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'{{Short description|A hamlet on the River Thames in Oxfordshire}} {{EngvarB|date=October 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2013}} {{infobox UK place| |country= England |static_image_name = SonningBridge01.JPG |static_image_caption = [[Sonning Bridge]] from the Sonning Eye bank of the [[River Thames]] |coordinates = {{coord|51.4760|-0.9156|display=inline,title}} |official_name= Sonning Eye |population= |civil_parish= [[Eye & Dunsden]] |shire_district= [[South Oxfordshire]] |shire_county= [[Oxfordshire]] |region= South East England |constituency_westminster= [[Henley (UK Parliament constituency)|Henley]] |post_town= Reading |postcode_district= RG4 |postcode_area= RG |dial_code= 0118 |os_grid_reference= SU7576 |website= [http://www.eyedunsden.org/ Eye & Dunsden Parish Council] }} '''Sonning Eye''' is a [[Hamlet (place)|hamlet]] on the [[River Thames]] in the [[Sonning Common]] ward of [[South Oxfordshire]], England, in the [[Civil_parish#United_Kingdom|civil parish]] of [[Eye & Dunsden]] (one of its four small settlements), at what is since 1974 the southernmost tip of [[Oxfordshire]]. ==Geography== Sonning Eye is about {{convert|3|mi|km}} northeast of [[Reading, Berkshire]]. Sonning Eye is opposite the village of [[Sonning]], [[Berkshire]], to which it is linked by crossing the 18th-century brick-arched [[Sonning Bridge]] combined with [[Sonning Backwater Bridges]]. Sonning Eye is surrounded by the alluvial [[floodplain]] of the [[River Thames]], much of which has been extracted for gravel, forming a number of lakes, especially upstream on this bank. In particular, a long [[Sport rowing|rowing]] lake has been made, the [[Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake]], named after Olympic oarsmen [[Steve Redgrave]] and [[Matthew Pinsent]]. Other local sports include sailing and [[water skiing]]. [[Berry Brook]], a small tributary runs through the floodplain west and north of Sonning Eye, joining the Thames at [[Hallsmead Ait]] to the northeast. On the riverside near the [[Sonning Backwater Bridge]]s is the [[French Horn, Sonning Eye|French 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. ==History== Its [[Toponymy|toponym]] "''Sonning''" is derived from the [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] chieftain ''[[Sunna (Saxon chief)|Sunna]]'' and "''Eye''" meaning ''island'' (cf. ''eyot'') since it is a small gravel mound surrounded by the river's [[flood 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 the [[Oxfordshire]] section of Sonning [[civil parish]].{{fact|date=October 2014}} The heart of Sonning Eye is a [[conservation area]], including 12 architecturally [[Grade II listed]] buildings, five of which are [[Barn (building)|barns]] that have now been converted for modern use. One house has some excellent [[William De Morgan]] tiles. ==Buildings of the island== The island is roughly heart-shaped, cut through by a [[millrace]]. On the islet is ''[[The Mill at Sonning]]'', a restored 18th-century [[watermill]] on a medieval site, now converted to a [[dinner theatre]].<ref>[http://www.millatsonning.com/index.html The Mill at Sonning] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090309195127/http://www.millatsonning.com/index.html |date=9 March 2009 }}.</ref> The millrace runs through what is now the theatre bar, and powers a small turbine powering an 18.5&nbsp;kW [[hydroelectric]] generator that supplies the [[National Grid (UK)|National Grid]].<ref>[http://www.millatsonning.com/Hydro.html The Mill at Sonning: Hydro Scheme] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091008001035/http://www.millatsonning.com/Hydro.html |date=8 October 2009 }}.</ref> Set behind this on the island is ''Mill House'', a [[Grade II listed]] building owning some of the {{convert|5|acres}} 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.<ref>{{NHLE|num=1047410}}</ref> [[Sir Thomas Rich]] founded [[Reading Blue Coat School]] just south of here in 1766 by endowing it with the income with his neighbouring farmland.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51287 |title=Somerford, Little – Sotwell |editor=Samuel Lewis |publisher=Institute of Historical Research |date=1848 |work=A Topographical Dictionary of England |access-date=8 June 2013 }}</ref> In 2014, the Mill House was bought by the American film star [[George Clooney]] and his British wife, human rights lawyer [[Amal Alamuddin]],<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/reading/articles/2014/10/09/104321-hollywood-star-george-clooney-and-wife-amal-alamuddin-eye-sonning-home/ | title=Updated: Hollywood star George Clooney and wife Amal Alamuddin eye Sonning home | newspaper=[[The Reading Chronicle]] | date=9 October 2014 | access-date=11 October 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/11154328/Welcome-to-Sonning-Mr-and-Mrs-Clooney.html | title=Welcome to Sonning, Mr & Mrs Clooney | newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] | first=Patrick | last=Sawer | date=10 October 2014 | access-date=11 October 2014 }}</ref> at a cost of around £10 million.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/11152701/George-Clooney-snaps-up-10-million-manor-house-in-Sonning-Berkshire.html | title=George Clooney snaps up £10 million manor house in Sonning, Berkshire | newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] | first=Patrick | last=Sawer | date=9 October 2014 | access-date=11 October 2014 }}</ref> ==Paintings and sketches== 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]], the [[Victorian era|Victorian]] [[watercolour]] painter associated with the [[Pre-Raphaelite]] art movement, visited and painted in the area.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.artnet.com/artists/george-price-boyce/at-sonning-eye-oxfordshire-3YndMl_PqNR5MBQq3N9rHQ2 | title=At Sonning-eye, Oxfordshire | first=George Price | last=Boyce | year=1860 | publisher=[[Artnet]] | access-date=11 October 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/LotDetailsPrintable.aspx?intObjectID=298395 | title= At Sonning-Eye, Oxfordshire – Lot 30 / Sale 5876 | work=[[Archive.org]] | publisher=[[Christie's]] | location=London | date=7 November 1997 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160304225950/http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/LotDetailsPrintable.aspx?intObjectID=298395 | access-date=31 December 2019 | archive-date= 4 March 2016 }}</ref> ==Gallery== <gallery> File:Backwater of the Thames at Sonning - geograph.org.uk - 112764.jpg|Backwater of the Thames at Sonning Eye, with a view of the [[French Horn at Sonning]]. File:Sonning_Bridge_-_1799.jpg|Print of [[Sonning Bridge]] (1799), linking Sonning Eye (right) with [[Sonning]] (left) and [[St Andrew's Church, Sonning|St Andrew's Church]] tower in the background File:The French Horn from Sonning Backwater Bridge.JPG|View from the main [[Sonning Backwater Bridge]] along the B478 road in Sonning Eye with the [[French Horn, Sonning Eye|French Horn hotel]] on the right File:Old Cottages at Sonning Eye - geograph.org.uk - 65912.jpg|Waterside cottages at Sonning Eye File:The B478, Sonning Eye - geograph.org.uk - 763858.jpg|View of the B478 road in the snow with the French Horn in the background </gallery> ==See also== *[[Caversham Lakes]] *[[Islands in the River Thames]] *[[List of civil parishes in England]] *[[List of places in Oxfordshire]] *[[Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake]] *[[Sonning Bridge]] *[[Sonning Regatta]] == References == {{reflist}} == External links == {{commons cat}} * [http://www.seag.org.uk/ Sonning Eye Action Group] * [http://www.sonning.org.uk/ Sonning & Sonning Eye Society] * [http://www.thefrenchhorn.co.uk/ The French Horn hotel and restaurant] * [http://www.millatsonning.com/ The Mill at Sonning dinner theatre] {{Start box}} {{River island start|River=[[River Thames]]}} {{River item line|upstream=[[Sonning Hill island]] |downstream=[[Buck Ait]]}} {{End box}} {{South Oxfordshire}} [[Category:Islands of the River Thames]] [[Category:Populated places on the River Thames]] [[Category:Sonning|Eye]] [[Category:Hamlets in Oxfordshire]] [[Category:South Oxfordshire District]]'