Odney

Odney
Odney
Odney shown within Berkshire
OS grid reference	SU898854
Metropolitan borough	Windsor and Maidenhead
Metropolitan county	Berkshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MAIDENHEAD
Postcode district	SL6
Dialling code	01628
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Royal Berkshire
Ambulance	South Central
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Berkshire

Odney is a common and island (Eyot) in the Thames, part of the civil parish of Cookham, in the English county of Berkshire. The island may have been sacred to the main Saxon god, Woden, as "Wodenes-Eye" ("Woden’s Isle").^[1]

Location

It lies next to the village of Cookham and the River Thames, and is located approximately 2.5 miles (4.0 km) North of Maidenhead. It is also very close to Cookham Lock. The Cliveden Estate borders Odney, and in autumn the entire valley surrounding the two estates experiences a burst in vibrant autumn colour.

Pottery

There was the Odney Pottery works (1942–1956) on the common. The building can still be seen. The very attractive earthenware pottery is still sought after. John Bew was asked to set up the pottery by John Lewis in Cookham in 1942 to train disabled people. In 1948, they were given a government licence to produce domestic pottery. Geoffrey Eastop (1921–2014) spent a year working at the pottery early in his career as a potter.^[2]

Lullebrook Manor and the Odney Club

The Odney Club,^[3] a holiday centre owned by the John Lewis Partnership and available for their staff, is centred on Lullebrook Manor.^[4] This fine mid-18th century country house was once rented by Colonel Francis Ricardo, the first car owner in Cookham, who was High Sheriff of Berkshire in the early 1900s and supposedly the inspiration for Kenneth Grahame's Toad, in the Wind in the Willows. A property on the site is known to have existed from as early as the 13th Century, when the house was owned by the De Lullebrook family.

References