Old Windsor, Berkshire
Historical Description
Windsor, Old, a parish, with a village, in Berks, on the Thames, 2½ miles SE by S of the G.W.R. station at Windsor. It has a post, money order, and telegraph omce under Windsor. Acreage, 5530; population of the civil parish, 2980; of the ecclesiastical, 1625. There is a parish council consisting of nine members. The manor belonged anciently to the Saxon kings, and belongs now to Her Majesty the Queen. Moat Farm is said to have been a hunting seat of the Saxon kings. Beaumont College, sometimes called " the Catholic Eton," now under the direction of the Jesuits, was once occupied by Warren Hastings. Cumberland Lodge, which stands within Windsor Great Park, is the residence of their Royal Highnesses Prince and Princess Christian of Schleswig-Holstein. The Royal Lodge, Woodside, Burfield Lodge, Felling Place, Holly Grove, the Grange, the Manor Cottage, the Friary, and the Priory also are chief residences. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Oxford; net value, £240. Patron, the Lord Chancellor. The church is a building of flint in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, nave, N chapel, S porch, and a western tower with spire. The royal chapel of All Saints stands in Windsor Park, and was erected by Her Majesty for the inhabitants residing in the park. It forms a separate charge, under patronage of the Queen. See also WINDSOR and WINDSOR CASTLE.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Berkshire | |
| Ecclesiastical parish | Windsor St. Peter | |
| Hundred | Ripplesmere | |
| Poor Law union | Windsor |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
The register of St. Peter dates from the year 1754.
Churches
Church of England
Royal Chapel of All Saints, Windsor Park
The Royal chapel of All Saints, in Windsor Park, was erected by Queen Victoria, for the inhabitants residing in the park.
St. Luke's Mission room
St. Luke's licensed mission room, half a mile distant from the church, is a small building of red brick, and has a western turret containing one bell, with 150 sittings.
St. Peter (parish church)
The church of St. Peter is a structure of flint in the Early English style, consisting of chancel, with aisles, nave, south porch, and a western tower with spire, containing 8 bells: there are several stained windows, a brass to John Michel esq. founder of the Michel fellowships at Queen's College, Oxford, and a monument to Colonel Powney, the companion and friend of Charles II.; to Penyston Powney esq. d. 1758; and to his son, Penysron Portlock Powney, d. 1794: in 1893 a memorial window was inserted on the south side to the late Lieut.-Col. George C. E. A. Howard-Vyse, d. 1890; the church was thoroughly restored in 1864, and has about 400 sittings.
Civil Registration
Old Windsor was in Windsor Registration District from 1837 to 1967
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Old Windsor from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Windsor, Old (St. Peter))
- Kelly's Directory of Berkshire, 1915
Land and Property
The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Berkshire is available to browse.
Maps
Online maps of Old Windsor are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- OpenStreetMap.
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Berkshire papers online:
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitations of Berkshire 1532, 1566, and 1665-6 is available online.