[1] Southcote Lock was built between 1718 and 1723 under the supervision of the engineer John Hore of Newbury.

[2] This mill was supplied with bar iron from Sowley Forge in Hampshire; both sites were operated by Charles Pocock Sr., Thomas Golden and Charles Pocock Jr.[3][4] In 1850, a pumping station was built on the north side of the canal.

[5][6][7] By 1878, maps showed that the wire mill was disused; the Pocock–Golden partnership had been dissolved over half a century earlier.

[8] In 1896, the Southcote Water Works (owned by the Reading Corporation) was superseded by the newly upgraded steam-powered station downstream at Fobney; Southcote's water wheels and pumps were mothballed.

[9] Three years later, however, the Southcote works were overhauled and new filters and pipes were installed.