Hayward, Cattle Pound and Common Lands

The Hayward, the Cattle Pound and the Common Lands

The hayward grazed the cattle over Lammas lands from the commons, the Slads, Eton Wick Recreation Ground, South Field and back home. The milking herds have virtually all gone, and with them the hayward, but the name lives on in Haywards Mead housing development.

Mr 'Hammer' Stannett, for many years the Lammas Hayward.

The Cattle Pound

Close to the road on the outskirts of Eton is a small brick enclosure - the Pound which was once used to impound cattle and sheep which had strayed from the field and the commons, or which belonged to people who did not have common rights.

The present pound (pictured here) was built in the 19th century, but there were several earlier ones.

The Pound was owned by the Manor of Eton cum Stockdales and Colenorton, which managed the common lands of Eton and Eton Wick and drew up the rules for their use. Eton College became Lord of the Manor in 1940 and in 1948 it held the last Court Leet and Court Baron, when the rules were ratified and a Bailiff and Hayward were elected.

The Hayward was responsible for placing strayed or unauthorised animals in the Pound; owners had to pay a fine before the animals were collected. In the early years of the twentieth century the fine was 6d (6 pennies) per beast for the Hayward, and 10 shillings per beast to the Lord of the Manor.

The plaque on the Pound gate reads:

"The Pound at Folly Bridge for unauthorised cattle from the Great Common in the Manor of Eton cum Stockdales and Colenorton. Restored 1996."

The Commons

There are two commons in the manor - Eton Great Common, which stretches from Eton Wick to Eton, and the Little Common to the north of the village. Commons were permanent pasture where animals belonging to those with common rights were allowed to graze from 1st May to 12th August each year, in the charge of the Hayward. For horses, cows, sheep and children May Day was an exciting day in Eton Wick!

Each commoner could graze his stint - an allotted number of animals based on the area he farmed. One beast was also allowed for every farmstead, house and cottage. The commoner must own the animals and mark them clearly.

Lammas Land

The name "Lammas" comes down from Saxon times. The name originally referred to the "loaf mass", a special religious feast which celebrated the first fruits of the harvest. Lammas Day used to be 1st August, but after the reform of the calendar in 1752 it moved to 12th August. In Eton and Eton Wick the Lammas lands were the large common fields - arable and meadow - which were subject to common pasture rights. This meant that after haymaking and the corn harvest, the cattle, sheep and horses belonging to the commoners (that is those with common rights) were allowed to graze those fields until 31st October.

Lammas rights might well have been a hindrance to the introduction of new crops, such as turnips and potatoes, but in the early 18th century the Eton Court Baron changed the rules to allow the farmers to grow a limited amount of turnip for winter feed for cattle. In earlier times there had been as many as eight farms with livestock in the parish, but there is now only one.

Down the centuries the commons and Lammas lands have had a great influence on the development of the parish. Thanks to them, much of the land has been kept free from buildings. Otherwise the river bank might now be covered with bungalows, and Eton and Eton Wick might have become joined into one large residential district. Instead, the commons and Lammas lands were registered under the Commons Registration Act of 1965.

For more about the Common lands of Eton and Eton Wick, see "The struggle to keep the common land".

Horticultural Show

Eton Wick Horticultural Show

by Joan Ballhatchet

For those of us who grew up in Eton Wick, the Annual Show organised by the Eton Wick Horticultural Society, held on a Wednesday in August, was the highlight of the summer.

We remember big tents with long trestle tables laden with the best vegetables, fruit and flowers from gardens and allotments, the children's collections of wild flowers and grasses and the very popular `Garden on a Plate'.

There were prizes for the best cakes, jam, honey and other food items; ladies and girls entered needlework and there was craft work from the men and boys. All work was to a very high standard.

Outside the tent, in cages, were the best of the poultry, rabbits and other livestock bred in the Society district, which seemed to cover Eton Wick, and Eton with the surrounding villages of Boveney, Dorney, Clewer and Chalvey. There was a tug-of-war for the men, races for the children and mothers, bowling for a pig, guessing the weight of the cake, and sometimes the pig! There were coconut shies and swings, a beer tent, darts, rolling the penny and other money-raising attractions.

In the evening after a 'celebrity' had presented the prizes, there would be dancing to the band which had been playing throughout the day. We all enjoyed it and looked forward to next year's Show but did we ever wonder how it all began?

From the old Eton Parish Magazines, the first of which was published in January 1878, the following is found.

In the June 1878 issue there was an item about the Horticultural and Industrial Society which had been formed under the patronage of the Clergy, members of Eton College and other inhabitants. The committee had decided that there should be an annual Show in August. The report continued:

"It is to be hoped that this effort will prove successful and will receive the encouragement it deserves from all classes in the Parish."

The first Show was held on the afternoon of Wednesday August 21st 1878 in the orchard belonging to Mr. John Brown which I believe was the field we knew as Wheatbutts. It was reported that:

"a numerous gathering of the inhabitants of Eton Wick took place on Wednesday after-noon last, on the occasion of the first exhibition of the Horticultural and Industrial Society... the weather was most propitious and the music rendered by the two bands in attendance added much pleasure to the scene. The various articles exhibited were minutely inspected by the assembled company, having been tastefully arranged for the occasion."

The Show seems to have been run along much the same lines for all the years it was held. The exhibits were grouped in seven or eight divisions with several classes in each, but with some new classes as the years went by and others removed as times changed. The word 'industrial' was eventually dropped and it became known as The Horticultural Show, or just The Show. Reports in the Parish Magazine were very detailed for thirty five years but became less so after the First World War.

The day, the month and the venue of the Show changed from time to time. In 1884 it was held on a Thursday, in a field belonging to the Local Board of Health (this was the Eton Sewage Farm at Bell Farm)... "by kind permission of Mr. Tough", the Society's Treasurer.

In 1891 the Show was held at College Eyot in Eton but it was not so successful and the takings at the gate were down. On several occasions it was held in the Reverend Hale's orchard (Wheatbutts). The Reverend Hale died in 1894 and Mr. Edward Littleton Vaughan, a housemaster at Eton College (and a great benefactor of Eton Wick for more than fifty years) became the occupier of Wheatbutts and that is where the Show was held from 1895 onwards.

From 1911 to 1914, the Show took place on August Bank Holiday Monday. From 1922 to 1939 it reverted to a Wednesday afternoon which in those days was early closing day for most shops; and so the Show went on, the pride of Eton Wick, spanning more than sixty years.

There was always music throughout the day and during the first few years it was provided by the Eton Wick Drum and Fife Band who, in 1887... "were looking very smart in their new uniforms." Later reports speak of the Windsor Volunteer Town Band, The Chalvey Brass Band, The Egham and Englefield Brass Band, The Yiewsley and West Drayton Prize Band and the Slough Police Band.

In the early years, the money prizes seemed quite valuable in relation to a labourer's wages. Prizes of one guinea, ten shillings and sixpence, seven shillings and sixpence, five shillings, and two shillings and sixpence were typical. Useful articles were also awarded, for example a large loaf presented by Mr. Lovell, baker of Eton Wick and the same by Mr. Grove of Dorney. A garden fork presented by Mr. Duffield and a pound of tea by Mr. Pratt the grocer; half a ton of coal, a butter dish, a pair of spoons and even a teapot! There was usually a prize for a collection of natural objects (excluding birds' eggs) and in 1882 Mr. W. Marshall was awarded a prize for his collection of English snails! There was often a display of produce which was not for judging but just to be admired; in the same year it was reported: "Mr Tough again sent, from the Eton Sewage Farm, a collection of wonderfully grown wheat, oats, cabbage and other produce."

In 1883 the County Prize was for the third time carried off by Mr. Ayres. The hand-some Silver Medal given by Mr. Way of Windsor for the chief prize winner in the cottagers' class for flowers, fruit and vegetables was awarded to Mr. Henry Trotman. Mr. Robert Trotter was really entitled to this medal but by mistake it was awarded to Mr. Trotman and Mr. Trotter generously resigned his claim. These two gentlemen always entered a lot of classes and gained many prizes and in 1885 they had been awarded an equal number of marks; this time Mr. Trotman gave way to Mr. Trotter. Then in the magazine for June 1889 I read:

"A valued school teacher at Eton Wick and a member of the Church Choir, Mr. Robert Trotter, has just started with his wife and child to Brisbane. Thus, no more competition for Mr. Trotman from Mr. Trotter!"

For many years, in the needlework classes there was something called 'Marking'. I didn't know what this was and failed to find the answer in a dictionary. The Women's Institute craft leader didn't know either but we finally decided that it must be a type of embroidery used to mark linen. Girls going into service would need to know how to mark their garments. Had Cash's embroidered name tags been invented in the 1880s? Even if they had, a girl just starting out in work could not have afforded them.

In 1888 the first allotments in the Parish were instituted by the Church of England Temperance Society. These were in Eton and there were sixty plots of ten poles apiece. It was not until 1894, when Eton Wick was separated from Eton and became a civil parish with the Eton Rural District, that several parcels of land throughout the village were leased from the Crown for allotments.

Over the years the Show had its ups and downs, and the 1892 report reads:

"The Annual Show was originally started to benefit the labouring classes rather than the artisan class in the Village, and of late years it has ailed in this particular."

This probably referred to the Division which was for Professionals and Market Gardeners. Public Meetings were held, grievances aired and new rules were drawn up...

"to bring the Society back to its original object." 

The general verdict was that the exhibition of 1892 had formed a starting point for better shows in the coming years.

The entries of 'Best Cooked Dinner' had always fascinated me and I found that this class was introduced in 1893. Two prizes of twelve shillings and sixpence and seven shillings and sixpence were given by Mr. P. Williams of Eton College. According to the report, the entry was limited to one dish and one family and to an outlay of one shilling. The size of the family was not determined!

A falling off in the number of exhibits was frequently reported and often it seemed that the Committee barely covered its expenses, or even ran at a loss. In 1896 the 19th Annual Show was very disappointing, and the villagers were admonished for not supporting the Committee.

"who spared neither pains, time nor money to make the Show a success... the vegetables and flowers were quite average quality but miserably few as regards number of exhibits. If the Show is to continue, and to be in the future what is has been in the past - the gala day of Eton Wick - then the inhabitants must back up the sterling, self-sacrificing work of the Committee by making honest efforts to increase the number and quality of exhibits."

Eton Wick Horticultural Show c 1900 - THE event of the year.

Among the Industrial exhibits in 1904 was a Swan and Lake scene cleverly made of fish scales and Mr. Borrett of Jersey Farm displayed two live wasps' nests among the Honorary exhibits!

From mid-1917 to 1920, no Parish magazines were published due to the 1914-1918 war but in March 1920 a Public Meeting was called by the remaining members of the Society to discuss its future. There are twenty two names on our War Memorial, so I wonder how many members of the Society had survived to attend that meeting? The report stated: "The question before the tillage is whether the old society is to die or live, and if it is to live, what means should be taken to give it vitality?"

It was hard on the new management that the weather in 1920 "was not kind" which meant a big loss financially. I was pleased to read, however, that the 1921 Show was a success. Future reports were sparse, but in 1930 the following appeared:

"We are sorry to say that the gate money does not fully represent the attendance, as quite a number of people were mean enough to make their way in by unintended ways to avoid paying the small entrance fee."

The horse and cart loaned by Bert Bond the greengrocer, and laden with produce donated by members of Eton Wick Horticultural Society, prepares to leave Eton Wick to join the procession taking part in King Edward VII's Hospital Parade around Windsor c1931.

On the cart, Ted Bond. Standing, left to right, are Mr. Benham, George Paget, Bert Bond, 

Mr Hemmings (Secretary), Joe Clark, Hugh Haverly, Ernie Woolhouse, 

Bert Benham (not believed to be related to the Benham on the left) and Harry Young.

The Show of August 1939 was "the best ever". Then came the 1939 -1945 war and the Horticultural Society was not mentioned again in the Parish Magazine. In November 1942 when 'Dig for Victory' was the slogan, it was reported that The Eton Wick and Boveney Allotments and Produce Association had been started. After the war, the Allotments Show Tent became a feature of the Scout Fete. Later, for a few years, a small Show was held in the Village Hall.

In 1934 the Parishes of Eton Wick and Boveney became part of the Eton Urban District. In the 1950s when the Council needed land for housing, the allotments were among the few large sites available, but Eton Wick allotments were on Lammas land which, by law, could not be built on. However, Lammas land could be exchanged for land which was not subject to Lammas Rights. Eton Council's former sewage farm at Bell Farm was such a site and the allotments were re-located there.

Eton Wick now has a thriving Allotments Association which is greatly valued by the community. Those who do not rent a plot can become Associate Members for £1 a year and on Sunday mornings we can go to the 'allotment shed' and buy compost, fertiliser, seeds, plants and other items for our gardens; but the Horticultural Show is just a happy memory.

Sixties Childhood in Eton Wick

A Sixties Childhood in Eton Wick by Steven Denham My parents, Betty and John Denham, along with my two brothers, Michael and Andrew and sister, Amanda moved to Eton Wick from Tiverton in September 1960. I was seven and a half at the time. My first view of the village was from the Blue Bus that our Aunt and we boys used to get from Windsor station. I sure that at the time it seemed both quite an adventure as well as being anxious about coming to a new place and having to make new friends. We moved into a new house in Queens Road, I remember that the road was concrete and not completed. There were very few motorcars unlike today. I do remember that like Tiverton, Eton Wick has its fields and is near a river so it did not feel completely alien. Soon after moving in the fire brigade had to be called as the chimney had become blocked by building rubble and smoke was getting in to the house next door. In the week after moving in I started at Eton Wick School in Mrs Miles’ class, 1st year juniors. It seemed a very strange experience, the infant school I went to was new and Mrs Miles taught her class in the old part of the School as only the top three years had classrooms in the new part of the school. I tried my best, but found school very difficult and I have been told since that Mrs Miles did not find me easy to teach. In 1961, when I was eight I joined the Wolf Cubs. The pack was lead by Margaret and John Fennel who helped me achieve success in things and ways that I just could not do at school. A significant memory was the Gang Shows which Tommy Neighbour had a great deal to do with the direction of. I don’t recall who helped them. Cubs was a special experience that ended when I went up to the scout troop after gaining my Leaping Wolf. In April 1962 the Queen was driven through the village and all the school children were lined up along the Eton Wick Road outside of the Church and waved as she passed by. She did not stop as this was before she started her 'walk-abouts’. Another event that I recall that year was that winter arrived with a vengeance on Boxing Day. I remember measuring over 6 inches of lying snow in our back garden. For a nine year old it was a real treat and quite unlike any winter I had seen before or after. There were snowball fights to be had and snow dens to be made before school returned. The Thames froze at Windsor, but it must have been cold at home as there was only a limited amount of central heating in our house. The snow was piled up along the sides of the Eton Wick Road and some of these piles stayed around for many weeks, brrrr. 1963 gave me an opportunity to sit the 10 plus which with hindsight it is no surprise that I failed. Mr Moss must have seen some hope in me as he selected me for his top group of 11 plus hopefuls. Of Eton Wick School I have many memories. Sport must have been high on the agenda as there was the new swimming pool, football and the annual sports day. The school/PTA also ran the annual Village shinty and rounders competitions which were always hard fought contests. Being a Church of England school had an impact on the school year. Ascension Day was celebrated with the whole school community attending a service in the Church followed by having the rest of the day as a Holiday. The Christmas Nativity Play was performed in the church. The school Christmas parties were always held in the village hall. 1964 was a year of change, I had the disappointment of not following my brothers to Slough Grammar having failed the 11 plus. My mum and dad got me into The Orchard Secondary Modern, which was in Stoke Road, Slough. The Orchard was the only Secondary Modern that provided an opportunity to take ‘O’ levels. The day I started I missed the school bus I should have caught, but managed to get on to the bus taking children St Ethelbert’s and St Joseph’s. I was the only child from Eton Wick starting in that year so I made friends with children from Slough, Langley and Maidenhead. As it is nowadays secondary schools work in a completely different way to junior schools so there was a great deal to find out.     Scout Fete: Tent Pitching Competition left to right: Steven Denham, Graham Stallard, Mark Dobson, John Garnham, David Longmore. 1965. One of the major events in the village each year was the Scout Fete held on the Wheatbutts. There were lots of sideshows such as roll a penny, hoopla and darts. The main arena was the venue for many different events, which included an annual tent pitching competition held between the village scouts and scouts from other troops in the district. I seem to remember that the village Guides also competed some years. I do recall that one-year the team that I was leading managed a very quick time only to discover that we had mixed up the tent poles and the canvass of the walls was several inches off the ground! 1966 was the year that England won the World Cup. I went to see one match at Wembley with my brothers and a friend; I think it was Mexico v Uruguay. On the day of the final I travelled to South Wales with the Scout Troop for a weeks camp. I remember that it rained almost everyday. 1967. Soon after I was thirteen I started my first job as a newspaper delivery boy for Gowers. My round covered Colnorton Crescent, Moores Lane and Stockdales Road. I got paid 12s 6d (62p) for Monday to Saturday. How things stay the same, I still do paper rounds, but now for my own business when the boys don’t turn up. The papers have changed gone are the Daily Herald and Sketch, the Sun and Independent have arrived and they are all much heavier. 1968. There was a major outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease that hit the country and the dairy farms in the village took necessary precautions. I remember going with a friend on his round to deliver papers and going no further than the gate. On August Bank Holiday Monday the second ‘Wicko’ was held on the old recreation ground. This was very different from the Scout Fete it had a lot more side shows as well as some spectacular arena events and a tug of war competition that attracted team from a wide area. 1969 was the last year I went to school. In May and June I took 5 ‘O’ levels and attained a good enough mark in 4 of them to gain passes. After finishing school I started a temporary job with Frank Bond in his greengrocers shop along with David Fearn. In July, Frank invited us to watch the launch of Apollo 11 that lead to the first moon landing. I remember it quite vividly as it was the first time I have seen colour TV. I went with the Scouts to the Wye Valley for the summer camp that as in the previous 3 years was great fun with the addition of canoeing. But when the summer was over it was off to work at WH Smith and Son in Slough.

The German Night Raid on February 22-23,1944

The German Night Raid on the Maidenhead / Bray Area

February 22-23, 1944.

The 564 (M) HAA. Troop stationed on Dorney Common

The retaliation air raid on west London shortly after midnight of 22nd/23rd February 1944 by the German Luftwaffe was carried out by 155 aircraft made up of Dornier 217 M’s, Ju 188’s and Me 410 A’s.

This resulted in bombs being dropped on the Maidenhead area - probably the largest bombing attack on this area during the entire war.

At about midnight clusters of flares had been dropped over the Thames and drifted southwest towards the Weybridge area. About this time 15 Messerschmitt Me 410 A’s took off from France. They were quickly picked up by Radar and Mosquito aircraft of 96 Squadron and night fighter action started near the South coast and continued over the Slough, Maidenhead Bray area.

As the raid continued, the Do 217’s joined the Me 410’s and possibly to elude their pursuers jettisoned their bombs on St. Leonards farm, south east of Oakley Green and Bray. Bombs also fell between Bray Police Station and the 8th Fairway of Maidenhead Golf Course. As the attack continued other bombs fell in the Maidenhead / Bray area, one falling in a field leaving a crater 12ft by 5ft diameter and damaging 50 houses. It is thought that this device could have been dropped by the Me 410 engaged by the guns of 564 Battery stationed on SM7 Site, Dorney Common.

The 564 (M) HAA. Troop, stationed on Dorney Common with four 3.72" AA Guns, engaged the Me 410 at 11,800 ft with CS type fire using 42 rounds of ammunition. The battery return states, An Me 410, after engagement by site SM7, banked sharply, jettisoned bombs and flares close by and crashed in flames at Radnage, near High Wycombe.

A witness who happened to see the crash said, "It approached from the south at very high speed, the engines screaming at full throttle, leaving an extremely long trail of flame. Indeed as the aircraft hit the ground, this flame set fire to a nearby hedge".

Battery commander Major Haines sent a guard party to the crash site. They returned to Dorney Camp with one of the plane propellers, a trophy of their victory. A celebration party by the Battery followed their success as Major Haines ordered the NAAFI canteen to be opened.

Do you have any wartime memories of life in and around Eton Wick? Why not add a message to the Guestbook.

Eton Wick Church Choir, late 1940s

Eton Wick Church Choir, late 1940s

From left to right, back row: Mr Meads; Harry Prior; Mr Waite (organist); Alf Mines; Jim Stannett; Raymond Miles; Jack Stacey; Harry Prior (junior); Tom Prior; Mr Hussey; Ken Weller (organist); Dave Prior (organ pumper); George Batt.
Middle row: Bill Swain; Alan Higgins; Michael Thorn; Reg Willsher; Rev'd Christopher Hare; Michael Stacey; Dennis Swain; Bob Chinnery.
Front row: Peter Phillips; Michael Phillips; John Alder; Michael Miles.

Former choir member Mr Reg Willsher has kindly contributed the following information:
The Priest in Charge at Eton Wick as in the photograph is the Revd. Christopher Hare. He lived at 10 The Cloisters, Windsor Castle, as he was also a Minor Cannon there. He was well loved in the village, and I have a picture of a group of children and parents sitting with him on a seaside beach (probably Southsea) where we had gone for a church outing.

He and his wife (Kathleen?) were prominent members of the Windsor & Eton Choral Society, and Mrs Hare, an excellent soprano, was usually the soloist in "The Messiah" performances they gave in the Eton College School Hall.

Also around that time, I remember that as a fundraising event following the 1947 floods (in which the church was flooded) a Mr & Mrs Smith who lived at the Farm (which I knew as Bell Farm at the other end of Bell Lane) organised the production of a Nativity Play. Mr Smith was a Surveyor (or similar) official with the Eton Urban District Council and was somehow able to acquire of load of scaffolding planks which were laid across the choir stalls in church to create a stage, and from a horizontal metal tie rail above the chancel steps (which may be still there) were hung curtains. The church became a theatre. Mrs Smith was Mary, and I played the part of a blind boy. I believe there were two or three evening performances.

Also in the photo of the choir is Ken Weller (organist) and I remember he was an officer in the Royal Air Force and came home on leave occasionally to his parents' home in "The Walk", and then played in church organ in his uniform..! On other occasions, Mr Waite played the organ. Ken took over the choir following his being demobbed from the RAF.

Eventually the Rev'd Hare moved to Taplow where he became Rector, and Ken Weller also moved there to become organist of the Taplow Parish Church. Both have since died.

- Reg Willsher (November 2010)


If you would like to add your own memories about Eton Wick Church or the church choir, please get in touch.

Eton Wick and neighbourhood map

Eton Wick lies in the Thames Valley, in the county of Berkshire, not far from the towns of Windsor, Slough, Maidenhead and of course, Eton.

Eton Wick and neighbourhood

The Village Hall in Eton Wick

The Eton Wick Village Hall

1905

"Now that the Commoners of Eton have given their consent, and the piece of land presented by Mr. Vaughan has been freed from Lammas rights, we are justified in hoping that the Eton Wick Institute will be built, opened, and be proving a welcome addition to the comforts of the parishioners of Eton Wick and Boveney before many more months have passed."

Eton Wick village hall, first known as 'The Institute', was opened on January 22nd 1907, the commemorative stone in the porch having been laid by Mr Vaughan on Friday November 16th 1906.

A brief ceremony attended by a gathering of parishioners and invited guests ended with the singing of '0 God our help in ages past' by the village school children.The evening entertainment on the day was given by Mr EMS Pilkington, the architect of the building, entitled 'The amusements of a London Boy' and illustrated with lantern slides.

The land was a gift from Edward Littleton Vaughan. a great benefactor to the village, known affectionately as 'Toddy' Vaughan. The purpose of the Institute was to provide recreation for men and boys and to encourage fellowship. Equipped with a billiard room, reading room and a bar selling non-alcoholic drinks with light refreshments, it quickly became a popular place replacing the old Working Men's club that had met at the Wheatbutts.

However, within the year the women and girls of the village let it be known that they were disappointed at being excluded. By December, due to the influence and kindness of Mr Vaughan, the situation was remedied and the formation of a Women's and girls club was formed. Girls over thirteen years of age could become members on payment of one penny per week and one shilling per quarter, allowing them to participate in gymnastics, dancing, sewing classes etc. Originally the upstairs room was for gymnastics with the billiard tables on the ground floor. This caused some inconvenience as the vaulting and jumping brought flakes of whitewash down from the ceiling onto the tables.

Over the years several village concert parties have performed in the hall, including a Minstrel Troop in the 1920's, and variety groups named the Shoestrings and the Unity Players post World War II.
The hall was enlarged in 1929 and further extensions were made in the post war years. During the early years of World War II the hall became the school for the evacuees billeted in Eton Wick.
Today the ground floor of the hall is used by the County library service and the Youth club, whilst the two rooms upstairs are used by village organisations for various activities.

How the hall began

1905 A meeting of intending members was held on December 22nd, in the school-room, with Mr. Vaughan in the chair. The meeting elected a Committee of twelve to hold office for the year 1906. It was agreed that five of these be ex-officio members, namely, one Eton College master, the Chairman of the Eton Wick Parish Council, the Chairman of the Boveney Parish Council, the Bailiff of the Common, and the Assistant Curate at Eton Wick.

Mr Edward Littleton Vaughan

The other seven were elected by ballot and were Messrs Burfoot senior, Long, Hammans senior, Ashman, A. Nottage, Elkins, and Blake.

 At a subsequent Committee meeting, Mr. Vaughan was elected as Chairman.

1906

The Eton Wick and Boveney Institute is on the high road towards completion and already the handsome red brick building has called forth expressions of admiration from those who have seen it.
On Friday afternoon, November 16th, the Founder laid in the porch a massive stone bearing the inscription, " The Eton Wick and Boveney Institute, Founded 1906." In a short speech Mr. Vaughan stated his desire that the Institute should prove a boon to the inhabitants of the two parishes, and after mentioning his conditions—that the management must be entirely unpolitical and undenominational—declared the stone duly and properly laid. This interesting ceremony was witnessed by most of the members of the Committee (one of whom had returned from London expressly for the purpose), by the workmen engaged upon the building, and by the Architect, Mr. Pilkington.

A vote of thanks to the generous donor was proposed by Mr. Moore and seconded by Mr. Smith, who said he felt sure that Mr. Vaughan would feel amply repaid if the institute were used and appreciated by those for whom it was intended.

oooOooo

MR. Vaughan, Chairman of the Eton Wick and Boveney Institute Committee, wishes to express opinion on two points, as to which there has been some misunderstanding.

The Institute is to be undenominational, and by undenominational the Committee mean that no account is to be taken, as to membership or in forming a Committee, or in any other Way, of anyone's denomination.

Secondly, it has been said in the Parish that the Committee opposes total abstinence. This is very far from being the case, but the Committee unanimously think that it would not be wise now to have a total abstinence society in connection with our Institute, which aims at uniting the Parish.