Eel Pie Island is an island in the River Thames in England at Twickenham, in the Borough of Richmond upon Thames, London. It is situated on the Tideway and can be reached only by footbridge or boat. The island was known as a major jazz and blues venue in the 1960s.
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 with 120 inhabitants and some small businesses and artist studios. It has nature reserves at either end, but there is no public access to these. The island is privately owned and the public can only access the main pathway from the bridge, to all the doors and gates of the houses and businesses on the island. On a few weekends a year the public can go into the collection of art studios, known as Eel Pie Island Art Studios.
The Eel Pie Studios or Oceanic Studios at The Boathouse on the mainland nearby, formerly owned by Pete Townshend, were the location of several significant pop and rock recordings. Townshend's publishing company, Eel Pie Publishing, is also named after the ait.
Read more about Eel Pie Island: Water Sports, Eel Pie Island Hotel, Eel Pie Island Commune, The Battle of Eel Pie Island, Image Gallery, Notable Residents, Use in Literature
Famous quotes containing the words pie and/or island:
“Rice and peas fit into that category of dishes where two ordinary foods, combined together, ignite a pleasure far beyond the capacity of either of its parts alone. Like rhubarb and strawberries, apple pie and cheese, roast pork and sage, the two tastes and textures meld together into the sort of subtle transcendental oneness that we once fantasized would be our experience when we finally found the ideal mate.”
—John Thorne, U.S. cookbook writer. Simple Cooking, “Rice and Peas: A Preface with Recipes,” Viking Penguin (1987)
“This island is made mainly of coal and surrounded by fish. Only an organizing genius could produce a shortage of coal and fish at the same time.”
—Aneurin Bevan (1897–1960)