The island and the reach have been a tour destination since the Georgian era – particularly so after its purchase by the Duke of Marlborough of 1738 (of the current Dukedom well-noted for Blenheim Palace) who in nameplay put colourful statues of monkeys in his various gardens for visitors to discover.

After the Great Fire of London in 1666, Oxfordshire stone and bricks were shipped in barges for rebuilding of the City.

Spencer commissioned the French artist Andieu de Clermont to paint them – playing cards, shooting, fishing, smoking – and it is known they were completed before 1738.

Indeed, Lady Hertford described the Pavilion soon after it was finished with both a hint of admiration and amazement: The parlour, which is the only room in it except the kitchen, is painted upon the ceiling in grotesque, with monkeys fishing, shooting etc., and its sides are hung with paper.

Its grand ceiling – with Neptune, shells and mermaids in high relief plasterwork of Wedgwood style – is said to be the work of Roberts of Oxford circa 1725, though some accounts attribute it to carver William Perritt.

Edward Elgar composed his violin concerto in 1910 in the Hut, a house on the riverbank facing Monkey Island.

In 1963, the Pavilion's dining area was expanded by the addition of the River Room, a large, glass-walled building that hangs just over the Thames.

Named in homage to the Duke, the Marlborough Room was added in 1970 at the upstream end of the building, whose walls were painted with battle scenes.

Monkey Island also enjoyed continued popularity: in 1964 it played host to a ball in aid of Oxfam, which Tatler covered under the headline "Oxfam-On-Thames".

In 1976, Paul and Liz Nichols purchased Monkey Island Hotel from the Liquidators and carried out extensive renovations during their 9-year tenure.

The hotel was sold some 10 years later to the Habtour Group and was then acquired by Dr Andreas C. Papadakis in September 2007.

[5] In Chapter 94 of Charlie Higson's young adult horror novel, The Fallen (2013 UK, 2014 US), Ella, Maeve, Monkey Boy, and Robbie leave the Natural History Museum to stay in the country, and running out of petrol, settle in at the Monkey Island Hotel.