diff --git a/components/constellation/constellation.rs b/components/constellation/constellation.rs
index 2017f0b4b09..2006efd3cde 100644
--- a/components/constellation/constellation.rs
+++ b/components/constellation/constellation.rs
@@ -54,8 +54,8 @@ use std::iter::once;
 use std::marker::PhantomData;
 use std::mem::replace;
 use std::process;
+use std::sync::Arc;
 use std::sync::mpsc::{Sender, channel, Receiver};
-use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};
 use std::thread;
 use std::time::Instant;
 use style_traits::PagePx;
@@ -65,6 +65,7 @@ use timer_scheduler::TimerScheduler;
 use url::Url;
 use util::opts;
 use util::prefs::PREFS;
+use util::remutex::ReentrantMutex;
 use util::thread::spawn_named;
 use webrender_traits;
 
@@ -314,14 +315,14 @@ enum ExitPipelineMode {
 #[derive(Clone)]
 pub struct FromScriptLogger {
     /// A channel to the constellation
-    pub constellation_chan: Arc<Mutex<IpcSender<FromScriptMsg>>>,
+    pub constellation_chan: Arc<ReentrantMutex<IpcSender<FromScriptMsg>>>,
 }
 
 impl FromScriptLogger {
     /// Create a new constellation logger.
     pub fn new(constellation_chan: IpcSender<FromScriptMsg>) -> FromScriptLogger {
         FromScriptLogger {
-            constellation_chan: Arc::new(Mutex::new(constellation_chan))
+            constellation_chan: Arc::new(ReentrantMutex::new(constellation_chan))
         }
     }
 
@@ -352,14 +353,14 @@ impl Log for FromScriptLogger {
 #[derive(Clone)]
 pub struct FromCompositorLogger {
     /// A channel to the constellation
-    pub constellation_chan: Arc<Mutex<Sender<FromCompositorMsg>>>,
+    pub constellation_chan: Arc<ReentrantMutex<Sender<FromCompositorMsg>>>,
 }
 
 impl FromCompositorLogger {
     /// Create a new constellation logger.
     pub fn new(constellation_chan: Sender<FromCompositorMsg>) -> FromCompositorLogger {
         FromCompositorLogger {
-            constellation_chan: Arc::new(Mutex::new(constellation_chan))
+            constellation_chan: Arc::new(ReentrantMutex::new(constellation_chan))
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/components/util/Cargo.toml b/components/util/Cargo.toml
index e5f0bc9b5d3..c0c226a3d44 100644
--- a/components/util/Cargo.toml
+++ b/components/util/Cargo.toml
@@ -30,5 +30,8 @@ serde_macros = {version = "0.7.11", optional = true}
 url = "1.0.0"
 plugins = {path = "../plugins", optional = true}
 
+[dev-dependencies]
+env_logger = "0.3"
+
 [target.'cfg(all(unix, not(target_os = "macos"), not(target_os = "ios"), not(target_os = "android")))'.dependencies]
 xdg = "2.0"
diff --git a/components/util/lib.rs b/components/util/lib.rs
index c36ec47a4cb..13e763b9cbc 100644
--- a/components/util/lib.rs
+++ b/components/util/lib.rs
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 #![cfg_attr(feature = "servo", feature(custom_derive))]
 #![cfg_attr(feature = "servo", feature(plugin))]
+#![cfg_attr(feature = "servo", feature(nonzero))]
 #![cfg_attr(feature = "servo", feature(reflect_marker))]
 #![cfg_attr(feature = "servo", plugin(serde_macros))]
 #![cfg_attr(feature = "servo", plugin(plugins))]
@@ -12,6 +13,7 @@
 
 extern crate app_units;
 #[allow(unused_extern_crates)] #[macro_use] extern crate bitflags;
+extern crate core;
 extern crate euclid;
 extern crate getopts;
 #[macro_use] extern crate heapsize;
@@ -30,6 +32,7 @@ pub mod geometry;
 #[cfg(feature = "servo")] #[allow(unsafe_code)] pub mod ipc;
 #[allow(unsafe_code)] pub mod opts;
 pub mod prefs;
+#[cfg(feature = "servo")] pub mod remutex;
 pub mod resource_files;
 pub mod thread;
 pub mod thread_state;
diff --git a/components/util/remutex.rs b/components/util/remutex.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..ec1c27a3d1a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/util/remutex.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,217 @@
+/* This Source Code Form is subject to the terms of the Mozilla Public
+ * License, v. 2.0. If a copy of the MPL was not distributed with this
+ * file, You can obtain one at http://mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/. */
+
+//! An implementation of re-entrant mutexes.
+//!
+//! Re-entrant mutexes are like mutexes, but where it is expected
+//! that a single thread may own a lock more than once.
+
+//! It provides the same interface as https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/blob/master/src/libstd/sys/common/remutex.rs
+//! so if those types are ever exported, we should be able to replace this implemtation.
+
+use core::nonzero::NonZero;
+use std::cell::{Cell, UnsafeCell};
+use std::mem;
+use std::ops::Deref;
+use std::sync::atomic::{AtomicUsize, Ordering};
+use std::sync::{LockResult, Mutex, MutexGuard, PoisonError, TryLockError, TryLockResult};
+
+/// A type for thread ids.
+
+// TODO: can we use the thread-id crate for this?
+
+#[derive(Copy, Clone, Eq, PartialEq, Ord, PartialOrd, Hash, Debug)]
+pub struct ThreadId(NonZero<usize>);
+
+lazy_static!{ static ref THREAD_COUNT: AtomicUsize = AtomicUsize::new(1); }
+
+impl ThreadId {
+    #[allow(unsafe_code)]
+    fn new() -> ThreadId {
+        let number = THREAD_COUNT.fetch_add(1, Ordering::SeqCst);
+        ThreadId(unsafe { NonZero::new(number) })
+    }
+    pub fn current() -> ThreadId {
+        THREAD_ID.with(|tls| tls.clone())
+    }
+}
+
+thread_local!{ static THREAD_ID: ThreadId = ThreadId::new() }
+
+/// A type for atomic storage of thread ids.
+#[derive(Debug)]
+pub struct AtomicOptThreadId(AtomicUsize);
+
+impl AtomicOptThreadId {
+    pub fn new() -> AtomicOptThreadId {
+        AtomicOptThreadId(AtomicUsize::new(0))
+    }
+    pub fn store(&self, value: Option<ThreadId>, ordering: Ordering) {
+        let number = value.map(|id| *id.0).unwrap_or(0);
+        self.0.store(number, ordering);
+    }
+    #[allow(unsafe_code)]
+    pub fn load(&self, ordering: Ordering) -> Option<ThreadId> {
+        let number = self.0.load(ordering);
+        if number == 0 { None } else { Some(ThreadId(unsafe { NonZero::new(number) })) }
+    }
+    #[allow(unsafe_code)]
+    pub fn swap(&self, value: Option<ThreadId>, ordering: Ordering) -> Option<ThreadId> {
+        let number = value.map(|id| *id.0).unwrap_or(0);
+        let number = self.0.swap(number, ordering);
+        if number == 0 { None } else { Some(ThreadId(unsafe { NonZero::new(number) })) }
+    }
+}
+
+/// A type for hand-over-hand mutexes.
+///
+/// These support `lock` and `unlock` functions. `lock` blocks waiting to become the
+/// mutex owner. `unlock` can only be called by the lock owner, and panics otherwise.
+/// They have the same happens-before and poisoning semantics as `Mutex`.
+
+// TODO: Can we use `raw_lock` and `raw_unlock` from `parking_lot`'s `Mutex` for this?
+
+pub struct HandOverHandMutex {
+    mutex: Mutex<()>,
+    owner: AtomicOptThreadId,
+    guard: UnsafeCell<Option<MutexGuard<'static, ()>>>,
+}
+
+impl HandOverHandMutex {
+    pub fn new() -> HandOverHandMutex {
+        HandOverHandMutex {
+            mutex: Mutex::new(()),
+            owner: AtomicOptThreadId::new(),
+            guard: UnsafeCell::new(None),
+        }
+    }
+    #[allow(unsafe_code)]
+    pub fn lock(&self) -> LockResult<()> {
+        let (guard, result) = match self.mutex.lock() {
+            Ok(guard) => (guard, Ok(())),
+            Err(err) => (err.into_inner(), Err(PoisonError::new(()))),
+        };
+        unsafe { *self.guard.get().as_mut().unwrap() = mem::transmute(guard) };
+        self.owner.store(Some(ThreadId::current()), Ordering::Relaxed);
+        result
+    }
+    #[allow(unsafe_code)]
+    pub fn try_lock(&self) -> TryLockResult<()> {
+        let (guard, result) = match self.mutex.try_lock() {
+            Ok(guard) => (guard, Ok(())),
+            Err(TryLockError::WouldBlock) => return Err(TryLockError::WouldBlock),
+            Err(TryLockError::Poisoned(err)) => (err.into_inner(), Err(TryLockError::Poisoned(PoisonError::new(())))),
+        };
+        unsafe { *self.guard.get().as_mut().unwrap() = mem::transmute(guard) };
+        self.owner.store(Some(ThreadId::current()), Ordering::Relaxed);
+        result
+    }
+    #[allow(unsafe_code)]
+    pub fn unlock(&self) {
+        assert_eq!(Some(ThreadId::current()), self.owner.load(Ordering::Relaxed));
+        self.owner.store(None, Ordering::Relaxed);
+        unsafe { *self.guard.get().as_mut().unwrap() = None; }
+    }
+    pub fn owner(&self) -> Option<ThreadId> {
+        self.owner.load(Ordering::Relaxed)
+    }
+}
+
+#[allow(unsafe_code)]
+unsafe impl Send for HandOverHandMutex {}
+
+/// A type for re-entrant mutexes.
+///
+/// It provides the same interface as https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/blob/master/src/libstd/sys/common/remutex.rs
+
+pub struct ReentrantMutex<T> {
+    mutex: HandOverHandMutex,
+    count: Cell<usize>,
+    data: T,
+}
+
+#[allow(unsafe_code)]
+unsafe impl<T> Sync for ReentrantMutex<T> where T: Send {}
+
+impl<T> ReentrantMutex<T> {
+    pub fn new(data: T) -> ReentrantMutex<T> {
+        debug!("{:?} Creating new lock.", ThreadId::current());
+        ReentrantMutex {
+            mutex: HandOverHandMutex::new(),
+            count: Cell::new(0),
+            data: data,
+        }
+    }
+
+    pub fn lock(&self) -> LockResult<ReentrantMutexGuard<T>> {
+        debug!("{:?} Locking.", ThreadId::current());
+        if self.mutex.owner() != Some(ThreadId::current()) {
+            debug!("{:?} Becoming owner.", ThreadId::current());
+            if let Err(_) = self.mutex.lock() {
+                debug!("{:?} Poison!", ThreadId::current());
+                return Err(PoisonError::new(self.mk_guard()));
+            }
+            debug!("{:?} Became owner.", ThreadId::current());
+        }
+        Ok(self.mk_guard())
+    }
+
+    pub fn try_lock(&self) -> TryLockResult<ReentrantMutexGuard<T>> {
+        debug!("{:?} Try locking.", ThreadId::current());
+        if self.mutex.owner() != Some(ThreadId::current()) {
+            debug!("{:?} Becoming owner?", ThreadId::current());
+            if let Err(err) = self.mutex.try_lock() {
+                match err {
+                    TryLockError::WouldBlock => {
+                        debug!("{:?} Would block.", ThreadId::current());
+                        return Err(TryLockError::WouldBlock)
+                    },
+                    TryLockError::Poisoned(_) => {
+                        debug!("{:?} Poison!", ThreadId::current());
+                        return Err(TryLockError::Poisoned(PoisonError::new(self.mk_guard())));
+                    },
+                }
+            }
+            debug!("{:?} Became owner.", ThreadId::current());
+        }
+        Ok(self.mk_guard())
+    }
+
+    fn unlock(&self) {
+        debug!("{:?} Unlocking.", ThreadId::current());
+        let count = self.count.get().checked_sub(1).expect("Underflowed lock count.");
+        debug!("{:?} Decrementing count to {}.", ThreadId::current(), count);
+        self.count.set(count);
+        if count == 0 {
+            debug!("{:?} Releasing mutex.", ThreadId::current());
+            self.mutex.unlock();
+        }
+    }
+
+    fn mk_guard(&self) -> ReentrantMutexGuard<T> {
+        let count = self.count.get().checked_add(1).expect("Overflowed lock count.");
+        debug!("{:?} Incrementing count to {}.", ThreadId::current(), count);
+        self.count.set(count);
+        ReentrantMutexGuard { mutex: self }
+    }
+}
+
+#[must_use]
+pub struct ReentrantMutexGuard<'a, T> where T: 'static {
+    mutex: &'a ReentrantMutex<T>,
+}
+
+impl<'a, T> Drop for ReentrantMutexGuard<'a, T> {
+    #[allow(unsafe_code)]
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        self.mutex.unlock()
+    }
+}
+
+impl<'a, T> Deref for ReentrantMutexGuard<'a, T> {
+    type Target = T;
+    fn deref(&self) -> &T {
+        &self.mutex.data
+    }
+}
diff --git a/tests/unit/util/lib.rs b/tests/unit/util/lib.rs
index 1ad4e55d965..96506d5973c 100644
--- a/tests/unit/util/lib.rs
+++ b/tests/unit/util/lib.rs
@@ -8,4 +8,5 @@ extern crate util;
 
 mod opts;
 mod prefs;
+mod remutex;
 mod thread;
diff --git a/tests/unit/util/remutex.rs b/tests/unit/util/remutex.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..a005d761d5f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/util/remutex.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+// Copyright 2015 The Rust Project Developers. See the COPYRIGHT
+// file at the top-level directory of this distribution and at
+// http://rust-lang.org/COPYRIGHT.
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 <LICENSE-APACHE or
+// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0> or the MIT license
+// <LICENSE-MIT or http://opensource.org/licenses/MIT>, at your
+// option. This file may not be copied, modified, or distributed
+// except according to those terms.
+
+// These tests came from https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/blob/master/src/libstd/sys/common/remutex.rs
+
+use std::cell::RefCell;
+use std::sync::Arc;
+use std::thread;
+use util::remutex::{ReentrantMutex, ReentrantMutexGuard};
+
+#[test]
+fn smoke() {
+    let m = ReentrantMutex::new(());
+    {
+        let a = m.lock().unwrap();
+        {
+            let b = m.lock().unwrap();
+            {
+                let c = m.lock().unwrap();
+                assert_eq!(*c, ());
+            }
+            assert_eq!(*b, ());
+        }
+        assert_eq!(*a, ());
+    }
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn is_mutex() {
+    let m = Arc::new(ReentrantMutex::new(RefCell::new(0)));
+    let m2 = m.clone();
+    let lock = m.lock().unwrap();
+    let child = thread::spawn(move || {
+        let lock = m2.lock().unwrap();
+        assert_eq!(*lock.borrow(), 4950);
+    });
+    for i in 0..100 {
+        let lock = m.lock().unwrap();
+        *lock.borrow_mut() += i;
+    }
+    drop(lock);
+    child.join().unwrap();
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn trylock_works() {
+    let m = Arc::new(ReentrantMutex::new(()));
+    let m2 = m.clone();
+    let _lock = m.try_lock().unwrap();
+    let _lock2 = m.try_lock().unwrap();
+    thread::spawn(move || {
+        let lock = m2.try_lock();
+        assert!(lock.is_err());
+    }).join().unwrap();
+    let _lock3 = m.try_lock().unwrap();
+}
+
+pub struct Answer<'a>(pub ReentrantMutexGuard<'a, RefCell<u32>>);
+impl<'a> Drop for Answer<'a> {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        *self.0.borrow_mut() = 42;
+    }
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn poison_works() {
+    let m = Arc::new(ReentrantMutex::new(RefCell::new(0)));
+    let mc = m.clone();
+    let result = thread::spawn(move ||{
+        let lock = mc.lock().unwrap();
+        *lock.borrow_mut() = 1;
+        let lock2 = mc.lock().unwrap();
+        *lock.borrow_mut() = 2;
+        let _answer = Answer(lock2);
+        println!("Intentionally panicking.");
+        panic!("What the answer to my lifetimes dilemma is?");
+    }).join();
+    assert!(result.is_err());
+    let r = m.lock().err().unwrap().into_inner();
+    assert_eq!(*r.borrow(), 42);
+}
+