Thorney Island was theeyot (or small island) on theRiver Thames inWestminster,London, whereWestminster Abbey and thePalace of Westminster (commonly known today as theHouses of Parliament) were built. It was formed by rivulets of theRiver Tyburn, which entered theThames nearby. In Roman times, and presumably earlier, Thorney Islandmay have been part of a natural ford whereWatling Street crossed the Thames,[1] of particular importance before the construction ofLondon Bridge.
The name may be derived from theAnglo-SaxonÞorn-īeg, meaning "Thorn Island".[2]
Thorney is described in a purported 8th century charter ofKing Offa of Mercia, which is kept in theAbbeymuniments, as a "terrible place". In the Spring of 893,Edward the Elder, son ofAlfred the Great, forced invading Vikings to take refuge on Thorney Island.[3] Despite hardships and more Viking raids over the following centuries, the monks tamed the island until by the time ofEdward the Confessor it was "A delightful place, surrounded by fertile land and green fields". The abbey'sCollege Garden survives, a thousand years later, and may be the oldest garden in England.[4]
Since the Middle Ages, the level of the land has risen, therivulets have been built over, and theThames has been embanked, so that there is now no visible Thorney Island. The name is kept only by Thorney Street, at the back of theMI5 Security Service building; but a local heritage organisation established by June Stubbs in 1976 took the nameThe Thorney Island Society.
In 1831, the boundaries of the former island were described as theChelsea Waterworks, theGrosvenor Canal, and the ornamental water inSt James's Park.[5]
Thorney Island is one of the places reputed to be the site ofKing Canute'sdemonstration that he could not command the tides, because he built a palace at Westminster.
In 2000, the politicianJohn Roper was created aLife peer and revived the name of Thorney in Parliament by taking the title Baron Roper of Thorney Island in the City of Westminster.[6]
51°29′54″N0°7′44″W / 51.49833°N 0.12889°W /51.49833; -0.12889