Great news. A family has now moved into the once grand Eyot House on D’Oyly Carte Island and have set to work to bring it back to it’s former glory.
We have been in touch with the new owners who will be very happy to reveal all about their plans to Shep-perton Matters in due course. So hold tight.
One thing Mr Hill did say is that “the main objective is to restore the house and island back to the way Richard D’Oyly Carte had intended when he built it in 1890 and in keeping with its Grade 2 listed status and as a building with great historical interest.”
So far there is evidence of a lot of clear-ing of the overgrown garden and there are large notices around the perimeter invit-ing boat owners to enquire about renting the surrounding moorings. So life is being breathed back into this once magnificent place and we are very excited to find out more as plans develop.
If you are not familiar with the place, this was once the countryside retreat of Rich-ard D’Oyle Carte who was the producer of the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas in the late 19th century. Mr d’Oyly Carte was the founder of The Savoy Theatre as well as being a hotelier and D’Oyle Carte Island (or Folly Eyot as it was called previously) was meant as a special se-cluded annex to his new Savoy Hotel. The plan was thwarted however when local authorities declined his application for a liquor licence! The imposing residence boasts 13 bedrooms and a ballroom so there is a lot of speculation about what the current owners plan for it.
The island used to be accessible by boat only, but the single span footbridge was added in 1964.
For some years the island and house have been used for film sets. I remember a scene from the BBC drama Prehistoric, with dinosaurs hiding in the rafters!
We look forward to finding out more, and who knows, maybe even visiting….