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Rod Eyot or Rod Ait is an island in the
Rod Eyot or Rod Ait 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, s ...
in England near Henley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Thames, in the South Oxfordshire district, in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, Berkshire, Reading, west of M ...
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 spor ...
.
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 theEnvironment 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 enha ...
to keep to the right (starboard
Port and starboard are Glossary of nautical terms (M-Z), nautical terms for watercraft and spacecraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the Bow (watercraft), bow (front).
Vessels with bil ...
) 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 Dictionary. "Monarch". 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 ...
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
Henley Bridge is a road bridge built in 1786 at Henley-on-Thames over the River Thames, between Oxfordshire and Berkshire. The bridge has five elliptical stone arches, and links Hart Street in Henley with White Hill (designated the A4130) le ...
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