Pharaoh's Island, River Thames



Pharaoh's Island is an island in the River Thames, in Surrey, England, 270 m upstream of Shepperton Lock.

Overview
The island has a length of 280 m and a maximum width of 60 m. Shepperton Lock is 270 m downstream and two other channels leading to weirs diverge off after the island to its southeast. These channels then surround Lock Island and Hamhaugh Island. The island is only accessible by boat, with the facilities of Lock Island downstream and moorings there or by the pub The Thames Court almost opposite its eastern tip on the nearer, north bank.

River level
Above the lock, the variation in river level has been between 0.08 m at the lock gate and 0.99 m. This compares favourably with variation below the lock at between 2.67 m and 4.95 m in depth.

History
It was purchased by the Treasury to give to Admiral Nelson after the Battle of the Nile (1798). He used it as a fishing retreat. The island was known as Dog Ait until at least of the end of the 19th century. Tory MP and High Court Judge, Sir Cyril Atkinson built the first house in 1903 on the island and named it Sphinx due to his interest in Egyptology.

Residential development
Since the late 20th century it has hosted 14 homes with individual moorings. Most of the properties have Egyptian names.

The property names are, clockwise, starting in the west:

Deaths in January 2011
In January 2011, a small dinghy ferrying people from the island capsized with the loss of two lives. The fatalities were named as university professor Dr Rex Walford OBE and record producer Keith Lowde.

Media representations
As the home of his family, the island was the setting for director John Boorman's two semi-autobiographical films: Hope and Glory in 1987 and Queen and Country in 2014.

Notable residents
Ian Hendry and his wife, fellow actor Janet Munro lived on the island in the 1960s.