Thames Ditton Island
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Three river islands ( aits) form a linear group, close to the junction of the two main old streets of
Thames Ditton Thames Ditton is a suburban village on the River Thames, in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Apart from a large inhabited island in the river, it lies on the southern bank, centred south-west of Charing Cross in central London. Thame ...
village, 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 ...
in a corner of modern Surrey, on the
Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...
reach 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 ...
. Thames Ditton Island, the dominant ait, is long and has 48 houses with gardens (and moorings); Boyle Farm Island has one house; Swan Island, between the two, is the smallest.


History

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
lived at
Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Listed building, Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Opened to the public, the palace is managed by Historic Royal ...
300 years before there were any Thames locks; these reached Teddington from upriver by 1810. Kingston Bridge was the only bridge above
London Bridge The name "London Bridge" refers to several historic crossings that have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark in central London since Roman Britain, Roman times. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 197 ...
and below the (at latest 1530s-built)
Chertsey Bridge Chertsey Bridge is a road bridge across the River Thames in Surrey, England. It carries the B375 road, connecting Chertsey in the borough of Runnymede to Laleham in the borough of Spelthorne. It is downstream from the M3 motorway (Great Britai ...
.Fred S. Thacker ''The Thames Highway: Volume 1 General History'' David & Charles 1968 Travelling from London to Hampton Court, instead of carriages through villages of
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
including the market town of
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 ...
monarchs down to the last regular visitor, George II, tended to be rowed up from
Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
to the palace. As the lack of locks and limited fish weirs (under
Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter"), sometimes spelled Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardin ...
) attest, the river beside the palace was a broad but twisting creek, especially at low tide at times of lower rainfall. To have a grander arrival and alleviate flooding of the village,
Cardinal Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( ; – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic cardinal. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling f ...
or Henry had the main channel locally dug out straighter , doing away with the ford from the grounds of Hampton Court on the north bank (in Middlesex). Before locks and weirs controlled the levels, Summer Road in
Thames Ditton Thames Ditton is a suburban village on the River Thames, in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Apart from a large inhabited island in the river, it lies on the southern bank, centred south-west of Charing Cross in central London. Thame ...
would flood at most high tides – its mud would not dry in the winter months, making it impassable, hence its name. Before Hampton Court Bridge a ferry to Hampton Court served
Oatlands Palace Oatlands Palace is a former Tudor and Stuart royal palace which took the place of the former manor of the village of Oatlands near Weybridge, Surrey. Little remains of the original building, so excavations of the palace took place in 1964 t ...
and the western third of Surrey, laden with carriages and carts. This lane ran northwards along
Thames Ditton Thames Ditton is a suburban village on the River Thames, in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Apart from a large inhabited island in the river, it lies on the southern bank, centred south-west of Charing Cross in central London. Thame ...
High Street, over what is now a public
slipway A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving smal ...
where the river is wide, and at lowest water through the ford to the other side. When the tide was in, ferrymen would charge a groat or two. In heavy flows the river came to tidal slack water often locally; this fertilised the broad banks of
flood-meadow A flood-meadow (or floodmeadow) is an area of grassland or pasture beside a river, subject to seasonal flooding.Huhta, Ari‐Pekka, Rautio, Pasi (2014). Flood meadows in Finland - their development during the past century. '' Nordic Journal of ...
s and flooded the island and ferry in winter. Controlled flows resembled the modern level by early 19th century as any agricultural benefit was outweighed by the homes of those near the river engaged in more modern forms of work. The first wooden bridge over the river at Hampton Court opened in 1753 and had a
toll Toll may refer to: Transportation * Toll (fee) a fee charged for the use of a road or waterway ** Toll road, a type of road which for which payment is required for passage ** Road pricing, the modern practice of charging for road use ** Road to ...
collected by a bridge-keeper. A ferry remained at the Swan Inn near the islands until at least 1911, and charged less than the toll. The original rather rickety bridge was replaced by a more substantial timber one in 1778. In 1865 this was replaced by a steel and brick bridge, and in 1933 this was in turn replaced by the existing concrete structure. The Thames locks began to appear late in the 18th century, 'Moulsey' (today called
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 ...
) was built in 1815. Boyle Farm was in the 19th century the property of the 1st Lord St Leonards (1781–1875), a
jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...
(legal researcher and publisher), barrister, and
Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...
. Until the 20th century Thames Ditton Island was part of Middlesex, and then of
Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...
from 1965. The residents petitioned
Middlesex County Council Middlesex County Council was the principal local government body in the administrative county of Middlesex from 1889 to 1965. The county council was created by the Local Government Act 1888, which also removed the most populous part of the cou ...
in 1930, requesting to be transferred from Middlesex to
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 ...
. The island was finally transferred from 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 ...
, Greater London to Esher Urban District, Surrey on 1 April 1970.


Historic use

For many centuries, the island formed part of the lands of the Manor of Imworth (Imber) appurtenant to land that became Forde's Farm and later Boyle Farm. In a survey of the manor of Imber in 1608, the island was known as Colly's Eite ( Ait or Eyot meaning a small island) and is recorded as '2 acres of pasture'. On the Surrey bank opposite, where the Swan Inn was built, the slipway and nearby wharf provided a useful dock for the passage of goods and people up and down the river. Large sailing barges from the
Port of London The Port of London is that part of the River Thames in England lying between Teddington Lock and the defined boundary (since 1968, a line drawn from Foulness Point in Essex via Gunfleet Old Lighthouse to Warden Point in Kent) with the North Se ...
would moor here to load or unload, their crews and attendant waggoners taking rest and sustenance at the inn. The island was then not much more than a muddy hump, but the
skiff A skiff is any of a variety of essentially unrelated styles of small boats, usually propelled by sails or oars. Traditionally, these are coastal craft or river craft used for work, leisure, as a utility craft, and for fishing, and have a one-pers ...
s of the day trippers from
Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...
would be moored there to allow their occupants to enjoy a riverside picnic. In the early 20th century came a fad for riverside weekend bungalows: the idea spread and a number of holiday chalets were built on the island. Life there must have been a matter of indoor camping, as there were no facilities of any kind: water and
paraffin Paraffin may refer to: Substances * Paraffin wax, a white or colorless soft solid (also in liquid form) that is used as a lubricant and for other applications * Liquid paraffin (drug), a very highly refined mineral oil used in cosmetics and for med ...
had to be ferried over in cans, and only the smarter sheds had a roof over the earth closet. As time passed, the attractions of the waterside location drew more and more people, so that by 1930, the whole of the perimeter was covered in wooden bungalows, with the owners' boats moored at the bottom of their gardens. The building of the suspension bridge in 1939 by David Rowell & Co. really opened up the island as a place for permanent occupation by providing passage on foot, carrying water, electricity and gas in, and enabling installation of WCs by transferring sewage out to the town drains. Originally leased from the island's owner, the publican at the Olde Swan, by 1963 all the houses had passed into freehold ownership and a limited company was formed to take over the bridge and adjacent gardens and to provide maintenance services.


Boyle Farm Island

Boyle Farm Island is the second largest of the three islands, natural apart from one family house, and light bank reinforcement. () It is directly opposite the historic mansion of Boyle Farm converted to a Home of Compassion. Whereas its larger partner, Thames Ditton Island, was part of Middlesex and then Greater London, Boyle Farm Island has always pertained to land in Surrey and within the county's authorities.


Swan Island

Swan Island is the smallest of the three islands. () On it was once the ferryman's hut, recently rebuilt by the present owner. Local historian Philip J. Burchett surmised that the original incumbent must have passed a meagre life, taking people across the main stream and to and from the island for a small fee at all times of the day and night. After flooding removed part of the upstream end of the main island, Swan Island has become linked to it by a bridge of vegetated sediment at normal flows.


Use of the island today

Each householder on the island is a member of the maintenance company, whose main functions are the purchase of water and the regular repainting of the bridge.Thames Ditton Island Website
Maintenance Company, a
Private company limited by guarantee A company limited by guarantee (CLG) is a type of company where the liability of members in the event the company is wound up is limited to a (typically very small) amount listed in the company's articles or constitution. Most have no share cap ...
.
Properties are private homes with dedicated
moorings A mooring is any permanent structure to which a seaborne vessel (such as a boat, ship, or amphibious aircraft) may be secured. Examples include quays, wharfs, jetties, piers, anchor buoys, and mooring buoys. A ship is secured to a mooring to ...
– in total, 47.Map
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 ...
Nearly all the dwellings are raised on brick piles, to reduce the chance of flood damage, but in the
2007 floods 2007 floods may refer to: * 2006-2007 Malaysian floods * 2007 United Kingdom floods * 2007 South Asian floods * 2007 Sudan floods * June 2007 Hunter Region and Central Coast storms * 2007 Midwest flooding in the United States * 2007 Mozambican floo ...
the river rose to cover the island in several feet of water. In early 2014, the island was again flooded to a depth of several feet.Homes at risk as Thames rises
BBC News Report, 9 February 2014
The river level at Thames Ditton was the highest since recording began in 2003.
, Surrey Mirror, 9 February 2014


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


External links


Official website
{{S-end Islands of the River Thames Borough of Elmbridge