Sashes Island
Encyclopedia
Sashes Island is an island in the River Thames
in England
at Cookham Lock
near Cookham
, Berkshire
. It is now open farmland, but has Roman and Anglo-Saxon connections.
The island is located between Hedsor Water
and the present navigation channel leading to Cookham Lock
. It can be reached from Cookham by footbridges across three channels of the River Thames via Formosa Island
and Mill Island. Its name is derived from Sceaftesege or "Sceaf
’s Isle".
The island is believed to have been at the point where the Thames was crossed by a Roman road
called Camlet Way
, which ran from St. Albans to Silchester
. Wooden piles and stakes were found here in the nineteenth century and again in 1969 which may indicate the remains of a substantial bridge. Cookham may derive its name from a river port here named "Cwch-ium", which in the Celtic language means "Boat-Place".
In Saxon times, Sashes Island was the site of a burh
built under Alfred the Great
as a defence against the Danes
. It was listed in the 914 AD Burghal Hidage
. The Burghal Hidage reports that the defences of "Sceaftessige" were 4,125ft long. No trace of this burh has been found, but this may be as a result of the digging of the lock cut in the 1830s, which disrupted the terrain. Late Saxon weapons have been found in the cut.
There is a landscape painting of Sashes Island by Gilbert Spencer
, brother of Stanley Spencer
who was born at Cookham.
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
at Cookham Lock
Cookham Lock
Cookham Lock is a lock with weirs situated on the River Thames near Cookham, Berkshire. The lock is set in a lock cut which is one of four streams here and it is surrounded by woods. On one side is Sashes Island and on the other is Mill Island connected to Formosa Island, the largest on the...
near Cookham
Cookham
Cookham is a village and civil parish in the north-easternmost corner of Berkshire in England, on the River Thames, notable as the home of the artist Stanley Spencer. It lies north of Maidenhead close to the border with Buckinghamshire...
, Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
. It is now open farmland, but has Roman and Anglo-Saxon connections.
The island is located between Hedsor Water
Hedsor Water
Hedsor Water is a backwater of the River Thames near Cookham, Berkshire which leaves the river above Cookham Lock and rejoins at the tail of the lock cut, running alongside Sashes Island. Hedsor Water was once the main course of the Thames but was by-passed for navigation by the construction of...
and the present navigation channel leading to Cookham Lock
Cookham Lock
Cookham Lock is a lock with weirs situated on the River Thames near Cookham, Berkshire. The lock is set in a lock cut which is one of four streams here and it is surrounded by woods. On one side is Sashes Island and on the other is Mill Island connected to Formosa Island, the largest on the...
. It can be reached from Cookham by footbridges across three channels of the River Thames via Formosa Island
Formosa Island
Formosa Island is an island in the River Thames in England at Cookham Lock near Cookham, Berkshire, with two smaller adjacent islands.The island is one of the largest on the non-tidal river Thames with of woodland. It can be reached by footbridge from Cookham...
and Mill Island. Its name is derived from Sceaftesege or "Sceaf
Sceaf
Sceafa , also spelled Sceaf or Scef , was an ancient Lombardic king in English legend. According to his story, Sceafa appeared mysteriously as a child, coming out of the sea in an empty boat. The name also appears in the corrupt forms Seskef, Stefius, Strephius, and Stresaeus...
’s Isle".
History
The earliest known map of the island was by Hynde, and dates from circa 1580. It shows 'Sashes stream', which cuts the island in half.The island is believed to have been at the point where the Thames was crossed by a Roman road
Roman road
The Roman roads were a vital part of the development of the Roman state, from about 500 BC through the expansion during the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. Roman roads enabled the Romans to move armies and trade goods and to communicate. The Roman road system spanned more than 400,000 km...
called Camlet Way
Camlet Way
Camlet Way was a Roman road in England which ran roughly east-west between Colchester in Essex and Silchester in Hampshire via St Albans ....
, which ran from St. Albans to Silchester
Silchester
Silchester is a village and civil parish about north of Basingstoke in Hampshire. It is adjacent to the county boundary with Berkshire and about south-west of Reading....
. Wooden piles and stakes were found here in the nineteenth century and again in 1969 which may indicate the remains of a substantial bridge. Cookham may derive its name from a river port here named "Cwch-ium", which in the Celtic language means "Boat-Place".
In Saxon times, Sashes Island was the site of a burh
Burh
A Burh is an Old English name for a fortified town or other defended site, sometimes centred upon a hill fort though always intended as a place of permanent settlement, its origin was in military defence; "it represented only a stage, though a vitally important one, in the evolution of the...
built under Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
as a defence against the Danes
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. It was listed in the 914 AD Burghal Hidage
Burghal Hidage
The Burghal Hidage is an Anglo-Saxon document providing a list of the fortified burhs in Wessex and elsewhere in southern England. It offers an unusually detailed picture of the network of burhs that Alfred the Great designed to defend his kingdom from the predations of Viking invaders.-Burhs and...
. The Burghal Hidage reports that the defences of "Sceaftessige" were 4,125ft long. No trace of this burh has been found, but this may be as a result of the digging of the lock cut in the 1830s, which disrupted the terrain. Late Saxon weapons have been found in the cut.
There is a landscape painting of Sashes Island by Gilbert Spencer
Gilbert Spencer
Gilbert Spencer R.A. was a British painter of landscapes, portraits figure compositions and mural decoarions. He worked in oils and watercolor...
, brother of Stanley Spencer
Stanley Spencer
Sir Stanley Spencer was an English painter. Much of his work depicts Biblical scenes, from miracles to Crucifixion, happening not in the Holy Land but in the small Thames-side village where he was born and spent most of his life...
who was born at Cookham.