Eel Pie Island

infobox UK place
static_

static_image_caption=
country = England
region= London
official_name= Eel Pie Island
london_borough= Richmond
post_town= TWICKENHAM
postcode_area= TW
postcode_district= TW1
dial_code= 020
os_grid_reference= TQ164731
latitude= 51.4452
longitude= -0.3246
constituency_westminster= Twickenham

Eel Pie Island, in the River Thames at Twickenham in London, can be reached only by footbridge or boat. Eel Pie Island was earlier called Twickenham Ait and, before that, The Parish Ait; even earlier the island was three separate aits.

A bridge to the island was proposed in 1889, but it was not until 1957 that one was completed. Today, the island has about 50 houses and 120 inhabitants, some small businesses, and nature reserves at either end. It is also home to Twickenham Rowing Club, one of the oldest rowing clubs on the Thames, and Richmond Yacht Club.

The Eel Pie Studios, owned by Pete Townshend, were the location of several significant pop and rock recordings. Townshend's publishing company, Eel Pie Publishing Limited, is named after the ait.

For his 2005 television show "How To Start Your Own Country", presenter Danny Wallace claimed to be "Leader" of Eel Pie Island after invading the island via the footbridge. After a few hours, the Metropolitan police forced him to peacefully give the island back to HM Elizabeth II. [cite web |url=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/entertainment/film_and_tv/s/166/166994_dictator_danny.html |title=Dictator Danny!
accessdate=2008-09-25 |author=Ian Wylie |publisher=Manchester Evening News |date=2005-07-25]

Eel Pie Island Hotel

The island was the site of the now legendary Eel Pie Hotel which was a genteel 19th century building that hosted ballroom dancing during the 1920s and 1930s. In the 1950s it became a venue for jazz and in the 1960s, for rock and R&B.cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6310309.stm |title=BBC News article on Eel Pie Island]

Many famous names had performed at the hotel between 1962 and 1967:

*Kenny Ball
*Long John Baldry's Hoochie Coochie Men (including Rod Stewart)
*Ivor Cutler
*John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (featuring Eric Clapton)
*George Melly
*Pink Floyd
*The Rolling Stones
*The Tridents (featuring Jeff Beck)
*The Who
*The Yardbirds

In 1967, the Eel Pie Island Hotel was forced to close because the owner could not meet the £200,000 cost of repairs demanded by police. Squatters soon moved in. In 1969, the Club briefly reopened as Colonel Barefoot's Rock Garden, with bands like Black Sabbath, The Edgar Broughton Band, and Led Zeppelin.

In 1971, the Eel Pie Island Hotel burned down in a mysterious fire. The centre of the island was devastated by fire in 1996 and a year later the footbridge was damaged by a utilities contractor. A new footbridge opened in August 1998.

Image gallery

Despite its small size, Eel Pie Island has a wide variety of building styles.

Notable residents

*Original "Doctor Who" actor William Hartnell lived in a house on the island during the 1960s
*Indie band Mystery Jets
*Inventor Trevor Baylis
*LBC presenter Steve Allen

Eel Pie Island was also the setting of a murder mystery written by David Frome (Zenith Brown) in 1932. It was part of the Mr. Pinkerton Series, featuring amateur sleuth, Evan Pinkerton, a widower Welshman, and his friend, Chief Inspector J. Humphrey Bull of Scotland Yard.

ee also

*Islands in the River Thames

References

External links

* [http://www.twickenham-museum.org.uk/detail.asp?ContentID=213 The Twickenham Museum - Eel Pie Island]
* [http://www.citizensrequired.com/unit/td_invasion/invasion.shtml A diary of Danny Wallace's invasion on his Citizens Required website]
* [http://www.eelpie.org/ Eel Pie Island - collection of hippie memoirs & pics from the 1960s]
* [http://www.mysteryjets.com/ Mystery Jets official website]
* [http://www.steveallenshow.com/ Official website of LBC 97.3 presenter Steve Allen]