Magna Carta Island

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Map showing the location of Magna Carta Island within Berkshire.

Magna Carta Island is an ait in the River Thames in England, on the reach above Bell Weir Lock. It is in Berkshire facing water-meadows forming Runnymede. Its civil and ecclesiastical parish is Wraysbury so it was transferred from Buckinghamshire to Berkshire in 1974.

The island is a contender for being the place where, in 1215, King John sealed Magna Carta . [1] Whilst the charter itself indicates Runnymede by name, it is possible the island may have been considered part of Runnymede at the time. It is known that in 1217 the island was the meeting-place of Henry III and Louis (later Louis VIII) of France. [1]

In the early 1920s it was owned by a stockbroker, J. F. MacGregor, and his wife, the music hall performer Maidie Scott. [2] In August 2014 Forbes reported that the island would be sold by Sotheby's International Realty. [3]

See also

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Ankerwycke Yew

The Ankerwycke Yew is an ancient yew tree close to the ruins of St Mary's Priory, the site of a Benedictine nunnery built in the 12th century, near Wraysbury in Berkshire, England. It is a male tree with a girth of 8 metres (26 ft) at 0.3 metres. The tree is at least 1,400 years old, and could be as old as 2,500 years.

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The Jurors

The Jurors is an artwork by Hew Locke, installed at Runnymede in Surrey in 2015 to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta.

References

  1. 1 2 History of the Parish of Wraysbury, Ankerwycke Priory, and Magna Charta Island; with the History of Horton, and the town of Colnbrook, Bucks., G.W.J. Gyll, 1862, London: H. G. Bohn. OCLC: 5001532 Online Version at Google Books
  2. Film of Magna Carta Island, 1920s, Kinolibrary.com. Retrieved 13 April 2021
  3. Passino, Carla (5 August 2014). "Historic Magna Carta Island Goes On Sale". Forbes. Retrieved 5 August 2014.CS1 maint: discouraged parameter (link)
Next island upstream River Thames Next island downstream
Unnamed island, Wraysbury then
Pats Croft Eyot
Magna Carta Island The Island, Hythe End

Coordinates: 51°26′46″N0°33′46″W / 51.4462°N 0.5629°W / 51.4462; -0.5629