Church Island (Thames)
| Church Island | ||
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| Waters | Thames | |
| Geographical location | 51 ° 26 '7 " N , 0 ° 31' 14" W | |
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| length | 100 m | |
Church Island or Church Eyot is an inhabited island in the River Thames in England above the Penton Hook Lock in Staines-upon-Thames , Spelthorne , Surrey . The island is approximately 200 meters upstream from the Staines Bridge . It is believed by some historians that this was what is known as a Thames crossing on the Devil's Highway between Londinium ( London ) and Calleva (Silchester).
geography
The island is connected to Staines by a footbridge. It is about 100 meters downstream from the oldest Anglican church in Staines and can be seen from its steeple.
The island is 100 m long and triangular. It is no more than a meter above the river level. The narrow channel between the island and the northern bank is a small meander off the main course of the river.
history
Roman directions mark a point as Ad Pontes ( Latin : on the bridges) along the Devil's Highway. After archaeological traces of a connection between the city center of Staines and this island were discovered in the 19th century, a historian judged that there were two Roman bridges at Staines. One crossed the Colne and the other the Thames at Church Island. Another theory, however, is that at Egham Hythe there was an island larger than Church Island that is eligible for the bridge. The island in the immediate vicinity of today's Staines Bridge existed until the beginning of the 20th century, but is no longer recognizable afterwards. There were several of these islands in the River Colne and other watercourses in Staines in the Middle Ages that were partially washed away and partially incorporated into the mainland.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Grid square map Ordnance Survey website
- ↑ Fred.S. Thacker: The Thames Highway. Volume II: Locks and Weirs. 1920. (Reissued 1968 by David & Charles)
- ↑ OS map with buildings and parks ( Memento of the original from April 24, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Susan Reynolds: Staines: Introduction. In: A History of the County of Middlesex. Volume 3: Shepperton, Staines, Stanwell, Sunbury, Teddington, Heston and Isleworth, Twickenham, Cowley, Cranford, West Drayton, Greenford, Hanwell, Harefield and Harlington Institute of Historical Research, 1962.
