The Desborough Cut is an artificial channel in the River Thames

River Thames

The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...

 above Sunbury Lock

Sunbury Lock

Sunbury Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England near Walton-on-Thames in north-west Surrey. The lock adjoins the southern bank about half a mile downstream of the Weir Hotel....

 near Walton on Thames in England. It which was completed in 1935 to improve flow and ease navigation on the river.

The cut was dug between 1930 and 1935, taking the river on a straight course between Weybridge

Weybridge

Weybridge is a town in the Elmbridge district of Surrey in South East England. It is bounded to the north by the River Thames at the mouth of the River Wey, from which it gets its name...

 and Walton, and avoiding a meandering stretch past Shepperton

Shepperton

Shepperton is a town in the borough of Spelthorne, Surrey, England. To the south it is bounded by the river Thames at Desborough Island and is bisected by the M3 motorway...

 and Lower Halliford

Lower Halliford

Lower Halliford is a hamlet in the parish of Shepperton in Surrey, formerly Middlesex on the banks of the River Thames. It lies on the road from Kingston upon Thames to Chertsey on a loop of the Thames across the river from Walton on Thames....

. It is 3/4/mile (1 km) and its construction created Desborough Island

Desborough Island

Desborough Island is a large artificially-created island in the River Thames on the reach above Sunbury Lock in Surrey, England. The island was formed in 1930s by the digging of a channel - the Desborough Cut - by the Thames Conservancy...

. Two bridges were built across the cut to link the island which contains a water treatment works and a large extent of open space used for recreation. The cut alleviated flooding in Shepperton and halved the distance of travel on that part of the river.

The cut creates the only stretch on the river where there are two alternative main navigation chanels. There are navigation transit markers

Navigation transit markers

Navigation Transit Markers are posts placed alongside a navigation to allow powered craft to check their speed. There are examples along the River Thames in England....

 alongside the cut to enable powered boats to check their speed.

The cut and the adjacent island were named after Lord Desborough

William Grenfell, 1st Baron Desborough

William Henry Grenfell, 1st Baron Desborough, KG, GCVO, was an athlete, sportsman, public servant and politician. He sat in the House of Commons firstly for the Liberal Party and then for the Conservatives between 1880 and 1905 when he was raised to the peerage...

 who was chairman of the Thames Conservancy

Thames Conservancy

The Thames Conservancy was a historical body responsible for the management of the River Thames in England. It was founded in 1857, initially replacing the jurisdiction of the City of London up to Staines and later taking responsibility for the whole river from Cricklade in Wiltshire to the sea at...

at the time and who opened it.