Duke of Northumberland's River

Stretch of the river at Twickenham

The Duke of Northumberland's River consists of two sections of artificial waterway. The older name: "Isleworth Mill Stream", or River, more accurately describes the economic motivation for their construction.

The western section

The river near Heathrow Airport

The western section was constructed during the reign of King Henry VIII to augment the flow supplying existing mills and to supply new mills, a source of revenue for the Duke of Northumberland's estate.

This section diverts waters from the River Colne at Longford, London, flowing eastwards to the River Crane. For a large part of its early course, it flows alongside its younger "twin", the Longford River. The river around Heathrow Airport was diverted south in 1944 during the airport's construction.^[1] Both rivers have recently been diverted as part of the Twin Rivers Diversion Scheme associated with the construction of Terminal 5. They skirt the western and southern perimeter of Heathrow Airport then separate at The Two Bridges in Bedfont, to the south east of Terminal 4.^[2]

The Duke's river then flows east to join the Crane in Donkey Wood, by Baber Bridge, to the west of Hounslow Heath. 51°27′35″N 0°24′08″W / 51.4596°N 0.4022°W / 51.4596; -0.4022

The eastern section

The eastern section diverts water from the River Crane, London in Kneller Park Whitton, north-eastwards past The Stoop and Twickenham Stadium, through Isleworth, originally to the Mill then onwards to supply the ornamental ponds in the Duke of Northumberland's estate at Syon Park. Sluices control the flow into the park and the Thames.

This section is the older of the two, built in the time of Syon Abbey and before the Duke of Northumberland bought the river with the Syon estate from King James I around 1605.

The Duke of Northumberland's River can thus be described as a distributary of the Colne and a tributary of the Crane; it is also a distributary of the Crane and a tributary of the Thames. 51°27′21″N 0°20′39″W / 51.45583°N 0.34417°W / 51.45583; -0.34417

See also

• Tributaries of the River Thames
• List of rivers in England

References

Citations

1. ^ Sherwood 2006, p.11
2. ^ Sherwood 2006, p.10

Bibliography

• Sherwood, Philip. (2006) Around Heathrow Past & Present. Stroud: Sutton Publishing ISBN 0-7509-4135-9

External links

• Longford Resident's Association article on the river

Next confluence upstream	River Thames	Next confluence downstream
River Crane (north)	Duke of Northumberland's River	River Brent (north)