Sandford Lock
Lock and weir pool (the Sandford lasher) on the Thames just below Oxford. Three Men in a Boat warns that the pool is ‘a very good place to drown yourself in’.
At a glance
| Source | Author | Role | In one line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three Men in a Boat | Jerome K. Jerome | backdrop | The deadly pool under Sandford lasher, marked by an obelisk to drowned bathers; then Iffley and the last mile to Oxford. |
Three Men in a Boat — Jerome K. Jerome (1889)
Source: Exploration of Three Men in a Boat · Three Men in a Boat · Original · Readwise highlight
An obelisk marks the spot where two men have already been drowned, while bathing there;
- Role: backdrop
- In the book: The narrator describes the pool under Sandford lasher as deadly, with an obelisk marking where two men drowned bathing, then Iffley lock and mill, a favourite with painters, and calls the last mile into Oxford the hardest bit of river to row, ending in mutual swearing.
- Why it matters: Dark humour on the last stretch before the journey’s upstream end.