Editing Blake's Lock (section)

==History==
The first mile of the Kennet from its junction with the River Thames has been navigable since the 13th century. Blake's Lock was originally a [[flash lock]] known as Brokenburglok. In 1404 the [[Abbot]] of [[Reading Abbey]], who had control of the River Kennet, made an agreement with the town's [[guild]] to allow craft to pass through the lock between sunrise and sunset on payment of a one [[Penny (British pre-decimal coin)|penny]] toll. By 1794, not much had changed, with [[John Rennie the Elder|John Rennie]], the engineer of the [[Kennet and Avon Canal]] describing it as "a very bad and inconvenient staunch lock".<ref name=krc9>{{cite book | first = Kenneth R | last = Clew | title = Wessex Waterway - A Guide to the Kennet & Avon Canal | publisher = Moonraker Press | year = 1978 | page = 9 }}</ref><ref name=krc14>{{cite book | first = Kenneth R | last = Clew | title = Wessex Waterway - A Guide to the Kennet & Avon Canal | publisher = Moonraker Press | year = 1978 | page = 14 }}</ref>

The lock was converted to a timber-constructed [[pound lock]] in 1802 to improve navigation from the Thames into the River Kennet enabling boats to travel all the way to the [[Bristol]] area. The lock retains its manual beams (not the originals, new beams were fitted in 2006), so far avoiding the progress towards hydraulic power.<ref name=krc14/><ref>{{cite web | title=Blake's Lock | work=River Thames Guide | url=http://www.riverthames.co.uk/about_thames/3687.htm | access-date=2006-09-17 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060926180425/http://www.riverthames.co.uk/about_thames/3687.htm | archive-date=26 September 2006 | url-status=dead | df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Pearson |first=Michael |title=Kennet & Avon Middle Thames: Pearson's Canal Companion |publisher=Central Waterways Supplies |year=2003 }}</ref> The lock was closed during winter 2017-18 for work that included repairing and re-sheeting the lock gates and refurbishing the chamber walls.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notice/11582/blakes-lock-107-river-kennet-at-reading | title = Notices: Blakes Lock 107, River Kennet at Reading | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180526193548/https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/notice/11582/blakes-lock-107-river-kennet-at-reading | archive-date = 2018-05-26 | date = 2018-03-16 | publisher = [[Canal & River Trust]] | access-date = 2018-05-26}}</ref>