Continuing with the music theme from yesterday, and using the name by which the location is better known, Eel Pie Island in Twickenham claims a remarkable if brief place in music history (more on the name shortly).
In the 1960s The Eel Pie Island Hotel there was a major venue for jazz, blues, rock and r&b bands. Among those who appeared there were Ivor Cutler, David Bowie, John Mayall, Long John Baldry, Hawkwind, Pink Floyd, The Who and The Rolling Stones. And that’s just scratching the surface.
See https://hidden-london.com/gazetteer/eel-pie-island/ for more.
A postcard of the hotel from 1900; once a popular destination for day-trippers, also getting a mention by Charles Dickens in 'Nicholas Nickleby'
Built in 1830, sadly the hotel burned down in 1971 in an unexplained fire, and that was that. The few years prior to that it had been struggling, with temporary closure in 1967 when the owner couldn’t afford safety repairs at the behest of the police. In 1969 it briefly reopened as a music venue, only to be occupied in 1970 for it’s final days by what became the UK’s largest hippie commune at the time.
1992 drawing of Eel Pie Island, showing the site of the old hotel
Looking further back the island was rumoured to have been the site of a monastery, and later may have been used as a ‘courting ground’ by Henry VIII. Since the 17th Century day-trippers have visited to picnic and / or fish there. Pies, (you knew it was coming), made with locally caught eels were another attraction, giving the most obvious (and arguably most likely) explanation of the island’s name, though some believe (and this is my favourite explanation) a royal mistress with a house there called it Île de Paix (Island of Peace), which was folk-anglicised as ‘Eel Pie’. (See Post 100 on July 13th on 'The 845 Year Old Clattern Bridge' in Kingston for a bit more on eels, if you're so inclined).
Twickenham Rowing Club has been based on the island since 1880, twenty years after it was founded by local resident Henri d’Orleans, Duc d’Aumale.
Many of the island’s wood-framed properties date from the early 1900s, when they were used as summer houses by wealthy Edwardian Londoners. They have aged well and survive to command good prices.
The pedestrian bridge linking the island to Twickenham was built in 1957.
Coming a bit more up-to-date, inventor of the wind up radio Trevor Baylis lived on the island for many years, until his death in March 2018.
These days the island is home to a couple of dozen artists’ studios situated in and around the boatyard. Twice a year they open their doors to the public, affording the opportunity to talk to the artists and buy or commission new artworks.
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