Fry's Island

Robert had accused Henry of Essex of cowardice and treason, because he had dropped the royal standard and called out that the King was dead during a battle with the Welsh.

[3] King Henry decreed that this dispute must be resolved in a trial by combat, to be undertaken on what is now Fry's Island.

At the height of the combat, Henry of Essex fell wounded, and believing he was dead the King ordered the monks of the abbey to carry his body away and bury it.

Because he had lost the combat he was adjudged guilty as charged and stripped of his lands and honours; however, he was permitted to become a monk at the abbey, where he remained for the rest of his life.

The residence and large workshop are housed in the former Reading Rowing Club building built in 1893.