River Crane, London

Crane
River
River Crane in Crane Park Whitton below the nature reserve and powder mills site
Country	England
Counties	Greater London
Districts / Boroughs	London Borough of Hillingdon, London Borough of Hounslow, London Borough of Richmond
Tributaries
- left	Yeading Brook, Duke of Northumberland's River
Towns	Cranford, Whitton
Landmark	Heathrow Airport
Source
- location	Hayes, Hillingdon
Mouth	River Thames
- location	Isleworth
Length	13.6 km (8 mi)
Discharge	for Marsh Farm
- average	0.54 m3/s (19 cu ft/s)
- max	13.4 m3/s (473 cu ft/s) 28 December 1979
- min	0.00 m3/s (0 cu ft/s) 5 December 1982
Discharge elsewhere (average)
- Cranford Park	0.51 m3/s (18 cu ft/s)

The River Crane is a river in west London, England, and is a tributary of the River Thames. It is 8.5 miles (13.6 km) long and is entirely flowing through Greater London. River Crane flows through three London boroughs: London Borough of Hillingdon, London Borough of Hounslow and London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.

Its source is a point south of North Hyde Road in Hayes, Hillingdon, from where its course is near to the south then east, joining the River Thames in two places: on the border of St Margarets with Isleworth and by Riverside Mill and Helene House, Isleworth.

Passing through Cranford, the river crosses Cranford Park, skirts the eastern side of Heathrow Airport (formerly the Heathrow Heath part of Hounslow Heath) and Hounslow Heath where the Duke of Northumberland's River, a tributary, and distributary of the River Colne joins the Crane (which passes to the south of London Heathrow Airport before joining the Crane). From this point, the Crane turns gradually east and passes through Crane Park (in Whitton, Twickenham). In Crane Park is the site of the Hounslow Powder Mills which were built in the 16th century and continued to make gunpowder until 1927. The mills have disappeared, but the Shot Tower still stands nearby. The large millpool on an island above the mills is now a Local Nature Reserve, Crane Park Island. The river then turns to the north-east in Twickenham to join the Thames at Isleworth with a distributary splitting off (forming a second section of the Duke's River) running through Kneller Gardens — the Crane itself flows east through Cole Park in Twickenham on the border of St Margarets, where it forms its border with Isleworth. The Duke's River is tidal for the short distance below the weir by the bridge in Church Street, Isleworth, to its confluence with the Thames. In Isleworth it has been diverted to flow through Mogden Sewage Treatment Works, where it provides coolant for the power station, but the treated effluent is not placed in it but is piped to the Thames at Isleworth Ait.