This winch, preserved alongside Hampstead Road lock, came originally from the Limehouse Cut. The latter, which was older than the Regent's Canal, having been built in the mid-18th Century, originally had its own lock into the Thames tideway, but when this deteriorated badly in 1968 it was filled in and the traffic diverted to the Regent's Canal's Limehouse tide lock by re-opening a mid-19th century connection to Limehouse Basin. This winch, one of a set used to winch the lock gates open and closed, was preserved and brought here.