The lock is located on the Oxfordshire bank at Goring-On-Thames, with Streatley, Berkshire on the opposite side of the river.

There was originally a weir and ferry here belonging to Goring Priory, which became the property of millers who kept a flash lock.

A report in a newspaper of 1674 tells how 60 people drowned in the lock when the ferryman rowed too close to it.

The lock is situated almost under the bridge and is easily accessible from both Goring and Streatley The reach is only just over half a mile long.

The Thames Path, having crossed Goring Bridge to Streatley, continues through on the western bank to Cleeve Lock.