IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Edmund Grove, FELTHAM, TW13 5QR

Shown as open water on the map, the middle of Crane Park Island is now more of a marsh. It was probably an old millpond at one time. Some of the reeds have been cut, maybe as habitat enhancement? The island is a nature reserve.

The south side of Crane Park Island nature reserve, the edge of Crane Park and a London borough boundary, Richmond on the left, Hounslow on the right.

With level much reduced, the large pond is now a marsh with channels leading to an old sluice (the viewpoint) and, out of sight to the left, to a former mill race.

Viewed from upstream, from a position that was probably under water when the mill pond was in operational condition. This is by interpretative station 3, according to a nearby post, but a corresponding on-line description does not seem to exist.

This is a channel in the bed of an old mill pond, just upstream of where one of the lower powder mills was. The Hounslow Powder Mills had a complex layout of mills and associated waterways. This was a large pond once, but has become silted and overgrown.

On the site of the old Hounslow Powder Mills.

This is the channel that once took the River Crane to the wheels of the old gunpowder mills which operated here until 1927. http://www.oldindustry.org/ShotTowers/local_history_river_crane.pdf The wheels are long gone, but the sluices are still visible. The millstream is now silted and overgrown as you see, but is no doubt a very good habitat. It's part of Crane Park Island nature reserve. Most of the river flow now goes down the channel to the south of the island.

Much of the device is missing. Details of the manufacturer are cast on what remains: 'Fredk. Bird & Co Engineers 11 Gt. Castle St. Regent St. London'. This address, and another seen mentioned for this company close by in Marlborough Mews, are very close to Oxford Circus. No maps suggest that if there was any works here that it was any bigger than a shop, so the addresses are probably for their sales offices. A further address seen mentioned for this company was at West Drayton. This seems more likely to be their works.

From Saxon Avenue looking across the park to Nene Gardens

This is the mill race downstream of where one of the lower powder mills was. The Hounslow Powder Mills had a complex layout of mills and associated waterways. Not all of the waterways are still present, but this one seems to have been associated with a mill at the camera position, and also with a mill which discharged through a channel just behind the large trees. This second channel has been filled in.