Photographic History of Eton Wick and Eton - Empire Day, possibly.

 

This interesting old photograph is a mystery, leaving much to be guessed at. It is possibly an Empire Day gathering, some time between 1906 and 1910. The location, with the railway viaduct in the background is certainly at, or near to the south side of Eton Recreation Ground. The new Recreation Ground at that time would probably not have had the benefit of hedges, as it was all formerly Lammas land. 

The assembly of presumably Eton Porny school children and absence of uniformed boy scouts suggests it predates the Scout movement of 1908 (or 1910, if the formation of the Eton troop is allowed for). The flags, adults and speaker leads one to believe it was an Empire Day Assembly, a national celebration day inaugurated in 1902, May 24th to commemorate the birthday of the late Queen Victoria. 

This article was first published in A Pictorial History of Eton Wick & Eton.

Development of Eton Wick

Map of 1797
copied from The Story of a Village: Eton Wick 1217 - 1977

From its origins as a farming area of the Manor of Eton the earliest dwellings were built on the highest land north of the Great Eton Common. From the 14^th century to the 18^th century the six farmhouses continued that development. The 1797 map indicates houses on the southern side of Common Lane including the Three Horseshoes.

The first half of the 19^th century brought further house building including the Parsonage, Bell Farm Cottages, Harding Cottages and Prospect Place. Most of these were rented to working class tenants. As the century progressed more houses were built some on the gardens of the cottages facing the Great Common. These included Hope Cottages, Palmers Place and others. 

The largest development began in 1880’s on some of the land of Bell Farm where Boveney Newtown grew with Alma, Inkerman and Northfield roads, and Moores Lane. The development was beyond the western edge of the Parish of Eton which at that time was Bell Lane. As recorded in the 1881 census when there were there household it grew and grew. By 1911 there were 125 households, two more than Eton Wick.

 

Ordnance Survey Map 1899 courtesy of National Library of Scotland

By 1899 there were two distinct communities with the land south of Alma Road and west of the Eton Parish mostly undeveloped. A few houses were on the south side of the Eton Wick Road including the Shepherds Hut and Victoria Road was outlined. The 1925 map shows further development south of Alma Road.

 

Ordnance Survey Map 1925 courtesy of National Library of Scotland

Ordnance Survey Map 1932 courtesy of National Library of Scotland

The inter war years saw some development south of Alma Road including a few houses in  Tilstone Avenue and Close.

Map showing rights under the Commons Registration Act of 1965 
copied from The Story of a Village: Eton Wick 1217 - 1977

This map indicates that there were six registered Commoners under the 1965 Act. These included Crown Farm, Dairy Farm, Little Common Farm, Manor Farm and Saddocks Farm.

Ordnance Survey Map 1968 courtesy of National Library of Scotland

The 1968 map reveal the limits of the village development with Haywards Mead, Princes Close, Queens Road and Cornwall Close filling the remaining available land on the south side of the Eton Wick Road. The final major development in the village was on the wheatbutts in the 1970's.

 

Ordnance Survey Map 2023 courtesy of National Library of Scotland

The latest OS map of 2023 show how the village development has been restrained by the Lammas Land and Commons. The number of households was also limited by the single road that restricts potential for evacuation in the case of flooding. The experience of the Thames floods of 2014 showed that the Jubilee River did protect the village. There has been more house building allowed including particularly in Princes Close, Queens Road and Victoria Road.

Enclosure Map courtesy of the Berkshire Records Office.

Both Slough to the north and Windsor to the south have both grown as enclosure acts were passed for the Manor of Upton cum Chalvey, 1819 and the Manor of Windsor Forest, 1817. If the 1826 Bill to enclose the Manor of Eton cum Stockdale and Colenorton had not been rejected Eton Wick would probably have become part of Slough.

The 18th Century Village of Eton Wick – Part One - Why Eton Wick is surrounded by open fields

The Village landscape was like the majority of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire in years leading up to the 18th century one of open fields, commons and other waste land with small tenant farmers, cottagers and squatters utilizing a rented un-enclosed strip of land from the Lord of the Manor or exercising a common right to graze their pigs, geese or maybe a cow upon the common land. During the late 17th and early 18th century improvements in animal husbandry and the harvest of arable crops gave impetus to enclosure of land by landlords and the Government. These changes in farming practice at that time could have led to later developments that would have made Eton Wick Urban in the late 20th century, an urban sprawl but for the opposition of the villagers and the influence of Eton College in the Houses of Parliament. 

For at least 700 years Eton Wick was administered through the Vestry of Eton but in 1894 this came to an end through the Civil Parishes Act. Eton Town became an urban District and Eton Wick became a Civil Parish in the Eton Rural District. The decision by Henry VI to build Eton College whose presence over the last six centuries has influenced the lives of those living in Eton and Eton Wick immensely, whether through the purchase of property or the employment of services and labour. 

Queen Anne, King George 1st, King George 2nd and King George 3rd
The first four monarchs of Great Britain after the Union of England and Scotland in 1707

The 18th Century had commenced and closed with England at war with France. Queen Anne succeeded to the throne in 1702 to be followed by George 1st in 1714, George 2nd in 1727 and George 3rd in 1760. Technical innovation during the century brought vast changes to the way of life. The introduction of the flying shuttle to speed the pace of handloom weaving, followed by the efficiency in the use of steam power but some of the main advancement during the century was in agriculture. One Historian calculated that in the early 1700's each person engaged in farming fed 1.7 persons and by the end of the century one agricultural worker fed 2.5 persons. The late 1600's and early 1700's saw improvements in use of the soil which gave increased cereal and root crops leading to better fed cattle to produce more dung thereby increasing more yield from the land, also the improved yield of grain and the introduction of the turnip root crop allowed cattle to be winter rather than slaughtered for lack of winter feed. 

This together with new agricultural tools, like Jethro Tull's development of his seed drill, were

publicized in books such as the Annals of Agriculture by one Arthur Young in 1784 to be read by the progressive farmer and landowner. It also led to the birth of the agricultural engineering industry which also spawned the industry's catalogues for seeds, plants, and machinery. Similar books were published by Eton Printer and Bookseller, Joseph Pote, one title being 'Gentleman's Farriery, (or, a practical treatise, on the diseases of horses). The book was written by J. Bartlet and first published in 1753.

Landowners realised that to achieve higher output and returns from the land, enclosure of the open fields and the abandonment of the strip as the fundamental unit of tenancy, together with the common lands would be a necessary part of these improvements. No doubt news of these technical developments and the expanding international and local trade were talked of and marvelled at here about as like today, but for the village tenant farmer and cottager it was still the sweat of his brow that tilled the ground, sowed the crops and husband the animals for much of the century, but the threat of enclosure must have been an increasing worry, probably being the main talking point for the tenant farmer and commoner of Eton Wick. The implications for those who leased their land from an absence landlord, would see it as having a disastrous effect for their livelihood with no redress and no-one to stand up for them. 

Creeping enclosure of pasture had been practised since Tudor times with the widespread enclosure of Sheep ranges and with the penning of flocks to manure the land to sustain fertility. By rationalization of scattered inefficient holdings and their transfer as compact commercially viable units to farmers with expertise and a forward outlook on the market economy, enclosure of holdings gathered pace during the century either with the connivances of the Landlord or perhaps strong-arm influence. 

At first legal enclosure was obtained by a Chancery Degree but this was superseded by the introduction of acts of Parliament in the eighteenth century. 

The procedure for an Enclosure Act did not require the agreement of tenants but did require enough money to pay lawyers' and surveyors' fees, and for the planting of hedges and fences, roads etc. after the bill was passed. 

This was generally a formality as the Enclosure Commissioners surveying the land generally favoured those wishing to enclose and Parliament followed their recommendations. A general Enclosure Act was passed by Parliament in 1801 but by then more than 1,300 enclosure acts had been passed since 1760. 

The Parish plan showing field names.

The common fields, meadows and The Commons.

The strips on common fields.

The Hamlet of Eton Wick 1797 showing strips, ownership, tenants and acreage.

How and Why did this play an important role in the history of Eton Wick? 

Apart from the two commons, Eton Little and Eton Great there are Lammas lands which influence what can and cannot be done with the land within Eton and Eton Wick. The Lammas rights over much of the meadow and cultivated land in Eton and Eton Wick are a legacy from the Saxons and are a rare survival in this age. It was the right of those entitled householders to graze so many head of cattle in the fields once the corn had been gathered thereby fertilizing the land in the most natural way possible , from August 1st to October 31st. 

How many Commoners with these rights and residing in the village at the time is not known.

Lammas Day was the first day of August (the Gule of August) until 1752.  With the change to the Gregorian Calendar in September 1752 Lammas day 1753 fell on the 13th of August on which it was customary to consecrate bread made from the first ripe corn of harvest. (In Scotland it is one of the QUARTER DAYS.). Lammas Land (also Half Year Land) was common meadow on which manorial tenants were allowed to graze their livestock from Lammas Day until the next sowing.

Lammas Day: August 1st until 1752

 Lammas Day: August 13th from 1753

The strip was the fundamental unit of cultivation and tenancy in the open field system. Information from Collier's map of 1743 shows that Lord of the Manor, Abraham Wessell was the largest landowner in the parish with College, second. There were four open fields, the Hyde, North Field, South Field and West Field, the latter so named apparently because It lay west of Eton rather than on the west side of the parish; in later centuries it appears to have been renamed Stonebridge Field. Each field was divided into strips, and these grouped Into furlongs or pieces with distinctive names such as Long Furlong, Middle Furlong, Stone hul (hill), Long Wythebedde, Broken Furlong and Rossey piece. There was also land known simply as Village land'. No hedges or fences divided these strips and furlongs but, although each open field was planted with the same crops like cereal, beans etc. The different alignment of the furlongs gave the fields a patchwork appearance. The holdings of each man or woman, either owned or rented, were scattered throughout the fields and meadows. It is thought that originally each strip could be ploughed in one day and that the strips of land had been shared between the fields and its furlongs. Within the parish of Eton/ Eton Wick but mostly in Eton Wick there were six small holdings of only one strip each and two holdings of three strips possibly by cottagers, who are named as Oakley and Widow Griffin.

The rights of pasturage and to subsistence farm the land was crucial to the village householder and his family, therefore an ever a watchful eye was kept for any encroachment by those wishing to increase the small land holding around their farmstead or home. A complaint was brought against Henry Bell of Bell Farm in 1605 for enclosing several pieces of the King's waste including so pieces of Lammas Land. He also built eight cottages that did not go well with the parishioners. They claimed that the buildings took away privileges and benefits of the common. It appears that Bell got away with his transgression. 

There were some wooded areas especially around Saddocks Farm with fully grown trees and coppice. The use of the timber seems to have been controlled by the crown as a later tenant of Saddocks Farm was given the right to take timber for the repair of farm carts and buildings. An elm tree was supplied from Eton Wick in the mid 1400's for the refurbishment of the Eton church tower. 

The large open expanse of land without fences except where necessary, on the outer edges was divided into many strips. Exchanging ones worked strips with others so as to make one’s parcel of land larger and more convenient to work did take place as is shown by a detailed description of eighteen scattered acres owned by Sir William Stratton, exchanged for sixteen acres with John Jourdelay thus giving both more compact and manageable units. In the closing years of the eighteenth-century Crown Commissioners overseeing the enclosure of land showed interest in the enclosure of Eton's common and Lammas lands. estimated to cover three quarters of the parish. They did not consider it of any urgency taking no action until John Penn, Lord of the Manor of Stoke Poges bought the Manor of Eton in 1793. 

He, having succeeded against heavy opposition over the enclosure of Stoke Common then denied many poor families their right by custom of using the Common to gather wood for fuel which provoked more resentment against him. Bearing this in mind and wishing calm the situation Penn sought a compromise, in his planned bill to Parliament for enclosure at Eton, he specifically excluded the Eton Great Common from his proposed Bill. However, his Bill presented to Parliament did not take account of his oversight of not having consulted with the Crown or giving them an opportunity to appoint their own Enclosure Surveyor. Problems arose when trying to fairly rearrange and adjust strips and plots of land to formed compact blocks, such a difficulty occurred with the rearrangement of the land bordering Manor and Saddocks Farms. 

This hic-cup in the proceedings may have delayed Penn's plans a little because Officers of the Crown belatedly became aware of Penn's plans and realized it was too late to do any-thing except oppose the Bill. 

Enclosure not only drew battle lines between landowners; but also, townsfolk and villagers took up the fight as they became worried at the prospect of losing their rights of pasturage, eventually therefore they took the only course open them, they presented a petition to Parliament. They protested that the Bill would diminish the livelihood of the inhabitants by depriving them the use of the Lammas lands, thereby increasing the burden on the Poor Rate.

Over one hundred and eighty people signed the petition or made their mark if they could not write, and among who were Joseph and Phillip Tarrant, John Atkins and Thomas Goddard and others from Eton Wick.

Other parishes had presented petitions, often in vain, as Parliament was made up of powerful land-owning families together with the new industrial magnates and Ecclesiastical gentry who tended to think in terms of protecting their own interests. As tithe- owners the Provost and Fellows of Eton College had shown interest in John Penn's proposed Bill, but it is possible that at the last moment they had considered the fact that being considerable leaseholders from the Crown their loyalty maybe called into question. As many old Etonians were Members of Parliament there is the possibility that College had some influence in managing the vote, but this is speculation, and cannot be proven as the records were lost when the Houses of Parliament were burnt down. 

The opposition by parishioners to Penn's plan for enclosure led to a standoff that lasted until the Bill was defeated on 1st May, 1826: With much rejoicing the town and village celebrated with bonfires and feasting no doubt helped along with beer and homemade wines of the day. A blue silk banner emblazoned with the words ' May Eton flourish free and ever protect her rights’ was paraded triumphantly through Eton proclaiming the feelings of farmer and cottager. No other Bill for the enclosure of Eton was ever presented to Parliament. The people of the parish continued to be vigilant in preserving their rights, even to the extent of taking a man to court around the year 1840 for building two houses on part of South Field near the village. 

It was his own land: yet when the case was tried at Aylesbury, he was ordered to pull them down because they were built on laminas land. When in the middle of the nineteenth century the Crown once more became interested in enclosure, the College was opposed to it and the Penn estates were 'in circumstances that rendered it difficult’. 

in 1902 seventy-six years after the rejection of John Penn’s Enclosure Bill the Crown negotiated with the Lord of the Manor to overcome the inconvenience of the scattered strips and holdings. Lammas and pasturage were also exchanged, but rights were untouched. Some householders still exercised their rights to graze a horse or cow on the common or on other peoples' field into the 1920's from August 1st to October 31st. 

The Hayward— 1930's 

The cattle would have been in the charge of the village Hayward. It is recalled that the Hayward would lead one cow across the South Field each Lammas Day to lay claim to the Lammas rights. as they existed right up to the second half of the 20th century. Today there is no longer a Hayward as each farmer now looks after his own cattle.

The rights still exist though most people lost theirs through the Commons Registration Act of 1965. To some people the rights have become an inconvenient anachronism, while to the majority it is just something that has nothing to do with them but the lammas lands and the two commons were registered under the Commons Registration Act of 1965. This should mean that only by another Act of Parliament can this land be released for building thus protecting the village from speculative property developers and urban sprawl. 

This was part of the script for a talk given by John Denham at a meet of the Windsor & District University of the Third Age in 2003.

Old Days of Eton Parish - CHAPTER XIII - A FEW STRAY INCIDENTS, 1774 TO 1854.

THE end of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth were marked by unusual storms and much distress. In 1774 occurred the highest flood on record. The water on that occasion, according to a memorandum in the College Buttery, was 2 ft. 4 in. deep in the cellar under the Hall, and heavy floods and a notable storm occurred a few years later when many trees were demolished, and much other damage done. 

In 1809 six of the central arches of the old Fifteen Arch Bridge were carried away, and in 1826 or 1827 the whole of the High Street was under water and many of the inhabitants were driven up to the first-floor rooms and received supplies of food through the windows; an unpleasant experience which was repeated in the Wellington flood of 1852, and again in 1894. But there were graver troubles still. 

In 1803 the threatened invasion of England by Bonaparte was exciting the country generally, and volunteers were being raised for defence. 

Eton was not behindhand in furnishing its quota of men. Upwards of 200 inhabitants volunteered their services; out of these, forty-two were selected, and a fund was raised to assist the Government in providing them with clothing and equipment. 

The Eton Poor Estate with its usual generosity con-tributed twenty guineas for this purpose, and James Rogerson, Bridge Master for the year, was directed to hand over this sum to the Provost, Dr. Davies. In connection with the same event, a general meeting was called in 1804 for providing substitutes for those who had been drawn for the Militia. 

The next twenty years were years of depression. Food was dear, bread a costly luxury, work was scarce, and taxes enormous. The resident population at that date was 2026. The total amount of parish rates amounted to £1603 3s. 8d.: the rate was at six shillings in the pound. The result appears in the accounts of the Eton Poor Estate, in the unusual amount of uncollected rents, and in grants made to meet the wants of the necessitous poor. 

The death by drowning in 1834 of Jack Hall, who had been for nearly half a century a fisherman and servant of Eton College, led to the formation of the Eton and Windsor Royal Humane Society, and another sad accident at a much later date to a town-boy in Cuckoo Weir stream was the occasion for starting a regular bathing-place for the lads of the town under proper supervision. Both these institutions have proved lasting benefits to the town. 

In 1837 the first Eton Post Office was opened. The year 1846 saw the removal of the Christopher Inn from its former position in College to the High Street. It had long been a source of anxiety to Eton Masters, and Dr. Hawtrey at last succeeded in effecting its removal. The ground at the back, on which the Queen's Schools are built, appears in the map as Christopher Close, and the house fronting the street, now known as Christopher's, still represents part of the hospitable inn, famous in many stories of olden days.

At the same time several adjoining shops were pulled down to make room for College houses, but even in the fifties there were small shops both opposite the entrance to the School-yard and on the Slough Road near the ' New Schools.' 

One other event must be included in this chapter, the coming of the Great Western Railway, and the building of the viaduct across some of the Lammas land. 

It had originally been intended that the main line of this railway should pass through Windsor, Reading and Oxford. But the University of Oxford objected to such a dangerous innovation, and a like objection was raised by the authorities of Windsor Castle and Eton College, and the railway was diverted and constructed at a more respectful distance. It was not long before the desirability of a branch line from Slough to Windsor was mooted, but again an attempt was made to thwart it. A meeting of the inhabitants of Eton was summoned on October 2, 1846, to consider the threatened invasion. Although the requisition for the meeting was signed by the most influential people in the place, with the Provost at the head of the list, the opposition collapsed, and the project was carried through: the railway authorities were however obliged to place a watchman on the line to keep Eton boys from endangering their lives or the lives of passengers. This was continued to a late date in the century. 

But the coming of the railway affected the parish in another way. Compensation had to be paid by the Company to the parish, for the extinguishment of commonable rights, to the amount of £246 5s. id. This money remained in the hands of Trustees for many years and the Eton public were often asking the question at the annual vestry meeting as to the use to be made of it. Many proposals were made, but no satisfactory decision was reached for many years. At last in 1896 it was agreed that the proceeds of this, and another like compensation paid by the Local Board, should be spent in recreation grounds for Eton and Eton Wick. The fund having accumulated to £950, this was agreed to, and £650 of this was allotted to Eton and £300 to Eton Wick. 

In 1854 the Eton Gas Light Company was started, and gas was supplied to the town and College at 8s. per 1,000. Hitherto the town had been lighted with oil. 

OLD DAYS OF ETON PARISH by The Rev. John Shephard, M.A. was published in 1908 by Spottiswoode and Co Ltd. The text is has been copied from the original book that is now out of copyright.

From the Parish Magazine - Eton Wick History Group Meeting - Local Entertainment Before the Age of the Telly.

The members of the Eton Wick History Group enjoyed illustrated talks from three speakers when they met on the 8th July, 1998. The topic was 'LOCAL FETES, FAIRS, CARNIVALS AND CONCERTS' and the group was entertained by John Denham, Joan Ballhatchet and Frank Bond. 

Frank was the first to take the floor; he described the various 'big' days in Eton Wick going back 200 years to when, for the 100 people who then lived along Common Road or in farm cottages, a 'big' day was simply having a day off from work. There would be traditional days of celebration; May Day for example, the day when cattle and horses were let out on to the Common; the 1st August (Lamas) which was at harvest time; there was Eton College's `Fourth of June' celebration when many of the inhabitants of Eton and Eton Wick would turn out to see the Procession of Boats. Another special day was the one reserved for `Beating the Bounds' - this was originally an ecclesiastical duty, with the civil authorities later becoming aware of the necessity to mark out the area's boundaries; the College used to provide a breakfast of ale and roast beef for those taking part. (Perhaps we could 'Beat the Bounds at the Millennium?) Less formal, but just as welcome, treats would be those such as Mr. Lovell's Concert Parties; Pelham's Funfair at Eton Wick; Sunday School and Boys' Club outings and pub outings; and the Horticultural Society's tradition of donating fruit and vegetable, taken by horse drawn cart, to King Edward VII Hospital. There was certainly no shortage of functions to prepare for, anticipate and enjoy. 

Mrs. Ballhatchet gave a vivid and fascinating description of the Horticultural Shows, which were among the highlights of the Summer. Trestle tables were laden with fruit, vegetables, flowers, needlework, and various types of craft work manufactured by men and boys; there was poultry and livestock; there was a beer tent; there were coconut shies, and races for children and adults, with prizes presented by a VIP.; and in the evening there would be dancing to a band which would have played all day. The earliest record of an Eton Wick Horticultural and Industrial Exhibition appears in the first Parish Magazine, and the event was to take place on the 21st August 1878 in the Wheatbutts orchard. Mrs. Ballhatchet read out various highlights from the Magazines' reports, which included subjects as diverse as the need for Eton Wick's Drum and Fife Band to have new uniforms (1887) to the fact that a 'Collection of English Snails' had received a special award, a swan in a lake scene was constructed entirely of fish scales; and on one occasion two live wasps' nests were displayed as exhibits. The last Horticultural Exhibition entry was in the Parish Magazine of September 1939; but after the Second World War, in the 1950s, the exhibitions recommenced under the title 'The Allotment Holders' Show and these continued until 1963 by which time there was a new entertainment in the form of the annual Wicko' Fair which, with its many star turns and celebrity attractions, eventually, grew to be so well known, popular and successful it became difficult to control, it had lost its 'Village flavour' and so was finally abandoned after 1982. 

A delight of the evening was the sight of so many photographs of Concert Parties and Pantomimes - originally these were held to raise money for the football team's kit - the team originally wore their own white shirts and black shorts made from the blackout material. The entertaining troupe was called The Unity Players' (after 'United'); and costumes for the shows were made from parachute material, crepe paper, 1/- worth of dirty muslin from Petticoat Lane and any other odd bits and pieces that came to hand; props and scenery were painted in the old mortuary; and a generator provided power from outside the building. 

John Denham was the expert on Scout Fetes, also their Gang Shows, raffles, jumble sales, whist drives, in fact anything which would bring in money. The first of the Village's Scout Fetes is recorded as being in 1952 and it was held in Wheatbutts, where the Scout Hut was then sited. This but was burnt down in 1961 - it had been hired out to a skiffle group who had suspect wiring. The fetes and gang shows (which were in true Ralph Reader tradition) were held over a period of about 45 years; there were exhibitions, and the displays were always of a very high standard. Mr. Moss of Eton Wick School introduced the boys to the game of 'Shinty' and this soon became Eton Wick's adopted sport; the Shinty finals were always played out at the Scout Fete, including men against women - it eventually became so rough that Mr. Moss pulled out! Other entertainments at the fetes ranged from Penny Rigden's dancing troupe to Guards' weapon displays and American Air Force drill exhibitions. These fetes continued until interest waned in 1973. 

Earlier in the evening Frank Bond had pointed out that this was the end of the 7th year of the Group; and he thanked Mary Gyngell who had provided cakes for every meeting over that period; and thanks, were also given to the Committee, particularly Joan Neighbour, Zena Redhunt, Rene Thompson, Mrs. Jean Tyler and Brenda Irvine. The programme for 1999 was issued in September, suggestions for subjects welcome. 

During the 1990's the Parish Magazine of Eton, Eton Wick and Boveney reported on the meetings of the Eton Wick History Group. A member of the audience took shorthand notes in the darkened hall. This article was published in the August edition of 1998.

From the Parish Magazine - Eton Wick History Group Meeting - Celebrating the coming of the railway

The History Group met on the 10^th, November to celebrate two anniversaries; one, was to recognise the 8th anniversary of the group's first meeting in November 1991. When the newly formed Eton Wick History Group met for that first time it was expected that about eight people might attend, in fact 46 people were at that inaugural meeting. Seven or eight meetings have been held every year since and the topics have rarely ranged further afield than Cliveden.

The other anniversary, the subject of the evening's talk and display of memorabilia, was the 150th anniversary of the railways coming to Windsor. Dr. Judith Hunter had kindly volunteered to tell the tale of the railways' coming, and to her own research had been added material provided by Renee and Tom Thompson of Tilstone Close. The fine display of railway memorabilia was provided by John Coke of the Slough and Windsor RailwaySociety.

Dr. Hunter began by showing a map of the Slough area dated c1830 when Slough was just a little village with two to three hundred people, Windsor had just half-a-dozen streets, and Eton (apart from the College) was barely more than the High Street. The main methods of transport were by horse, stagecoach or private carriage. But in 1830 the railway era had begun and merchants in Bristol and London were interested in having a railway connect the two cities. 

There were lots of proposals put forward from 1830 to 1835 until eventually the route for the line was agreed upon; going through Slough, Maidenhead, Didcot and on to Bristol - not yet, of course, branching to Windsor - but including Isambard Kingdom Brunel's nationally important 'Sounding Arch' at Maidenhead. Later he was to design the single-span (approximately 200 ft.) iron bridge over the Thames at Eton, linking the viaducts on the Slough to Windsor line. 

Work on construction of the main line began in 1835 and by 1838 it had got as far as Slough, but there was no station at Slough. The reason for this was that Eton College had objected most strongly to proposed routing of a railway close to the College; the Headmaster, Dr. Hawtrey, had talked about the difficulties for masters in preventing the boys taking the train to London (for vice!); it was also suggested the lively Eton boys might drop stones and bricks from the bridges onto the railway carriages. There was long and vociferous opposition and in 1835 the Lords' Committee added clauses to the Great Western Railway Act to prevent any station being opened within 3 miles of Eton College. (There was also some opposition from The Crown, but it was impossible to get a railway into Windsor without going over Crown land somewhere). 

A station was constructed at Langley, where there was a church, an inn and alms-houses, but it remained closed (for 8 years)' and trains stopped at Slough: where there were no platforms, where there was nowhere to buy tickets (so they were sold in The Crown Inn on Crown Corner; later the 'North Star' was built - nearer to the railway halt - and tickets were sold there). 

Members of the Royal Family would board the train at Slough for Paddington; and despite their own objections, Eton College hired a whole train to take boys to Queen Victoria's Coronation. By 1840, College objections had been withdrawn and Slough Station was built (with both the 'Up' and 'Down' platforms on the Slough side). The 'Royal Hotel' was built close by and had its own Royal Waiting Room. 

Cooke-Wheatstone Telegraph 
image courtesy of the Science Museum

Within 18 years of the railway coming to Slough it had grown into a market town - but still only half the size of today's Eton Wick. In 1842, the first terminus for the electric magnetic telegraph service from Slough to London was in-stalled, in a cottage on a small hill by Slough Station. In 1845 the telegraph was used in the capture of a murderer, JohnTawell, who had poisoned his former mistress in Slough, then boarded a tram for London. His description was telegraphed ahead; he was followed from Paddington to his lodgings and was arrested tried and hanged. 

Meanwhile members of Windsor Council were pressing for trains into Windsor, Henry Darville for GWR and James Bedborough for the Southern Railway. Apart from assuming that a railway terminus in Windsor would boost trade, it should also resolve the problem of full carts having to be half-emptied before horses could draw them up Thames Street hill - goods could come in by train instead. The Crown withdrew its opposition to railways crossing its land, after negotiating compensation; and two Railway Acts were passed, both in 1848 - first the Great Western Railway (opened 8 October 1849) and then the South Western Railway (which initially, from December 1849, had to stop at Black Potts and only came on into Windsor in 1851, to the Riverside Station with its 14 sets of doors which gave the Cavalry easy access and ensured the Queen's carriage was always stopped close to an exit. 

The GWR's original viaduct was constructed of timber and was replaced by the present brick-built structure between 1861 and 1863, and its Windsor Station was very modest; the present excessively large and 'Royal' station was built in 1897. In 1929 another station was opened, in Chalvey, but it only operated for 13 months before closure. The branch line into Windsor had crossed Lammas Land and the parish were compensated, but no-one knew what to do with the compensation until, in 1894, Eton Urban District Council and Eton Wick Parish Council agreed that it should be used for the Recreation Grounds we enjoy today.

During the 1990's the Parish Magazine of Eton, Eton Wick and Boveney reported on the meetings of the Eton Wick History Group. A member of the audience took shorthand notes in the darkened hall. This article was published in the December 1999 edition.

World War 2 Eighty Years On - December 1940

Bomb Damage at Upper School - image courtesy of Eton Collage

Wednesday December 4th.

At about 8 pm. bombs fell on the G.W.R. goods yard at Windsor. Damage to coal wagons scattered timber, coal and trucks over a wide area. One wagon thrown into the air was propelled with its contents onto the roofs of the neighbouring buildings. Shops in the Goswells and Bridgewater Terrace, Windsor were damaged, also windows in Thames street were shattered by the blast. Two bombs fell on Eton College buildings, one on Savile House in Westons Yard, the home of the College Music and Choirmaster Dr. Henry Ley. The other bomb fell just outside the entrance to the Headmaster’s room. This bomb was of delayed action, its presence not being discovered until several hours later. The first bomb exploded on impact causing severe damage to Savile House, one of the finest college buildings. It was fortunate that Dr. Ley had been detained on some minor business which had delayed him going to dinner as the dining room was completely destroyed.  

Two residents of Eton Wick, Eva Bond, and Mr Cox were at the college during the evening. Frank Bond describing the bombing said his sister Eva was employed by Dr. Ley as a servant and was working at Savile House that evening. Several bombs had dropped around the district but on hearing of the Savile House bomb I cycled furiously to Eton only to be forbidden to venture past college corner. Unable to get any information as whether there were casualties, I return home to Eton Wick. Long after my returned Eva, covered in filthy brick and plaster dust with matted hair came home in a very disturbed state. Also in the house was a young girl evacuee who, fifty years on, wrote to Eva recalling memories of the night of near disaster (Frank Bond)

Reporting later on the bombing of Eton College said that a high explosive bomb had fallen in the front garden of Savile house, residence of Dr. Henry Ley, the College Presenter. Adjoining property was damaged and windows were broken in in the buildings in Westons Yard. Fire also broke out in Savile house. Sometime later a time bomb was discovered by Mr E. Bendell, the school clerk, outside his office in the colonnade. After the alarm was raised, staff salvaged many valuable papers, books, and important records. Everyone in the vicinity were evacuated. Later when the bomb exploded stained glass windows in the chapel were broken or damaged. Damage was also sustained to the school office, the roof, and an outside wall of Upper School. Upper School built in the reign of Charles II by Christopher Wren had the names of many Etonians carved on its walls and efforts were made to collect as many pieces as possible with the view to restoration later.

Mr Cox was doing fire watch duty that evening at Walpole House, where he witnessed the following incident involving a boy who had gone for extra tutoring to another house. Returning late from this tutorial after lock up, he found his House Master, H.K. Marsden, waiting in the boys’ entrance as he entered. Within Mr Cox's hearing, the boy was given a severe dressing down. He was covered in dust but just replied “I have just had a very bad shock, Sir”, which was putting it mildly for he was on his way back and just passing the Memorial Hall when the bomb fell in Westons Yard demolishing part of the Music Master’s house and school office near the Chapel. Needless to say that once it was realized what the boy had been through he was taken care of. Mr Cox said how much he admired the young boy for the way he handled his ordeal. (Daphne Cox.)

Chapel. Needless to say that once it was realized what the boy had been through he was taken care of; Mr Cox said how much he admired the young boy for the way he handled his ordeal. (Daphne Cox) 

Evacuated to Eton Wick, George White remembered vividly the night Eton College was bombed. "I was cycling home in the dark from the cinema at Slough; suddenly, when about a half a mile from Eton, the air raid siren sounded and within a very short space of time huge high explosive bombs fell in the direction of Eton. I threw myself into a ditch at the side of the road and after possibly a minute I looked around me and saw dozens, maybe hundreds, of incendiary fires from incendiary bombs all across the fields and in the roads etc. (George White) 

December 5th. 

The unexploded bomb (UBX) which fell in the College Colonnade caused several difficulties necessitating parts of College to be evacuated and the main road to Slough closed to traffic. Later in the evening the bomb exploded causing much damage to Upper School fortunately there were no casualties. Following the bombing of Eton a letter to A.A. Command from the College Provost expressed the view that the method of A.A. defence was unskilful. There was anxiety that College buildings would be destroyed by the Anti-aircraft guns firing at enemy raiders that were merely passing over head and he was sure that falling shrapnel would cause damage to the buildings as well as being dangerous. It was of no importance where the guns were positioned as long as they did not fire, as the firing of the guns could scare the German pilots into dropping bombs on Windsor and Eton. 

Throughout December the bombing onslaught continued on London and other towns and cities throughout Britain. Whenever enemy aircraft ventured over the district came within range the anti-aircraft guns at Datchet, Burnham, Windsor Great Park and Dorney went into action. The barrage of exploding shells and occasionally exploding bombs drove some household pets and farm animals wild. Mrs Miles recalled having to take her dog to the vet to get tranquilizers for him as he would tear madly around the house madly when the guns on the common were firing. Village residents had a fear of shrapnel from the exploding shells causing casualties as well as damage to their homes, but none were ever reported from this source. 

21st. December

During the evening of the 21st. December two high explosive (H.E.) and one delayed action bomb dropped on Kinross's farm in the Windsor road Eton, causing no damage or casualties. The bombs had dropped close to the College tennis courts, one of which exploded leaving a crater 22 yards across; this was filled in with rubble by Alf Cook and Amy Armstrong, the College carters also included from previous bomb damage, utensils from the boys bedrooms. The second H.E. bomb failed to detonate and was listed as an U.X.B. (unexploded bomb). This bomb became the subject of a request from the army to the farm foreman to pull it out with the tractor. His reply in no uncertain terms, told the Army what they might do with it, and for all that is known, it might be still be there - future golfers might get a surprise!. An incendiary device also burnt out the rick yard (Jim Kinross)

A legacy from the late Sir Sydney Herbert, an old Etonian, enabled Eton College to purchase Manor Farm at Eton Wick with all its buildings, including the rights of the Manor of Eton including the Manor and its lands. This completed the package of lands bought by the college in 1929 with the help of the Eton Land Fund. Lands of the farm are scattered over South Meadow, Athens fields near the river and land near to the railway arches. With the requirement of Manor farm and the ownership of the other lands there about, it was professed that the amenities of the surrounding district would be preserved the history of the Manorial Rights and Customs of Eton gives protection as to the use of the Little Common and the Large Common that stretches from Common Road to Eton Wick. A number of fields, including the Eton College playing fields of Mesopotamia, Racket Court Field and South Meadow are subject to Lammas Rights. This gives the right to those freeholders and tenants to graze their cattle on those fields from 1st. August to the 31st. October.

Under the emergency powers given to the County War Agricultural Committees some of the common and lammas lands were taken for arable crops. The demand for food production on the home front became urgent as an increasing number of merchant ships bringing food supplies were lost to attacks by German U-Boats. Conscription and membership of the Territorial Army had taken some farm labourers from the land before it became a reserved occupation. Land Army Girls, Prisoners of War, Service personnel, Eton College boys and other volunteers were employed or gave help on local farms and horticulture holdings in the drive to produce more home-grown food.

Towards the end of the year 262 Battery left Dorney Common to be replaced by another battery and the relieving troops were probably from the London Scottish Territorial A.A. Regiment as the skirl of Bagpipes through the early morning mist is a memory of Peter Morris whilst picking mushrooms on the common.

The pipers were a complete contrast to the Burglar of 262 battery whose reveille awoke those living near to the camp. The change to the so-called skirl of the pipes had Daphne Cox as a child, asking what the horrible noise was. On occasions a column of troops from the camp with the pipers in the lead would march through the village en route to Windsor.

The tented troop accommodation of the Dorney Camp was being replaced with more permanent buildings in the form of Nissen Huts enabling the resident battery to invite the village children to a grand Christmas party. This was due to the kindness of the Commanding Officer, Major Highton, and Captain Sawyer. The party was organised with military precision, each child having a label attached to their coat and arm. The battery chefs laid on a tremendous feast. One child on seeing all the good things to eat declared to the Major, "Sir, I can hardly wait". The N.C.O.s, Officers’ wives and other lady helpers became the waiters for the feast that had been laid out on two large tables. A decorated Christmas tree, Punch and Judy Show and singing with musical accompaniment entertained the young guest. To the sound of Bugles everyone left the hut to greet Father Christmas who arrived by army lorry accompanied by the blackest clown playing a banjo and the children all received a present and a silver coin from Father Christmas.     

Air raids on British cities culminated in a heavy incendiary attack on London on December 29th. 1940 and these fires in the City area lit the sky with a red glow that was visible from Slough. The damage wrought to the buildings by the firebombs during this raid brought a Defence Order for men of 16 to 60 years to register for fire watching amounting to forty-eight hours a month. All factories, shops and offices were to station firewatchers to combat the serious threat from incendiary bombs. Men from the village working on the Trading estate were expected to do fire watching at their place of employment. Firewatchers and plane spotters were also stationed on the roof of factories to ensure that as little interference to production as possible occurred during air raid alerts. Warning to take shelter being given to those working when danger seemed imminent. Married men often entices the young single men to do their turn of night fire watching with an inducement of three shillings (15p).

This is an extract from Round and About Eton Wick: 1939 - 1945. The book was researched, written and published in 2001 by John Denham. 

Lammas Land at Eton by Robert Weatherall

This map was originally published in A Story of a Village by Judith Hunter

Lammas. The Name comes down to us from Saxon times about a thousand years ago, Originally, it meant a special religious feast the hlof maesse, or loaf mass, to celebrate the first fruits of the harvest. Experts disagree as to which day in the year that would be; some say August 1st., others, the 12th. Both of these probably meant the same day before the calendar was reformed in 1752. For centuries now, with us, the date has been August 1st. It is a pity that religious observances connected with the occasion have not been maintained.

With us, too, Lammas day has now lost its connection with the harvest. It is not very often that crops are ripe by August 1st.; and the feast must have been associated with some crop suitable for making into bread or cakes. That now would mean wheat: in Times past it probably meant rye, a crop which in these parts might well ripen early enough to be cut and threshed' before the end of July. One rarely sees rye growing here in these days, and never for making into bread.

At Eton, every freeholder, tenant, householder and cottager, living within the old parish boundaries possesses rights of grazing cattle on the Lammas lands. At first these rights may have extended over the grassland alone. We have to realise that in times past more land here was under the plough. Apart from small enclosures round the houses, the "in-ground", reserved for private use, the only land for grazing during the Summer was the Great and Little Commons. There were, of course, not so many cattle -then, although there would be more sheep, since sheep were needed for wool, to be spun and woven at home. Cotton was almost unknown.

Other grassland had to be cut for hay. That was how South Meadow got its name. Besides it, the low-lying Meads and Slads were used as meadows, along with other smaller patches most liable to flood. This land reserved for hay was most probably divided into strips belonging to the separate villagers, marked only by pegs in the ground. The strips of grass would be cut with scythe or sickle. What more natural than that after the hay had been carried homer the cattle and sheep, which had been grazing on the commons, should now be allowed to eat the aftermath? They were looked after by the Hayward. Notice the name; he was there to guard the hay.

How Lammas rights came to include the arable land we do not know. At Eton the rights run from August 1st. to October 31st. During the first half of this period much of the plough land is covered with corn crops, either still standing or cut and waiting to be carted home. There has never been any suggestion that the animals should wander over the fields before they have been cleared. The only exception might have been land left in fallow In many parts of the country it was the custom to let sheep graze over the fallow fields. Curiously enough, however, at Eton there is very little mention of this type of farming practice.

Similarly, Lammas rights might well have been a hindrance to the introduction of new crops, such as roots and clover, which are still in the ground in the autumn. It seems as if it was the Court Baron of 1871 which first allowed the farmers to grow turnips, and there is nothing now to prevent them growing clover. More than that, in post-war years we have seen considerable areas used for growing market garden produce, and many fruit trees and bushes have been planted, There must be some people still alive who can remember when Lammas land was first allowed to be used for allotments, as well as for the recreation Grounds, both at Eton and Eton Wick. That shows how ancient institutions can be adapted so suit modern needs.

Nevertheless, down the centuries these Lammas rights have had a great influence on the development of the parish. Thanks to them, much of the land has been kept free from building. Otherwise, the river bank might now be covered with bungalows, while Eton and Eton Wick might have become joined into one big residential district.

For a long time the only building possible was on land not subject to Lammas, chiefly on the small enclosures around the houses. That explains the compact nature of the two village centres: It also explains how difficult it has been to find new sites for the natural growth of Eton town as well as of the College, Eton Wick has been fortunate in being able to expand on to land which once belonged to Boveney, and not subject to Lammas.

Thinking along these lines one wonders how some areas are now free from Lammas. The Brocas, apparently; was always free It has a history of its own, for in Norman times it was owned by people living in Clewer. Something similar may be true of the land at Clewer Point. Perhaps at one time it was an island in the river.

The cedar tree in the Sanatorium grounds shows how long the land there has been free from Lammas; and for many years there has been an orchard at Crown Farm, much as Mr. R. Tarrant has it to-day. Along with these we must include the land on which two Eton boarding houses now stand. We do not know how these areas became free. We can guess, however, that the line of buildings along the west side of the lower part of Keate's Lane, which were once in private ownership, and the houses near the "Willow Tree" first originated in the good old English way of "squatting".

Examples of how with time and ingenuity one can get round the strict letter of the law come from the Eton town allotments. When they were first begun it was laid down that no erection should be more than eighteen inches high. Since then we have seen full-sized sheds appear, along with chicken runs and pig styes, complete with concrete floors. One plot, builder J. Platt, a stonemason, dug downwards and constructed a store place underground made of old stones from Windsor Castle and Eton College. Another plot holder, A. Dore, a wheelwright, went even further, he dug out a workplace, and for quite a time pursued his trade of making wheelbarrows and even ladders, unmolested by ancient customs.

Yet while Lammas rights have hindered building development, they have not prevented it altogether, it can be seen from the changes which have taken place in recent decades. The Church, school and churchyard at Eton Wick exist on land which almost certainly at one time was subject to Lammas. On this point, however, the records are not precise. We have clearer facts about the Pumping Station and Village Hall, and in more recent years, about the council houses at Broken Furlong and along Somerville Road. In these cases, building took place after proposals had been discussed at public meetings and proper resolutions had been passed.

The case of Bell Farm is interesting. Just before his death Mr. Robert Nason told me that the land  was at one time subject to Lammas, but when it became a sewage farm the Lammas rights were abolished the understanding that for the future no such rights should be exercised on behalf of Bell Farm in other parts of the parish.

This indicates one way in which these rights might be completely abolished. That they have continued at Eton so long while disappearing in most other parts of the country is due chiefly to the fact that no Enclosure Act was ever carried through here. All the time they have been controlled by the Eton Court Baron, under the old manorial system what land was Laminas and what was not depended on custom and the living memory of the people at the time. No old map of these areas seems to exist.

About ten years ago there was an informal, meeting arranged by J. H. Sayner, the town-planning officer, at which H. Dunce, a farmer of Eton Wick, and G. Gosling, a road-sweeper of Eton, both members of the 1908 CourtBaron, went over the map field by field saying what was and what was not subject to Lammas. This information was then embodied in the town-planning proposals and formally adopted; so now we have official regulations reinforcing the ancient rights in influencing the development of the parish.

All this may make alterations of lammas rights somewhat more difficult, but it would be a pity if customs originating, centuries ago should stultify the present life of the people. Cases in point are the two Recreation Grounds, now subject to Lammas. The question of freeing them arose as far back as 1898, when separate meetings of the parishioners of Eton Wick, the Eton Wick Parish Council and the Eton Town Council all passed resolutions in favour of the change being made, Why these resolutions were not acted upon still remains a mystery. There is no reason why the Recreation Grounds should continue under Lammas in perpetuity; and, although the problem of freeing them may seem complicated and difficult, it might well become a useful object for communal aims and action in this Festival Year. The same result, however, would be achieved if, as during last summer, the farmers were to refrain from exercising their rights on these areas, That would redound to their good sense and public spirit while producing a solution both traditional and typically British. 

Robert Weatherall

Note. It is unknown where this article was first published or when. The mention of "this Festival Year" seems to suggest 1951 as a likely date. Robert Weatherall was an Air Raid Warden during WW2 and the 1939 Register recorded that he was live at  Sanatorium Cottage at beginning of the war. He was born in 1899.

The Eton Wick Newsletter - December 2017 - `Our Village' Magazine

Ten Years Old - or maybe sixty eight

Yes, this issue of 'Our Village is number 30 and marks the tenth anniversary; but It was born of an Idea In 1949 that this rural, post WWII village should produce a 'one off magazine of Eton Wick news. It was named 'Our Village' and was in fact produced again In 1950. Those two earlier Issues were produced by duplicator and sold at six pence (21/2p today's currency). Articles covered The Village Hall; post war village development; sports; youth club; poems etc., All of course much influenced by the gradual return to normality after the long six years of war and shortages. 

To mark our anniversary we have selected one of those earlier items: 

'Our Heritage' by Florence Ivy Wilson' (1950) 

When I first came to Eton Wick I was told by a man from Windsor that the people of this village were originally those who had flitted from Windsor because they could not pay their bills. I am sure this Is a libel, but if it Is true, then it happened a long time ago, for there was undoubtedly a settlement here in Saxon times, and some Saxon customs are still in use today. Early records are few, but as Canon Shephard tells us in his book 'Old Days of Eton Parish' many of the local names are from Saxon origin. Shot, butt, ward, croft, weir, all these are Saxon terms. 'Wick' is a hamlet, 'ton' a village surrounded by a palisade, (in this case no doubt the river) and leyof is an island. Eton (Ey-ton) therefore means the island town. Bufan means 'above' from which the name Boveney is derived, and Domey comes from 'Donna' which means bumble bees, and Is the bumble bee island (Has anyone been stung lately). 

What was the place like in those early days? We can form some idea, in spite of the scarcity of written evidence. It was certainly much more thickly wooded, for later, when the Domesday Book was written In 1086 it is said that there were woods and copses to feed 200 swine. The river must have been very different then, for there is evidence that the main stream has considerably shifted its course, and in those days it was probably several intersecting streams flowing round a number of islands, on the largest of which Eton itself was founded. Salmon and Lampreys were among the fish caught and trapped, and eels were plentiful. Domesday Book mentions 1,000 eels (in Mill Pool at Deadman's Hole). 

We know that the Manor of Eton belonged to Queen Edith who was the wife of Edward the Confessor and sister to Harold who was killed in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings. She would probably have had a Steward or Reeve to safeguard her interests. Doubtless many a basket of eels, many a fine pig, horse or sheep, together with honey from his wife's bees, and butter and cheese from their dairy would have had to find their way to the old Saxon Palace at Old Windsor. A Hayward would have been appointed to safeguard the hay crop and care for the cattle, and disputes would have been settled at a Court Leete before an open Jury. 

This Court Leete was revived by Eton College in January 1947, they, having acquired the Manor Farm at Eton Wick and with the rights of the Manor of Eton. The temporary bailiff, Mr Bob Bond, swore in the jury who then confirmed him in his office and Mr John Pass was then appointed Hayward. Various matters of dispute were settled regarding the upkeep of hedges and ditches abutting on the Commons, and the number of cattle to be grazed. Long Common and Little Common and the Common rights which entitle households to graze an agreed number of cattle are still jealously guarded from these early days. 

Lammas rights come down to us from the 7th Century and have undoubtedly saved us from a lot of indiscriminate building. Lammas Day was the first day of the grazing season after the hay crop, and the name is derived from Loaf Mass or Bread Feast. In Saxon times the day was kept as a day of thanksgiving for the first fruits of the harvest. It is interesting to see Mr Tom Bond and his family working their land by the Eton Wick Road and to think that the organisation of the fields retains a link with the past which has been unbroken for the last thirteen hundred years. 

The above article is printed exactly as it first appeared sixty seven years ago, and perhaps reflects the old rural interests of that time, and the more active relevance of Lammas. Probably John Pass was the last of so many Haywards, and although Bob Bond may have been succeeded by other Bailiffs It is not considered necessary for us to know, and we for our part do not consider it necessary to enquire. 

Long Common is variously known as The 'Great' or Eton Common and reaches from Eton's Common Lane, through the village to the two bollards approaching Bell Lane. Little Common is quite separate and approximately 300 plus metres north of Sheepcote Road, (by the Motor Museum). The land worked by Tom Bond was the large South Field opposite the Church of St. John the Baptist. He only had the land In the early post WWII years and used it to grow currant bushes and fruit trees. Neither of course acceptable had it been Lammas designated land. The land was later sold to Eton College and is now mainly mono cropped. 

*Deadman's Hole is perhaps last shown on local maps of the pre 19th Century. It was situated close to the water course we know as Cuckoo Weir and Just north of 'Chinese' or 'Long Bray Bridge'. Often In river terms a 'hole' indicates the area Immediately down stream of Eyots (Islands) or promontories. I.e. Boveney Hole is just upstream of Boveney Church and Andrews Boathouse. 

Florence Wilson was a very good Councillor of Eton Urban in those post war years and helped influence the present day larger 'Eton Wick'. She was on several village committees from Village Hall, Women's Institute and Treasurer of the Youth Club. She also wrote plays using the pen name of Ivy Brides, an adaptation of her maiden name Florence Ivy Briddes. Lammas lands and Lammas law must still be relevant today, but with a much changed residency in old Eton Wick, together with the loss of most active farming, apathy has replaced the diligent adherence to all things Lammas or Commons. 

Frank Bond 

Click here to read Our Village December 2017.

This article was originally published in the Eton Wick Newsletter - Our Village and is republished with the kind permission of the Eton Wick Village Hall Committee. Click here to go to the Collection page.