ANKERWYKE, or Anderwyke, an estate in Wyrardisbury parish, Bucks; on the Thames, 2 miles WNW of Staines. A Benedictine nunnery was founded here, in the time of Henry II., by Sir Gilbert Montfichet; and was given by Edward I. to Sir Thomas Smith, provost of Eton. A mansion now occupies the site; and only the hall of the nunnery remains. A famous old yew-tree, 28 feet in girth, is in the grounds; and tradition says that Henry VIII. had a meeting beneath it with Anne Boleyn.

(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))