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Ham Island

Island in Berkshire, England

Summary

Island in Berkshire, England

Field	Value
static_image_name	Ham Island P1010153.JPG
static_image_caption	Ham Island and The Cut
country	England
region	South East England
lieutenancy_england	Berkshire
official_name	Ham Island
postcode_area	SL
postcode_district	SL4
coordinates

Ham Island is an inhabited man-made island of roughly 50 hectares (125 acres) in the River Thames in Old Windsor in England. It was a mature meander of the Thames until a channel was dug, the New Cut, to build Old Windsor Lock which reduced the navigable distance by two thirds.

The island contains 37 dwellings, a couple of which were abandoned during the 2014 flood.

History

The current island was a peninsula partly surrounded by a meander of the Thames until 1822 when the Thames Navigation Commissioners dug a channel of the river across the neck, the New Cut, to build Old Windsor Lock at its downstream end. At the upstream end a weir was constructed across the mainstream of the river, and at the downstream end of the cut the Old Windsor Lock also has a small weir. Accordingly, the distance in navigation was cut to around one third.

Inhabitation

The islands accommodates 37 privately owned dwellings. The original houses on the island, now almost entirely rebuilt in a more luxurious style, were quite modest – many were holiday homes. The island is also the site of a water treatment plant, well-screened from the homes, and the Blueacre Horse Rescue centre which had to be evacuated during the February 2014 flooding.

Literature

The island is referred to in Three Men in a Boat as, passing up through the lock at this point for the first time they note they can spy Windsor Castle in the distance. This trip is still facilitated with boat hire companies in riverside settlements such as Maidenhead, Windsor and Staines.

Protection

Part of the island is included within the Scheduled Ancient Monument, Kingsbury medieval palace and associated monuments.

In February 2014 the Thames burst its banks forcing some residents to leave their flooded homes.

References

Bibliography

The Ham Island Cookery Collection (Ed Noble,S) 1998 Old Windsor, H.I.R.A
Buildings of Old Windsor Gilson, M Old Windsor, M.F. Gilson, 1995

Gallery

Image:Ham Island P1010003.JPG|The Turning Circle Image:Ham Island P1010135.JPG| Thames Water's wastewater treatment works Image:Ham Island P1010137.JPG| Towards the Bridge

References

Jerome, J.K (1889; repr 1992) {{ISBN. 0-14-001213-3
[http://www.thamesweb.co.uk/windsor/rivertrip01/index.html River Trips]
{{NHLE
(10 February 2014). "Flood-Hit Ham Island Residents Appeal For Help". [[Sky News]].

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

islands-of-the-river-thames

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