
Tagg's Island is an
ait (island) on 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, s ...
on the reach above
Molesey Lock and just above
Ash Island, located in the
London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and part of
Hampton. The island is roughly 400 metres long by 90 metres wide at its widest point, covering 6 acres (including its central lagoon). Although close to the
Surrey
Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...
bank near
East Molesey
East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...
, the island is connected to the further
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
bank by a single track road bridge, being the only island on the non-tidal Thames accessible by car.
Houses are not permitted to be built on the island and it is surrounded by houseboats whose owners, in acquiring their mooring land, have the right to belong to the island's residents' association, which owns the island. Some of the Thames' most expensive houseboats are on this stretch of the river and are up to three storeys. The centre of the island has a lagoon with river access and private
moorings surrounded by trees and crossed by a small footbridge.
Historically, the island has been the site of multiple hotel and resort developments, including the Island Hotel established by Thomas Tagg (after whom the island is named), the famous ''
Karsino'' built by impresario
Fred Karno, which, following Karno's bankruptcy, became known as the Thames Riveria
under various owners. The island was bought by car manufacturer
AC Cars in 1940, who converted the skating rink and tennis courts into factory space for wartime munitions, and later,
Invacars for the Ministry of Pensions.
History
Originally Crown land and part of the Manor of Hampton granted to
Walter of Saint-Valéry following the
Norman Conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
, the island was historically known as Walnut Tree Ait. The island was purchased around 1850 by Francis Jackson Kent, a Hampton solicitor and property speculator (who bought and developed most of the land in
East Molesey
East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...
following the opening of the
Hampton Court branch line), during which period the island came to be known as Kent's Ait.
Kent evicted the inhabitants, who had subsisted by growing
osiers used for basket making, and leased one part of the island to Joseph Harvey, who established a pub called 'The Angler's Retreat', and another part to Thomas George Tagg, who came from a local family of boat builders.
Thomas Tagg and the Island Hotel
Tagg eventually took out a lease of the whole island, and in September 1872 took over the licence for the pub. After negotiations with Kent, Tagg swiftly rebuilt the pub into The Island Hotel
with "an entrance hall, bars, coffee room, smoking room, and bedrooms for guests, each with a verandah with views out over the river",
and which "... during the season ...
resenteda very gay and lively appearance ... much resorted to by literary and theatrical celebrities".
The hotel became a favoured venue of London high society, frequented by the likes of:
Edward, Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII);
the
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
and Duchess of Fife;
and the actresses
Emily Soldene and
Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including by Alexandre Dumas fils, ...
.
In the 1880s the island became an anchorage for (predominantly seasonal)
houseboats, which by this time were "exuberant floating juggernauts" with multiple storeys and comprehensive amenities, and had famous residents including writer
J.M. Barrie,
Gilbert & Sullivan exponent
Henry Lytton,
and a music hall actor known as
Fred Karno.
Tagg died in 1897, and his son George Tagg took over control of the hotel and the island. Unfortunately the economic effects of the
Boer War, the advent of the motor car, changing tastes, and a series of poor summers, led to a significant downturn in the fortunes of the hotel, and Tagg junior declared bankruptcy in 1904. The assets of the family business, including the lease of the hotel, were put up for auction (with limited success). The hotel began to fall into disrepair, and residents of the island's houseboats impressed upon Francis Jackson Kent (who retained the
freehold) to find a suitable buyer.
Fred Karno, the ''Astoria'', and the Karsino

In the meantime,
Fred Karno, who had resided in his houseboat ''Highland Lassie'' since 1903, decided to upgrade his accommodations. Taking competitive inspiration from the then-grandest houseboat on Thames – Henry Hewitt's ''Satsuma'', anchored upstream at nearby
Platt's Eyot – Karno commissioned the construction of the palatial ''
Astoria'', with a sundeck 90 feet long by 18 wide, which could accommodate a full orchestra and dancefloor. Completed in 1913, the ''Astoria'' cost an estimated £20,000.
Karno, who as an
impresario had reputedly discovered
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...
, was approached by the other houseboat owners to reverse the hotel's fortunes, fearing that if the hotel failed, the island would be sold for building development and their mooring leases would not be renewed. After negotiations with Kent, Karno took on a 42-year lease over the island in Christmas 1912.

Karno had the existing hotel building demolished, and employed the noted theatre architect
Frank Matcham to design 'the finest and most luxurious river hotel in Europe', commissioning builders Allen & Co of Westminster and the West End decoration and furnishing specialists Messrs. Ropley to outfit the interior. The result was
The Karsino, an opulent 26-bedroom hotel with a double verandah on three sides, a ballroom with a resident orchestra seating 350, billiard room, lifts to all floors and electric lighting throughout. Ferries were laid on for guests to get to the hotel and small boats provided for amusement.
The gardens were landscaped, and tennis, croquet, bowls and badminton courts installed. The Karsino's opening on Sunday 22 June 1913 was mobbed by thousands of prospective attendees, most of whom remained on the riverside, with those in attendance facing an overwhelmed catering department. With performers press-ganged into the kitchens and dining room, disaster was averted and the opening deemed a success.

In 1914 Karno expanded the hotel by constructing The Palm Court concert pavilion, which accommodated 800 people under a ceiling painted with scenes of the river between
Hampton Court and
Windsor. The stage was constructed with two
proscenium
A proscenium (, ) is the virtual vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor itself, which serves as the frame ...
s – one facing into the ballroom, the other facing out to the hotel grounds – allowing an outdoor performance to swiftly switch indoors if the weather turned inclement.
The outbreak of the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
dampened the Karsino's prospects (with Continental clientele returning home), but it continued to entertain servicemen home on leave, airmen training at
Hurst Park (which had been converted into an airfield for the
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...
), and recuperating invalids. Following the
Armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...
, Karno enthusiastically re-opened the hotel, expecting his upper and upper-middle class patrons to return, but changing tastes and the dominance of the motor car saw his clientele seek pleasures further afield. The demise of music hall in an era of
cinema and
wireless
Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information (''telecommunication'') between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided transm ...
saw Karno's personal fortunes decline. Having sold the ''Astoria'' at a significant loss, in 1926 Karno sold the tenancy rights to the island to New Princes Restaurant of Piccadilly for £2,500. Karno declared bankruptcy in the autumn of 1927.
The Karsino Hotel is featured in the 1916 Topical Budget newsreel ''Eccentric Club Entertain Wounded Soldiers'', and also appears briefly in the 1924 film ''Along Father Thames to Shepperton'', part of the Wonderful London series produced by
Graham Wilcox Productions. The Karsino is referenced in the original lyrics of
Jack Buchanan's "Battling Butler" (renamed
Battling Buttler for its transfer to the US ), where the song "Dancing Honeymoon" references the ''"old Karsino / We know on the Isle of Tagg"''.
Palm Beach, The Thames Riveria and the Casino Hotel
The New Princes set about converting the island into a miniature Palm Beach, the managing director explaining their plan as: "a resemblance of
America's most exclusive resort in Florida, thousands of tons of sand are to be placed on the island and hundreds of palms will be planted. There will be large sunshades, beach chairs, provision for the enjoyment of mixed bathing, and other items of amusement and relaxation generally associated with the fashionable resorts." The resort opened on 8 May 1926 with performances by touring baritone
Whispering Jack Smith and the New Princes resident cabaret company (which included cabaret star Jean Rai).
The Palm Beach venture failed however, and in 1928 the lease was taken up by a former manager at the New Princes, Charles Pearce-Brown, now trading as impresario Herbert Cyril. Cyril's vision for the site was a 'Thames Riveria', with a sand "beach",
flood-lit tennis court, and ice-skating rink. The venture failed within six weeks and Cyril was declared bankrupt.

Cyril's mortgagee, the United Kingdom Advertising Company, took on the lease themselves, renovating the hotel and grounds, including a "charmingly appointed ballroom and theatre, with what is regarded as one of the finest floors in Europe, cosy alcoves for suppers and a restful balcony; .. covered tennis courts, badminton courts, putting greens, sea sand beach, pretty lawns and gardens, and facilities for bathing and boating, ... and access to the island for cars is made simple by a huge electrically-driven ferry". The Thames Riveria traded with mixed success for several years under different owners (including property magnate
Charles Clore), being refurbished and re-opened as the Casino Hotel in 1935.
AC Cars, the Second World War and the Invacar

In 1941 British car manufacturer
AC Cars purchased the island freehold from the Kent family, seeking space additional to its operations in
Thames Ditton. The skating rink and tennis courts were converted to factory space, producing munitions, and a bridge built to connecting the island to the north bank.

After the war, production shifted to producing three-wheeled vehicles for the Ministry of Pension's
invalid carriage program (primarily providing vehicles to disabled servicemen). Carriages for the Pier railway at
Southend were also manufactured (completed cars requiring removal of the factory wall for shipping). The company would use the Casino Hotel for product launches.
The Crawdaddy Club and demolition
Vehicle production ceased in the mid-1960s, and between 1965 and mid-1968 the Casino ballroom intermittently hosted the
Crawdaddy Club, featuring bands such as
Chris Farlowe & The Thunderbirds,
Jimmy James and the Vagabonds, The Shotgun Express (including
Rod Stewart
Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...
,
Mick Fleetwood and
Peter Bardens) and
Pink Floyd.
The Casino Hotel was ultimately abandoned. In 1970
Tommy Steele filmed part of his 1971 TV film ''
In Search of Charlie Chaplin'' at the hotel, and in 1971 it was used as a set for ''
A Clockwork Orange''. The 'Billy Boy' gang fight at the start of the film was shot in the ruins of the Palm Court ballroom.
In 1965 the bridge to the north bank collapsed, and in 1971 the hotel was demolished in preparation for a new hotel proposed by American businessman Leon Bronesky (which was never built).
In 1980 houseboat owners Gerry and Gillian Braban bought the island, rebuilding a road bridge to the north bank in 1982, and excavating a lagoon in the centre of the island (increasing the number of houseboats by 20) in 1983.
At present the island has 62 permitted houseboats, which styles itself as a community of artists and creatives.
The ''
Astoria'' was purchased by
Pink Floyd guitarist
David Gilmour in 1986, and used by the band as a recording studio. The houseboat is visible from the island, now moored on the northern bank upstream.
On 18 July 2022, 14-year-old Brian Sasu of Feltham jumped off Tagg's Island bridge, injured his neck and drowned.
See also
*
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, s ...
*
Islands in the River Thames
This article lists the islands in the River Thames, or at the mouth of a tributary (marked †), in England. It excludes human-made islands built as part of the building of forty-five two-gate locks which each accompany a weir, and islets subordi ...
*
St Alban's Riverside (including Tagg's Island sundial)
*
Platt's Eyot
*
Garrick's Ait
*
Benn's Island
*
Ash Island
*''
Double Bunk (film)''
*''
A Clockwork Orange (film)''
Notes and references
Notes
References
External links
Tagg's Islandwebsite
Along Father Thames to Shepperton(1924) (Karsino Hotel at 7:15)
Taggs Island on the BBC One Show(15 February 2012)
Three Men in a Boat(2006) (visiting David Gilmour's ''
Astoria'')
* Richard G.M. Baker
Thameside Molesey(1989)
*
Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
back issues(Crawdaddy Club listings July 1966 to April 1968)
*[https://www.alamy.com/men-taken-out-on-a-trip-by-the-london-volunteer-rifles-who-offered-large-parties-of-wounded-soldiers-from-london-hospitals-trips-into-the-country-entertaining-them-at-golf-clubs-athletic-grounds-private-houses-etc-this-particular-trip-shows-over-two-hundred-men-visiting-taggs-island-as-the-guest-of-an-anonymous-gentleman-1-waiting-for-the-lvr-motor-car-battalion-at-fulham-hospital-2-crossing-on-the-ferry-to-taggs-island-3-a-patient-not-well-enough-to-be-moved-takes-tea-in-the-car-4-one-of-the-patients-of-fulham-hospital-sergt-major-harry-daniels-vc-rifle-brigade-w-image501438426.html wounded soldiers from London hospitals, visiting Tagg's Island, 1915]
{{The Hamptons
Geography of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
Islands of London
Islands of the River Thames
Sundials
Hampton, London