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Brentford Ait is a long uninhabited
The ait was also known as Makenshaw, Mattenshaw or Twigg Ait. For reasons likely connected with ownership the Map
created by
Brentford Ait is a long uninhabited ait
An ait (, like ''eight'') or eyot () is a small island. It is especially used to refer to river islands found on the River Thames and its tributaries in England.
Aits are typically formed by the deposit of sediment in the water, which accumu ...
(river island
River Island (stylised as RiverIsland and abbreviated as RI) is a London-based, multi-channel fashion brand, founded in 1948 by Bernard Lewis (entrepreneur), Bernard Lewis. The retailer has a presence in over 125 of worldwide markets, in stores ...
) in the River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...
, without buildings, on the Tideway
The Tideway is the part of the River Thames in England which is subject to tides. This stretch of water is downstream from Teddington Lock. The Tideway comprises the upper Thames Estuary including the Pool of London.
Tidal activity
Depending ...
near Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross.
Its economy has dive ...
in London, England.
Ownership and size
It is administered by theLondon Borough of Richmond upon Thames
The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in south-west Greater London, London, England, forms part of Outer London and is the only London boroughs, London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller ...
and Port of London Authority
The Port of London Authority (PLA) is a self-funding public trust established on 31 March 1909 in accordance with the Port of London Act 1908 to govern the Port of London. Its responsibility extends over the Tideway of the River Thames and its ...
. Its west part was last accurately measured as ; its east being longer and the same width. The ait has a gap in the middle known as Hog Hole which is apparent at lower high tides, dividing the ait into "upper" and "lower" sections which are awash with water at mean high water springs.
The ait was also known as Makenshaw, Mattenshaw or Twigg Ait. For reasons likely connected with ownership the ancient parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
of Kew
Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is ...
in Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
included Brentford Ait in its history; the London Borough of Hounslow
The London Borough of Hounslow ( ) is a London borough in west London, England, forming part of Outer London. It is governed by Hounslow London Borough Council.
The borough stretches from near Central London in the east (Chiswick) to the b ...
governs neighbouring Lot's Ait
Lot's Ait is a ait (river island) in the River Thames, Thames. It is on the Tideway near Brentford, in the London Borough of Hounslow, England.
History
Lot's Ait, covering , has a very narrow divide from larger, downstream Brentford Ait. It w ...
separated only by thick, shifting mud at low tide from Brentford whereas channels beside the dual ait are dredged.created by
Ordnance Survey
The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see Artillery, ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of ...
, courtesy of English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...
In the 18th century the ait was inhabited; a main building was a latter-day notorious pub, the Swan or Three Swans; its trade was ended in 1796. On the Brentford bank, the Swan Steps lead down to the river at the east end of the long and narrow park, Waterman's Park. From these the crossing to the pub ran.
The ait has borne large trees since the 1920s to screen Brentford's gasworks
A gasworks or gas house is an industrial plant for the production of flammable gas. Many of these have been made redundant in the developed world by the use of natural gas, though they are still used for storage space.
Early gasworks
Coal ...
(since removed) from the view of Kew Gardens
Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1759, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...
. The ait is covered by willows
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions.
Most species are known ...
and alder
Alders are trees of the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species ex ...
and is a bird sanctuary
An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and to be protected for the rest of their lives. In addition, sanctuaries are an experimental staging ground for transformative human–animal relations. There are five types of ...
with a significant heronry
A heronry, sometimes called a heron rookery, is a breeding ground for herons.
Notable heronries
Although their breeding territories are often on more protected small islands in lakes or retention ponds, herons breed in heronries (or also called ...
.
See also
*Islands in the River Thames
This article lists the islands in the River Thames, or at the mouth of a tributary (marked †), in England. It excludes human-made islands built as part of the building of forty-five two-gate locks which each accompany a weir, and islets subordi ...
References
Bibliography
* * * {{Commons cat, Brentford Ait Brentford, London Geography of the London Borough of Hounslow Islands of the River Thames Islands of London Uninhabited islands of England