Archive:Imperial Gazetteer of England
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Wilson, John Marius, The Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales]] (Pullarton, 1870-72).
ISLEWORTH, a village, a parish, a sub-district, and a hundred in Middlesex. The village stands on the river Thames, near the loop-line of the Southwestern railway, 1 mile SW of Brentford; was known at Domesday as Ghistelworde, afterwards as Yhistelworth, Istelworth, and Thistleworth; communicates, by an old-established ferry, with Richmond and Kew; consists chiefly of one street, with a square; was a very fashionable place prior to the removal of the Court from Kew; has again come into much favour since the railway period; enjoys fine amenities of ground, water, climate, and scenery; commands pleasant facilities for cricketing, aquatic sports, bathing, and rural enjoyment; has a good reading room; is noted for sending large supplies of fruit to the London market; and has a station on the railway, a post office under London W., and a two-days' pleasure fair, commencing on the first Monday of July. -The parish contains also Brentford-End, Smallbury-Green, Whitton-Dean, Wyke-Green, and part of the town of Hounslow; and includes all the chapelry of St. John, and parts of the chapelries of Hounslow and Spring-Grove. Acres, 3, 128. Real property, £40, 050. Pop. in 1851, 7, 007; in 1861, 8, 437. Houses, 1, 609. A great increase of pop. has taken place since 1861, and a still greater increase is anticipated, not only from extension of the village, but also from the erection of genteel houses on St. Margaret's estate, Woodlands, Godfreys, Spring-Grove, and other parts. The manor belonged, before the Conquest, to Earl Algar; passed to Walter de St. Valery, and subsequently to Richard king of the Romans, who built a castle on it; was the scene, in 1 263, of the encampment of the insurgent barons against Henry III.; was the scene, in the following year, of ravages by the citizens of London, who destroyed its castle and two mills; passed afterwards to the Crown; was given, in 1414, by Henry V., to a convent of Bridgetine nuns, called Sion monastery; went, after the dissolution, in the time of Edward VI., to the Duke of Somerset; reverted, at the Duke's attainder, to the Crown; and was granted, in 1604. to Henry Earl of Northumberland. The monastery was built originally within Twickenham parish, but was removed, in 1432, to Isleworth; is said, as it stood here, to have been a spacious edifice; but, with the exception of some vaulted rooms still used as offices, has completely disappeared. A noble mansion was built on or near its site, by the Duke of Somerset, and had a botanic garden. That mansion was the place where Lady Jane Grey Was forced to accept the crown; and was also a favourite retreat of Protector Cromwell. A reconstruction of it was done by the Earl of Northumberland, after designs by Adams, at a cost of £9, 000; and the mansion has continued in the possession of the Earl's representatives, and has undergone repeated and varions improvements. It is an imposing pi1e, in a very fine park, and magnificently furnished; yet presents no marked architectural features. One entrance to its park is close to the parish chnrch at the E end of the village. Many elegant residences are in the parish; among which may be named Isleworth House, Silver Hall, and Gordon House, -the last the residence of the late Justice Haliburton, better known as Sam Slick. Much of the land is disposed in market gardens. There are a flour mill, one of the largest in England, an extensive brewery, cement mills, and other trading establishments. Lord Baltimore, the founder of Maryland, -the Countess of Sutherland, Waller's "Sacliarissa, "-Talbot, Duke of Shrewsbury, -the Duchess of Kendal, whose name is associated with that of George I., -and Sheridan, were natives.-The living is a vicarage in the diocese of London. Value, £681.* Patrons, the Dean and Canons of Windsor. The church is mainly a reconstruction of 1705; has an old ivy clad tower; presents a picturesque appearance, as seen from the river; and contains some interesting brasses and monuments. Byfield, the commentator, and Cave, were vicars. The chapelry of St. John was constituted in 1857. Pop. in 1861, 1, 387. Houses, 616. The living is a p. curacy, in the gift of the vicar. The church stands at Woodlands, near the railway station; was erected at a cost of £9, 000; and is a very handsome edifice, in the early English style. There are chapels for Independents, Wesleyans, Quakers, and Roman Catholics. Gumley House is a Roman Catholic establishment for young ladies and professed nuns; and, at the census of 1861, had 105 inmates. There are an endowed national school for boys and girls, a girls' school endowed by the Dowager Duchess of Northumberland, British schools, infant schools, a naval female orphan school, an industrial school at Brentford-End, and a school attached to the Roman Catholic convent. There are also several alms houses, the Wyke House lunatic asylum, and the Brentford workhouse; and the inmates of the two latter, at the census of 1861, were 63 and 369. The yearly total of endowed charities is about £1, 100.-The subdistrict contains also Heston parish, and is in Brentford district. Acres, 6, 848. Pop., 15, 533. Houses, 2, 874. --The hundred contains likewise Twickenham parish. Acres, 9, 097. Pop., 23, 610. Houses, 4, 410.
Transcribed by Adrian Benjamin Burke, Esq.
Copyright © 2008, Adrian Benjamin Burke, Esq., and the Whitney Research Group.
