Brentford Ait

Island in the River Thames, England

Brentford Ait seen from Kew Bridge

Brentford Ait is a long 4.572-acre (1.9 ha) uninhabited ait (river island) in the River Thames, without buildings, on the Tideway near Brentford in London, England.

## Ownership and size

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It is administered by the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and Port of London Authority. Its west part was last accurately measured as 1.956 acres (0.8 ha); its east 2.616 acres (1.1 ha) being longer and the same width.[1] The ait has a gap in the middle known as Hog Hole which is apparent at lower high tides, dividing the ait into "upper" and "lower" sections which are awash with water at mean high water springs.[2]

Map of Brentford and Lot's Aits

The ait was also known as Makenshaw, Mattenshaw or Twigg Ait.[3] For reasons likely connected with ownership the ancient parish of Kew in Surrey[4] included Brentford Ait in its history; the London Borough of Hounslow governs neighbouring Lot's Ait separated only by thick, shifting mud at low tide from Brentford whereas channels beside the dual ait are dredged.[5]

In the 18th century the ait was inhabited; a main building was a latter-day notorious pub, the Swan or Three Swans; its trade was ended in 1796.[3] On the Brentford bank, the Swan Steps lead down to the river at the east end of the long and narrow park, Waterman's Park. From these the crossing to the pub ran.

The ait has borne large trees since the 1920s to screen Brentford's gasworks (since removed) from the view of Kew Gardens. The ait is covered by willows and alder and is a bird sanctuary with a significant heronry.

## See also

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* Islands in the River Thames

## References

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1. ^ OS 25-inch map of 1910 Ordnance Survey London sheet LXXXIV revised 1891-94, published 1897.
2. ^ Brentford Quay to Kew Bridge: PLA 306 (PDF) (Map). Port of London Authority. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
3. ^ a b "Site of the Three Swans". Panorama of the Thames. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
4. ^ Diane K Bolton; Patricia E C Croot; M A Hicks (1982). T F T Baker; C R Elrington (eds.). "Ealing and Brentford: Introduction". A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 7: Acton, Chiswick, Ealing and Brentford, West Twyford, Willesden. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
5. ^ Map created by Ordnance Survey, courtesy of English Heritage Archived 24 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine

## Bibliography

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* Bolton, Diane K; Croot, Patricia E C; Hicks, M A (1982). "Chiswick: Introduction". In Baker, T F T; Elrington, C R (eds.). A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 7: Acton, Chiswick, Ealing and Brentford, West Twyford, Willesden. Oxford: Oxford University Press for the University of London, Institute of Historical Research. pp. 50–51\. OCLC 59178433. Retrieved 5 January 2009.50-51&rft.pub=Oxford+University+Press+for+the+University+of+London,+Institute+of+Historical+Research&rft.date=1982&rft_id=info:oclcnum/59178433&rft.aulast=Bolton&rft.aufirst=Diane+K&rft.au=Croot,+Patricia+E+C&rft.au=Hicks,+M+A&rft_id=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22557&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Brentford+Ait" class="Z3988">
* Hatts, Leigh (2005). The Thames Path: From the Sea to the Source (2nd ed.). Milnthorpe: Cicerone Press. ISBN 978-1-85284-436-3. OCLC 276222230.
* Walker, Duncan. "Brentford Ait – Wild, Beautiful & Notorious". Brentford in Literature. Brentford Dock Right Now. Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2014.

Next island upstream | River Thames | Next island downstream

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Lot's Ait | Brentford Ait | Oliver's Island

51°29′11″N 0°17′39″W﻿ / ﻿51.4863°N 0.2941°W﻿ / 51.4863; -0.2941

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