Magna Carta Island is an ait 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, s ...

in England, on the reach above Bell Weir Lock. It is in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

facing

water-meadow A water-meadow (also water meadow or watermeadow) is an area of grassland subject to controlled irrigation to increase agricultural productivity. Water-meadows were mainly used in Europe from the 16th to the early 20th centuries. Working wate ...

s forming

Runnymede Runnymede is a water-meadow alongside the River Thames in the English county of Surrey, bordering Berkshire and just over west of central London. It is notable for its association with the sealing of Magna Carta, and as a consequence is, with ...

. Its civil and ecclesiastical parish is

Wraysbury Wraysbury is a village and civil parish in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in England. It is under the western approach path of London Heathrow Airport. It is located on the east bank of the River Thames, roughly midway between Wind ...

so it was transferred from Buckinghamshire to Berkshire in 1974.

History

The island is a contender for being the place where, in 1215, King John sealed ''

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter"), sometimes spelled Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardin ...

''.''History of the Parish of

, Ankerwycke Priory, and Magna Charta Island; with the History of Horton, and the town of

Colnbrook Colnbrook is a village in the Borough of Slough, Slough district in Berkshire, England. It lies within the historic counties of England, historic boundaries of Buckinghamshire, and straddles two distributaries of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, ...

, Bucks.'', G.W.J. Gyll, 1862, London: H. G. Bohn
OCLC: 5001532Online Version at Google Books
/ref> 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 Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...

(later Louis VIII) of France. The island is the site of a large house, known as Magna Carta House, built in 1834 in a pseudo-Norman style by George Simon Harcourt, the High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire and later Member of Parliament. Within the house there is still a large inscribed stone that Harcourt installed to commemorate the signing of the Magna Carta. The house had large extensions built in the early-20th century and is now

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

. In the early 1920s the island was owned by a stockbroker, J. F. MacGregor, and his wife, the

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

performer Maidie Scott. In the 1930's, the house was owned by the industrialist and Member of Parliament Patrick Hannon. His wife hosted parties there with prominent guests, such as Prime Minister of Australia

Joseph Lyons Joseph Aloysius Lyons (15 September 1879 – 7 April 1939) was an Australian politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Australia, from 1932 until his death in 1939. He held office as the inaugural leader of the United Australia Par ...

, Anne Chamberlain, the wife of the British Prime Minister, and foreign ambassadors. The grounds were also sometimes open to the public, and garden parties were held for the participants in the annual Swan upping ceremony. Hannon eventually gave the property to Buckinghamshire County Council, who rented it to a series of tenants before selling it in 1967. In the grounds of the house there is a walnut tree planted by

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

in October 1974. In 2014, the house and island were offered for sale by the son of the couple who bought them in 1967. The property was again for sale in 2021 for £4.1 million.

In literature

The island is mentioned in chapter 12 of Jerome K. Jerome's 1889 humorous novel ''

Three Men in a Boat ''Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)'',The Penguin edition punctuates the title differently: ''Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog!'' published in 1889, is a humorous novel by English writer Jerome K. Jerome describing ...

'':

References

{{coord, 51.4462, -0.5629, region:GB_type:isle, display=title Islands of Berkshire History of Buckinghamshire Islands of the River Thames Magna Carta Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead