Bow Locks (No20) is a set of bi-directional
locks in the
London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The locks link the tidal
Bow Creek to the
River Lee Navigation, which is a canalised river. These locks were first built in 1850 and then rebuilt in 1930, at the same time as the
Prescott Channel was cut nearby. At high tide, the tide from
Bow Creek formerly flowed through Bow Locks, to raise the level of the canals, such as the
Limehouse Cut. In 2000, these locks were modified to keep the tide out, to reduce silting in the canal system.