Pipers Island, or Piper's Island, is the third-smallest map-named 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, s ...

, in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. It is on the

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, England, and the county town of Berkshire. It is the United Kingdom's largest town, with a combined population of 355,596. Most of Reading built-up area, its built-up area lies within the Borough ...

reach (the head of water above

Caversham Lock Caversham Lock is a lock and main weir on the River Thames in England at Reading, Berkshire. Both the lock and main weir are connected to De Bohun Island (colloquially known as Lock Island). The Thames Navigation Commissioners built the ori ...

). It is toward the edge of the central urban area of the town of

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

and connected by a gangway to

Caversham Bridge Caversham Bridge is a bridge across the River Thames between Caversham and the town centre of Reading. The bridge is situated on the reach above Caversham Lock, carrying the A4155 road across the river and also providing pedestrian access to ...

, a road and pedestrian bridge that links that town to its

left bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrain alongsid ...

suburb of Caversham.

Use

Pipers Island has been hard-landscaped into a

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

and

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

, ''The Island'', the surrounding decking of which is shared for restaurant use and moorings for boats. The area is used for a boat hire and by larger vessels running hourly cruises during the Summer months. The banks of the island are today sheet metal topped with wooden decking. A protective rail guards the lower and somewhat smaller upper decks of the restaurant, which are similar in design.

Access

The

ait An ait (, like ''eight'') or eyot () is a small island. It is especially used to refer to river islands found on the River Thames and its tributaries in England. Aits are typically formed by the deposit of sediment in the water, which accumu ...

is the third-smallest of those named on official maps of the Thames. Maps show it has clearly approximately kept its footprint measurement of shortly before the year 1900, though the few rounded corners of its then-boathouse use have been neatly squared since the restaurant's opening. It is accessed on foot by a footbridge and staircase (also known together as a gangway) that connects the island to the centre of Caversham Bridge. The smallest island with vehicular access on the river is almost double its size,

Swan Island, London Swan Island is a private mooring island in the Thames at Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, London, England. It is on the Tideway about north of and thus below Teddington Lock. The island has a commercial boatyard i ...

which is in

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

Family owners within the Livery Company of Watermen and Lightermen

It is known that in 1766 the Firework Ait, Windsor was likewise called Piper's Eyot and had another name before its later renaming.''A history of Eton College, 1440-1884'', 1889, Sir H. C. Maxwell-Lyte https://archive.org/details/historyofetoncol00maxwuoft Guinea Piper was a celebrated waterman at the time. One of Eton College's longboats was named after him - ''My Guinea's Lion''. Another, ''Piper's Green'' was named after one of his watermen brothers Richard (known as Dick) or James (known as Jack) Piper and this eyot later came into the family's ownership where they plied a local boat repair trade.

Location

The ait is toward the edge of the central urban area of the town of

and connected by a gangway attached to the middle of the downstream stone

balustrade A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...

, a road bridge that links that town to its

suburb of Caversham, its closer bank.

References

External links

*
Island Bar and Restaurant web site
{{Coord, 51.4657, -0.9765, region:GB_type:landmark_source:OSOPenDtataStreetView, display=title Geography of Reading, Berkshire Islands of the River Thames

Use

Access

Family owners within the Livery Company of Watermen and Lightermen

Location

See also

References

External links