A fish pond still remains from a former public garden on the site.[1] Other habitats are woodland, meadows and river. Trees include a black poplar, and there are birds such as the woodpecker, kingfisher and grebe. Butterflies/moths include the speckled wood, holly blue, and the rare hornet clearwing moth. The ponds are an important habitat which have a variety of wetland plants.[2][3]
Extract from Kitchen's Map of the country 30 miles around London, 1773; its symbol denotes water mill per the legend below; the description of the site given is Copper Mills.
The island from the seventeenth century was the site of copper mills. It was later the site of a pleasure garden.
