| Sonning Eye | |
|---|---|
| Hamlet | |
 Sonning Bridge from the Sonning Eye bank of theRiver Thames | |
  Sonning Eye Location withinOxfordshire | |
| OS grid reference | SU7576 |
| Civil parish | |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Reading |
| Postcode district | RG4 |
| Dialling code | 0118 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Oxfordshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | Eye & Dunsden Parish Council |
| |
Sonning Eye is ahamlet on theRiver Thames in theSonning Common ward ofSouth Oxfordshire, England, in thecivil parish ofEye & Dunsden (one of its four small settlements), at what is, since 1974, the southernmost tip ofOxfordshire.
Sonning Eye is about 3 miles (4.8 km) northeast ofReading, Berkshire. Sonning Eye is opposite the village ofSonning,Berkshire, to which it is linked by crossing the 18th-century brick-archedSonning Bridge combined withSonning Backwater Bridges. Sonning Eye is surrounded by the alluvialfloodplain of theRiver Thames, much of which has been extracted for gravel, forming a number of lakes, especially upstream on this bank.
In particular, a longrowing lake has been made, theRedgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake, named after Olympic oarsmenSteve Redgrave andMatthew Pinsent. Other local sports include sailing andwater skiing.Berry Brook, a small tributary runs through the floodplain west and north of Sonning Eye, joining the Thames atHallsmead Ait to the northeast. On the riverside near theSonning Backwater Bridges is theFrench Horn, a luxury hotel and restaurant. There is a small public car park here, a place to launch small boats, and a grass area by the river bank that is popular with fishermen.
Itstoponym "Sonning" is derived from theAnglo-Saxon chieftainSunna and "Eye" meaningisland (cf.eyot) since it is a small gravel mound surrounded by the river'sflood plain. Within this low land is a true island (permanent since management of the river levels) on the Thames. Until 1866, Sonning Eye formed part of theOxfordshire section of Sonningcivil parish.[citation needed] The heart of Sonning Eye is aconservation area, including 12 architecturallyGrade II listed buildings, five of which arebarns that have now been converted for modern use. One house has some excellentWilliam De Morgan tiles.
The island is roughly heart-shaped, cut through by amillrace. On the islet isThe Mill at Sonning, a restored 18th-centurywatermill on a medieval site, now converted to adinner theatre.[1] The millrace runs through what is now the theatre bar, and powers a small turbine powering an 18.5 kWhydroelectric generator that supplies theNational Grid.[2] Set behind this on the island isMill House, aGrade II listed building owning some of the 5 acres (2.0 ha) island.
It was originally built in the 17th century and once owned by the wealthy Rich family, Lords of the Manor of Sonning, hence owning its manor house towards the top of Sonning's Thames Street as well.[3]Sir Thomas Rich foundedSir Thomas Rich's School just south of here in 1766 by endowing it with the income with his neighbouring farmland.[4] In 2014, the Mill House was bought by the American film starGeorge Clooney and his British wife, human rights lawyerAmal Alamuddin,[5][6] at a cost of around £10 million.[7]
The area has been a favourite location for artists, especially views of the old, disused brick bridge and viaduct from the river bank just downstream of the island with surrounding lush flora.George Price Boyce, theVictorianwatercolour painter associated with thePre-Raphaelite art movement, visited and painted in the area.[8][9]
| Next island upstream | River Thames | Next island downstream |
| Sonning Hill island | Sonning Eye | Buck Ait |
