Platt's Eyot or Platt's Ait is an

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

on 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 ...

at Hampton, in the

London 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 ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, on the reach between

Molesey Lock Molesey Lock is a lock (water transport), lock on the River Thames in England at East Molesey, Surrey on the bank (geography), right bank. The lock was built by the City of London Corporation in 1815 and was rebuilt by the Thames Conservancy i ...

and Sunbury Lock.

Geography

The island was a typical ait used for growing osiers added to by soil and sandy subsoil from excavation of the Stain Hill Reservoirs, creating the large hill as to the island's west. A suspension bridge links the island to Hampton. The island is in the River Thames site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation. Its west part is in the

Metropolitan Green Belt The Metropolitan Green Belt is a statutory green belt around London, England. It comprises parts of Greater London, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey, parts of two of the three districts of Bedfordshire and a s ...

. It is the westernmost (and most upriver) island on the Thames in London, on a reach a full extra lock above

Teddington Lock Teddington Lock is a complex of three locks and a weir on the River Thames between Ham and Teddington in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. Historically in Middlesex, it was first built in 1810. The limit of legal powe ...

(where the upper estuary begins). It is in a

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of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

that is medieval, and did not change to reflect its links in 1970 (see below),

West Molesey West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, Germanic word pass ...

. It is geodesically within of the medieval village hubs of Hampton and

History

The name of the island is derived from Platt of

Molesey Molesey is a suburban district comprising two large villages, East Molesey and West Molesey, in the Borough of Elmbridge, Surrey, England. Molesey is within the Greater London Built-up Area, and is situated on the south bank of the River Thames ...

who used it for growing withers. Boatbuilding began on the island in 1868, when Thomas Tagg, who had been running a business since 1841 on Tagg's Island, about downstream, expanded by building a boatyard and house on the eastern end of Platt's Eyot. A waterworks and electrical works with a charging station were also constructed on the island; the latter was used to power electrically powered pleasure launches and canoes that were built on the island. Around 1904

John Isaac Thornycroft Sir John Isaac Thornycroft (1 February 1843 – 28 June 1928) was an English shipbuilder, the founder of the Thornycroft shipbuilding company and member of the Thornycroft family. Early life He was born in 1843 to Mary Francis and Thom ...

set up the Hampton Launch Works on the island, an offshoot of the

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist Wi ...

boatyard that he had established in the 1860s. This boatbuilding works concentrated on cabin cruisers and speedboats, but the success of Thornycroft's operations on Platt's Eyot led to the award of contracts from the Admiralty. A new and larger facility was built in

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, which became Thornycroft's principal yard, but the Platt's Eyot yard continued to operate in both World Wars to build small naval craft. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, in 1916 the Admiralty commissioned a new type of fast torpedo-carrying motor launch which Thornycroft constructed secretly in its Platt's Eyot facility. Four new boat sheds were constructed on the island, probably in the same year (though the date is disputed by some), to a design by Augustine Alban Hamilton Scott. They were built using the Belfast truss system, developed during the First World War to roof wide structures such as aircraft hangars. Very few boat sheds were constructed using the technique, and these examples are now listed and inspected by

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the boatyard was used to construct motor torpedo boats, motor launches and

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. ...

. Thornycrofts closed its boatbuilding operation on Platt's Eyot when it was taken over by Vospers in the mid-1960s. In 1960 the island was bought by Port Hampton Ltd., which diversified the use of industrial space. Since 1941 the island has been connected to Hampton's

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * ''Left'' (Helmet album), 2023 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relativ ...

bank of the Thames, by a suspension bridge assembled by the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

. Reflecting the dominant north bank labour pool and its bridge, the island was transferred from Esher Urban District in Surrey to the

in Greater London on 1 April 1970,The Greater London and Surrey Order, 1970 by the minister's Order in Council mechanism (after due notice in ''

The London Gazette ''The London Gazette'', known generally as ''The Gazette'', is one of the official journals of record or government gazettes of the Government of the United Kingdom, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, i ...

'' and considering representations and whether to hold a local inquiry by the

London Government Act 1963 The London Government Act 1963 (c. 33) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created Greater London and a new local government structure within it. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the ...

). The change was an administrative exchange, in that Thames Ditton Island transferred at the same time. In the 21st century, several recording studios were established on the island. On 3 May 2021, a large fire consumed the ex-industrial boat sheds.

References

External links

The Thames from Hampton Court to Sunbury Lock
{{The Hamptons Islands of the River Thames Geography of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

Geography

History

See also

References

External links