Chiswick Eyot /ˈtʃɪzɪkˈeɪt/ is a 3.266-acre (1.3 ha) narrow, uninhabited ait (river island) of the Thames. It is a tree- and reed-covered rise on the Tideway by Chiswick, in London, England and is overlooked by Chiswick Mall and by some of the Barnes riverside on the far bank.
Chiswick Eyot lies beside The Championship Course and marks the approximate half-way point of The Boat Races (OUBC versus CUBC Men's and Women's first eights (1st 8+s) races) and the country's international Head of the River Race among others. A green pole stands on one end used for timings by rowers of that course, at the southwest, church end of the island. [1] It is the most downstream island purely in the Thames, since Canvey Island and two nearby islets in the lower estuary are co-fed by creeks, while the Isle of Sheppey is skirted by much flow from the River Medway.
Small craft can pass between Chiswick Eyot and Chiswick Mall on the north bank for about two hours at high tide, but the small channel is generally impassable. At low tide it is possible to walk to the tidal island, though this is discouraged, both because it is now a nature reserve, and to avoid the risk of being cut off by rising water. [2] [3] Visitors can readily be trapped as the shape of the river causes the tide to rise locally twice as rapidly as it falls, while the tidal range is large, at over 5.5 metres (18 ft). [4]
Chiswick Eyot is one of 43 unbridged tidal islands which can be walked to from the mainland of Great Britain. [5] The 3.266-acre (1.3 ha) [6] eyot was long-owned by the rectory of Chiswick and its natural successors the Ecclesiastical Commissioners until 1934 when ownership passed to the local council. [5] Little is known of its archaeology. St. Nicholas Church, Chiswick, whose tower was built in the 15th century, is 200 metres (yards) west of the island. [7] Thus an early medieval parish church is beside it as with Isleworth Ait, Eel Pie Island (Twickenham Ait) and others upstream.
The eyot was used during the industrial revolution mostly for the growing of grass and osiers (basket willows, used for basketry, furniture, cart-making, as well as cattle fodder). Its south-west end, opposite end and east has become indented. The island is partially submerged (excluding trees) by the highest tides.
The naturalist C. J. Cornish wrote in 1902 that the river bank of Chiswick Mall beside the eyot had once been a "famous fishery"; he recorded that "perhaps the last" salmon was caught between the eyot and Putney in 1812, and expressed the hope that if the "purification" of the river continued, the salmon might return. He noted that people had "taken" the wild irises from the eyot, but that marsh marigold, camomile, comfrey, ragged robin, buttercups and many composites still grew there. [8]
The London Borough of Hounslow declared the island a local nature reserve of Greater London in 1993. [3] [9]
The River Thames, known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At 215 miles (346 km), it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the River Severn.
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.
Stamford Brook was a tributary of the Tideway stretch of the River Thames in west London supplied by three headwaters. Historically used as an irrigation ditch or dyke the network of small watercourses had four lower courses and mouths.
An ait 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.
The River Crane, a tributary of the River Thames, runs 8.5 miles (13.6 km) in West London, England. It forms the lower course of Yeading Brook. It adjoins or passes through three London boroughs: Hillingdon, Hounslow and Richmond upon Thames, in the historic county of Middlesex. The drainage basin is heavily urbanised but many of the Hayes to Whitton flood-meadows have been conserved, forming a narrow, green vale, opening out to what remains of Hounslow Heath in the centre – a near-continuous belt of semi-natural habitat.
The Thames Path is a National Trail following the River Thames from one of its sources near Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Woolwich foot tunnel, south east London. It is about 185 miles (298 km) long. A path was first proposed in 1948 but it only opened in 1996.
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.
Strand-on-the-Green is one of Chiswick's four medieval villages, and a "particularly picturesque" riverside area in West London. It is a conservation area, with many "imposing" listed buildings beside the River Thames; a local landmark, the Kew Railway Bridge that crosses the River Thames and the Strand, is itself Grade II listed. Oliver's Island is just offshore.
Three river islands (aits) form a linear group, close to the junction of the two main old streets of Thames Ditton village, in the River Thames in a corner of modern Surrey, on the Kingston reach above Teddington Lock. Thames Ditton Island, the dominant ait, is 350 yards (320 m) long and has 48 houses with gardens ; Boyle Farm Island has one house; Swan Island, between the two, is the smallest.
Molesey Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England at East Molesey, Surrey on the right bank.
Platt's Eyot or Platt's Ait is an island on the River Thames at Hampton, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England, on the reach between Molesey Lock and Sunbury Lock.
Steven's Eyot is a narrow ait (island) in the River Thames in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, London, England, on the non-tidal reach above Teddington Lock.
Brentford Ait is a long 4.572-acre (1.9 ha) uninhabited ait in the River Thames, without buildings, on the Tideway near Brentford in London, England.
Lot's Ait is a 1.724-acre (0.7 ha) ait in the Thames. It is on the Tideway near Brentford, in the London Borough of Hounslow, England.
Isleworth Ait, also known as Isleworth Eyot, is a between 3.5-hectare (8.6-acre) and 9.370-acre (3.792 ha) teardrop-shaped island in the River Thames in England. The long ait is on the Tideway facing Old Isleworth and the towpath alongside the Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club. These places are in the London Boroughs of Hounslow and Richmond upon Thames. The island faces Heron's Place and a number of commercial buildings.
Oliver's Island is a tree-covered 0.9-acre (0.36 ha) ait, in the River Thames in England. It is in the London Borough of Hounslow, on the Tideway, facing Kew and Strand-on-the-Green in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, and is owned by the Port of London Authority.
Corporation Island is a small island on the River Thames in London. The island is between Richmond Bridge and Richmond Railway Bridge, where it forms part of the celebrated view from the Richmond waterfront. Its name seems to derive from its owners, the Corporation of Richmond, now the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is uninhabited and heavily wooded, and was formerly known as Richmond Ait.
Benn's Island, previously named Church Eyot, Kember's Eyot and sometimes referred to as Benn's Ait, is a private 0.1-acre (0.040 ha) ait (island) on the River Thames south-west of London. It is among a string of narrow islands above Molesey Lock and due to its clubhouse and size — the second-smallest named island on the Thames — it has deep foundation pilings to raise the building more than 1 m above the water line.
Chiswick Mall is a waterfront street on the north bank of the river Thames in the oldest part of Chiswick in West London, with a row of large houses from the Georgian and Victorian eras overlooking the street on the north side, and their gardens on the other side of the street beside the river and Chiswick Eyot.
Old Chiswick is the area of the original village beside the river Thames for which the modern district of Chiswick is named. The village grew up around St Nicholas Church, founded c. 1181 and named for the patron saint of fishermen. The placename was first recorded c. 1000 as Ceswican. In the Middle Ages the villagers lived by fishing, boatbuilding, and handling river traffic. The surrounding area was rural until the late 19th century.
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