Duke of Northumberland's River
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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.
[edit] The Western section
The Western section was constructed during the reign of King Henry VIII to augment the flow supplying existing mills and facilitating the construction of new ones, a source of revenue for the Duke of Northumberland's estate.
This section diverts waters from the River Colne at Longford, flowing eastwards to the River Crane. For a large part of its early course, it flows alongside its younger "twin", the Longford River. Both waterways have recently been diverted as part of the works 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.
The Duke's river then flows east to join the Crane in Donkey Wood, by Baber Bridge, to the west of Hounslow Heath.
[edit] The Eastern Section
The eastern section diverts water from the River Crane, London in Knellar 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, dating from the time of Syon Abbey and predating the purchase of the river with the Syon estate from King James 1 by the Duke of Northumberland around 1605.
The Duke of Northumberland's River can thus be described as a distributary of the Colne and a tributary of the Crane and also a distributary of the Crane and a tributary of the Thames!
