Magna Carta House
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Magna Carta House by David Dixon as part of the Geograph project.
The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk
Magna Carta House
Image: © David Dixon Taken: 11 Apr 2015
Situated on Magna Carta Island, the original house was built by George Simon Harcourt in 1834 to commemorate the signing* of Magna Carta in 1215. It has a large, early 20th century extension. Magna Carta House is a grade II listed building (English Heritage Building ID: 40701 http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-40701-magna-carta-house-wraysbury-#.VS_pfWd0x_s British Listed Buildings). *It has been pointed out to me that Magna Carta wasn't actually "signed" in that it doesn't carry any signatures. Mediæval kings authenticated documents by using the "Royal Seal" by an official called the spigurnel, using beeswax and resin. However the Oxford English Dictionary defines the verb "to sign" in this way: "To put a seal upon (a letter or document) as a means of identification or authentication; to stamp with a seal or signet; to cover with a seal." So, in a sense, King John did sign Magna Carta http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-30879124 .
Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Image Location
Latitude
51.447366
Longitude
-0.563837