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]
The Borough of Runnymede is a local government district with borough status in the English county of Surrey. It is a very prosperous part of the London commuter belt, with some of the most expensive housing in the United Kingdom outside central London, such as the Wentworth Estate.
Colnbrook is a village in the unitary authority of Slough in Berkshire, England. It lies within the historic boundaries of Buckinghamshire, and straddles two distributaries of the Colne, the Colne Brook and Wraysbury River. These two streams have their confluence just to the southeast of the village. Colnbrook is centred 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of Slough town centre, 3.5 miles (5.6 km) east of Windsor, and 18 miles (29 km) west of central London.
Wraysbury is a village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in England. It is under the western approach path of London Heathrow airport. It is located on the east bank of the River Thames, roughly midway between Windsor and Staines-upon-Thames, and 18 miles (29 km) west by south-west of London.
Horton is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It is between Windsor and Staines-upon-Thames.
Egham is a university town in the Borough of Runnymede in Surrey, England, approximately 19 miles (31 km) west of central London. First settled in the Bronze Age, the town was under the control of Chertsey Abbey for much of the Middle Ages. In 1215, Magna Carta was sealed by King John at Runnymede, to the north of Egham, having been chosen for its proximity to the King’s residence at Windsor. Under the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the early 16th Century, the major, formerly eccesiastical, manorial freehold interests in the town and various market revenues passed to the Crown.
Runnymede is a water-meadow alongside the River Thames in the English county of Surrey, and just over 20 miles (32 km) west of central London. It is notable for its association with the sealing of Magna Carta, and as a consequence is, with its adjoining hillside, the site of memorials. Runnymede Borough is named after the area, Runnymede being at its northernmost point.
Magna Carta is the first of a series of constitutional charters in English law.
The A308 is a road in England in two parts. The first part runs from Central London to Putney Bridge. The second part runs from just beyond Putney Heath to Bisham, Berkshire. It traces four, roughly straight lines, to stay no more than 3 miles (4.8 km) from the Thames. It is a dual carriageway where it is furthest from that river, in Spelthorne, Surrey and forms one of the motorway spurs to the large town of Maidenhead. Other key settlements served are Fulham, Kingston (London), Staines upon Thames, Windsor and a minor approach to Marlow
History of Staines-upon-Thames in the historic county of Middlesex and Surrey County Council, England
Bell Weir Lock is a lock on the River Thames in England by the right bank, Runnymede which is a water meadow associated with Egham of importance for the constitutional Magna Carta. It is upstream of the terrace of a hotel and the a bridge designed by Edwin Lutyens who designed an ornamental park gate house along the reach. The bridge has been widened and carries the M25 and A30 road across the river in a single span. The lock was first built by the Thames Navigation Commission in 1817; it has one weir which is upstream. The lock is the eighth lowest of forty-five on the river and is named after the founder of the forerunner of the adjoining hotel who took charge of the lock and weir on its construction.
The Island is an inhabited island in the River Thames in England on the reach above Bell Weir Lock, a part of the Hythe End part of Wraysbury village and civil parish, Berkshire. It is connected to that side of the river and although part of Berkshire was, like the village, part of Buckinghamshire before 1974.
Pats Croft Eyot is a small island in the River Thames in England on the reach above Bell Weir Lock, near Wraysbury, Berkshire and Runnymede, Surrey. The island is privately owned and is inhabited.
Friary Island is an island in the River Thames in England on the reach above Bell Weir Lock, on the approach to Old Windsor Lock at Wraysbury, Berkshire. It is just across the river from Old Windsor, where there was a friary from which it took its name.
William Thomas Buckland was born on 5 September 1798 in Wraysbury now in Berkshire, England, in the house on Longbridge Farm where he later lived, and where he died on 1 November 1870. He became an innovative surveyor and auctioneer, as well as establishing the Baptist Chapel in Wraysbury. He was married at St James's, Westminster on 25 September 1820 to Mary Wood. They had four sons and six daughters.
An eel buck or eel basket is a type of fish trap that was prevalent in the River Thames in England up to the 20th century. It was used particularly to catch eels, which were a staple part of the London diet.
The Colne Brook is a river in England that is a distributary of the River Colne which runs from Uxbridge Moor, there forming the western border of Greater London, to the River Thames just below Bell Weir Lock in Hythe End, Wraysbury, Berkshire.
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.
Penton Hook Marina is the largest inland marina in Britain. It is situated on the River Thames in Surrey between Staines and Chertsey on the western bank of the river and is close to Thorpe Park. It is on the reach above Chertsey Lock and opposite Penton Hook Island.
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.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Magna Carta Island . |
Next island upstream | River Thames | Next island downstream |
Unnamed island, Wraysbury then Pats Croft Eyot | Magna Carta Island | The Island, Hythe End |