Temple Mill Island is an island in the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

in England upstream of Marlow, and just downstream of

Temple Lock Temple Lock is a lock and weir situated on the Buckinghamshire bank of the River Thames near Temple Mill Island opposite Temple Meadows and not far from Hurley, Berkshire. It was first built by the Thames Navigation Commissioners in 1773. ...

. It is on the southern

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

bank close to Hurley. The island is named after the three

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

s that used to be on the island for beating copper and brass. The island now has a modern housing development on it with a marina.

Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its ...

referred to the mills in his ''

A tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain ''A Tour Thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain'' is an account of his travels by English author Daniel Defoe, first published in three volumes between 1724 and 1727. Other than ''Robinson Crusoe'', ''Tour'' was Defoe's most popular and financial ...

'' (1724-1727). He referred to the ''"three very remarkable mills, called Temple-Mills, for making

Bisham Abbey Bisham Abbey is a Grade I listed manor house at Bisham in the English county of Berkshire. The name is taken from the now lost monastery which once stood alongside. This original Bisham Abbey was previously named Bisham Priory, and was the trad ...

Battery-work viz. Brass Kettles and Pans &c of all sorts. And these works were attended with no small success, till in the year 1720, they made a bubble of it; and then it ran the fate of all the

Bubble Bubble, Bubbles or The Bubble may refer to: Common uses * Bubble (physics), a globule of one substance in another, usually gas in a liquid ** Soap bubble * Economic bubble, a situation where asset prices are much higher than underlying fundame ...

s at that time"''.''A tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain''
(complete, but not proof-read), from

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

, 6th edition, London: D. Browne tc. 1762.

References

{{coord , 51.5526, -0.7892, type:isle_region:GB, display=title Islands of Berkshire Islands of the River Thames Watermills on the River Thames Watermills in Berkshire Bisham

See also

References