I can distinctly remember, that at the turn of the second millennium, as the fanfare of commercial festivity which is conventionally ordained to confirm periods of historic significance in the public mind was rallying it’s number to announce the new year, that I, being of a restless persuasion, was compelled to move house, a decision which, in incorporating the tedious ritual of consigning large numbers of personal possessions to fresh circumstance, was observed to countenance the peculiar combination of optimism and regret that may, in keeping with the spirit of transition exemplified by periods of change, find occasion to occupy one’s thoughts.
Discovering, as the gauntlet of retrospective celebrations which served to distinguish the virgin growth of the fresh millennium were running to an ebb, that my new residence was to be a tower block overlooking “Twickenham Rugby Stadium”, a location that I later learned had been chosen by my father through association with a decision made by him to put me onto Welfare without my knowledge, I cursorily took it upon myself to perform a little research into the history of the area in which I had found myself, a small Thames side suburb that, in including “Brentford”, “Richmond” and “Kingston” within it’s compass, promised to afford an interesting diversion from the general sense of industrial claustrophobia that typifies much of the river’s Eastern extent.
Loosely acquainted with “Twickenham” through association with both my mother’s assignment to “Hounslow Borough College” as a fashion teacher throughout my youth and my own experience of playing Rugby at “Latymer Upper School’s” sports field in “Whitton” during my early teenage years, I found it relatively easy to familiarize myself with the finer details of the suburb’s geography, respectively taking a number of riverside strolls through the gardens of, “Marble Hill House ”, to coincide with the ferry service to, “Ham”, upon the Thames’ South bank and up towards, “Radnor Gardens”, on the borders of, “Strawberry Hill”, slightly further West, a process through which I gradually came to appreciate the many novel attributes that have, over time, served to characterize the region’s more picturesque attributes.
Perhaps the most impressive stretch of riverside in the “Twickenham” area was, in this sense, discovered by me to be that which pertains directly to the town itself, a wrought margin that, in running parallel with the quaint parade of “Church Street” off towards what remains of, “Orleans House”, is observed to include, among other things, the idiosyncratically named “Barmy Arms inn”, the fabulously ornamental garden of “York House” and the marvelously traditional “White Swan tavern” within it’s compass, an expanse which, in serving to frame the peculiar agglomeration of artisan’s cottages and boat houses that constitute the geography of “Eel Pie Island” located at it’s center, retains to this day, a manner of charm unique to itself.
In being large enough to support a thriving community of artists, potters, musicians and ship-wrights but too small to accommodate roads, “Eel Pie Island” represents, upon closer, inspection, something of an impasse, passage to and from the island’s interior being obstructed by an impenetrable network of walls, fences and blockades, a labyrinth which, in dividing it’s surface into a chaotic gridlock of incongruous free-holdings, renders pedestrian transgression practically impossible without risking trespass upon privately owned property, a restriction that, in effectively preserving the location’s compliment from all but the most determined investigation, serves, in a quaintly anachronistic sense, to bless it’s finer aspect with an element of mystery that is generally reserved for regions of a far more exotic persuasion than suburban London.
In having subsequently lived within the Twickenham area for more than a decade and effectively resigned myself to the certitude that I would never find occasion to investigate the peculiar anomaly that “Eel Pie Island” had come to represent in my mind, I was naturally delighted to learn that a small museum covering the location’s history was due to be opened in the suburb, an archive which, in covering the constituent elements of the region’s past, would notably be devoted to the heritage of a music hall that had achieved notoriety in the area during the 1960's.
Briskly making forth towards central Twickenham in efforts to attend the show, a pilgrimage which, in coincidentally presenting me with an opportunity to collect a novel that I had ordered at a local book shop, granted me the chance to check up on the Museum’s opening times, I duly, collected a pamphlet from the establishment’s door and eagerly arranged to visit the archive the following weekend.
Established along Richmond Road in 2018 by “Michelle Whitby” following the success of a series of pop up exhibitions staged at the “Stables Gallery” upon the grounds of “Orleans House” within it’s vicinity, the museum was observed to trace a convoluted path back through Twickenham’s history, charting the precarious passage of events which have served to distinguish it’s realm of incident over the course of the past three hundred years.
Originally known as Twickenham Ait, “Eel Pie Island” was, in intially being associated with the the trade of the traditional English dish, “Eel pie”, legendarily visited by the English monarch “Henry the eighth” in the sixteenth century, a tale which, like that pertaining to a secret passage built between “The Bull” Public House and “Oliver’s Island” slightly further down river by the parliamentarian leader “Oliver Cromwell”, has, for want of evidence, subsequently proven to be insubstantiable, a term beneath which the museum notably excepted references to events of such an archaic persuasion from it’s catalog, commencing it’s investigation with an account of a boat race named “Dogget’s Coat and Badge” which was, recorded to have been staged between ,“Cadogan Pier”. in Chelsea and, “London Bridge”. during the early eighteenth century.
Recorded to have been organised by the Irish actor manager of London’s Drury Lane Theater “Thomas Dogget” during the early Georgian era, a circumstance which, in being inspired by the thespian’s reliance upon the services of boatmen to convey him to and from work, was to result in a wager in efforts to determine who, among the communities of “Lightermen” and “Ferrymen” that then coursed the river, could transit it’s expanse with greatest alacrity, “Dogget’s Coat and Badge” was, in offering as it’s prize, a red coat and cap tailored by “Thomas Dogget” himself, noted to have achieved a degree of popularity when first staged, a term beneath which a number of skiffs specifically designed for rapid transit were subsequently observed to have been manufactured upon the Thames to the effect of insuring victory.
Being perpetuated, after “Dogget’s” death, by the “Fisherman’s Livery Company”, a pretext beneath which the competition was to become the oldest continually staged example of it’s type on earth, “Dogget’s Coat and Badge” was ultimately to serve as the inspiration for both “Henley Regatta” and by default the “Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race”, a term beneath which it was similarly observed to betoken association with the “Twickenham Rowing Club”, an affiliation that, in being confirmed by the current proprietor of the island’s slipway, “Ken Dwan”, who was noted to have been made a royal ferryman after having himself won the competition a number of years ago, coincidentally provides the first evidence of the island’s occupation by mankind.
Recorded to have been the site of a house built by scullers who had presumably happened upon the eyot whilst engaged in preparation for “Thomas Dogget’s” race during the eighteenth century, “Eel Pie Island” gradually became a popular resort for people wishing to escape from the rigors of inner city life, a term beneath which the house was observed to have been torn down in 1830 and replaced by a hotel equipped with a sizable ball room.
Mentioned in “Charles Dickens” celebrated novel “Nicholas Nickelby” as a location in which one “could dance to the music of a locomotive band”, Eel Pie Island’s Hotel was an instant success attracting custom from all strata of society, a pretext beneath which it’s ball room was, through coincidence with “Charles Dickens’” observations, noted to have been equipped with a sprung dance floor in 1898 to cater for the rising popularity of big band music.
Maintaining a close association with the Thames throughout this period , a pretext beneath which the eyot was observed to have both been furnished with a floating boathouse and occupied by a branch of William Sargeant’s “Thames Electric Steam launch Company”, the Island was, during the second world war, also noted to have provided migrants with vessels throughout the evacuation of Dunkirk.
Progressing past a wall decorated with gold discs donated by the establishment’s sponsors, I duly found myself standing at the exhibition’s center, a multi faceted shrine composed of artifacts devoted specifically to the island’s usage as a music hall during the mid twentieth century, a tenet confirmed by the museum attendant’s activation of an old stylus operated record player, a device which, in being inspired to recant the meter of a number of classic 1960’s chart songs, notably included a selection of melodies performed by perhaps the Island’s most well known group of musicians, the “Rolling Stones” within it’s repertoire.
Detecting the subtle scent of Myrrh emanating from some concealed quarter as I investigated the museum’s central bank of displays, my attention was immediately drawn to a glass cabinet containing the bowler hat and waist coat of the celebrated jazz clarionetist “Acker Bilk”, a musician who, in having performed regularly at the hotel during the 1950’s, was, alongside “Brian Rutland’s” Grove Jazz Band, “Ken Colyer’s” Crane River Jazz Band, “Cy Laurie”, “George Melly” and “The Temperance Seven”, witnessed to preserve many of the conventions traditionally associated with the big band ethos that had served to determine the musical tastes of the early twentieth century.
Charting the decision made by the hotel’s owner “Michael Snapper” to cater for younger audiences, a choice prompted through correspondence with a junk shop owner named “Arthur Chisnall” who, in having been commissioned by the hotel to hire jazz artists for concerts during the second world war, was fairly well acquainted with the entertainment circuit of the era, the museum, proceeded to investigate how “Eel Pie Island” extended province to become one of South West London’s most popular music venues.
In being both fascinated with youth culture in deference to politics and inspired by the popular appeal of music rather than the degree of accomplishment invested in it’s composition “Arthur Chisnall”, was, during the early 1960’s, observed to have perceived potential in the hotel’s assignment as a youth venue, a capacity in which concerts textured with a general sense of irreverence, were effectively witnessed to serve the purpose of keeping juvenile delinquency off the streets.
Hiring a number of popular American artists including “Jesse Fuller”, “Buddy Guy” and “Howling Wolf” in efforts to cater for contemporary tastes, “Arthur Chisnall” was, in cultivating a sense of occasion , noted to have instituted a number of conventions peculiar to the hotel during his period of employ including the usage of passports to gain access to the island and the application of colored stamps to peoples’ wrists to signify admission into it’s dance hall, an instance in which a staunch contingent of body guards were observed to have been hired to insure the safety of girl’s at the establishment’s bar.
Recorded to have purposefully sought to draw association between the hotel’s concerts and illicit or questionable behavior in efforts to cultivate a climate of controversy which he believed would prove popular with young audiences , a campaign through which gatherings on the island were recorded to have accrued a following of more than 8,000 people by 1961, “Arthur Chisnall’s ” unconventional attitude towards the performance of live music was witnessed to have served as the cradle for many of the twentieth century’s most popular live acts.
Renowned alongside “The Crawdaddy Club” in Richmond for having been the site of a number of “Rolling Stones” concerts throughout the early 1960's, a period during which the band was fated to appear alongside “Alexis Korner’s Blues Institute” as a proponent of electrically amplified rock and roll, “Eel Pie Island” rapidly achieved a reputation which, in comparing favorably against many of England’s most popular venues including Liverpool’s “Cavern Club”, the “Manchester Hacienda” and “Wigan Casino”, regularly succeeded in attracting large numbers of both musicians and music lovers into it’s enclave.
Featuring performances by such notable bands as “Cyril Davies All Stars”, the “Yard Birds”, “John Mayall’s Blues Breakers”, “Art Wood’s Band , “The Tridents”,”The Downliners Sect”, “Jeff Beck” and “Long John Baldry’s Hoochie Coochie Men” throughout the hiatus of it’s activity, the hotel’s ball room was, in being furnished with two stages, noted to have been equipped with a battery of alcoves reserved for the purpose of petting women.
Recorded to have been closed and occupied by squatters in 1967, the “Eelpiland Club” was through association with a series of negotiations waged between “Caldwell Smythe” and the hotel’s owner “Michael Snapper” briefly re-incarnated during the early 1970’s as “Colonel Barefoot’s Rock Garden”, a period throughout which the music hall was notable for staging a number of psychedelically infused live performances by bands such as “Hawkwind”, “Pink Floyd”, “Black Sabbath” and “Genesis”.
Equipped with both a hamburger stall and a licensed bar renowned for selling a potent beverage known as Killer Punch, “Colonel Barefoot’s Rock Garden” was throughout the latter years of the 1960's, observed to have attracted a thriving community of counter culturalists and hippies, a term beneath which, in being occupied by the self confessed militant anarchist and radical alternative illustrator, “Clifford Harper”, the island was recorded to have become the site of the largest squatter colony in Britain by 1970.
As the mass habitation of the island was at it’s height, a period during which the area was recorded to have been occupied by a contingent of over a hundred hippies who, in maintaining a number of practices peculiar to themselves, succeeded in establishing something of a collective identity for itself, a fire was observed to have broken out upon the ait’s leeward flank, reducing the larger part of the hotel to a state of dereliction and spelling an end to “Colonel Barefoot’s Rock Garden”.
Officially closed in 1971, the hotel’s shell remained standing in the area for some years before eventually being torn down and replaced with the “Aquarius” residential block, a building which, in currently occupying the site of the original club, gives some indication as to the music hall’s original location.
Although “Eel Pie Island” is no longer accessible to the public, a club devised to celebrate the ethos which it once represented still regularly hosts live music performances at the “Cabbage Patch” public house by Twickenham station, a venue which, in operating through loose correspondence with the program of concerts that frequently find occasion to inundate Twickenham’s Rugby Stadium with custom, manages to retain something of the atmosphere embodied by the original music hall.
Leaving the items devoted to “Eel Pie Island’s” musical heritage to retrospect, I tentatively made forth towards the exhibition’s next installment, a series of displays which, in describing the return of the area back to it’s original premium as a boatyard, served, in it’s fashion, to explain much of the island’s current geography.
Charting the restoration of the island’s slipway to a working condition by the shipwrights “Ted Leppard” and “Len Bowan”, during the 1980’s, an interest that, during the early 1990’s, was observed to have been commandeered by the Olympic oarsman “Ken Dwan”, the museum proceeded to recant the efforts of a man named “Henry Gastall” to found a neighboring towpath known as “the Marine Center” on the Island, an establishment that, in being devoted to the preservation of the area’s peculiar artistic heritage, was, like the hotel, unfortunately recorded to have been burned down in 1996.
Observed to have been commandeered by “Mark” and “Helen Montgomery Smith”, during the late 1990’s, the remains of the Marine Center were subsequently restored to a working condition and, in keeping with “Henry Gastall’s” initial intentions, referred to the usage of both artists and river men.
The final series of articles on display at the museum were reserved for the work of a local inventor named “Trevor Baylis”, an individual who, in having developed a clockwork radio for usage in isolated locations, was to revolutionize the concept of portable energy generation.
Entitled the “Freeplay Bay Gen wind up radio”, Trevor Baylis’ device was effectively observed to consist of a spring mounted dynamo rigged to charge a series of batteries when primed, a principle which, in being applicable to all electrical devices including both torches and cameras, was observed to retain an almost limitless market potential.
After having inspected the series of displays devoted to “Trevor Baylis’” contraptions, an investigation which coincidentally presented me with an opportunity to sit upon the chair in which the inventor was rumoured to have designed his original radio, I gradually turned to leave the exhibition hall, tracing tentative passage back past the parade of gold disks which served to decorate the museum’s entrance hall and out onto the street.
Open on Thursday through to Sunday of each week between midday and six o’clock the “Eel Pie Island Museum” is, although only small, an intriguing collection of historical artefacts that, through coincidence with the sense of whimsy and abandon to which youth culture ascribes, yet manages to retain a character of oddly human persuasion.
For those interested in the history of Twickenham and more specifically the youth culture of the 1960’s, then the Eel Pie Island Museum comes highly recommended, an ideal venue to attend accompanied by friends if one happens to find one’s-self in the Richmond or Twickenham area.
For more information please contact…
INFO@EELPIEMUSEUM.CO.UK
