The Karsino was a hotel on Tagg's Island in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames which stood from 1912 until 1972.
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The Karsino was a hotel on Tagg's Island in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames which stood from 1912 until 1972.
It was built for Fred Karno by architect Frank Matcham in 1912. When World War I started in 1914, the resort was popular with returning military officers and their families and staged picnics and entertainment at times for wounded soldiers. In 1925 Fred Karno declared bankruptcy. It changed hands several times and in 1972 the hotel, dilapidated, was demolished. Fire destroyed all the other buildings at the resort. [1]
An 11-minute film of the recreation on the lower canalised Thames in 1924 has footage devoted to the Karsino, preceded by the intertitle (titlecard): "There are ample facilities for gaiety here too – for opposite is the famous Karsino, on Tagg's Island". [2]
The inside of the hotel was used in the filming of the Billy Boy gang fight in Stanley Kubrick's 1971 movie A Clockwork Orange .[ citation needed ]
The theatre of the Karsino was used in Tommy Steele's 1971 TV film 'In Search of Chaplin.'
The Karsino is referenced in the original lyrics of Jack Buchanan's "Battling Butler" (renamed Battling Buttler for its transfer to the US [3] ), where the song "Dancing Honeymoon" [4] alludes to the "old Karsino / We know on the Isle of Tagg".
Hampton is a suburban area on the north bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England, in the historic County of Middlesex. Hampton is bounded by Bushy Park to the east, the suburbs of Hampton Hill and Fulwell to the north, green belt to the west, and the Thames to the south. Historically, the area known as Hampton included Hampton Court Palace, Hampton Hill, and Hampton Wick.
The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in southwest London, England forms part of Outer London and is the only London borough on both sides of the River Thames. It was created in 1965 when three smaller council areas amalgamated under the London Government Act 1963. It is governed by Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council and is divided into nineteen wards. The population is 198,019 and the major settlements are Barnes, East Sheen, Mortlake, Kew, Richmond, Twickenham, Teddington and Hampton.
Richmond is a town in south-west London, 8.2 miles (13.2 km) west-southwest of Charing Cross. It stands on the River Thames, and features many parks and open spaces, including Richmond Park, and many protected conservation areas, which include much of Richmond Hill. A specific Act of Parliament protects the scenic view of the River Thames from Richmond.
Frederick John Westcott, best known by his stage name Fred Karno, was an English theatre impresario of the British music hall. As a comedian of slapstick he is credited with popularising the custard-pie-in-the-face gag. During the 1890s, in order to circumvent stage censorship, Karno developed a form of sketch comedy without dialogue.
Trowlock Island is a residential island in the River Thames 450 metres (490 yd) upstream of Teddington Lock on the non-tidal Kingston reach less than 10 metres from the northern bank, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England.
Twickenham was a local government district in Middlesex, England from 1868 to 1965.
Kingston-upon-Thames was a local government district in north east Surrey, England from 1835 to 1965 around the town now known as Kingston upon Thames. It was alternatively known as Kingston on Thames. It was a municipal borough and also held the rarer status of Royal borough. The district was abolished in 1965 and was replaced with the larger London Borough of Kingston upon Thames in Greater London, with the Royal borough status passed to the new district.
Astoria is a grand houseboat, built in 1911 for impresario Fred Karno and adapted as a recording studio in the 1980s by its new owner, Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour. It is moored on the River Thames at Hampton in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Gilmour purchased the boat in 1986, because he "spent half of [his] life in recording studios with no windows, no light, but on the boat there are many windows, with beautiful scenery on the outside".
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.
Richmond Hill in Richmond, London, is a hill that begins gently in its townside through the former fields, orchards and vineyard to a point just within Richmond Park, the deer park emparked and enclosed by Charles I.
Double Bunk is a British black-and-white comedy film set on a houseboat. It was released in 1961 and stars Ian Carmichael and Sid James.
Ash Island is a forested, drop-shaped island in the River Thames in England, across the weir of Molesey Lock within Greater London on its border.
Tagg's Island, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and part of Hampton, is an ait (island) on the River Thames on the reach above Molesey Lock and just above Ash Island. The island is roughly 400 metres long by 90 metres wide at its widest point, covering 6 acres. Although close to the Surrey bank near East Molesey, Surrey, the island is connected to the further Middlesex bank by a single track road bridge, being the only island on the non-tidal Thames accessible by car.
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.
The Royal Star and Garter Home on Richmond Hill, in Richmond, London, was built between 1921 and 1924 to a design by Sir Edwin Cooper, based on a plan produced by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in 1915, to provide accommodation and nursing facilities for 180 seriously injured servicemen.
Crane Park Island is a Local Nature Reserve in Twickenham in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is also part of The Crane Corridor Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation. The site is an island in the River Crane, which is owned by Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council and managed by the London Wildlife Trust. The (only) entrance is next to the Shot Tower in Crane Park.
The White Cross is a Grade II listed public house at Riverside, Richmond, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It was built in the early mid-19th century, and the architect is not known.
The Vineyard is a street in Richmond, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It includes three groups of almshouses, a Grade II listed church and Clarence House, a 17th-century Grade II listed house associated with Bernardo O’Higgins, who is commemorated on the wall of the property with a blue plaque, installed by English Heritage, for his role in the Chilean War of Independence.
St Albans Riverside is a park in Hampton in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is linear with long sides between the Thames and Hampton Court Road. It runs from southeast of Garrick's Villa and his Temple to Shakespeare, Garrick's Lawn, Thames Street to a point 90 metres southeast of the interrupting small bridge that serves Tagg's Island.
51°24′31″N0°21′6″W / 51.40861°N 0.35167°W
