Girdley Island

Some ten miles to the north of the Brandywine Bridge, on the borders of the Shire's Eastfarthing, the River Brandywine split into two streams. The river ran like this for about two miles, forming a long, narrow island before the two branches rejoined and flowed on into the south. This narrow island was known as Girdley Island, a name that is never explained, but presumably derived from the fact that the island was 'girdled' by the two branches of the Brandywine. The name 'Girdley' also seems to contain the Old English element ey, meaning a small island (as in the modern word 'eyot').