Lot's Ait

Lot's Ait is an ait (island) in the River Thames. It is on the Tideway near Brentford, in the Borough of Hounslow, London, England, and its size is approximately 51,000 square feet (4,738 m²).

History

Lot's Ait is often grouped with the adjacent Brentford Ait. It was formerly used for the growing of grass and osiers: basket willows, used for basketry, furniture, and cart-making, as well as cattle fodder. It was once known as Barbel Island, as this was a particularly fruitful area for fishing. It contained a yard where barges were repaired until 1980, when it was sold. It acquired a wild character with naturalised willows, rotting boats and rusting dock roofs and became a haven for wildlife. In 2002, the island was offered for sale with outline planning permission for a restaurant, a leisure facility and boat storage. It is accessible by footbridge and at low tide when it is possible to walk across from the Brentford shore, and is accessible by water from the nearby slipway street of Goats Wharf off Brentford High Street.^[1][2]

Marine developer Mike Barnes (thamesmooring.com) led rejuvenation efforts to bring the island back into beneficial use, both by implementation of the docks as residential moorings, and by re-establishing the boat yard buildings and slipway. In 2011, a lease on the island was granted to a local company, John's Boat Works, who has commenced boat building works on the island for the first time in over 30 years and put it back into use.^[3] In January 2012 a new footbridge was installed to link the island to the Brentford bank of the Thames at Smith Hill. The bridge was designed by Beckett Rankine and built and installed by MSO Marine.^[4]

In Popular Culture

• The Island was used to film some scenes for The African Queen (film)
• Scenes from the film Stratton: First into Action were also filmed on the island.

See also

• Islands in the River Thames

Notes

1. "News". Brentford Dock. Neil O'Dwyer. August 2002. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
2. Ordnance Survey map, courtesy of English Heritage
3. "Blog". John's Boat Works. John. September 2011. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
4. "Planning". Agenda Item. London Borough of Hounslow. September 2011. Retrieved 2012-01-10.

References

• Hatts, Leigh (2005). The Thames Path: From the Sea to the Source (2nd ed.). Milnthorpe: Cicerone. ISBN 978-1-85284-436-3. OCLC 276222230.
• "Syon and Mortlake Reaches: PLA 307 & 308 Main Surveys (Extract)" (PDF). Port of London. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
• Baker, T F T; Elrington, C R (editors); Bolton, Diane K; Croot, Patricia E C; Hicks, M A (1982). "Chiswick: Introduction". 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 2009-01-05. Cite uses deprecated parameter |coauthors= (help)

Coordinates: 51°29′05″N 00°17′54″W / 51.48472°N 0.29833°W

External links

• Lot's Ait.com official site