The Scilly Isles is a double roundabout between the English

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...

 towns of Esher

Esher

Esher is a town in the Surrey borough of Elmbridge in South East England near the River Mole. It is a very prosperous part of the Greater London Urban Area, largely suburban in character, and is situated 14.1 miles south west of Charing Cross....

 and Kingston-upon-Thames

Kingston upon Thames

Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...

, and marks one of the boundaries of Thames Ditton

Thames Ditton

Thames Ditton is a village in Surrey, England, bordering Greater London. It is situated 12.2 miles south-west of Charing Cross between the towns of Kingston upon Thames, Surbiton, Esher and East Molesey...

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Since the 19th century there has been a large pub

Public house

A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...

 at the junction, named with a popular name of the time, the Marquess of Granby. The junction acquired its name during the 1930s when the then new Kingston by-pass road rejoined the original route of the Portsmouth Road that was then the A3 road

A3 road

The A3, known as the Portsmouth Road for much of its length, is a dual carriageway, or expressway, which follows the historic route between London and Portsmouth passing close to Kingston upon Thames, Guildford, Haslemere and Petersfield. For much of its length, it is classified as a trunk road...

, now the A307

A307 road

The A307 road is a link road running through SW London and NW Surrey, which is primary at the start but for the most part is now more local in character...

. A series of roundabout

Roundabout

A roundabout is the name for a road junction in which traffic moves in one direction around a central island. The word dates from the early 20th century. Roundabouts are common in many countries around the world...

s were produced at the busy (for the 1930s) intersection; in those days they were a novelty and in common parlance were called "traffic island

Traffic island

A traffic island is a solid or painted object in a road that channelises traffic. It can also be a narrow strip of island between roads that intersect at an acute angle. If the island uses road markings only, without raised kerbs or other physical obstructions, it is called a painted island...

s". The complexity of the layout caused them to be called the 'silly islands' which, as the name became accepted, evolved into 'the Scilly Isles'. This name is an official name, visible on all approaches to the junction and may be seen on certain local maps.

The nearby Sandown Park Racecourse hosts the annual Scilly Isles Novices' Chase

Scilly Isles Novices' Chase

The Scilly Isles Novices' Chase is a Grade 1 National Hunt chase in Great Britain which is open to horses aged five years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of about 2 miles and 4½ furlongs , and during its running there are seventeen fences to be jumped...

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