Monkey Island (England)
| Monkey Island | ||
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| Waters | Thames | |
| Geographical location | 51 ° 30 ′ N , 0 ° 41 ′ W | |
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Monkey Island is an island in the Thames upstream from Boveney Lock , near Bray in Berkshire . The river The Cut ends south of the island in the Thames.
history
The name of the island is derived from the old English name Monks Eyot (English monk island ) . The name refers to monks who lived at Amerden Bank, a fortified place near Bray Lock in Buckinghamshire . They belonged to Merton Priory from 1197 . But in the 14th century the island was owned by Burnham Abbey , and in court records from 1361 it is listed as Bournhames Eyte . This name is retained as Burnham-Ayt in 1640 , although the island had come into the possession of the Englefield family in 1606.
After the Great Fire of London in 1666, stone was brought to London from Oxfordshire and on the way back ships took with them debris that was dumped on the islands of the Thames. This build-up made the island high enough to largely avoid the danger of flooding.
The Duke's Island
In 1738 Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough, acquired the island from Sir Francis Englefield. Spencer had seen the island while attending the Kit-Cat Club in nearby Down Place . The duke was known to be an avid fisherman and he had the first buildings built on the island to pursue his hobby. The fisherman's hut and the fisherman's temple are preserved today as the pavilion and the temple on the island.
The Palladian architect Robert Morris was tasked both buildings for a total of 8,756 £ to build. Henry Herbert the 9th Earl of Pembroke helped design the temple and received £ 2,277 for his work from 1745 to 1748.
The Duke had the pavilion built from blocks of wood that were cut like stones. This special construction can still be seen in the building today. The singerie paintings in the "Monkey Room" are particularly striking . The French painter Andieu de Clermont was commissioned to make these paintings, which show monkeys in more human activities such as hunting, fishing or smoking. It is known that they were made before 1738.
The strange design meant that the island was later occasionally referred to as "Marlborough's Folly" (Eng. "Marlborough's madness").
The temple was originally designed to be open on the ground floor as well as a market hall. The first floor served as a billiard room . The ceiling represents Neptune , mussels and mermaids . It is a piece of work in Wedgwood style, said to have been made either by Roberts of Oxford in 1725, and William Perritt.
Monkey Island was founded in 1787 by Henry Townley Ward, Esq. who bequeathed her to PC Bruce, Esq., of Taplow.
Further use
In 1840 the pavilion had become a restaurant on the river that could be reached by ferry from the south bank. In the second half of the 19th century it became the "Monkey Hall Hotel". Guests have since stayed in different parts of the property. It was especially popular after 1900, when Edward VII and Queen Alexandra often came with their children in the afternoon. Edward Elgar composed his Violin Concerto in 1910 at The Hut , on the riverside across from Monkey Island. The musical stars Clara Butt and Nellie Melba provided entertainment for the guests on the island. From 1912 Rebecca West and HG Wells visited the island.
After the middle of the 20th century, various modifications and additions were carried out on the island. In 1956 a footbridge was built connecting the island to the mainland after Christopher Reynolds bought the island. In 1963, the pavilion's dining room was expanded to include the River Room, a large glass-walled building directly on the river. Named after the Duke of Marlborough, a room was added at the upstream end in 1970, which is decorated with battle scenes. In the same year the Temple was expanded by 30 guest rooms. The pavilion and the temple are both Grade I protected monuments.
In 1964 there was a ball in favor of Oxfam , on the island, which Tatler magazine titled. In 1967 the Islander newspaper was published.
In 1971 the island was bought by Major Fitzwilliams and later sold to the Weinreb Group. When the Weinreb Group went bankrupt, Paul and Liz Nichols bought the hotel from bankruptcy and carried out extensive renovations over the nine years of their ownership. The hotel received recommendations from the Michelin Guide and Egon Ronay , it was British Tourist Authority Country Hotel and Restaurant Award winner 1983,1984, and in 1985-1986 the hotel was sold to Basil Faidi, who carried out further renovations.
10 years later the hotel was sold to the Habtour Group and in September 2007 it was acquired by Andreas Papadakis .
Mentions in the literature
Rebecca West used Monkey Island as the location for her first narrative, Return of the Soldier , in which the main female character is the innkeeper’s daughter.
In chapter 94 of Charlie Higson's young adult horror story The Fallen , Ella, Maeve, Monkey Boy, and Robbie leave the Natural History Museum and after running out of gas, decide to stay at the Monkey Island Hotel. In the final chapter of the book (Chapter 96) the house has become a haunted house.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Luke Over: The Royal Hundred of Bray. Illustrated by Chris Tyrrell. Cliveden Press, Maidenhead 1993, ISBN 0-9521969-0-5 .
- ↑ Oxfam-On-Thames. In: Tatler , August 5, 1964, pp. 248-249.
- ^ Andreas Papadakis. In: The Daily Telegraph , August 18, 2008.
- ↑ Charlie Higson: The Fallen. 1st US edition. Hyperion, Los Angeles et al. 2014, ISBN 978-1-4231-6566-8 .
Web links
- Monkey Island Hotel website
- Monkey Island Lodge & Temple on Royal Berkshire History