Bow Locks has a long history, as the first recorded mention of a water control structure at the site was during the reign of Edward I, when Henry de Bedyk, the prior at Halliwell Priory and owner of the nearby tide mills.

In order to ensure that navigation would be maintained on the Lea, the City of London appointed a Dutch surveyor to inspect the plans, and a committee to oversee the work.

This improved water levels for the millers, but again caused problems for navigation, with bargees complaining that the gates could not be opened at neap tides.

In 1721, the cill was lowered by the mill owners, following recommendations by George Succold, and the work was overseen by a surveyor appointed by the City of London.

A clause to formalise this arrangement was removed by Parliament from a subsequent Act in 1868, but the practice of free passage through the gates but not the lock continued.

[4] The bridge was originally built as part of the 1930s upgrade to the Bow Back Rivers, and was an early example of the use of reinforced concrete to achieve a slender design.

The work cost £3.3 million, and required a complex arrangement of scaffolding, to allow boats to continue to use the lock during the bridge's 6-month refurbishment.