Sonning Eye

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Sonning Eye
SonningBridge01.JPG
Sonning Bridge from the Sonning Eye bank of the River Thames
Oxfordshire UK location map.svg
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Sonning Eye
Location within Oxfordshire
OS grid reference SU7576
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Reading
Postcode district RG4
Dialling code 0118
Police Thames Valley
Fire Oxfordshire
Ambulance South Central
UK Parliament
Website Eye & Dunsden Parish Council
List of places
UK
England
Oxfordshire
51°28′34″N0°54′56″W / 51.4760°N 0.9156°W / 51.4760; -0.9156

Sonning Eye is a hamlet on the River Thames in the Sonning Common ward of South Oxfordshire, England, in the civil parish of Eye & Dunsden (one of its four small settlements), at what is since 1974 the southernmost tip of Oxfordshire.

Contents

Geography

Sonning Eye is about 3 miles (4.8 km) northeast of Reading, Berkshire. Sonning Eye is opposite the village of Sonning, Berkshire, to which it is linked by crossing the 18th-century brick-arched Sonning Bridge combined with Sonning Backwater Bridges. Sonning Eye is surrounded by the alluvial floodplain of the River Thames, much of which has been extracted for gravel, forming a number of lakes, especially upstream on this bank.

In particular, a long rowing lake has been made, the Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake, named after Olympic oarsmen Steve Redgrave and Matthew Pinsent. Other local sports include sailing and water skiing. Berry Brook, a small tributary runs through the floodplain west and north of Sonning Eye, joining the Thames at Hallsmead Ait to the northeast. On the riverside near the Sonning Backwater Bridges is the French Horn, a luxury hotel and restaurant. There is a small public car park here, a place to launch small boats, and a grass area by the river bank that is popular with fishermen.

History

Its toponym "Sonning" is derived from the Anglo-Saxon chieftain Sunna and "Eye" meaning island (cf. eyot) since it is a small gravel mound surrounded by the river's flood plain. Within this low land is a true island (permanent since management of the river levels) on the Thames. Until 1866, Sonning Eye formed part of the Oxfordshire section of Sonning civil parish.[ citation needed ] The heart of Sonning Eye is a conservation area, including 12 architecturally Grade II listed buildings, five of which are barns that have now been converted for modern use. One house has some excellent William De Morgan tiles.

Buildings of the island

The island is roughly heart-shaped, cut through by a millrace. On the islet is The Mill at Sonning , a restored 18th-century watermill on a medieval site, now converted to a dinner theatre. [1] The millrace runs through what is now the theatre bar, and powers a small turbine powering an 18.5 kW hydroelectric generator that supplies the National Grid. [2] Set behind this on the island is Mill House, a Grade II listed building owning some of the 5 acres (2.0 ha) island.

It was originally built in the 17th century and once owned by the wealthy Rich family, Lords of the Manor of Sonning, hence owning its manor house towards the top of Sonning's Thames Street as well. [3] Sir Thomas Rich founded Sir Thomas Rich's School just south of here in 1766 by endowing it with the income with his neighbouring farmland. [4] In 2014, the Mill House was bought by the American film star George Clooney and his British wife, human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin, [5] [6] at a cost of around £10 million. [7]

Paintings and sketches

The area has been a favourite location for artists, especially views of the old, disused brick bridge and viaduct from the river bank just downstream of the island with surrounding lush flora. George Price Boyce, the Victorian watercolour painter associated with the Pre-Raphaelite art movement, visited and painted in the area. [8] [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonning Lock</span> Lock and weir on the River Thames in Berkshire, England

Sonning Lock is a lock and associated weir situated on the River Thames at the village of Sonning near Reading, Berkshire, England. The first lock was built by the Thames Navigation Commission in 1773 and it has been rebuilt three times since then. There is a weir a little upstream at the top of the island where Sonning Backwater separates from the main course of the river.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shiplake Lock</span> Lock on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Mill at Sonning</span>

The Mill at Sonning is a theatre and restaurant, converted from a circa-1800 flour mill on earlier foundations, on an island in the River Thames at Sonning Eye in the English county of Berkshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">French Horn, Sonning Eye</span> Restaurant in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom

The French Horn at Sonning is a hotel and restaurant on the banks of the River Thames next to the Sonning Backwater Bridges, at Sonning Eye, Oxfordshire, England. The hotel includes a number of riverside cottages that are now used as rooms for hotel clients. There is an old, rusty iron gate with the name of the hotel within the ironwork on the path by the river opposite Sonning Bridge.

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Eye and Dunsden is a largely rural civil parish in the most southern part of the English county of Oxfordshire. It includes the villages of Sonning Eye, Dunsden Green and Playhatch and borders on the River Thames with the village of Sonning in Berkshire connected via multi-span medieval Sonning Bridge. Before 1866, Eye & Dunsden was part of the trans-county parish of Sonning.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonning Backwater Bridges</span> Bridge in Sonning Eye

Sonning Backwater Bridges are the road bridges across the first two of three branches of the Thames at Sonning Eye, Oxfordshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hallsmead Ait</span>

Hallsmead Ait is an island in the River Thames in Berkshire, England. It is on the reach above Shiplake Lock near Lower Shiplake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berry Brook</span> Stream in southern Oxfordshire, England

The Berry Brook is a stream close to Sonning Eye in the flood plain of the River Thames, in southern Oxfordshire, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonning Works</span>

The Sonning Works are a gravel works owned by Lafarge, located near Sonning Eye, Oxfordshire, England.

References

  1. ↑ The Mill at Sonning Archived 9 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine .
  2. ↑ The Mill at Sonning: Hydro Scheme Archived 8 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine .
  3. ↑ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1047410)". National Heritage List for England .
  4. ↑ Samuel Lewis, ed. (1848). "Somerford, Little – Sotwell". A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  5. ↑ "Updated: Hollywood star George Clooney and wife Amal Alamuddin eye Sonning home". The Reading Chronicle . 9 October 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  6. ↑ Sawer, Patrick (10 October 2014). "Welcome to Sonning, Mr & Mrs Clooney". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  7. ↑ Sawer, Patrick (9 October 2014). "George Clooney snaps up £10 million manor house in Sonning, Berkshire". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  8. ↑ Boyce, George Price (1860). "At Sonning-eye, Oxfordshire". Artnet . Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  9. ↑ "At Sonning-Eye, Oxfordshire – Lot 30 / Sale 5876". Archive.org . London: Christie's. 7 November 1997. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
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Sonning Hill island Sonning Eye Buck Ait
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