Bottisham Lock & Lode, Waterbeach

History of Bottisham Lock

Bottisham Lode is important because it illustrates how smaller fenland waterways connected rural villages with the larger river network of the Cam and Great Ouse. Lodes were vital for transporting agricultural produce, fuel, building materials, and goods between isolated communities and nearby market centres. Bottisham Lode also reflects the long history of drainage and water management in the Fens, showing how waterways served both economic and environmental purposes within the rural landscape.

The Cambridge Chronicle report 24.9.1886: The ordinance of baptism was administered to six persons on Sunday afternoon in the river Cam by Mr G Williams. The candidates were five females and one youth. The greatest decorum was manifested on the occasion, and many hundred on the river bank were witnesses.

River Cam at Bottisham Lode (MoC108.57)

Baptism in Cam, Bottisham Locks

In 1887 F Thompson baptised 16 young persons in the Cam before a crow of 1000. This was a frequent event.

The Sluice (Bottisham Locks) (Denis Cheason)

The lock at Bottisham Lode

The bridge at Bottisham Lock was vital for the coprolite industry to the east of the Cam.  It was built in 1872.