Magna Carta Island
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.
History
[edit]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]
The island is the site of a large house, known as Magna Carta House, built in 1834 by George Simon Harcourt in a pseudo-Norman style. Within the house there is a large inscribed stone that Harcourt installed to commemorate the signing of the carta. The house had large extensions built in the early-20th century and is now Grade II listed.[2] In the early 1920s the island was owned by a stockbroker, J. F. MacGregor, and his wife, the music hall performer Maidie Scott.[3] In the grounds of the house there is a tree planted by Elizabeth II in 1974.[4]
In August 2014 Forbes reported that the island would be sold by Sotheby's International Realty.[5] The house and island were offered for sale again in 2021 for £4.1 million.[4]
In litrature
[edit]The island is mentioned in chapter 12 of Jerome K. Jerome's 1889 humorous novel Three Men in a Boat:[6]
We went over to Magna Charta Island, and had a look at the stone which stands in the cottage there and on which the great Charter is said to have been signed; though, as to whether it really was signed there, or, as some say, on the other bank at “Runningmede,” I decline to commit myself.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b 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
- ^ "MAGNA CARTA HOUSE, Wraysbury - 1117646 - Historic England". historicengland.org.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
- ^ Film of Magna Carta Island, 1920s, Kinolibrary.com. Retrieved 13 April 2021
- ^ a b Carponen, Claire (12 March 2021). "Magna Carta Island Offers an English Country Refuge Steeped in History". www.mansionglobal.com. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
- ^ Passino, Carla (5 August 2014). "Historic Magna Carta Island Goes On Sale". Forbes. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
- ^ Jerome, Jerome K. (1889). Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog). J. W. Arrowsmith. ISBN 0-7653-4161-1.
