A barrel of monkeys

A barrel of monkeys
Posted by MJ Smith in Lots Of Zeros

Monkey Island, a five-acre island with a 26-bedroom hotel in the middle of the Thames river, is for sale at 7.5 million pounds, or $15 million, Bloomberg News reports.
The island, reachable only by walkway, boat or helicopter, is 30 miles west of London near the village of Bray. It has been owned since 1999 by the Al Habtoor Group from Dubai, which has owned and operated hotels in the Middle East for 25 years.
The hotel was built as a fishing lodge about 280 years ago and has a Grade 1 heritage listing, which carries the greatest level of restrictions for owners wishing to renovate sites deemed to be historically significant. The hotel has been used as an inn since 1840 and includes a 90-seat restaurant.

Monkey Island, near the village of Bray-on-Thames lies one mile downstream from Maidenhead and is within easy reach of Royal Windsor and London. It is generally assumed that the Island takes its name from the monkey paintings in the Pavilion, however, this is a popular misconception. The name derives from the earlier title of Monks Eyot indicating that monks were using the island, probably in association with their fisheries. The monks in question resided on a moated site near Bray Lock on the Buckinghamshire bank of the river from 1197 until the Dissolution.

The island progressed due to the Great Fire of London in 1666. To help in the rebuilding of the City, Oxfordshire stone was shipped down stream to the capital in barges, which on their return carried rubble to be dumped on many of the islands on the Thames, thus providing Monkey Island with a solid foundation for building whilst raising the level to eliminate serious flooding.

In about 1723 Charles Spencer, the 3rd Duke of Marlborough purchased the island. The Duke erected two buildings on the island described as a fishing lodge and fishing temple.

The Lodge (now the Pavilion) was built of wood blocks cut to look like stone and still remains today in its original state. The Temple was originally open on the ground floor like a market stall and the attractive room, above, has a fine ceiling with Neptune, shells and mermaids in high relief plasterwork of Wedgwood style.

The Monkey Room was once used as a banqueting room. The Monkey paintings on the ceiling were the work of French artist Andie de Clermont and were painted before 1738.

By 1840 the Pavilion had become a riverside Inn, which could be reached by ferry from the south bank. Visitors have been staying in various parts of the building ever since.