low.
The land ties to the lock piles are weak and worn. Brickwork about upper
gates is good. The upper gates are good dated 1840.
Beardmore’s
Report 1870: Latton Mill Lock is in good repair
Childs’ Report 1880:
Latton; Upper gates new 1878 good. Staple posts old but in fair
condition. Lower gates (put in 1860) in fair condition. Sides in fair
condition. Main piles good, brickwork requires pointing. Altogether in
fair condition. Depth over upper sill 3’ 9’’, lower 4’ 6’’.
Childs'
Report 1884: ''Upper
gates, new 1878. Staple posts old; but in fair condition. Lower Gates
(put in 1860) in fair condition, sides in fair condition. Main
piles good; Brickwork very bad and requires pointing. Altogether in fair
condition.

Tween's
Report 1901:
"Upper
gates, 1878. Staple posts old; all in bad condition. Lower Gates 1860,
in very bad condition, sides in bad condition. Main piles bad;
Brickwork very bad and requires pointing. Altogether in bad condition.
Upper sill should be lowered 1 foot. Cost about £500. Navigation
Manager's house, substantially built brick house, with good out
buildings,"
The house can clearly be seen in this
card, post-marked 3rd August 1915.

Latton Mill stood on the Harlow
side of the
footbridge to the north of the
lock. Latton Mill was first recorded in 1449
and was continuously in use (except for a period in the late 18th
century) up until the end of the 19th century. An examination of the site will reveal some
of the foundations of the mill.
Latton Island House, the
roof seen in the picture below, burnt down in 1950. Again, the foundations
can still be found. A plaque over the door read:
“Man may come and man may
go but the river goes on for ever”

A story reported in
the local press "In about 1949, a family moved to the lock-keeper's
cottage by boat (because there was no road access) but the boat sank and
the family lost all their possessions. A year later the lock cottage
burned down. Because the lock cottage was isolated they had to
make their own electricity by a generator. The fire started when
the generator engine was being refuelled."
Apparently, the
cottage was a very popular place for the lock-keeper's daughter's school
friends because it was such a delightful place to play.
One of the original quoin
stones which anchored the gate hinge still lies on the lock-side, there
since the lock was upgraded from its original turf sided chamber in
1915. It is still possible to see the join between the 1769
brickwork and the
1915 stonework in the upper end of the chamber.


John Poole Davis, who lived
on Latton Island at the Census date of 5.4.1891, was the River Stort
Navigation’s engineer in 1864 and Manager of the Navigation for Truman,
Hanbury and Buxton, the owners. He bought the Navigation in 1889 from
them for £100 when the brewers wrote it off their books, having paid
£15,000 for it in 1873.
Mr Davis sold the
Navigation on to Sir Walter Gilbey in 1898 for £500, having ruthlessly
asset-stripped it and was probably the only man ever to profit from the
Stort Navigation!
Placed here in 2007
this sculpture,
"Mill",
was
inspired by the history of Latton Mill: once a busy water
mill, Nicola Burrell has captured the water and the movement of
mechanical parts to create a sculpture which both symbolises and evokes
the heritage of this area.
Latton Island House
Census |
Name |
Title |
Wife |
Location given by enumerator |
Census Reference |
31.3.1901 |
|
|
|
|
No listing |
5.4.1891 |
Henry George Clayden (20) |
Lockman |
Single |
Latton Island |
Ex/Latton/6/8 |
5.4.1891 |
John Poole Davis (68) |
Civil Engineer |
Married |
Latton Island |
Ex/Latton/6/8 |
4.4.1881 |
John P Davis (58) |
Surveyor |
Mary (nee Theakston) |
Rupert House, High Road,
Tottenham |
Mx/Tottenham/14/57 |
|