Hollyhock Island

Hollyhock Island is an inhabited island in the River Thames in England on the reach between Bell Weir Lock and Penton Hook Lock.

Hollyhock Island from upstream (middle distance); Holm Island (background)
Point of Hollyhock Island from downstream (centre right)

Location

The island is situated in a small channel between the larger Holm Island and the north bank of the Thames. It is located in Berkshire, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, near the county boundary with Surrey.[1][2] Until county boundary changes in 1974, the island was within the county of Buckinghamshire[3] and near the border with Middlesex.[4] The island is approximately 80 miles (130 km) from the Thames Estuary at the Isle of Grain.[5]

Upstream of the island is Runnymede Bridge carrying the M25 motorway. Downstream is Church Island and Staines Bridge.[1] The island is on the reach between Bell Weir Lock and Penton Hook Lock.[6][1]

The 25-inch scale Ordnance Survey Great Britain County Series map, published in the 1890s, shows that the island was connected to both the north bank and Holm Island by footbridges.[3] By the time of the 1962 25-inch Ordnance Survey map, these footbridges no longer existed.[4]

Use

On the island was "The Nest", a house allegedly used by the future king Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson as a romantic getaway.[7][8][lower-alpha 1] Current Ordnance Survey mapping shows no buildings on the island and no connection with the mainland.[9]

See also

Footnotes
  1. Some sources state that The Nest is situated on the adjacent (and connected) Holm Island

References
  1. "Definitive Map of Public Rights of Way (Sheet 23)" (PDF). Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  2. Cove-Smith, Chris (2006). The River Thames Book. Imray Laurie Norie and Wilson. ISBN 978-0-85288-892-6.
  3. "Explore georeferenced maps - Map images - National Library of Scotland". maps.nls.uk. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  4. "View: TQ0271-TQ0371 - A (includes: Egham; Staines; Wyrardisbury) - Ordnance Survey National Grid Maps, 1940s-1960s". maps.nls.uk. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  5. Atty, Nick. "Nick's Canal Route Planner". CanalPlanAC. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  6. "Definitive Map of Public Rights of Way (Sheet 19)" (PDF). Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  7. "Holm Island & Hollyhock Island - WHERE THAMES SMOOTH WATERS GLIDE". thames.me.uk. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  8. Leigh Hatts (17 May 2016). The Thames Path: National Trail from London to the river's source in Gloucestershire. Cicerone Press. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-78362-320-4.
  9. "OS Maps: online mapping and walking, running and cycling routes". osmaps.ordnancesurvey.co.uk. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
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