Platts Eyot
Encyclopedia
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
on the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
at Hampton
Hampton, London
Hampton is a suburban area, centred on an old village on the north bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in England. Formerly it was in the county of Middlesex, which was formerly also its postal county. The population is about 9,500...
, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames is a London borough in South West London, UK, which forms part of Outer London. It is unique because it is the only London borough situated both north and south of the River Thames.-Settlement:...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, on the reach between Molesey Lock
Molesey Lock
Molesey Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England at East Molesey, Surrey. It is near Hampton Court Palace to the west of London.The lock was built by the City of London Corporation in 1815 and is the second longest on the river at over 268 ft . Beside the lock there are rollers for the...
and Sunbury Lock
Sunbury Lock
Sunbury Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England near Walton-on-Thames in north-west Surrey. The lock adjoins the southern bank about half a mile downstream of the Weir Hotel....
.
The island was a typical ait
Ait
An ait is a small island. It is especially used to refer to islands found on the River Thames and its tributaries in England....
used for growing osier
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
s but was used for dumping spoil from excavation of the Stain Hill Reservoirs
Stain Hill Reservoirs
The Stain Hill Reservoirs lie to the north of the River Thames near Kempton Park Racecourse between Kempton Park and Hampton.The reservoirs were built by the Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company and are now managed by Thames Water....
, creating the large hill on the island's Western end. There is a suspension bridge to the island from the Middlesex bank at Hampton.
Boatbuilding began on the island in 1868, when Thomas Tagg, who had been running a business on Tagg's Island
Tagg's Island
Tagg's Island is an island in the River Thames in England on the reach above Molesey Lock and just above Ash Island. Although it is close to the Surrey bank near East Molesey, Surrey, it is connected to the further Middlesex bank by a long single track road bridge and is within the London Borough...
, 1 km downstream, since 1841, expanded by building a boatyard and house on the Eastern end of this island.
In 1908 Thornycroft
John Isaac Thornycroft
Sir John Isaac Thornycroft was a British shipbuilder, the founder of the Thornycroft shipbuilding company and member of the Thornycroft family.-Biography:He was born in 1843 to Mary Francis and Thomas Thornycroft....
set up the Hampton Launch Works on the island. This boatbuilding works concentrated on cabin cruisers and speedboats, but also produced small naval craft - Coastal Motor Boats in the First World War and Motor Torpedo Boat
Motor Torpedo Boat
Motor Torpedo Boat was the name given to fast torpedo boats by the Royal Navy, and the Royal Canadian Navy.The capitalised term is generally used for the Royal Navy boats and abbreviated to "MTB"...
s, Motor Launches and landing craft
Landing craft
Landing craft are boats and seagoing vessels used to convey a landing force from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. Most renowned are those used to storm the beaches of Normandy, the Mediterranean, and many Pacific islands during WWII...
in the Second World War. Thornycrofts closed their boatbuilding operation on Platt's Eyot when they were taken over by Vospers in the mid-1960s.
In 1960 the island was bought by Port Hampton Ltd. who diversified the use of industrial space.
Today the entire island is listed within the River Thames site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation, with the Western end of the island being listed as Green Belt
Green belt
A green belt or greenbelt is a policy and land use designation used in land use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighbouring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges which have a linear character and may run through an...
.