Tuesday February 26, 2019 at 7.30 pm at Chiswick Pier Trust

London’s More Important River – The River Lea

A talk by Jeremy Batch from the Cruising Association

What do navigational buoys, lighthouses, tidal power, Britain’s first aeroplane, gunpowder, rockets, the light bulb, the diode, television, electronic warfare, the safety match, the rifle, the bouncing bomb, plate glass, plastic, petrol, gin, dog biscuits and the world’s most powerful warship all have in common? Answer: all were invented, developed, manufactured or tested along the River Lea and its accompanying man-made canal, the Lee Navigation. It has been our border with Scandinavia, London’s lifeline during the Great Plague, and the venue for the 2012 Olympic Games. It boasted Britain’s first lock with mitre gates, and now London’s newest: the Three Mills Lock on the Prescott Channel. What were the Three Mills used for, and why are there only two?

For 9 years Jeremy Batch was a Lock Keeper at Limehouse Lock, where the Regent’s Canal and the Lee Navigation meet the Thames. From November 2013, he has worked as an administrator for the Cruising Association, which is also based at Limehouse. He is well known among the boating community as an historian on Limehouse, shipping and navigation, and his talks are very popular and well attended.
A boater and a sailor, Jeremy narrowboats and motors on hired boats on the inland waterways. Until Jun 2016, he had a 24ft sailing cruiser, Dream, which was moored at Limehouse Marina.

He is a member of the Cruising Association (CA: based at Limehouse) and a former member of Greenwich Yacht Club (GYC) and his interest in the history of London’s docks and waterways began when he started to write a series of articles for Trident, the club magazine of GYC.

Chiswick Pier Trust, The Pier House, Corney Reach Way, W4 2UG. £3 for non-members, FREE for members.

You can turn up on the evening and buy a ticket.