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James Brindley (1716-1772) was a civil engineer who initially trained as a millwright. He began to design improvements to machinery, moving on to drainage schemes and then to hydraulics and canal design and construction. He became a prominent designer of canals from the 1850s onwards, working on the Bridgewater Canal among others. In 1770 he surveyed the Thames and made suggestions for improvements to the river navigation.
Source of information: K. R. Fairclough, 'Brindley, James (1716-1772)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.
Monkey Island is a privately owned island in the River Thames, situated near Bray in Berkshire. From 1723 it was owned by Charles Spencer, the Duke of Marlborough, who used it as a base for fishing and constructed several notable Palladian-style buildings. In the 1840s it became a popular destination for day-trippers, who would pause there while on boating excursions. Notables including Edward VIII, Edward Elgar, HG Wells, Clara Butt and Nellie Melba visited the island. The name is probably derived from the original name Monks' Eyot, after the monks who first used the island; eyot being an Old English word meaning island.
Source of information: http://monkeyisland.co.uk/live/history