Showing posts with label Windsor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Windsor. Show all posts
Monday, 3 November 2025
Monday, 16 December 2024
World War 2 Eighty Years On - 1944 - Home Guard
December
Disbandment for the local Home Guard Battalions was held at Windsor Castle on Sunday, December 8th. Among the Home Guard units on parade were the Heavy AA Battalion, the 8th Berks. (Windsor Borough Batt.), the 9th. Berks. (Windsor Crown Land Batt.) and ‘D’ Stretch Upper Thames Patrol who were under the command of Major C.D.N. Butler. Assembling at Victoria Barracks the parade marched to the Castle via Sheet Street and Park Street. With the band of the Royal Horse Guards playing an appropriate march the troops arrived at their appointed places for inspection by the King. Among those on parade was Alf Cook from Eton Wick to whom the King put questions about the cap badge of the Upper Thames Patrol.
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King George VI, a keen collector of cap badges, taking a close interest in Eton Wick resident Private Alf Cook’s ‘Upper Thames Patrol’ unit Badge.
The summer had seen the successful invasion of German occupied France and the Allied Armies had by December liberated Paris. V-1 flying bombs still fell on London and Manchester where fifty Heinkel Bombers launched a V-1 raid killing 37 people. Anti Aircraft Gun batteries were strengthened more raids materialized. The introduction by the Germans of a new and more deadly weapon had came into use which was officially revealed by the Prime Minister in November. The V– 2 rocket travelled at 3000 miles per hour carrying a one ton of explosive. The first arrived on September 13th falling on Chiswick causing much destruction and heavy casualties. Against the V–2 there was no defence and it was of utmost priority that the Allied armies capture the launching sites in Holland.
Units were affiliated to their regular county regiments.
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December 8th 1944
who had been the back room support manning telephones,
clerical, and catering.
2nd right , Mrs Lovell, of Eton Wick.
Windsor Home Guard Anti - Aircraft Battery
The home Guard Gunners served alongside Royal Artillery AA Batteries. The formation of Home Guard AA units allowed the release of regimental Royal Artillery gunners for posting to active war fronts. The 3.7” guns shown in the photographs were located in the Windsor Great Park.
This is an extract from Round and About Eton Wick: 1939 - 1945. The book was researched, written and published in 2001 by John Denham.
Saturday, 1 June 2024
A History of Windsor Bridge
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| Windsor Town Bridge |
This is part of the script for the talk History of Local Bridges given by John Denham on 15th April 1998.
Perhaps it should be called the bridge of aggravation. For 900 years the bridge has been plagued with problems which at times has given rise to heated debate between the citizens of Eton and Windsor.
A Royal presence and officialdom plus the changing moods of the Thames when influenced by the weather have all contributed to the history of the Windsor Town Bridge.
Invasion by the Normans was not welcomed by many Anglo Saxons who at times could be most unfriendly towards the new rulers. To secure their position after occupying London, a defensive ring comprising of nine forts which became more permanent as castle s was set up. Windsor was one of the nine.
The original fortress built of wood was started in about 1070, The attraction to build on that site, apart from the view of the valley was the fact that they would have the protection with the chalk cliff at their back and the river a barriet from which any frontal attack would have to cross and climb up. The occupants of the fort required military supplies, goods and services giving rise to New Windsor, the tourist town of today.
At some time during the next hundred years, it became necessary to bridge the river. This may have been for access to the farmland around Eton and Eton Wick or to reach the London-Henley Road for easier and quicker passage to London.
It is known that a bridge existed in 1172, for that year the Kings tax collector, Osbert de Bray, accounted for £4-6s-6d collected from vessels passing under the bridge.
Over the following years the fate of the bridge depended on its importance to the monarch using the castle.
Being of wooden construction, the early bridge was always in need of repair, perhaps due to collision by passing boats, or debris that built up around the bridge supports, especially when the river was in flood.
It is noted that Henry III gave permission in 1236 for six oaks from the royal forest to be felled to prop up the collapsing bridge and more six years later.
Edward 1st had little interest in the castle or the citizens and allowed the bridge to fall into decay leading to a petition by the ‘Poor Inhabitants' of Windsor for permission to charge tolls for its repair.
Edward had his sights on adding Wales and Scotland to his kingdom and sought a way out of the problem by granting pontage for eight years from 1277, and by charter, appointing the Fraternity of the Holy Trinity, also referred to as the Burgesses of Wyndesore, responsible for the government of Windsor and the upkeep of the bridge. But as is often the case things did not turn out quite as Edward envisaged.
The Brethren soon realized that the bridge was vital to local trade and as a route to London. This knowledge encouraged the Brethren who became quite skilled petitioners, cajoling gifts of trees and pontage grants from successive monarchs every few years.
Only tolls could be charged for traffic over the bridge, the more lucrative collection for vessels passing under the bridge going to the King.
Tolls were based on the cargo and its weight, for instance in 1367 the freight of coal between London and Windsor is noted at 1 shilling per chaldron. A chaldron, a unit of dry measure as for coke coal or lime equal to 32 to 36 bushels, today that would be approximately 56 cu yards (42.8 cubic metres). This toll on a barge carrying maybe 200 tons brought complaints from the watermen at this exaction.
Because of the unsatisfactory state of the bridge the ferry continued to give a satisfactory if not always reliable service.
Royal Family quarrels in 1387 brought more trouble for the bridge Richard II, who believed in his divine right to rule, was a bad judge of men and his domineering attitude upset many people. When his uncles, the Dukes of Gloucester and York tried to dispose him, he ordered the bridge to be broken down as a defence against his unwelcomed visitors.
Ten years were to elapse before he made amends with another pontage grant.
He was disposed in September 1399 and killed in February 1400 aged 33
James was followed by Henry IV who in 1411 gave two more grants, after which a bridge keeper was appointed at an annual salary of 6s. 8d.
During this same year the Borough of Windsor carried out repairs to the bridge at its own expense, thereby sowing the seeds for future trouble.
Although housing and business had developed along the road which is now Eton High Street the founding of "the Kings College of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor", (Eton College) by Henry VI for poor scholars in 1440-1 gave a new importance to the town.
One of the first advantages given to his college was the free passage over and under the bridge. Two years later Windsor, apparently in accordance with annual custom, elected two bailiffs, and two bridge keepers.
As the years passed the later Tudors preferred the comforts of Hampton Court Palace to the austerity of Windsor Castle and therefore having no use for the Bridge saw no reason to maintain it. Hence within ten years of the founding of Eton College, the Windsor Chamberlain in 1551 was compelled to sell two silver chalices for £15 to help pay for very urgent repairs to the unsafe structure of the bridge.
The bridge was a dilapidated affair and risking the king’s horses and the heavy waggons with the Royal baggage to the bridge was not an option. Therefore, the rickety state of the bridge may account for King's Stable Street in Eton, where the horses could be stabled and the waggons off loaded to lighter carts or even taken across the river by ferry.
Dr Osborn in his records of Datchet states the magnificent cavalcade of Henry VIII passing from London to Windsor in May 1520 went by way of Eton and Windsor Bridge; but Queen Catherine of Aregon diverged from the route near Colnbrook and crossed at the Datchet ferry. The Datchet ferry was used by Monarchs as a short cut and an inconspicuous back door to the castle.
As stated earlier the bridge was always in need of repair due to the heavy loads crossing on a structure whose supports had poor footings.
The Windsor Corporation records for 1520 have the entry, 'Andrew Bereman was allowed for Reperacions don Upon the bridge as in pylyng Joistyng Rayleing and other Workmanship as it apperyth by his boke. The account was for £32 0s 5d.’
Toll concessions brought in as little as £5 and we find that the Chamberlain was having to meet regular bills for essential repairs to the wooden structure. Accounts show that charges in 1606 were £25.14s.5d.; 1609 - £5 13s. 10d.; 1612 - £12 19s.
Other charges not connected with repairs to the bridge were brought about by the punishment of wrongdoers. Public whippings were carried out on the bridge and when a new whipping post was needed in 1636, Robert Gill charged 5s. 6d. for supply and fixing thereof. He also charged 6d. for fixing the chain that closed the roadway over the bridge.
Other fixtures of torture and death required no maintenance such as a tree at the foot of the bridge used in 1536 for the execution of a priest accused of treason, whilst the other a butcher also accused of treason was hung on the new gallows at the end of the drawbridge in front of the Castle gate.
Throughout the centuries the bridge played its part in Royal Pageantry.
James 1st had great interest in the pageantry of the Order of the Garter and emulated the custom of his predecessors.
The custom had been in times past for the Knights elect to proceed from London to Windsor in grand procession, in order to be installed.
Having gathered in the city they thence rode on horseback to Windsor. Accompanying them would be a large party of friends and attendants.
A dazzling sight for those days which brought throngs of citizens to see the colourful cavalcade as it passed. A Duke would be accompanied by sixty horse escort whilst a Marquess would have fifty and so down the line in accordance to the knights degree of seniority.
Some were prone to go over the top in their display of gorgeous apparel with plumes of feathers so James 1st put a limit on the extent of the procession enacting an order that every one of the Knights-companions should have fifty persons to attend him unto the annual solemnities of the order and no more.
The escort of the Earl of Morton proceeding to Windsor is an example that would apply to the 13 Knights of the Garter proceeding to the ceremony.
Grooms in coats two and two
Trumpets two and two
Yeoman two and two
Gentlemen two and two
Secretaries
Stewards
Gentlemen of the Horse
Pages
Four Officers of Arms
Gentle Usher, bare
Lancaster Herald, covered
Earl Morton, supported between two chief lords
Footmen on each side, in rich coats
Noblemen and Gentlemen, according to their degrees
On reaching Slough, the procession gathered to place themselves in order to proceed to Eton, thence across the town bridge to the Castle.
About thirty years on repairs were again required to the bridge structure.
An entry from the Chamberlain’s accounts for the year Michaelmas 1641 to Michaelmas 1642 refers to a payment for 2 loads and 35 foote of Tymber for the pyles belowe the bridge of £3-15-0.
Again, from the Chamberlain's accounts for the following year Michaelmas 1642 to Michaelmas 1643 there is a charge connected with the military government of the place by Colonel Venn.
The entry reads "layd out for laying downe the bridge by Colonel Venns Appoyntmente.......£6-0-0.
Parliamentary forces occupied the castle on the 28th October 1642. Colonel John Venn, rated number one enemy by many Royalist, was appointed Governor of Windsor Castle. Upon being appointed he gave orders for the defence of the Castle.
One of the defence measures was replacing several sections of the bridge with drawbridges. Following a report that the Earl of Essex and his levy of London apprentices were marching by Windsor to Newbury orders were given to destroy Windsor Bridge. This only left bridges at Staines and Maidenhead.
On the 7th of November 1642 the Royalist under the command of Prince Rupert attacked the Castle with five pieces of ordnance firing from the grounds of Eton College, more damage was done to Windsor town than to the stout walls of said castle. The bombardment lasted seven hours but eventually the Royalist withdrew.
At the time the parliamentary army lodged in Windsor was approximately 16,000 foot soldiers and about 3000 horses. The population of Windsor at this time approximately two thousand. Many of these troops would have been encamped in the surrounding villages, whose population would have had to feed and shelter the soldiers and hope they would be paid.
The first Civil war ended in 1646,
On the 24th of November 1648 the headquarters of the Commonwealth army was transferred from St Albans to Windsor and from then on until the King was taken to London in the January, Windsor was the centre of events.
Having spent Christmas as a prisoner, on January 19th 1649, King Charles was taken from Windsor Castle to board his coach near the Keep.... a guard being made of musket and pike soldiers. At the great gate a party of horse was drawn up in the marketplace at Pease-cod-street end commanded by Colonel Harrison. Harrison's cavalry closed around the coach and with its six horses the coach with its lonely passenger clattered down the hill beneath the Castle walls along the Kings Highway as they called it, then across the old timber bridge into Eton and so over the frost bound roads towards London. By dusk Charles was at St. James Palace.
Having been found guilty he was beheaded on the 30th January on the scahe river Thames.
The hard frost at the end of January 1649 had froze the River Thames again as a disguised boat was secretly borne down the river repeatedly encountering ice flows on the journey from London to Windsor. In the boat was the decapitated body of Charles I who had been beheaded for treason.
Snow and ice mad it difficult journey and progress was slow. At Chersey the small party was `poled off' ice flows by local fishermen. At Datchet the party were challenged by Parliamentarians, who upon receiving a satisfactory answer allowed them to proceed.
Under the cover of the flurries of snow all the obstacles were evaded, and the secret hearse moored safely at Windsor whence the coffin was borne to the castle.
To make good the ravages of war the Council of State in 1649 issued a warrant for the repairs to the bridge. The Surveyor-General of H.M. Woods and Forests issued an order to fell 25 loads of timber from Windsor Forest for the repairs.
The bridge was replanked, trebled railed and supplied with new piles and a drawbridge.
February 26th 1666, King Charles II visited the castle, having travelled via Staines, crossed the bridge to visit Eton College where he remarked on the names cut into the shuts of the windows by those who had left for Cambridge. His wife remained waiting in the coach.
Whilst staying at Windsor in 1674 Charles II granted double the number of trees for repairs but on being told that that the borough had mended the bridge at its own expense 200 years before -withdrew his offer.
After allowing Robert Frith £50 for immediate works the corporation set about persuading the king to take a more lenient view of its predecessors' folly and in October 1676 they were rewarded with twenty five loads of timber.
More financial problems followed when the Queen Anne bridge at Datchet was opened in 1706 free of tolls. To this some Windsor council members reacted sharply being as bold to say that the corporation was not twopence better for the Queen's coming to Windsor. Eventually £55 in compensation was awarded to the corporation.
By the March of 1707 the tolls at Windsor had declined and the corporation was relieved to lease the bridge in its ruinous state to John Herring for forty years. His rent was £5 per annum because he had to meet all the cost of repair. Fourteen years later Herring appealed to the Corporation for help, who in turn advised him to petition the treasury for a grant of oaks. Much to his surprise Herring was awarded twenty loads of timber the next year.
This gift did not relieve him of worries as an increasing number of people were challenging the right of the corporation to charge Tolls.
The situation became serious and with the help of the two Windsor M.P.'s Parliamentary confirmation of Tolls was sought, the said promoted bill receiving Royal Assent on 5th April 1736.
The ownership of the bridge was reaffirmed but the corporation was obliged to repair and maintain the Great Bridge' from the prescribed tolls including 6d. on each barge going up stream.
The new powers resulted in much higher takings, so John Herring's rent was increased to £10 the following year and then to £60 in 1766.
The increased traffic over the old bridge was more than the decayed timbers could take and it was declared not safe for His Majesty's subjects to pass.
The respite from repairs was short for on Saturday July 31st 1773 the council carried out a hurried inspection, the bridge being in so dangerous and bad condition with a great quantity of earth falling into the river, that every load that went over also ran great hazard of falling in.
What work was absolutely necessary was done immediately but on several occasions the bridge was closed for repairs and those crossing had to resort to the ferry.
More repairs must have taken place as it was forty six years on before the corporation applied to build a new bridge.
Perhaps this enthusiasm to build a new bridge resulted from the introduction of mail coaches, one of the first had passed through Slough on its way from Bath to London in 1774. This no doubt stimulated interest in fast passenger coach services to Slough and London from Windsor. By the year 1839 there were as many as 30 stage coaches a day running between Windsor via Eton to Slough. The rivalry between the owners, such as Gray, Moody and Lillywhite was intense.
It is to be wondered if the passengers of those days consider their safety when passing over the bridge?
The family of Lillywhite also farmed at Manor and Crown farms in Eton wick. This increase in frequent fast traffic plus the increasing carrier traffic must have put quite a strain on the bridge structure.
The year 1775 the Corporation applied to build a new bridge at an estimated cost of £3000, but fearing much higher tolls the people of Windsor objected and the petition was thrown out.
In a survey of the Thames by Robert Mylne it was noted that Windsor bridge was 165 ft. long with twelve or more spans was much obstructed by rubbish.
Proposals were put forward included building of the lock at Romney which opened in 1797. This so increased the flow of the river that the bridge foundations were soon undermined.
By 1811 it was a tottering, completely rotten unsafe structure that even the poor residents of Windsor had come to the conclusion that something had to be done and raised no objections when the corporation invited Charles Hollis to submit plans. Thomas Telford was engaged as consulting engineer.
Hollis was an engineer working with Jeffrey Wyatt, the architect engaged on the restoration of the castle.
His submission for the new bridge in 1819 was for three cast iron arches resting on granite piers, and a roadway of gravel laid on cast iron plates.
Estimated cost, for this bridge design of 260ft length and 26ft. wide were £13,000 for erecting toll houses, the bridge and completing the roads. Purchase of premises on either side of the approaches, £2,500, expenses of obtaining the Act £500- total cost £16,000 If built on the same line as the existing route it could be opened in two years.
Based on this estimate the corporation borrowed up to £16,000 by mortgaging the tolls.
The wording of Clause 37 of the Act would prove very significant in years to come. The Act stated quite clearly that the toll income could only be used for the upkeep of the bridge, payment of loan interest and repayment of the loan and for no other purpose.
The provisions of the loan allowed the corporation to complete the bridge in five years, commencing March 21st. 1820.
Twenty one years was allowed from that date to recover the cost with the provision of another thirty years if necessary.
The purchase of properties for approach roads and the removal of the old bridge took longer that estimated.
On 10th. July 1822 the new corner stone was laid by Frederick, Duke of York. The work proceeded steadily the two side spans of 43ft and 55ft. taking twenty three months.
During this time the citizens of Windsor and Eton as well as other travellers had to endure the inconvenience of the ferry of which they became thoroughly weary.
Because of the never ending complaints the corporation called a meeting on March 31st, 1824, with the two iron masters, Mr Baldock and Mr Fowler, to explain the delay.
At length the iron founders explained that the ribs had to cast in Wales, shipped to London, and transported overland to Windsor.
A promise of delivery of the final rib during the first week of April was not met, the rib did not arrive until the 12th April. Disaster struck during the unloading at Windsor and the rib got broken. This raised the anger of the councillors and Fowler undertook to recast the rib in his London foundry and return it to the bridge site within three weeks, which he successfully achieved.
The new bridge opened on June 1st 1824 and the Windsor and Eton Express wrote, ` Any ceremony of splendour was considered unnecessary and therefore the Mayor and Corporation, having gathered at the nearby Swan Inn, walked in procession about noon accompanied with other senior officials, the Architect and the bridge Contractor to the centre of the bridge.
The toll gate was then closed behind the party and the Architect handed the silver key to the Mayor for him to open the gate.
The bridge was declared open by the Town Clerk and after three cheers the party returned to the Swan where lunch was taken. Tolls were levied from the next day and so began a new chapter in the troubled life of Windsor Bridge. This, the first iron bridge over the Thames, would be the centre of much legal argument over the next seventy three years.
Twenty fours years on the bridge was to lose some of its importance as the Great Western and the London South Western Railway Companies brought their services to Windsor.
The Stagecoach companies went out of business as citizens turned to the speed of the trains although some struggled on with horse bus services to Slough and outlying districts. and perhaps the stage coach service from Windsor to Brighton which plied on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday returning the following the following day survived for a while.
The pricing of tolls for crossing this Great Bridge had one anomaly in so much it was cheaper to cross alive than dead. It cost only 2d. to cross in a hackney carriage but 6s. 8d. in a hearse.
During 1895 the corporation erected a new tollgate much to the dissatisfaction of Eton residents especially Mr Joseph Taylor.
Mr Joseph Taylor of Eton commenced a campaign to abolish the system under which `tolls were being taken for a timber bridge since passed away, on a stone bridge built and paid for by the public of today'.
Signing himself `Don Quixote' with a letter to the Windsor and Eton Express on 3rd September 1895, Mr Taylor demanded to know by what right the corporation continued to charge tolls asserting that perhaps no right existed if this was so, then more than £12,000 had been collected. illegally over the last 23 years.
He maintained that the Act of 1736 authorizing a table of tolls had been repealed by the act of 1820 which expired in 1872. To force the issue he informed the Town Clerk that on Tuesday 30th September he would drive onto the bridge and refuse to pay the toll.
A resolution passed at a meeting of the corporation on 27th September ordering the collector to insist on payment and close the gate against anyone who refused to pay the requisite toll. Mr Taylor was sent a copy of the resolution who wrote to the Chief Constable of Buckinghamshire inviting him to send a police officer on the appointed day to witness the illegal closing of the bridge.
An Inspector and sergeant were sent, Mr Taylor upon arriving at the bridge asked to see the table of tolls and was shown the schedule of charges from the 1736 Act not those which has been in use for the previous twenty years. Mr Taylor refused to pay, where upon the gate was locked and he was forced to drive the long way home.
Taylor took counsel advice and was advised by Mr J. Witt and Mr W.Dankwerts that he was in his rights not to pay the toll. To give strength to his belief he and his friend, Mr Cecil Howlett drove over the bridge and paid the 2d. toll and obtained a receipt. Taylor then applied for a writ to recover what he contended was an unlawful levy and also applied for a writ to restrain the corporation from barring the bridge.
The Windsor and Eton Express dated 21st September 1895 published a letter headed `Barring of the Bridge' in which he gave guidance to those from whom tolls were demanded by the corporation for passage over the bridge. Another letter from an Eton resident referred to the dilapidated state of the bridge which needed cleaning and painting in spite of the corporation having benefitted from £500 a year tolls.
The case was heard in the Queens Bench on 13-14 May 1897,the Lord Chief Justice giving judgement to the corporation with cost but adding that this peculiar case would no doubt go to the Court of Appeal. The Corporation felt their victory worth celebrating and the Mayor gave the corporation a champagne lunch. Mr Taylor did not give in easily and immediately lodged notice of appeal.
In October 1897 Lords Justices Rigby, Smith, and Hen Collins after listening to the case for another two days and reserving judgement.
On November 8th with an unanimous decision they announced that the bridge tolls were illegal and must cease at once, Taylor was awarded cost. At mid-day the collector on the bridge received a telegram ordering him to stop the charging of tolls. This decision was not to the corporations liking and they took the case to the House of Lords.
The hearing before the Lord Chancellor and others began on the 25th November 1898, ending three days later with a verdict in favour of Mr Taylor.
The toll gates were removed on December 1st 1898.
The toll collectors cottage remains part of the Old House Hotel.
A poem written at the time of the lifting of the toll convey the feelings of the citizens.
The task is o'er, the work is done
The gate is lost, the bridge is won!
No Tax or Toll shall the Counties part;
Thus Berks and Bucks unite in the heart;
Windsor and Eton from blight are free,
Joined by the English Gift of Liberty!
After World War I the increasing production of, buses, lorries and cars which opened the way to freedom to visit the places of interest. Windsor with its castle became a magnet for day trippers by car and coach although the majority in the 1930's still arrived by train.
The rise in car ownership from the 1950's which would become a flood also put more load onto the bridge for which it was designed.
The strain on the structure aggravating the crack in the iron work which was first noticed during an inspection by the county council surveyor in 1938.
In 1946 a survey of the bridge led to frequent checks to monitor the cracks and to the Windsor Council investigating the possibility of repairing and widening the bridge, but no decision was taken and it was not proceeded with.
Weight restrictions had been in force for some time, buses being the heaviest vehicles allowed onto the bridge. The cracks had become more prominent in 1969 which resulted in a single line traffic system, but after later inspections in 1970 by the Berks County Council Surveyors department, it was decided at an emergency meeting of the highways committee that the 146 year old bridge would have to close due to the rapid deterioration and the accelerating cracks in the cast iron.
Over 11,000 vehicles a day used the bridge with the number increasing to 22,000 or more in the summer. This is an annual average of five million vehicles. A sample census for October 1845 at the toll gate on the Slough Road, gave a figure of 649,411 persons for a full year with an additional 35,000 for Ascot week. The design of the bridge was well within the limits for this traffic and the sound construction allowed it to carry the increasing traffic volumes for 146 years.
It was fortunate that in 1966 the Windsor - Eton relief road had been opened. The decision to close the bridge was not accepted readily by all. Eton and Eton Wick protested strongly and called for a new Windsor bridge to be built.
A public meeting held at the Eton Wick village hall on Monday 5th October 1970 when nearly 200 villagers attended to vote overwhelmingly to send a deputation to Shire Hall Reading to lobby the Berkshire County Council for a new bridge.
A committee was formed by Mrs Florence Wilson, President of the Womens Institute, to organise a lobbying party. Nearly 40 people agreed to go to Shire Hall to confront the County Council. The Highways Committee recommended that the bridge should be rebuilt, but the planning committee recommended that the bridge should be closed permanently.
Bucks County Council had offered £250,000 to the cost of a new bridge, Eton - Eton Wick came under Bucks County Council in 1970.
The Eton U.D.C. held the meeting to tell the village what action had been taken since the closure of the bridge. A questionnaire at the time showed that Eton Wick was in favour of having the bridge re-opened or putting a Bailey bridge across as a temporary solution.
Mr Glibbon, who was Chairman of the Council, told the meeting that even if a temporary bridge was not possible, the thing that must be achieved was the reopening of the bridge as a matter of absolute urgency to the people of Eton and Eton Wick.
The feeling at the time was that the only people to benefit from the closure of the bridge were the people of Eton High Street, but the closure did effect trade in the high street.
Private enterprise, suicides, romance, and Hell's Angels have all had their moments on or in sight of the bridge.
September 1730 Daniel Beaumont a starch maker by trade thought it would be profitable to sell wine from a ship moored on the Eton side of the bridge. This was frowned upon by the college authorities as it was feared it would entice the scholars to spend their time in idleness aboard the vessel. As he had no licence to retail the liquor his enterprise was short live for three years later he was petitioning against nine years in jail.
The new town bridge was the scene of a fatal accident due to a hard frost. A sixteen year old boy carter from Ascot leading his team pulling a heavy waggon across the bridge.....slipped and fell under the waggon wheels and was fatally crushed under the wheels.
Decoration of the bridge for royal occasions has featured archways for Queen Victoria's Jubilee of 1887 and 1897.
The years spanning the world wars brought many tired marching feet over the bridge as troops from the barracks came to the end of those route marches. Added to these was the heavy military transport all putting strain of the cracked iron beams. Apparently one military incident did close the bridge for a short time during the war.
A soldier driving a heavy transporter loaded with a battle tank having negotiated Eton High Street only to have the road collapse beneath the wheels as the transported approached the bridge. With little room to manoeuvre the long vehicle at that juncture, a lengthy hold up occurred in the high street. It took a several hours to extricate the exceptional load from its predicament. Rumour at the time was that he had gone that way to see a girlfriend in Brocas Street, If so the soldier must have been a little red faced.
A suggestion in 1946 by a correspondent to the Windsor & Eton Express that a permanent arch should be erected on the bridge similar to the Victorian arch as a gateway to the Royal Borough received no official support.
Marathon race Windsor to London 1904 one of many sporting activities that have passed over the bridge.
The proclamation of George V as King in 1910 was a little upsetting for the loyal citizens of Eton when the Mayor of Windsor crossed the bridge to the Buckinghamshire side to announce the new monarch. To the fore were the Provost and Fellows of the College whilst the Chairman and members of Eton Urban were ignored. There was probably a reason but I have found none.
George V passed through Eton and over the bridge on his way to the Castle after his coronation in 1911.
And do you remember among the many other activities passing over the bridge?
Hell's Angels in their leathers and powerful motorbikes that roared across the bridge to meet at the Cellar cafe on the Windsor side of the bridge where the chairs and tables were chained to the floor and often fights took place.
The bridge has suffered more indignity being now, unsafe for pedestrians to use the whole width of the structure.
The other two bridges within Eton are Barnes Pool also known as Baldwins Bridge and Beggars Bridge at the Junction of Pocock’s lane both with a Norman History.
There is further information about the Windsor Town Bridge on the Thamesweb site.
Monday, 20 November 2023
Development of Eton Wick
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| 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 14th century to the 18th 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 19th 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.
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| 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.
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| Ordnance Survey Map 1925 courtesy of National Library of Scotland |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
Tuesday, 11 July 2023
100 Years Ago - Eton College Chapel Hit by a Bolt Lightning
100 years ago, the Daily Telegraph reported that a heavy thunderstorm broke over Windsor and Eton between 6.30 and 7.30 on the evening of 10th July 1923. The storm continued with violence for some time. Many Eton boys were on the river and caught the worst of the deluge. Many returned to the College boathouses on the Eton shore with their boots half full of water.
One of the spires of Lower Chapel, Eton College, was struck by lightning and fell with a crash into the chapel precincts and on the highway. Only a minute before Mr. A. Mellor, one of the College music masters, had passed by in a motorcar.
Mr. R. H. Baverstock, of Queen’s Road, Windsor, manager of a wholesale meat company, had an unusual experience when motorcycling towards Windsor Castle. A sharp flash of lightning struck the handlebar of the machine, which stopped dead in the thoroughfare. He was thrown off the machine but was not hurt. Remounting the bicycle, he discovered it had been damaged, and needed to be taken to a garage for repair.
The article about the storm was republished in the Daily Telegraph of 11th July 2023.
Note Reginald H Braverstock was born on 8th July,1891 and the 1901 Census records that he was living with his parents and brother in Rydens Grove, Hersham. The 1911 Census recorded that he was working as a Cleck at a Wholesale Butchers.
The 1939 Register records that he was living at 80, Bridge Road Chessington with his wife May. They had married on 14th July 1917. His occupation is shown as a salesman in the meat trade and that he was a transport driver with the ARP.
He died in 1943 aged 52.
Monday, 21 November 2022
Old Days of Eton Parish - CHAPTER X - SOME ETON BENEFACTORS.
In 1695 Dr. Godolphin became Provost and Rector. He was noted for his liberality. The College owes to him the statue of the Founder which stands in the Schoolyard, and the parish is indebted to him, as the Table of Benefactors in the Church porch informs us, for having " built alms-houses at his sole expense, on ground held by lease under the Dean and Canons of Windsor, for the reception of ten poor women, to be appointed by the Provost of Eton." This has proved of great value to many a hard-working woman and secures a comfortable home and freedom from care in old age.
Part also of the property held by the Eton Poor Estate, viz, the close at Eton Wick called Wheat Butts, was purchased by the help of his gift of £50, added to a legacy left by Dr. Heaver, and other money.
It appears also that he subscribed £I,000 towards a fund for altering and re-arranging the Church, " so that the children of the Schole (the Eton boys we now call them) may appear under one view, and likewise that all the people of the parish may be so conveniently seated as to hear with ease all the public offices of the Church, which at present by reason of their number, and the ill disposition of the place, they cannot possibly do." The said alterations seem to have been affected with miserably bad taste, and most signs of them have long disappeared, but at any rate the intentions were good.
A few more particulars about the Eton Poor Estate may be of interest. This Trust seems to have been originated early in the seventeenth century with certain legacies, left for the benefit of the poor, by Fellows of the College. John Chambers left £40, Adam Robyns £20, Matthew Page £40, with which sums two houses were bought in Thames Street, Windsor, and are still the property of the Trust. In 1685 land was purchased at Langley Marish with £20 bequeathed by Robert Allestree, £20 by John Rosewell, and £50 by Mr. Searles.
Further additions were made to the Trust under the will of Dr. Heaver, who left £50 specially for the purpose of apprenticing boys, and Provost Godolphin added to this another £50. Out of this Trust, besides apprenticeships to boys, and clothes for girls entering service, a substantial sum is now contributed annually towards the maintenance of the District Nurse, and towards a few old-age pensions.
The generosity of the above benefactors encouraged others to follow in their steps, and these, although belonging to a somewhat later date, may be conveniently chronicled in this chapter. In 1729 a certain John Bateman left £100, to be spent in the purchase of lands or tenements for the benefit of the poor of Eton. This was carried out in 1733, and the rent is annually received by the overseers, and expended in March. By the will of Joseph Benwell, who died in 1773, £150 was left to the poor, to be disposed of at the discretion of the Baldwin Bridge Trustees. A little later, 1787, an old parishioner, Joseph Pote, who had taken great interest in the Trust and its records, left to the same trustees £50 to be put out to interest, and the proceeds distributed by equal portions in bread twice a year, on the first Sundays after the 29th of March and the 7th of November, " to each poor parishioner who shall attend divine service, if not disabled therefrom by distress, age or other incident." The will further directs " that on each of those days the tooth Psalm with the Gloria Patri be then sung by the congregation and poor attending this, as a thankful acknowledgment of peculiar instances of divine protection at those periods and other parts of my life."
For a long time the terms of the will were literally complied with, and the bread was brought to the Chapel for distribution. Since 1855 the Bridge Master has had the distribution carried out at the houses of the poor.
At a later date still, in 1810, Provost Davies left £700 in 3 per cent reduced, for apprenticing two boys annually at £10 guineas each, and he also bequeathed £1000, the interest to be divided into four portions of £7 10s. and to be given yearly as pensions to two men and two women of sixty years of age. He further left £500, of which the interest was to be devoted to the almswomen.
All these gifts however were eclipsed by a bequest of greater importance still.
It is to Antoine Pyron du Martre, best known by his adopted name of Mark Anthony Porny, that the parish has most reason to be grateful. He was born at Caen in Normandy, and came from France in 1754 when a young man of twenty-three. After a severe struggle to maintain himself, he settled down as French Master in Eton in 1773, and occupied this position for thirty-three years.
It seems that, about 1790, steps were taken by Provost Roberts to establish a Charity and Sunday School for the children of the parish. A committee of twenty-two was appointed and subscriptions were collected, which enabled the good work to be carried on in a small way from year to year. This was the first attempt, since the College was founded, to give the children of the poor a religious and elementary education, and Mark Anthony Porny was much interested in it; but few knew how great his interest was, or anticipated his noble intentions.
It is, however, pleasant to learn that his worth of character was otherwise recognized, and that, towards the end of his life, he was appointed by George III. one of the Poor Knights of Windsor, and on his death in 1802 was buried on the south side of St. George's Chapel, where his grave is still to be seen with its Latin inscription.
By the hard work of teaching and writing school books, he managed to put by about £4000, and on his death it was found that " in gratitude for the little property he had acquired in this free and generous kingdom he had bequeathed the bulk of it upon trust unto the Treasurer of the Charity and Sunday School established in Eton in the County of Bucks, to be applied by the Trustees or Committee or by whatsoever name they may be designated for the time being, towards carrying out the laudable and useful designs of its institution." Mr. Charles Knight, Printer and Bookseller of New Windsor, was appointed his executor. There was some delay in carrying out this bequest, in consequence of a lawsuit instituted by some distant French relatives, and meantime the money was out at interest and had become worth £8,250. But at last the plaintiffs were defeated in their attempt to upset the will, and in 1813 steps were taken to build a Master and Mistress's house, now known as 129A and B High Street, with two schoolrooms behind which now serve as the Parish Room.1
The ideas of suitable school accommodation were much more limited than in these times, but, in the local press of the day, they are described as "neat and convenient buildings, in conformity with plans submitted to the Court of Chancery." They were built by contract for £1723 by Mr. Tebbott of Windsor.
The school was opened on April 26, 1813, the management of it being vested in the Provost and Fellows and eight other inhabitants of the parish, who were called Porny Trustees. After paying the cost of building, there still remained an endowment of £5200, the interest of which enabled the Porny Trustees to give a free education to ninety children. According to the old rules these scholars were elected from the Sunday schools, being the children of parishioners of Eton, born in wedlock, having been not less than one year in the Sunday school, and regular and punctual in their attendance.2
The Porny Trustees used to meet on the first Tuesday in each month except during the holidays. Every Porny scholar who reached the age of 14, and left school with a good character, received a Bible and Prayer Book.
The latter custom still survives, but in a later page some serious changes forced on the Trustees by altered circumstances will have to be recorded.
1 A board bearing an inscription is still over the archway leading
to the Parish Room.
2 The school hours in those days were in summer 8 to 12 and
2 to 5, in winter 9 to 12 and 1.30 to 4. On Sundays 8.30 a.m. and in the
afternoon 2 to 5, or 6 in summer.
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.
Wednesday, 23 March 2022
World War 2 Eighty Years On - March 1942 - DEMS at Dedworth Manor
The Eton Wick and Boveney Womens Institute Group had over the autumn and winter months of 1941 pursued a vigorous campaign of National Savings to bring their grand total to £3000 with 18 shillings to spare. In the last six months of 1941, £607 had been raised this compared with the £240 raised for the same period in 1940. Four street collectors had made big efforts which were shown on the indicator board outside the Village Institute. Mrs Weller collected £112 to show 28 artillery shells on the board. Miss Hessey and her group raising £75 for 19 shells whilst Mrs Laverty with £59 buying 15 shells. Mrs Brown collecting £52 to show 13 shells on the indicator. For the same period, the Methodist Church collected £1413.
March 14th to 21st. “Warship Week”
The week was officially opened at New School Yard, Eton College by Rear Admiral Bellairs and a guard of honour was mounted by W.R.N.S., Home Guard and the Civil Defence Services.
H.M.S. President III was the Administrative Unit for the D.E.M.S. Service (Defensively Equipped Merchant Ships) and dealt with all aspects of administration for naval D.E.M.S. gunners all over the world. The headquarters located at Dedworth Manor, Windsor, also accommodated some of the Wrens. WRENS were also billeted at Hodgson House, Eton College, with male Naval Staff billeted with householders in Windsor.
The task of President III as recounted by Wren Iris Barton,
“I joined the Wrens in October 1940 from my hometown of Cardiff and was posted to Bristol, where HMS President III were operating their main DEMS Division. I was a Writing (the Navy equivalent to a clerk). Soon after my arrival in Bristol the city was heavily bombed which was frequent in the ensuing months and for this reason we were evacuated to Windsor and Eton. I was in Hodgson House, Eton College and others were in Clewer House (since demolished). Each day we were bussed to Dedworth Manor to work. Most Wrens worked as Naval Pay Clerks, but my particular job was to pay the shipping companies for the victualling etc. of naval ratings on merchant ships and later I calculated the pay of Merchant Navy gun layers. It was interesting work, and I loved the beautiful area, in spite of the cold winters with no heating in our workplace, Hodgson house reeked of age and ink!. I believe only the façade remains."
The Wrens took an active interest in the town– there were regular dances at ‘The White Hart’, we marched down Peascod Street, rowed on the River Thames, and we were a great source of curiosity to the Eton College boys when we first arrived. We put on an entertainment in one of the College halls and even sang the ‘Eton Boating’ song.
On free days we searched out the tea shops and visited many of the lovely surrounding villages. Some of the girls from
A call from the Castle to the Petty Officer in charge of the group made the request for the then Princess Elizabeth to join the Sea Rangers. The unit was delighted but as the Princess could not leave the royal grounds the meetings would have to take place at the Castle and on the banks of the lake at Frogmore.
Some of us were invited to the Castle to see our present Queen made a member of the Sea Scouts.
In 1942 a ‘Warship Week” was held in Windsor to raise money and the Corn Exchange was the venue for a display of torpedoes, depth charges etc. It was there that I met my future husband, who was a torpedo man and was visiting many towns in the area (a week in one town and then moving on to another) to demonstrate the weapons. We married a year later and at the end of 1943 I left the Navy as I was expecting my first child. We emigrated to Australia in 1949”.
Edna Skinner recalls that Wrens were stationed in the area from 1941 when "the ship" moved from Whiteladies Road. Bristol until 1945 when ‘the ship’ moved to Chelsea. HMS President III was located at Dedworth Manor with its WRNS staff accommodated at Hodgson House Eton College. We understood that this building had been condemned as living accommodation for the College but was considered suitable for the WRNS (perhaps this story was apocryphal). As the staff grew, Clewer Park owned by Mrs Mosscockle, and situated near Clewer Church, was taken over as another and took me to Uxbridge. (Blue Bus service. Windsor to Dorney) Three days later I was back at Dorney with a fatigue party on the clean-up operation for the 608-advance party. A posting later to the Datchet site was also a remembered experience. First
D.E.M.S. service dealt with pay, supply, and other aspects of DEMS gunners all over the world - even dealing with the effects of those lost in action.
This is an extract from Round and About Eton Wick: 1939 - 1945. The book was researched, written and published in 2001 by John Denham.
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