Isleworth Ait and a Thames barge - geograph

River Thames at Isleworth Ait - geograph

Isleworth Ait, also known as Isleworth Eyot, is a between and teardrop-shaped

island An island or isle is a piece of subcontinental land completely surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be ...

in the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the ...

in England. The long ait is on the

Tideway The Tideway is a 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 on ...

facing

Old Isleworth Isleworth ( ) is a town located within the London Borough of Hounslow in West London, England. It lies immediately east of the town of Hounslow and west of the River Thames and its tributary the River Crane. Isleworth's original area of s ...

and the towpath alongside the

Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club The Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club is a private golf club and golf course comprising two 18-hole courses located in Old Deer Park in Richmond, south west London. Location The course lies in an arc of Crown Estate land on the east bank of the River ...

. These places are in the London Boroughs of

Hounslow Hounslow () is a large suburban district of West London, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 12 metropolitan centres in ...

and

Richmond upon Thames The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames () in southwest London forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the London ...

. The island faces Heron's Place and a number of commercial buildings.

Wildlife

Isleworth Ait is covered by densely packed trees, and provides a sanctuary for a variety of wildlife. It floods regularly, but is home to more than 57 species of bird life, including the tree-creeper, kingfisher and heron. Two rare species of air-breathing land

gastropods The gastropods (), commonly known as snails and slugs, belong to a large taxonomic class of invertebrates within the phylum Mollusca called Gastropoda (). This class comprises snails and slugs from saltwater, from freshwater, and from land. ...

also live on the island, the two-lipped door snail '' Balea biplicata'' and the German hairy snail '' Pseudotrichia rubiginosa'', as well as several rare species of beetles. This variety of unusual wildlife makes the island one of the

London Wildlife Trust London Wildlife Trust (LWT), founded in 1981, is a local nature conservation charity for Greater London. It is one of 46 members of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (known as The Wildlife Trusts), each of which is a local nature conservati ...

's most remarkable reserves. It is a local nature reserve and part of ''The River Thames and tidal tributaries'' Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation.

Trade

Isleworth Ait was once a centre for the production of osier - a willow which used to be harvested on the island to weave baskets to carry fruit and vegetables grown in

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbourin ...

to the markets in London. Much of the island has resulted from five pre-19th century neighbouring islands, overall covering a broader area and partially reduced by river erosion intensified by passing boat traffic.

Nearby tributaries

The River Crane flows into the Thames southwest of the island and its

distributary A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Distributaries are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distribut ...

to feed former mills and the lake in

Syon Park Syon Park is the garden of Syon House, the London home of the Duke of Northumberland in Isleworth in the London Borough of Hounslow. It was landscaped by Capability Brown in the 18th century, and it is Grade I listed by English Heritage under t ...

, the Duke of Northumberland's River, to the northwest.

Ownership

Thames Water Thames Water Utilities Ltd, known as Thames Water, is a large private utility company responsible for the public water supply and waste water treatment in most of Greater London, Luton, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucestershire, north Wil ...

owns the island, which houses the outfall from the

Mogden Sewage Treatment Works Mogden Sewage Treatment Works is a sewage treatment plant in the Ivybridge section of Isleworth, West London, formerly known as Mogden. Built in 1931–36 by Middlesex County Council and now operated by Thames Water, it is the third largest sewage ...

draining outer West London plus

Wraysbury Wraysbury is a village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in England. It is under the western approach path of London Heathrow airport. It is located on the east bank of the River Thames, roughly midway between Win ...

and Spelthorne – effluent of more than 2,000,000 residents in all. Most of the outfall has always meant to have been treated. The local setup is the sewerage catchment mainly has separate surface water drainage (drains for rainwater to flow into rivers and soakaways) which thus keeps untreated storm discharges from sewerage works low by not sending storm water to them. Such a system is more "desirable" and "preferable" though costlier to build. The older system alternative is that of

combined sewers A combined sewer is a type of gravity sewer with a system of pipes, tunnels, pump stations etc. to transport sewage and urban runoff together to a sewage treatment plant or disposal site. This means that during rain events, the sewage gets dilute ...

, having succeeded many former rivers in London. Excess discharges from all those older outfalls to the east are to be about 99% collected by a 2025 completion date tunnel. The Mogden works, which is a consolidation of many across its catchment, for a complete approach towards cleaning London's main watercourse, is being upgraded from the late 2010s to the early 2020s after billions of litres annually of untreated outfall from the island. The

Metropolitan Water Board The Metropolitan Water Board was a municipal body formed in 1903 to manage the water supply in London, UK. The members of the board were nominated by the local authorities within its area of supply. In 1904 it took over the water supply functi ...

bought the ait from the

Duke of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke ...

in the 1930s; visitor access is granted to local volunteers of the

References

External links