Thames Ditton Island
| Thames Ditton Island | ||
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| Waters | Thames | |
| Geographical location | 51 ° 23 '38 " N , 0 ° 19' 53" W | |
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| length | 320 m | |
Thames Ditton Island is an island in the Thames at Thames Ditton , in Surrey above Teddington Lock . Thames Ditton Island is the largest of three islands that form a dense group here and is 320 m long with 47 houses and moorings. There's a single house on Boyle Farm Island . The Swan Iceland in the middle between the two is the smallest island of the group with a wooden hut.
history
Henry VIII lived at Hampton Court Palace before there were locks along the Thames; they reached Teddington in 1810. The river was also affected by the tides in this section and there was only the Kingston Bridge across the Putney Bridge before reaching Chertsey Bridge . There was no Hampton Court Bridge , instead one came from the southwest of Surrey to Thames Ditton High Street and then via today's public slipway to the river, where it was flat enough in a straight section at low tide to form a ford to the palace . At high tide there was a ferry that you paid a groat or two for.
Instead of using Kingston Bridge coming from London , the King of Westminster was rowed. The last section of the river to the palace was originally a particularly winding and narrow arm of the river, especially at low tide or in times of low rainfall. In order to ensure a more grandiose arrival of the king at the palace and to reduce the risk of flooding for the place, the river was straightened and separated the islands from the grounds of the palace.
The first wooden bridge over the Thames at Hampton Court Palace opened in 1753. A toll had to be paid for the bridge and until at least 1911 there was a ferry at the Swann Inn near the islands that was less expensive than the bridge.
Thames Ditton Island was part of Middlesex until the 20th century and then, from 1965, of Greater London . As early as 1930, residents sent a letter to Middlesex County Council , asking that the island be part of Surrey. The island was finally transferred from the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames to the Esher Urban District in Surrey on April 1, 1970 .
Use of the island in the past
For many centuries the island was part of the Manor of Imworth (or Imber) land holdings. In a 1608 list of the Manor of Imber, the island is referred to as the Colly's Eite and listed as 2 acres of pastureland . On the Surrey waterfront, a slipway and quay provided a good stop for goods and people on their way to or from London. Large barges from the port of London moored here, loaded or unloaded goods and the boatmen visited the restaurants.
The island was little more than a muddy hill, but the skiffs used by day trippers from Kingston moored here for picnics by the river. In the early 20th century the idea of riverside bungalows became fashionable and as the idea spread a number of weekend bungalows were built on the island. There was no water supply or disposal so water had to be brought over in canisters just like petroleum .
In the course of time the attractiveness of the shore location increased and in 1930 the entire perimeter of the island was built on with wooden bungalows. The construction of a suspension bridge in 1939 made it possible for the island to be permanently inhabited, since everything necessary for life could now be delivered via the bridge, as well as a connection to the water supply and disposal as well as the electricity and gas supply. Originally the land was leased from the proprietor of the Olde Swan Pub , but by 1963 it was all owned by the homeowner. A company was founded that was given the responsibility for the bridge and the surrounding land and is responsible for the general maintenance of the island.
Boyle Farm Island
Boyle Farm Island is the second largest of the three islands. ( 51 ° 24 ' N , 0 ° 20' W ) There is a house on the island that is inhabited by a family. In contrast to Thames Dittion Island, Boyle Farm Island was always in Surrey.
Swan Island
Swan Island is the smallest of the three islands. ( 51 ° 24 ′ N , 0 ° 20 ′ W ) The ferryman's hut used to stand on this island and was renovated by the current owner of the island. Local historian Philip J. Burchett judged that this ferryman's life must have been very humble if he had to translate people for a little money at any time of the day. It is questionable whether the island can still be regarded as an independent island, as there is now an alluvial land connection to Thames Ditton Island.
The island today
Almost all buildings on the island are on stilts to prevent flood damage. In 2007, however, the island was under several feet of water in the Thames' highest tide for several generations. In early 2014, there was a repetitive flood of several feet of water, and the flood was higher on the island than the previous great flood, being the highest on record at this point in 2003.
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Fred S. Thacker: The Thames Highway: Volume 1 General History. David & Charles 1968.
- ↑ a b c d e f g Philip J. Burchett: A Historical Sketch of Thames Ditton. Thames Ditton and Weston Green Residents' Association, Surrey 1984, ISBN 0-904811-20-4 .
- ^ John Roques's map of Surrey, 1768 at rootsweb.ancestry.com
- ^ HE Malden: Parishes. Thames Ditton. In: A History of the County of Surrey. Volume 3. Institute of Historical Research 1911.
- ^ Edward Walford: Greater London. Volume II. Cassell, London 1895.
- ^ Thames Ditton Island. In: Hansard of May 29, 1930, volume. 239 c1498W.
- ^ Alastair Morrison Nelson: Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Richmond upon Thames, 1971 on Wellcome Library
- ^ Homes at risk as Thames rises. In: BBC News Report of February 9, 2014.
- ^ Floods threat to Surrey homes as River Thames bursts its banks. ( Memento of the original from February 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Surrey Mirror, February 9, 2014.
Web links
Official website at thamesdittonisland.co.uk