The Karsino

Tagg’s Island lies on the River Thames above Molesey Lock, a narrow ait about 400 metres long and 90 metres wide. It is reached by a single-track bridge from the Middlesex bank, the only car-accessible island on the non-tidal Thames. The island’s centre holds a lagoon with private moorings, ringed by trees and crossed by a small footbridge. Houseboats line the edges, some rising three storeys, and their owners belong to the island’s residents’ association which owns the freehold. No permanent houses may be built here, preserving the watery setting. The island’s past reads like a theatre programme. In 1872 Thomas Tagg turned a pub into the Island Hotel, a lively haunt of Edward VII, Sarah Bernhardt and other celebrities. In 1913 impresario Fred Karno replaced it with the Karsino, a 26-bedroom palace designed by Frank Matcham with lifts, electric light and a ballroom for 350. Karno also added the Palm Court pavilion, seating 800 under a painted ceiling of river scenes between Hampton Court and Windsor. Today the island still feels like a stage set. The Karsino’s double verandahs overlook the lagoon, while the Palm Court’s prosceniums face lawns where croquet and badminton once drew guests. Houseboats cluster around the water, their upper decks catching the evening light. From the bridge the whole scene unfolds—a slice of Edwardian glamour still afloat on the Thames.