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Rod Eyot or Rod Ait is an island in the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the ...
in England near
Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and ...
on the reach above Hambledon Lock. It is close to Mill Meadows and the
River and Rowing Museum The River & Rowing Museum in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, is located on a site at Mill Meadows by the River Thames. It has three main themes represented by major permanent galleries, the non-tidal River Thames, the international ...
.


Overview

The island is populated with ten chalets, a brick cottage and formally tapered to a 200m widely spaced single-file line of trees, hence its name. The taper has been cut off and reduced; the soil on the main part of the island built up instead. Rod Eyot is accessible only by boat. Mid-stream, river traffic passes one-way both sides, instructed by the
Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and en ...
to keep to the right (
starboard Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front). Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which a ...
) bank. Rod Eyot homes have moorings and are privately owned. Foul waste and rubbish is taken away by boat to the appropriate stations at marinas. Rod Eyot features in a pre-1900 painting owned by the
monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...
which portrays the river viewed from Wargrave Road when the island was the largest of a seasonally connected string of islands, lower-lying and uninhabited.


Nearest amenities

Henley Town centre's closest public/amenity building is The Angel on the Bridge, followed by its church and the Red Lion Hotel. The bridge is 600 m from Rod Eyot.


Islet within original island

A thin unpopulated islet downstream was part of the island, towards, Henley Bridge known locally as Bird Island. Until 1907, when the Town Council sold the chalet plots, the island was among those known nationally for a few decades as Corporation Island. The brick cottage had previously been occupied by a farrier who shoed horses which towed the river barges.


See also

*
Islands in the River Thames This article lists the islands in the River Thames, or at the mouth of a tributary (marked †), in England. It excludes human-made islands built as part of the building of forty-five two-gate locks which each accompany a weir, and islets subordi ...


References

Islands of Berkshire Islands of Oxfordshire Islands of the River Thames {{Oxfordshire-geo-stub