Hollyhock Island is an inhabited island in the River Thames in England on the reach between Bell Weir Lock and Penton Hook Lock.
Hollyhock Island is an inhabited island in the River Thames in England on the reach between Bell Weir Lock and Penton Hook Lock.
The island is situated in a small channel between the larger Holm Island and the north bank of the Thames. It is located in Berkshire, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, near the county boundary with Surrey. [1] [2] Until county boundary changes in 1974, the island was within the county of Buckinghamshire [3] and near the border with Middlesex. [4] The island is approximately 80 miles (130 km) from the Thames Estuary at the Isle of Grain. [5]
Upstream of the island is Runnymede Bridge carrying the M25 motorway. Downstream is Church Island and Staines Bridge. [1] The island is on the reach between Bell Weir Lock and Penton Hook Lock. [6] [1]
The 25-inch scale Ordnance Survey Great Britain County Series map, published in the 1890s, shows that the island was connected to both the north bank and Holm Island by footbridges. [3] By the time of the 1962 25-inch Ordnance Survey map, these footbridges no longer existed. [4]
On the island was "The Nest", a house allegedly used by the future king Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson as a romantic getaway. [7] [8] [lower-alpha 1] Current Ordnance Survey mapping shows no buildings on the island and no connection with the mainland. [9]
Staines-upon-Thames is a town on the left bank of the River Thames in Surrey, England, in the borough of Spelthorne. At or near the Roman settlement of Pontibus, it became Stanes and then Staines. Its borough is in the historic county of Middlesex and its two precursor districts were transferred to Surrey County Council in 1965.
Spelthorne is a local government district and borough in Surrey, England. Its council is based in Staines-upon-Thames; other settlements in the area include Ashford, Sunbury-on-Thames, Shepperton, Stanwell and Laleham. Spelthorne forms part of the historic county of Middlesex.
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. It was first built in 1810.
This article lists the islands in the River Thames, or at the mouth of a tributary, 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 subordinate to and forming part of the overall shape of another. The suffix -ey is common across England and Scotland and cognate with ait and meaning island, a term – as ait or eyot – unusually well-preserved on the Thames. A small minority of list entries are referred to as Island, Ait or Eyot and are vestiges, separated by a depression in the land or high-water-level gully.
The TW postcode area, also known as the Twickenham postcode area, is a group of 20 postcode districts in England, within 13 post towns. These cover parts of south-west London and north-west Surrey, plus a very small part of Berkshire.
Eton Wick is a village in Berkshire, England, on the River Thames in the civil parish of Eton, close to the historic towns of Windsor and Eton, Slough and Dorney Lake, the rowing venue for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
The Thames Path is a National Trail following the River Thames from its source near Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Thames Barrier at Charlton, south east London. It is about 184 miles (296 km) long. A path was first proposed in 1948 but it only opened in 1996.
The River Ash is a small, shallow river in Surrey, England. Its course of 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) is just outside Greater London. Work has been carried out to re-align, clear, build up a small, Littleton head of water and create two backwaters. One backwater dates to the medieval period; the other to the 1990s decade. It flows as one of the six distributaries of the River Colne from the south of Staines Moor immediately south of the Staines Bypass eastwards through the rest of the borough of Spelthorne before meeting the River Thames.
Wheatley's Ait or Wheatley Eyot is an ait (island) in the River Thames of approximately 8 hectares on the reach above Sunbury Lock, close to the northern side and in the post town Sunbury-on-Thames however in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England.
Staines Bridge is a road bridge running in a south-west to north-east direction across the River Thames in Surrey. It is on the modern A308 road and links the boroughs of Spelthorne and Runnymede at Staines-upon-Thames and Egham Hythe. The bridge is Grade II listed.
Penton Hook Lock is the sixth lowest lock of forty four on the non-tidal reaches of the River Thames in England. It faces an island which was until its construction a pronounced meander and is on the site of its seasonal cutoff. It is against the left bank marking the church parish medieval border of Laleham and Staines upon Thames in Surrey for many centuries. Until 1965 their county was Middlesex. At 266 ft (81 m) it is the third longest lock on the river.
Old Windsor Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England on the right bank beside Old Windsor, Berkshire. The lock marks the downstream end of the New Cut, a meander cutoff built in 1822 by the Thames Navigation Commissioners which created Ham Island. The lock and a wider footbridge give access to the island. Two weirs are associated; the smaller adjoins and the larger is upstream. The lock is the ninth lowest of the forty-five on the river.
Tagg's Island, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is an island on the River Thames on the reach above Molesey Lock and just above Ash Island.
Church Island or Church Eyot is an inhabited island in the River Thames in England on the reach above Penton Hook Lock in Staines-upon-Thames, Spelthorne, Surrey. It is in the upper part of the reach. It is approximately 200 m (660 ft) above Staines Bridge, but is thought by some historians to have been the site of the Roman bridges (Pontes) across the Thames recorded as a waypoint on the Devil's Highway between Londinium (London) and Calleva (Silchester).
Holm Island is an island in the River Thames in England on the reach above Penton Hook Lock, near Staines. It is on the Buckinghamshire bank, just upstream of Hollyhock Island.
The Maidenhead Waterways are a system of canals in Maidenhead, England. Formerly disused, plans to restore and upgrade them were announced in 2011. The works would initially make the waterways navigable by small craft, and over time by larger craft, as limitations to navigation are gradually removed.
The Colne Brook is a river in England that is a distributary of the River Colne which runs from Uxbridge Moor, there forming the western border of Greater London, to the River Thames just below Bell Weir Lock in Hythe End, Wraysbury, Berkshire.
The Unnamed Eyot is an island in the River Thames in Berkshire, England, north of the village of Wargrave, Berkshire, its parish in civil terms and ecclesiastical parish in the Church of England. It is on the reach above Marsh Lock.
Lower Green is a residential and commercial area within Esher, in Surrey, England, and is situated on the bank of the River Ember and River Mole. There is no high street, however there is a cafe, corner shop and brewery that has a tap room open to the public. There are many businesses located in Lower Green, most of which are located in the commercial complex comprising Sandown Industrial Complex and Royal Mills where the historic Royal Mills were once located. There is a retail restaurant-lined street to the south west, which is a 10-minute walk. Lower Green is divided into two wards of the United Kingdom: Hinchley Wood & Weston Green and Esher both in Surrey.
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| The Island, Hythe End | Hollyhock Island Holm Island Grid reference TQ02457181 | Church Island |
Coordinates: 51°26′10.5″N00°31′39.5″W / 51.436250°N 0.527639°W