Weir on the Thames at Shepperton Lock - geograph

Hamhaugh Island is an island, historically known simply as Stadbury, in the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

south of

Shepperton Lock Shepperton Lock is a lock on the River Thames, in England by the left bank at Shepperton, Surrey. It is across the river from Weybridge which is nearby linked by a passenger ferry. In 1813, the City of London Corporation built the pound lock ...

, in

Shepperton Shepperton is an urban village in the Borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, approximately south west of central London. Shepperton is equidistant between the towns of Chertsey and Sunbury-on-Thames. The village is mentioned in a document of 959 AD ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

Position

The island is at the southernmost point of the River Thames. The garden-lined southern horseshoe curve of the island is mapped as Hamhaugh Point, and being its only tapered side becomes the narrowest width. Otherwise Hamhaugh is almost rectangular: long and wide. It is from the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

es of Shepperton and Weybridge respectively, however Shepperton High Street is a further north of this whereas Weybridge High Street runs next to its parish church, which means the whole area is closer to Weybridge's urban resources. The town is accessible by boat or a journey, using

Walton Bridge Walton Bridge is a road bridge across the River Thames in England, carrying the A244 between Walton-on-Thames and Shepperton, crossing the Thames on the reach between Sunbury Lock and Shepperton Lock. The bridge is the first Thames road brid ...

, of more than . The Shepperton Lock area of Old Shepperton has a family

gastropub A gastropub or gastro pub is a pub that serves gourmet comfort food. The term was coined in the 1990s, though similar brewpubs existed during the 1980s. Etymology The term ''gastropub'' (derived from gastronomy) was coined in 1991, when David E ...

, two marine shops/chandler's shops and the lock's indoor and outdoor

tea room A teahouse (mainly Asia) or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment whic ...

Crossing the river

A ferry operates from Shepperton Lock's downstream side to the northern point of Weybridge and links the

Thames Path National Trail The Thames Path is a National Trail following the River Thames from its source near Kemble, Gloucestershire, Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Woolwich foot tunnel, south east London. It is about long. A path was first proposed in 1948 but it onl ...

. A fee of £3 one way or £5 round trip is payable.

Land use

The island, apart from landings (boats' hardstanding) and a patch of woodland with a path running through it along the north side, is residential, consisting of 46 houses and a communal green. Access is on foot or carried bicycle from Shepperton lock, across

Lock Island Lock Island is an island in the River Thames in England connected to Shepperton Lock, near Shepperton. Facing the attached by lock-gate bridge mainland is a hedge-lined lawn hosting a café, below and above zones of free short-stay moorings. T ...

and then across a

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

. A second weir, without foot access, connects the island to the right bank: Hamm Point of the Hamm Court residential estate,

Addlestone Addlestone ( or ) is a town in Surrey, England. It is located approximately southwest of London. The town is the administrative centre of the Borough of Runnymede, of which it is the largest settlement. History The town is recorded as ''Attels ...

History

The island was created and soon thereafter slightly reduced to create a smaller island, Lock Island, to the north, which was also part of the mainland — this creation occurred after the fixing of most non-urban parish boundaries, pre-1700, and explains why given the wide channel dug to its north (almost equal width of the widest river course to all other sides), it stayed part of the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of Shepperton. Before the later Thames locks including all those of the mid- to lower Thames (such as from

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

down to

Teddington Teddington is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2021, Teddington was named as the best place to live in London by ''The Sunday Times''. Historically in Middlesex, Teddington is situated on a long m ...

) were built from 1805 onward, the river here saw flooding across what was a combined island, at various points such as the far north in times of very high tide, when combined with post-rainfall water volumes, this being similar to

Penton Hook Island Penton Hook Island is a mainly wooded former peninsula created into a series of three weir-divided islands in the River Thames in England, so created in river modifications since 1815 with a navigable lock and weir stream channel to form meander ...

and

Desborough Island Desborough Island is a manmade island in the River Thames on the reach above Sunbury Lock in Surrey, England. It was formed in the 1930s by the digging of a channel – the Desborough Cut – by the Thames Conservancy as a meander cutoff of n ...

which were also originally peninsulas. With the additional capacity and cuts along this stretch this acts to bypass the old river when necessary and makes navigation much shorter for river journeys.

References

{{coord, 51, 22, 49, N, 00, 27, 38, W, region:GB-SRY_type:isle_scale:5000, display=title Islands of the River Thames

Position

Crossing the river

Land use

History

See also

References