Thorney Tales (6) - St Margaret's Church, the amazing history of a window
Courtesy of The British Museum
The beautiful stained glass window which dominates the east side of St Margaret's Church can best be described as ill-timed. It was created in Holland around 1526 to celebrate the marriage of Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon. But by the time it had been finished Henry had become besotted with Anne Boleyn. Henry is depicted in saintly contemplation in the panel at the bottom left of the window while on the right hand side of the window Catherine, against an almost identical background, is also deep in prayer. Both appear to be looking at the Crucifixion which occupies the whole of the central panel of the window.
Read more: Thorney Tales (6) - St Margaret's Church, the amazing history of a window
Annual Review 2014-15
Our AGM was held on Wednesday 18th November 2015 at the Grange Rochester Hotel.
After the official business of the meeting, Dr Caroline Shenton,
an archivist, historian and writer, gave a fascinating and
humerous talk about her book The Day Parliament Burned Down.
Please go to the About Us page to view the Minutes of our AGM and our Annual and Financial Reports.
A visit to the hidden archives of Westminster Abbey, 4th November 2015
The Thorney Island Society came into being as a result of saving London's first public library in Great Smith Street in 1985. So it was with a double reverence that we made our much anticipated visit to a far older library only a few hundred yards away in Westminster Abbey. Our objective was the Muniments Room where ancient documents, particularly about Abbey transactions, are stored. But to get to it you have to go through a library that Time has told to stand still. Matthew Payne, Keeper of the Muniments, had us enthralled as he explained the history all around us dominated by the overpowering hammerbeam oak roof dating back to 1450. Only three books survived the Dissolution of the Monasteries in the 1540s - probably because they were about coronations and not associated with the old religion - but the library has since acquired a book of 1477 and has a fragment of the History of Troy printed by William Caxton (c 1422 - 1491) at his press mere yards away from where we were standing.
A wooden spiral staircase took us up to the Muniments room itself where we enjoyed a spectacular view of the inside of the Abbey - at least when we could take our eyes off the ancient memories around us including a long oak chest dating back to 1159, million believed to be the oldest in the country. Among other treasures shown to us were the beautiful prayer book of Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry V11, who died in 1509 and what seemed to be a document of Offa - yes, he of Offa's Dyke - dating back to 693 though it turned out to be a 12th century reproduction. However, the Abbey does have an authentic document that can be traced back to 959, which is long enough ago for most of us.
With that we bid our farewells to a remarkable part of the Abbey beyond the reach of most visitors. Our thanks to Matthew Payne for showing us around and to Pippa Parsons for organising the trip.
Paddington Tower

Thorney Tales (5) - Westminster Hall Roof

Visit to new Parliamentary Education Centre, 28th October 2015
Discovering Parliament through virtual reality
Construction of the new Education Centre for Parliament has proved controversial for some Thorney Island members. This was partly because it encroached on rare green space in Victoria Tower Gardens and partly because it was difficult to believe that a new building costing £7 million was going to be "temporary" for just 10 years as claimed.
At the end of October we visited it and were very impressed with the facilities provided to enlighten school children of primary and secondary age about the history of our parliamentary democracy. A series of rooms mimicing the look of the House of Commons and Lords utilise augmented reality techniques to explain over a thousand years of history at rapid speed to 100,000 of today's techno savvy kids every year.
Read more: Visit to new Parliamentary Education Centre, 28th October 2015
Thorney Tales (4) - The tomb behind one of Britain's biggest fortunes

St Margaret's churchyard is not short of famous dead bodies, being the resting place of
William Caxton, Sir Walter Raleigh, Wenceslaus Hollar, the brilliant engraver of London,
and the largest number of regicides you'll find anywhere. But there is only one tomb
above ground.
Close to the road between St Margaret's church and Parliament Square, it is regularly ignored by passers by but is the source of one of the wealthiest families the country has ever known.
Read more: Thorney Tales (4) - The tomb behind one of Britain's biggest fortunes
Visit to the RHS Lindley Library, 14th July 2015

Queen's Walk Cycle Route, The Green Park
We were asked by the Royal Parks to comment on a proposal by Transport for London (TfL), as part of the Quietways Programme of the Central London Cycle Grid, to create a cycle path between Lancaster House and Picadilly. One of the possible routes would be on the much-used Queen’s Walk, along the eastern boundary of The Green Park. They also asked us to comment on their proposal to alter the ‘alignment of the paths in the south east corner of The Green Park, between the Canada Memorial and Queen’s Walk, in order to address the problem of informal desire lines / paths that are created by pedestrians using this area of the Park’.
Thorney Tales (3) - The Jewel Tower
Articles
- The Royal Parks Panel - Sign Up!
- The Society's Summer Party - June 2022
- Local Choir Sing for Jubilee!
- Act of Queen Victoria rescues Victoria Tower Gardens
- Europe's 6th Most Gorgeous Park - February 2022
- Thorney Tales (22) - Rosamund's Pond
- News ! Victoria Tower Gardens
- The Stag Brewery, Palace Street - Collection of Photographs held at the Westminster Archives
- Thorney Tales (21) - Aphra Behn, playwright, poet, feminist, spy - Ahead of her times (1640-1689)
- Events 2022 Details
- Proposed destruction of Victoria Tower Gardens - Background to our Opposition
- Caring for the Poor & Vulnerable on Thorney Island, a Zoom talk - July 2021
- CoExistence - Elephants in the Parks, June/July 2021
- The IncrEDIBLE Collections at the RHS Lindley Library - A talk via Zoom by RHS Librarian Susan Robin, July 2021
- The Gardens of Westminster Abbey - A talk by Jan Pancheri, June 2021
- A Military Musical Spectacular - July 2021
- Events 2022
- Westminster's Royal Aquarium - A talk by Victor Keegan, May 2021
- In the Shadow of St John's Smith Square - A Talk by Rosalind Vincent, May 2021
- Rediscovering the Medieval Palace of Westminster, Talk by Dr Elizabeth Biggs - April 2021
- St Stephen's Church, Rochester Row, A Talk by John Turpin - April 2021
- The History & Restoration of The Queen Anne State Bed - A talk by Ian Block, March 2021
- Plague - A talk by author Julie Anderson, March 2021
- St John's Smith Square Online Concert - Recording from 15th February 2021
- The Buildings of Green Park, A talk by Andrew Jones, February 2021
- LIVE Carols & Thorney Christmas Quiz via Zoom - December 2020
- Thorney Tales (20) A History of Parliament in Two Glimpses
- Refurbishment of 7 Millbank
- The Society's 34th AGM & Talk via Zoom - Tuesday 10th November
- The definitive book on the history of VTG ......
- A History of St James's Park through Trees, Talk by Greg Packman - October 2020
- Westminster Coroner's Court
- 10 Greycoat Place - Developer's Consultation
- St. James's and The Green Park Update and Movement Strategy - 10th July 2020
- Stephen Myers
- The Truth behind the National Holocaust Memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens
- Bearskins, Bayonets and Bravery - New Guards Museum podcast
- Victoria Tower Gardens - Judicial Review brought by the London Gardens Trust
- Two Africans with strong links to Thorney Island escaped slavery to become role models in London over 250 years ago
- Collecting fine bookbindings Zoom Talk - June 2020
- RUSI, The Royal United Services Institute, Whitehall
- London History Day, 31st May 2020 - 10 Old Pye Street
- Urban Tree Festival 2020 - Online
- Live Video of Feeding St James's Park Pelicans
- St Stephen's Church, Rochester Row
- Westminster Kingsway College
- Save Victoria Tower Gardens - Planning Inquiry 6th October - 13th November
- Thorney Tales (19) Revd James Palmer and Palmer's Village
- Workshop by Jens Jakobsen, Master Florist at the Blewcoat School - March 2020
- Consultation Begins - Southside, Victoria Street
- Ignatius Sancho, Short Talk by Victor Keegan - February 2020
- Christchurch Gardens Reconstruction Short Talk - January 2020
- Christmas Party 2019
- 55 Broadway - Planning application
- Richmond House, Whitehall - The Northern Parliamentary Estate
- 20mph Throughout Westminster ? YES !
- The Society's 33rd AGM, 12th November 2019
- Visit to the Palace of Westminster & Jewel Tower - October 2019
- Thorney Tales (18) The Buxton Memorial Fountain
- Mission: Invertebrate, The Green Park - August 2019
- Tour of Buckingham Palace Gardens - August 2019
- From Beer to the Bard - A Victoria Walk by Anthony Davis - July 2019
- Special Tour of Westminster Abbey - July 2019
- Gems of Thorney Island, A Walk by Victor Keegan - July 2019
- The Guards Museum, Wellington Barracks - Volunteers
- Victoria Tower Gardens, poem by Elizabeth Witts
- The Green Park Tree Walk - May 2019
- Visit to Bonhams Auctioneers - May 2019
- Visit to Westminster Cathedral - May 2019
- Visit to The Speakers House - April 2019
- Ann Carlton our Co-founder
- Thorney Tales (17) Westminster Coke and Gas Company
- Duck Island Volunteer Project
- Illuminated River
- Dolphin Square Redevelopment
- AGM 2018
- Centenary of Armistice Cenotaph Service and Exhibition in St James's Park
- Visit to The Queen's Jubilee Galleries, Westminster Abbey - September 2018
- Thorney Tales (16) College Hall, Westminster Abbey / School
- Relocation of Emmeline Pankhurst statue from Victoria Tower Gardens
- Visit to The Church House - August 2018
- "The Devil's Acre before Peabody" Talk - August 2018
- Visits to Westminster School - July 2018
- Purcell Musical Tour of Westminster Abbey - June 2018
- Reception to mark the opening of The Queen's Jubilee Galleries, Westminster Abbey - June 2018
- Proposals for Christchurch Gardens, Victoria Street - June 2018
- Thorney Island Sources Tour of Westminster Archives - June 2018
- Visit to the Institution of Civil Engineers - May 2018
- St James's Park Tree Walk - May 2018
- Unveiling of Millicent Fawcett Statue in Parliament Square - April 2018
- Visit to Watts & Co, Ecclesiastical Furnishers & Outfitters - April 2018
- Broadway & Carteret Street
- Thorney Tales (15) Henry Purcell's Birthplace
- AGM 2017 & Talk
- Townsend House, Greycoat Place
- Thorney Tales (14) Siegfried Sassoon
- Chelsea College of Art & Design Collaboration
- Introducing our New Chair
- Lambeth Bridge Roundabout
- Tour of St James the Less church in Pimlico - September 2017
- Local Tree Walk with Paul Akers, WCC Arboriculturalist - September 2017
- Visit to HM Treasury building - July 2017
- Thorney Tales (13) - Elizabeth Woodville
- Suffragist Millicent Fawcett - First women honoured in Parliament Square ?
- Visit to St Margaret's Church - July 2017
- Parks: Our Shared Heritage Exhibition - July/August 2017
- Consultation by WCC on Future Growth/Building Height
- Proposed memorial statue to Lady Margaret Thatcher in Parliament Square
- Thorney Tales (12) The Jerusalem Chamber
- 61-71 Victoria Street
- Vauxhall Bridge Road/Tachbrook St Draft Development Opportunity
- Visit to Tate Britain's Archives & Library, November 2016
- Thorney Tales (11) - The Abbey Garden
- St Andrew's Club - 150th Anniversary, October 2016
- June Stubbs 1927 - 2016
- Henry V's Chantry Chapel Visit, October 2016
- Thorney Tales (10) - Oliver Cromwell v Charles I
- The Victoria Tower Gardens & The National Holocaust Memorial & Learning Centre
- Old War Office, 57 Whitehall
- Our visit to Parliament's hidden medieval places, 28th July 2016
- Westminster Fire Station
- Thorney Tales (9) - Governor of Duck Island
- Thorney Tales (8) Westminster Opera House
- Fundraising Gala Dinner September 2016
- Fundraising Gala Dinner September 2016
- New Scotland Yard, 10 Broadway
- What is Thorney Island ?
- Millbank Tower grows taller
- Welcome
- Thorney Tales (7) - Storey's Gate
- Thorney Tales (6) - St Margaret's Church, the amazing history of a window
- Paddington Tower
- WCC say "No" (AGAIN!) to proposed sculpture outside Westminster Central Hall
- Objection to proposed cycle stands in Queen Anne's Gate
- A visit to the hidden archives of Westminster Abbey, 4th November 2015
- Visit to new Parliamentary Education Centre, 28th October 2015
- Thorney Tales (5) - Westminster Hall Roof
- Thorney Tales (4) - The tomb behind one of Britain's biggest fortunes
- Thorney Tales (3) - The Jewel Tower
- Visit to the RHS Lindley Library, 14th July 2015
- Thorney Tales (2) - The River Tyburn
- The Garden Bridge Controversy
- Visit to Bridgewater House
- Queen's Walk Cycle Route, The Green Park
- Thorney Tales (1) - Britain's Hidden Treasure Trove
- AGM 2016 & the Panorama of The Thames Project
- Annual Review 2014-15