Riverside, west of the Tower, north bank. Eton
Riverside, west of the Tower, north bank. Eton
This post has siges north of the river only. South of the river is Windsor Riverside and Castle
Post to the west Cuckoo Weir and Clewer
Post to the east Windsor Sports at Home Park and Datchet Mead
Baldwin’s Shore
The road once ran alongside a ditch, hence the name
Baldwin’s Shore – building used as accommodation for masters at the school. It was the oldest ‘house’ of the school used since at least 1682. It has a replica front and was rebuilt in 1964.
Baldwin’s Bec. This is a ‘house’ of the school. Originally dating from 1840 when there were objections as to its height
Baldwin’s End. Masters house of 1908 with a plaque depicting Henry VI
Baldwin’s End. Remains of previous Baldwin’s End with a gallery of 1890. This ‘house’ was burnt down and rebuilt in 1903
Baldwin’s End Cottage. Used as a masters house. Designed by T B Carter.
Corner House. Three storeys in red and vitreous brick
Barnes Pool
This is an area between the High Street and Slough Road around the area where the brook passes under the road. It was also known as Baldwin’s pool.
Gullivers and Gullivers End. Built in the 18th in red brick. There is a plaque “To commemorate Hugh MacNaghten who from 1899 to 1920 occupied Jourdelay's Place. This stone is set here by his old boys & pupils.” The house was used as a boarding house.
107-108 Christopher Inn was built in 1511, on Baldwin’s Bridge next to the college. In the 18th the College leased it and partly rebuilt it. There were lots of coaches and hired vehicles and a lot of noise. In the mid 19th the College had it closed down and used it themselves for teaching and some accommodation. It is now divided into two but has the remains of a mediaeval hall and some 17th fittings.
Old St Christopher's. Flats built 1720 as a coaching inn around an inner yard with a 19th upper storey. At the back the yard is weather-boarded, with wood balustrade, once open, now backed by boarding. It has had multiple uses since mainly connected with the college
Hodgson House. This consists of a number of buildings the earliest dating from the 1720s. Its present form dates from 1844 when Dr.Hodgson was the Provost. On the ground floor are the Eton Society "Pop” rooms, entered by wooden steps with balustrade. It includes Hodgson's, which was an 18th boarding house and drinking place from the 19th; Tap in Old Christopher’s yard which was a boarding house with catering, Rowlands an 18th house used for boarding, and Elliot Schools from the 20th. Rowlands originally sold socks but were the originators of the Eton Mess pudding.
Eton College Information Centre. This was once Alden & Blackwell (Booksellers). Mid 19th building in red brick and with a shop window
Carter House. 18th red brick building. The front railings are particularly noted. This is described as a high status town house adapted as a boarding house for Eton College boys.
Hawtrey and Durnford Houses. Two houses form 1846. More college accommodation
Eton College Stores. A symmetrical range of buildings with four shops with accommodation above. Built in 1930, in red brick. Previous school stores included small shops, one of which was Rowlands, above,
Brocas Street
1 Windsor Bridge House. On the site of the old Bridge House Hotel.
Waterman's Arms. Founded in 1542 and built in 1682. , One of Eton's oldest pubs. It was the home of brewer Robert Style and also said to be the Eton workhouse and mortuary but has been a pub since the mid-1800s. The restaurant used to be the courtyard and the trees are still in place.
Rafts Boathouse. This served Eton College’s boating activities before the construction of the Eton Dorney Rowing Lake. There are four separate boat sheds: River House, Winters Boathouse, Tin Shed and Pilkington Boat House. This is an 18t h red brick building facing the Thames with modern additions and four 4 wide openings for boats
Church Close
St.John the Evangelist’s Church. This dates from 1852-4 designed by B Ferrey in decorated style. There had been a previous chapel of ease here built by William Hetherington in 1769, replaced in 1819. Prince Albert laid the foundation stone for this church in 1852 and it was big enough to take over 1000 people. Hobby the 1950s it was in poor repair and very few people were in the congregation and it was closed in 1981. Then Eton College took over some of it as the College Sanatorium and the local Health Centre was on the ground floor, plus some flats for the staff. The church was on the first floor a rededicated.
Churchyard.
3 South Meadow Surgery. Medical Centre with GP surgery and NHS clinics.
Colenorton Brook
This is a small tributary of the River Thames located to the north west of the town centre. Flowing eastwards, this watercourse outfalls into the Thames
Eton College
The college was founded in 1440 by Henry VI as ‘The King’s College of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor’ . The school was part of a large organisation which included an religious community and an almshouse. 70 poor scholars were to receive free education. Buildings were constructed during the mid and later 15th and eventually the almshouse and community were abandoned. In the 17th the upper classes began to send their children to the school and before long it became fashionable to educate boys at Eton. Today the school takes about 1,290 teenage boys including the scholars the rest being fee payers.
Brewhouse and bakehouse. Built in 1714 as the college brewery and bakery. This now contains the Brewhouse Gallery set up in 1969. It has one of the world’s finest private collections of Egyptian Art bequeathed in 1899 by Major William Joseph Myers.
Brewhouse Yard, a service yard giving access to the adjacent service buildings, and beyond to the south to Baldwin’s Shore Lane. The college stopped brewing its own beer following a fire in 1875.
Bunker. Constructed in 1959 by H D Bowyer of Slough, the bunker is underneath one of the ‘houses’ and was an integral part of the building.
Chambers. This was off the school yard and was used as living accommodation and offices by the Headmaster and senior staff.
Cloister Court. This dates from the 15th and is surrounded by an open cloister around a square lawn, with a small, square, central stone pond and fountain. It originally provided housing for priests and Fellows. There are a number of specific war memorial plaques in the Cloister and a Cloister pump stood here.
College Library. This is for staff rather than the boys. Originally books were kept chained up in the chapel vestry. They moved in the 16th and chains were removed in 1791 except for Founders manuscripts. It was rebuilt in 1725. This library contains older books and muniments. Obviously much of it is very valuable.
Fountain. This is a tiered fountain in Cloister Court and has now been replaced because of erosion. Its ornate pedestals supports three decorative shell bowls surmounted by a naturalistic bud.
College Hall, where priests, Head Master, and scholars could eat, was in use by 1450. It was restored in 1858. This was probably finished in 1450 and confirms to Henry VI’s will. There was a high table with designated seating for various categories of masters and the posher pupils and a Latin grace. Various things were carved on the walls. There are many portraits and inscriptions. Food was always roasts with no vegetables except mashed potatoes which was followed by plum pudding. At Michaelmass they had goose and chicken on Founders Day. Old women from the Town were allowed to come and take away any edible remains.
Drawing School. These have facilities for painting, drawing, printmaking, computer graphics and digital photography. There are regular exhibitions and there is a library that also serves as a lecture room.
Election Hall, this was originally the library. Not sure who is being elected but there are events with a lot of food and speeches in Latin. Boys who are leaving give money to the Provost, I think/
Eton Fives courts. Fives is a game which originally consisted of hitting a ball against a section of the chapel wall in the old school yard
Fellows' or College Garden extends east from Cloister Court. The Garden is raised up and enclosed by a brick wall. it includes a large London Plane, and a cedar of Lebanon,.
Kitchen – this was originally built over the Barnes Pool Stream, since diverted. It contained a clockwork jack.
Headmaster’s Room. Reached from the School Yard and where floggings took place – 72 boys at a time by John Keate.
Headmaster's Garden/kitchen garden. this is enclosed by brick walls and service buildings and may once have been a kitchen garden,
Long Chamber. This was a vast dormitory where originally the 70 scholars slept. Boys were locked in from 6 pm; it was cold, and dirty. There was very little food and organised rat hunts.
Lower School. This was the original Eton schoolroom and had a single class room below and a large dormitory called the Long Chamber above. The wooden pillars were added as supports in 1624. Pupils carved their names on shutters and elsewhere.
Lupton’s Range with Lupton’s Tower .This was built in 1520 by Henry Redman providing extra accommodation for the head of the College, the Provost. A gateway at the bottom of Lupton's Tower gives access to cloister court and it contained a clock moved to it in 1765. A monument was installed here to the Grenadier Guards who died in the Great War.
Museum, The Museum of Eton Life tells the story of the foundation of the College in 1440
Provost’s Garden. this is west of the Headmaster's Garden, The garden is largely lawn with perimeter borders and specimen trees and shrubs, including a holm oak. At the centre is a circular paved feature
School Yard. The buildings of the church and college of Eton are grouped round the school yard built in the 1440s. The church is along the southern range and the on western and northern ranges are the Upper and Lower Schools. On the east are the cloister buildings. It was laid with cobbles and stone paths in 1716 and relaid in the late 20th. In the 1921 a bronze frieze here was dedicated as a Roll of Honour to Etonians who died in the Great War.
Statue of the Founder, Henry VI by Francis Bird 1719 which stands at the centre of School Yard
Memorial garden. This is from the north gateway where semicircular stone steps lead into the sunken garden, laid out in 1929 as a memorial to King Prajadhipok of Siam.
Upper School. This is one of the oldest parts of the school. From 1691-1863 most teaching took place here – with enormous classes of 400-500 boys and a major disorder problem Some classroom conditions were very bad – Cockloft at the top was dangerously overcrowded. The Black Hole was worse. Some of it was destroyed by Second World War bombing, now rebuilt
Eton Court
Our Lady of Sorrows church. This is a Roman Catholic Church built in 1914; by Alfred Lord Braye in Italian Baroque style. Eton College had recently purchased the building, It wad church is Eton’s first and only Roman Catholic Chapel. Lord Brave wanted to provide a catholic place of worship for catholic boys at the school. He thus purchased some land in 1905. The dedication to Our Lady of Sorrows was in reparation for the destruction of the Lady Altar in the reign of Edward V1. The church was not readily welcomed by Eton College and there were restrictions on the type of building that could be sited there. By 1920 boys were allowed to attend Mass. Inside is a riot of golden surfaces, marble, malachite and lapis lazuli altars. Lord Braye furnished the church at his own expense and gave some of the contents from his own chapel at his home and it is also suggested that the chapel was fitted out with items from Frogmore Chapel, Windsor.
Jubilee Square. This was a joint venture between the Baldwin's Bridge Trust and Eton Town Council in 2012 to celebrate three things - Queen Elizabeth II's diamond jubilee, the centenary of the Baldwin's Institute and the coming of the 2012 Olympics to Eton Dorney. This has led to a creation of a public urban space which was opened in 2012 by the Provost of Eton College.
Baldwin and Austen-Leigh Institute built in 1911 by E L Ware in the Arts and Craft style. E.C. Austen-Leigh purchased slum housing called Eton Court in 1909 and donated the site for the erection of a Parish Hall. The architect of the building was Edmond L. Warre and it was opened in 1912. Jubilee Square was commissioned as part of the centenary celebrations of this event in 2012.
Upholstery works. This was present in the 1950s
Eton Square
1-14 Bragnells Buildings. 1714 now called Godolphin Almshouses. These were built for Provost Henry Godolphin in 1714 to house ten elderly women.
59 Charteris House Day Centre. The building was the New Inn, ex-public house built around 1840.
Cottage flats built in 1935 by the Eton Society for the Improvement of Cottage Accommodation
Eton Wick Road
Cattle pound. This brick rectangle is a restored cattle pound. A plaque records that it was restored in 1996 as "pound at Folly Bridge for unauthorised cattle from the Great Common in the Manor of Eton cum Stockdales and Colenorton."
Burnham Thorpe. House built in 1844-6; by James Deason in flint Tudor Gothic style. Belongs to Eton College. Was this built in connection with the cemetery given the date and architect?? Burnham Thorpe was Nelson’s home, so what is the connection there?
Willow Tree Pub. This closed in the early 1970s and is now housing,
Eton Parish Cemetery. Cemetery chapel. 1844-6, by James Deason in flint Victorian Gothic, Early English style. Lychgate designed. 1844-6 by James Deason. The cemetery was opened in 1846 and for a while the chapel was used for the younger boys at the college. On the gate is carved In memory of the members of the Eton CLB (Church Lads Brigade) Club old members ‘club who fell in the Great War 1914-1919”
Masters Field. Sports field with astro turf and hockey pitches
Judy’s Passage - A narrow pedestrian pathway providing a convenient short cut through the centre of Eton College.
Mustians. One of the ‘houses’ of Eton College. Mustians was the name of a local farm. This was built for A.C.Ainger an assistant master in the late 19th but the present building is from 1937 by Worthington
Cotton Hall House, One of the ‘houses’ of Eton College. Built for H.E.Marindin in 1870 by William White in ‘Domestic Revival’ style
Westbury. One of the ‘houses’ of Eton College. Colcutt 1899 and built on the gardens of Keate House. William Westbury was Headmaster in the 1440s
Waynefleet. This is one of the ‘houses’ of Eton College. Designed by Colcutt in 1899 and built on the gardens of Keate House. William Waynefleet was Provost in the 1440s
Walpole House. This is one of the ‘houses’ of Eton College designed by Colcutt in 1906. Sir Robert Walpole was a pupil here in the 1690s.
Beckyington. School canteen built by Powell and Moya in 1972. There is a moat and small garden courts. It is named for Thomas Beckyington who preached his first sermon here as Bishop of Bath and Wells in 1443. The food is VERY posh.
High Street
102 Council Offices. Built in 1904 as the fire station it became the main office for Eton Urban District Council. There is an Art Nouveau style plaque on the building with the three lilies of Eton.
110 The Christopher Hotel. The upper floors were originally used as a magistrate’s court and then at end of the 19th it became a billiards room. In the 1960-0’s it was used for music gigs.
118 has timber framed barn at back joined to house
1-2 Tom Brown’s Tailors shop, built 1875. A double fronted building in a Victorian Venetian style, with decorative cast iron columns to the shop front. At the back is a store built in the 19th now converted to offices but has its original loft opening
136 Eton Library
136 The Bridge House. This was for the Baldwin Bridge Trust and built in 1890 designed by Robert Aborn. This was the trust set up to look after this small bridge and funded by rents from the housing round it. It employs a bridgemaster and others. In the late 19th this was the office of the Urban District Council.
14 Eton Porny Church of England First School, This was earlier called Porny and St John’s school and it replaced the earlier school set up Porny. It was initially a national school. It consists of a school and a master's house built 1863-73, to the designs of G.E. Street. The Master's house is at the front with an archway end through to schoolrooms at rear, a larger range was added in 1873
15-16 Coutts Bank. Early 20th building in red brick
29 Porny School built in 1813. It is an early 19th brick building. The school moved in the 1860s to no 14/15 and this became the parish rooms. It has also been a club room or ex service men. There is a plaque on the building to Mark Anthony Porny who taught French at Eton College.
3 Tudor Stores. Late 18th red brick building with an old shop-front and a stone plaque at first floor ‘Established 1799 – Groceries and Provisions’
37 Henry VI Pub. This was previously the Three Tuns a 19th white painted brick building.
44 this was the New College Arms Pub. Long since closed
47-49 Cockpit. This dates from 1475 with a timber frame. It was said to include the remains of a cockpit with a knuckle bone floor but it is now said that this was a slaughter house.
54 Built in 1891 as a private bank, but used as the Police Station 1936 - 1972. It is decorated and has a stone door way and terracotta motifs
77 Prince George Inn. 19th building with the front to High Street; at the back is a 17th L-shaped back building facing a yard opening which opens on to Brocas Street.
84-85 Crown and Cushion Pub. 17th and 18th building. It originally had a stable block at the back. Claims to have been a coaching inn since 1793
8-9 Barclays Bank. Brick building with stone dressings and carved stone panels showing the buildings’ use and includes some medical imagery. Built in 1931 to the designs of local architects Edgington and Spink.
98 once called The Turk’s Head. This is a 17th timber framed building behind a 19th front. There is a central carriageway to a courtyard.
Bob Smith. This was an 18th fishing rod manufacturer who had a business on the riverside to the east of the bridge. He made ‘Eton Mark’ which was famous among anglers.
Book Pound. This was a shop where lost school books could gibe taken and retrieved.
Bridge House Hotel. Once called the Catherine Wheel. This has now been replaced by a modern building with an address in Brocas Street
Bridge. This is dated 1883 and designed by A.M. Fowler, engineer. It is a wide single-span bridge taking the High Street over Barnes's Pool. No boy from the school was supposed to cross this bridge after nightfall.
Gate piers to St.John's Church with two associated bronze tablets badges of Rifle Brigade and Church Lads Brigade
Post-box, an early example of its type, it dates from 1854. It has a fluted pillar surmounted by a pill-box
Sun Inn. This was an ancient building demolished at the end of he 19th. There are said to have been large oak beams in it and a Sun Insurance plaque on the wall.
Keates Lane
This was once called Woodward Lane and the name was changed to call it after the Headmaster. John Keate, in the 19th
Sign about the distance to Maidenhead
Jourdelays. 17th buildings with 19th additions in red brick. It is a boys'’ house’ of Eton College. The name of the house dates back to 1441 when it was owned by Thomas Jourdelay. It was built by Andrew Snape and his initials are on the rainwater head.
Ballard’s House. 17th or 18th building in colour washed brick. Another ‘house’.
Keate House. Another 18th red brick boarding house named after headmaster, John Keate.
Montague James School – classics department classrooms
Elliott Schools – economics department classrooms
Science School
American sweet gum tree behind the Science School
Queens School a building with computer and science departments, the building is by Blomfield in red brick. The foundation stone for these was laid by Victoria in 1889.
Lower Chapel built in 1890 by Arthur Blomfield as there were too many boys for the original chapel. Refurbished in 1924 by Walter Tapper. It is dedicated to St.Mary the Virgin and seats 500 boys. Many of the fittings were donated by old Etonians. Windows reflect the virtues. Tapestries were given as a First World War memorial from the Morris Merton works and show the life of St.George.
Music Schools, Music was not taught at Eton in the early 19th and revived in the 1870s. The current schools have an attached concert hall and rehearsal rooms
King Stables
The street appears to be named after the royal stables which were probably at the east end of the road. They were mentioned in 1512 and new mews was built in Windsor in 1770’s
Church. There are stories that a medieval church stood on a site here but there is no evidence for this.
Eton Wharf House. This was on the site of a malt house, which was present in the 1770s. This included a yard fronting onto the Thames. This had been demolished by the mid 19th and replaced by a coal shed and a wharf. It was later a sawmill and a builders yard until it became a rowing clubhouse, Eton Wharf House.
Eton Excelsior Rowing Club. This was founded in 1826 formally in 1851.The club’s original boat house, used for more than 150 years, was leased from Eton College here. In the mid 1990's the College decided to build flats on the site and the Club therefore moved.
Luxmoore Garden
Luxmoore Garden.This is on an island in the Thames beyond Cloister Court. A wooden bridge leads onto it. There is an informal lawn and later paths, borders and specimen trees. There is also a 19th wooden summerhouse. The garden was developed in the late 19th by a house master, H E Luxmoore in a 'natural' style
Slough Road
Many references give these buildings addresses in High Street. However there is a street sign for Slough Road on the first house north of Baldwin's Bridge
Corner House – between Baldwin’s Shore and the Churchyard Built 1682 and has had several uses. Mainly as a boarding house for boys, including Gladstone.
Memorial Building. This was built in 1905-8 as a Boer War Memorial and containing the school hall and library. It is in red brick. There are two buildings here and the northern one is octagonal with a leaden dome with cupola over. The architect was: L K Hall.
Long Wall. This runs parallel to the street along the front of the College buildings. Names, including Gladstone, are said to be cut in the top of it. Boys would be lined up here to meet royalty and the like.
Milestone. This gives the distance to Hyde Park and is at the end of a piece of the Long Wall of which it forms part.
St. Marys Chapel. This has a Charter from 1140 and the foundation stone was laid by Henry VI in 1441. He endowed this on a large scale with clerics and requirements as to services. It was intended to attract pilgrims but ended in the 1460s. It is built above ground level as a protection against flooding. This was the parish church for many years - and bells in the tower were used for parish purposes. There is a statue of William Waynefleet by Blomfield. In the 1880s the interior was ‘restored’ by James Deacon. There are important wall paintings in the building. These were whitewashed over in 1560 and were rediscovered in 1847 but not fully realised until 1923 after which they were restored. In 1905 it was repaved with black and white marble in memory of Etonians who died in the South African War. The glass in the building was destroyed in 1940 bombing and has since been replaced with designs by John Piper. The roof was replaced in 1959 because of death-watch beetle. It is stone-faced concrete hung from steel trusses.
Graveyard. The graveyard is on the site of the original parish church dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin and demolished about 1480. It contains a number of chest and other tombs – many with inscriptions in Latin.
Lamp post. This is sited in the centre of Eton and called Burning Bush. It dates from 1864 designed by Henry Woodyer with an octagonal pedestal with a very ornate wrought-iron standard with foliage decoration, and an octagonal lamp. It was Originally a gas lamp, now converted to electricity
South Meadow Lane
Eton College Natural History Museum. More than 16,000 specimens and displays are housed at the museum. It is free and open to the public between one afternoon a week It was first opened to house the Thackeray Collection of British Birds in 1875 There are also extensive collections of insects (mainly butterflies and moths), the William Hincks Herbarium, a full set of Banks’ Florilegium, fossils and birds’ eggs.
Tangier Lane
Apparently called Tangier because that town was part of Catherine of Braganza's dowry when she married Charles II
30 Tangier Mill House. A 19th front on a house which may be older. The mill itself is long gone. It was wooden with a low breast-shot wheel. The wheel drove the flour-mill machinery and pumped water as well. It was pulled down in 1891, but the channel leading water to it had been dammed in 1888 prior to placing the old mill by another turbine installation. The last miller was in post in about 1860
Winsor and Eton Corporation Water Works. The first successful works was built in 1701 on the island known as Tangier. The works changed hands several times in the 18th but from 1747 until 1888 was owned usually by the Cutler family and then bought by the Corporation. They supplied river water direct until 1915 when electricity and a chlorination plant were installed. In 1868 the Cutlers had an Act to allow them open up streets and a lot of the water was very dirty and there were all sorts of rows with the town authorities. When the works was taken over by the corporation the equipment dated from 1873 and it continued to be used – the water wheel had been replaced in 1770. In 1890 a compound Worthington pumping engine was installed along with other new plant. The pumps delivered direct into a closed system of mains, with no reservoir until 1960. In 1971 daily use of the turbines ceased, and the works were closed each night.
Pump Houses built 1870, for in red brick and round plaques with insignia. There are two outward-flow turbines, built in 1873 by Stothert and Pitt of Bath, to a design of Wm. Henry Cutler. They drive 9 in double-acting pumps and each develops 42 hp. This is thought to be unique
35-42 Terrace of eight houses from the 1860s. Built by J.D.M. Pearce of Maidenhead. They are in massed concrete - Pearce, was known as the Concrete King'. The walls, floors and stacks are built of concrete which had been poured into moveable shutters
The Brocas
These meadows are named from the Brocas family who were local nobility in the 13th. It is a large meadow along the river. It is a wide open space, to fly kites or let dogs run. In summer it is a picnic spot, a popular mooring for boats, and a site for funfairs and other events. There have been claims that these are Lammas Lands, but this may/may not be so.
Sources
Austin–Leigh. Eton Guide
Baldwin's Bridge Trust. Web site
British History on line. Web site
British Listed Buildings. Web site
Eton College. Web site
Eton Excelsior Rowing Club. Web site
Etonwick History. Web site
Eton Wick Village Hall. Newsletter
Chelsea Speleological Society. Newsletter
Geograph. Web site
Historic England. Web site
Mills Archive. Web site
Our Lady of Sorrows. Web site
Oxford Archaeological Unit. Web site
Pevsner. Buckinghamshire
Stjamesstjohn. Web site
Waterman’s Arms. Web site
Windsor and Maidenhead Council. Web site
This post has siges north of the river only. South of the river is Windsor Riverside and Castle
Post to the west Cuckoo Weir and Clewer
Post to the east Windsor Sports at Home Park and Datchet Mead
Baldwin’s Shore
The road once ran alongside a ditch, hence the name
Baldwin’s Shore – building used as accommodation for masters at the school. It was the oldest ‘house’ of the school used since at least 1682. It has a replica front and was rebuilt in 1964.
Baldwin’s Bec. This is a ‘house’ of the school. Originally dating from 1840 when there were objections as to its height
Baldwin’s End. Masters house of 1908 with a plaque depicting Henry VI
Baldwin’s End. Remains of previous Baldwin’s End with a gallery of 1890. This ‘house’ was burnt down and rebuilt in 1903
Baldwin’s End Cottage. Used as a masters house. Designed by T B Carter.
Corner House. Three storeys in red and vitreous brick
Barnes Pool
This is an area between the High Street and Slough Road around the area where the brook passes under the road. It was also known as Baldwin’s pool.
Gullivers and Gullivers End. Built in the 18th in red brick. There is a plaque “To commemorate Hugh MacNaghten who from 1899 to 1920 occupied Jourdelay's Place. This stone is set here by his old boys & pupils.” The house was used as a boarding house.
107-108 Christopher Inn was built in 1511, on Baldwin’s Bridge next to the college. In the 18th the College leased it and partly rebuilt it. There were lots of coaches and hired vehicles and a lot of noise. In the mid 19th the College had it closed down and used it themselves for teaching and some accommodation. It is now divided into two but has the remains of a mediaeval hall and some 17th fittings.
Old St Christopher's. Flats built 1720 as a coaching inn around an inner yard with a 19th upper storey. At the back the yard is weather-boarded, with wood balustrade, once open, now backed by boarding. It has had multiple uses since mainly connected with the college
Hodgson House. This consists of a number of buildings the earliest dating from the 1720s. Its present form dates from 1844 when Dr.Hodgson was the Provost. On the ground floor are the Eton Society "Pop” rooms, entered by wooden steps with balustrade. It includes Hodgson's, which was an 18th boarding house and drinking place from the 19th; Tap in Old Christopher’s yard which was a boarding house with catering, Rowlands an 18th house used for boarding, and Elliot Schools from the 20th. Rowlands originally sold socks but were the originators of the Eton Mess pudding.
Eton College Information Centre. This was once Alden & Blackwell (Booksellers). Mid 19th building in red brick and with a shop window
Carter House. 18th red brick building. The front railings are particularly noted. This is described as a high status town house adapted as a boarding house for Eton College boys.
Hawtrey and Durnford Houses. Two houses form 1846. More college accommodation
Eton College Stores. A symmetrical range of buildings with four shops with accommodation above. Built in 1930, in red brick. Previous school stores included small shops, one of which was Rowlands, above,
Brocas Street
1 Windsor Bridge House. On the site of the old Bridge House Hotel.
Waterman's Arms. Founded in 1542 and built in 1682. , One of Eton's oldest pubs. It was the home of brewer Robert Style and also said to be the Eton workhouse and mortuary but has been a pub since the mid-1800s. The restaurant used to be the courtyard and the trees are still in place.
Rafts Boathouse. This served Eton College’s boating activities before the construction of the Eton Dorney Rowing Lake. There are four separate boat sheds: River House, Winters Boathouse, Tin Shed and Pilkington Boat House. This is an 18t h red brick building facing the Thames with modern additions and four 4 wide openings for boats
Church Close
St.John the Evangelist’s Church. This dates from 1852-4 designed by B Ferrey in decorated style. There had been a previous chapel of ease here built by William Hetherington in 1769, replaced in 1819. Prince Albert laid the foundation stone for this church in 1852 and it was big enough to take over 1000 people. Hobby the 1950s it was in poor repair and very few people were in the congregation and it was closed in 1981. Then Eton College took over some of it as the College Sanatorium and the local Health Centre was on the ground floor, plus some flats for the staff. The church was on the first floor a rededicated.
Churchyard.
3 South Meadow Surgery. Medical Centre with GP surgery and NHS clinics.
Colenorton Brook
This is a small tributary of the River Thames located to the north west of the town centre. Flowing eastwards, this watercourse outfalls into the Thames
Eton College
The college was founded in 1440 by Henry VI as ‘The King’s College of Our Lady of Eton beside Windsor’ . The school was part of a large organisation which included an religious community and an almshouse. 70 poor scholars were to receive free education. Buildings were constructed during the mid and later 15th and eventually the almshouse and community were abandoned. In the 17th the upper classes began to send their children to the school and before long it became fashionable to educate boys at Eton. Today the school takes about 1,290 teenage boys including the scholars the rest being fee payers.
Brewhouse and bakehouse. Built in 1714 as the college brewery and bakery. This now contains the Brewhouse Gallery set up in 1969. It has one of the world’s finest private collections of Egyptian Art bequeathed in 1899 by Major William Joseph Myers.
Brewhouse Yard, a service yard giving access to the adjacent service buildings, and beyond to the south to Baldwin’s Shore Lane. The college stopped brewing its own beer following a fire in 1875.
Bunker. Constructed in 1959 by H D Bowyer of Slough, the bunker is underneath one of the ‘houses’ and was an integral part of the building.
Chambers. This was off the school yard and was used as living accommodation and offices by the Headmaster and senior staff.
Cloister Court. This dates from the 15th and is surrounded by an open cloister around a square lawn, with a small, square, central stone pond and fountain. It originally provided housing for priests and Fellows. There are a number of specific war memorial plaques in the Cloister and a Cloister pump stood here.
College Library. This is for staff rather than the boys. Originally books were kept chained up in the chapel vestry. They moved in the 16th and chains were removed in 1791 except for Founders manuscripts. It was rebuilt in 1725. This library contains older books and muniments. Obviously much of it is very valuable.
Fountain. This is a tiered fountain in Cloister Court and has now been replaced because of erosion. Its ornate pedestals supports three decorative shell bowls surmounted by a naturalistic bud.
College Hall, where priests, Head Master, and scholars could eat, was in use by 1450. It was restored in 1858. This was probably finished in 1450 and confirms to Henry VI’s will. There was a high table with designated seating for various categories of masters and the posher pupils and a Latin grace. Various things were carved on the walls. There are many portraits and inscriptions. Food was always roasts with no vegetables except mashed potatoes which was followed by plum pudding. At Michaelmass they had goose and chicken on Founders Day. Old women from the Town were allowed to come and take away any edible remains.
Drawing School. These have facilities for painting, drawing, printmaking, computer graphics and digital photography. There are regular exhibitions and there is a library that also serves as a lecture room.
Election Hall, this was originally the library. Not sure who is being elected but there are events with a lot of food and speeches in Latin. Boys who are leaving give money to the Provost, I think/
Eton Fives courts. Fives is a game which originally consisted of hitting a ball against a section of the chapel wall in the old school yard
Fellows' or College Garden extends east from Cloister Court. The Garden is raised up and enclosed by a brick wall. it includes a large London Plane, and a cedar of Lebanon,.
Kitchen – this was originally built over the Barnes Pool Stream, since diverted. It contained a clockwork jack.
Headmaster’s Room. Reached from the School Yard and where floggings took place – 72 boys at a time by John Keate.
Headmaster's Garden/kitchen garden. this is enclosed by brick walls and service buildings and may once have been a kitchen garden,
Long Chamber. This was a vast dormitory where originally the 70 scholars slept. Boys were locked in from 6 pm; it was cold, and dirty. There was very little food and organised rat hunts.
Lower School. This was the original Eton schoolroom and had a single class room below and a large dormitory called the Long Chamber above. The wooden pillars were added as supports in 1624. Pupils carved their names on shutters and elsewhere.
Lupton’s Range with Lupton’s Tower .This was built in 1520 by Henry Redman providing extra accommodation for the head of the College, the Provost. A gateway at the bottom of Lupton's Tower gives access to cloister court and it contained a clock moved to it in 1765. A monument was installed here to the Grenadier Guards who died in the Great War.
Museum, The Museum of Eton Life tells the story of the foundation of the College in 1440
Provost’s Garden. this is west of the Headmaster's Garden, The garden is largely lawn with perimeter borders and specimen trees and shrubs, including a holm oak. At the centre is a circular paved feature
School Yard. The buildings of the church and college of Eton are grouped round the school yard built in the 1440s. The church is along the southern range and the on western and northern ranges are the Upper and Lower Schools. On the east are the cloister buildings. It was laid with cobbles and stone paths in 1716 and relaid in the late 20th. In the 1921 a bronze frieze here was dedicated as a Roll of Honour to Etonians who died in the Great War.
Statue of the Founder, Henry VI by Francis Bird 1719 which stands at the centre of School Yard
Memorial garden. This is from the north gateway where semicircular stone steps lead into the sunken garden, laid out in 1929 as a memorial to King Prajadhipok of Siam.
Upper School. This is one of the oldest parts of the school. From 1691-1863 most teaching took place here – with enormous classes of 400-500 boys and a major disorder problem Some classroom conditions were very bad – Cockloft at the top was dangerously overcrowded. The Black Hole was worse. Some of it was destroyed by Second World War bombing, now rebuilt
Eton Court
Our Lady of Sorrows church. This is a Roman Catholic Church built in 1914; by Alfred Lord Braye in Italian Baroque style. Eton College had recently purchased the building, It wad church is Eton’s first and only Roman Catholic Chapel. Lord Brave wanted to provide a catholic place of worship for catholic boys at the school. He thus purchased some land in 1905. The dedication to Our Lady of Sorrows was in reparation for the destruction of the Lady Altar in the reign of Edward V1. The church was not readily welcomed by Eton College and there were restrictions on the type of building that could be sited there. By 1920 boys were allowed to attend Mass. Inside is a riot of golden surfaces, marble, malachite and lapis lazuli altars. Lord Braye furnished the church at his own expense and gave some of the contents from his own chapel at his home and it is also suggested that the chapel was fitted out with items from Frogmore Chapel, Windsor.
Jubilee Square. This was a joint venture between the Baldwin's Bridge Trust and Eton Town Council in 2012 to celebrate three things - Queen Elizabeth II's diamond jubilee, the centenary of the Baldwin's Institute and the coming of the 2012 Olympics to Eton Dorney. This has led to a creation of a public urban space which was opened in 2012 by the Provost of Eton College.
Baldwin and Austen-Leigh Institute built in 1911 by E L Ware in the Arts and Craft style. E.C. Austen-Leigh purchased slum housing called Eton Court in 1909 and donated the site for the erection of a Parish Hall. The architect of the building was Edmond L. Warre and it was opened in 1912. Jubilee Square was commissioned as part of the centenary celebrations of this event in 2012.
Upholstery works. This was present in the 1950s
Eton Square
1-14 Bragnells Buildings. 1714 now called Godolphin Almshouses. These were built for Provost Henry Godolphin in 1714 to house ten elderly women.
59 Charteris House Day Centre. The building was the New Inn, ex-public house built around 1840.
Cottage flats built in 1935 by the Eton Society for the Improvement of Cottage Accommodation
Eton Wick Road
Cattle pound. This brick rectangle is a restored cattle pound. A plaque records that it was restored in 1996 as "pound at Folly Bridge for unauthorised cattle from the Great Common in the Manor of Eton cum Stockdales and Colenorton."
Burnham Thorpe. House built in 1844-6; by James Deason in flint Tudor Gothic style. Belongs to Eton College. Was this built in connection with the cemetery given the date and architect?? Burnham Thorpe was Nelson’s home, so what is the connection there?
Willow Tree Pub. This closed in the early 1970s and is now housing,
Eton Parish Cemetery. Cemetery chapel. 1844-6, by James Deason in flint Victorian Gothic, Early English style. Lychgate designed. 1844-6 by James Deason. The cemetery was opened in 1846 and for a while the chapel was used for the younger boys at the college. On the gate is carved In memory of the members of the Eton CLB (Church Lads Brigade) Club old members ‘club who fell in the Great War 1914-1919”
Masters Field. Sports field with astro turf and hockey pitches
Judy’s Passage - A narrow pedestrian pathway providing a convenient short cut through the centre of Eton College.
Mustians. One of the ‘houses’ of Eton College. Mustians was the name of a local farm. This was built for A.C.Ainger an assistant master in the late 19th but the present building is from 1937 by Worthington
Cotton Hall House, One of the ‘houses’ of Eton College. Built for H.E.Marindin in 1870 by William White in ‘Domestic Revival’ style
Westbury. One of the ‘houses’ of Eton College. Colcutt 1899 and built on the gardens of Keate House. William Westbury was Headmaster in the 1440s
Waynefleet. This is one of the ‘houses’ of Eton College. Designed by Colcutt in 1899 and built on the gardens of Keate House. William Waynefleet was Provost in the 1440s
Walpole House. This is one of the ‘houses’ of Eton College designed by Colcutt in 1906. Sir Robert Walpole was a pupil here in the 1690s.
Beckyington. School canteen built by Powell and Moya in 1972. There is a moat and small garden courts. It is named for Thomas Beckyington who preached his first sermon here as Bishop of Bath and Wells in 1443. The food is VERY posh.
High Street
102 Council Offices. Built in 1904 as the fire station it became the main office for Eton Urban District Council. There is an Art Nouveau style plaque on the building with the three lilies of Eton.
110 The Christopher Hotel. The upper floors were originally used as a magistrate’s court and then at end of the 19th it became a billiards room. In the 1960-0’s it was used for music gigs.
118 has timber framed barn at back joined to house
1-2 Tom Brown’s Tailors shop, built 1875. A double fronted building in a Victorian Venetian style, with decorative cast iron columns to the shop front. At the back is a store built in the 19th now converted to offices but has its original loft opening
136 Eton Library
136 The Bridge House. This was for the Baldwin Bridge Trust and built in 1890 designed by Robert Aborn. This was the trust set up to look after this small bridge and funded by rents from the housing round it. It employs a bridgemaster and others. In the late 19th this was the office of the Urban District Council.
14 Eton Porny Church of England First School, This was earlier called Porny and St John’s school and it replaced the earlier school set up Porny. It was initially a national school. It consists of a school and a master's house built 1863-73, to the designs of G.E. Street. The Master's house is at the front with an archway end through to schoolrooms at rear, a larger range was added in 1873
15-16 Coutts Bank. Early 20th building in red brick
29 Porny School built in 1813. It is an early 19th brick building. The school moved in the 1860s to no 14/15 and this became the parish rooms. It has also been a club room or ex service men. There is a plaque on the building to Mark Anthony Porny who taught French at Eton College.
3 Tudor Stores. Late 18th red brick building with an old shop-front and a stone plaque at first floor ‘Established 1799 – Groceries and Provisions’
37 Henry VI Pub. This was previously the Three Tuns a 19th white painted brick building.
44 this was the New College Arms Pub. Long since closed
47-49 Cockpit. This dates from 1475 with a timber frame. It was said to include the remains of a cockpit with a knuckle bone floor but it is now said that this was a slaughter house.
54 Built in 1891 as a private bank, but used as the Police Station 1936 - 1972. It is decorated and has a stone door way and terracotta motifs
77 Prince George Inn. 19th building with the front to High Street; at the back is a 17th L-shaped back building facing a yard opening which opens on to Brocas Street.
84-85 Crown and Cushion Pub. 17th and 18th building. It originally had a stable block at the back. Claims to have been a coaching inn since 1793
8-9 Barclays Bank. Brick building with stone dressings and carved stone panels showing the buildings’ use and includes some medical imagery. Built in 1931 to the designs of local architects Edgington and Spink.
98 once called The Turk’s Head. This is a 17th timber framed building behind a 19th front. There is a central carriageway to a courtyard.
Bob Smith. This was an 18th fishing rod manufacturer who had a business on the riverside to the east of the bridge. He made ‘Eton Mark’ which was famous among anglers.
Book Pound. This was a shop where lost school books could gibe taken and retrieved.
Bridge House Hotel. Once called the Catherine Wheel. This has now been replaced by a modern building with an address in Brocas Street
Bridge. This is dated 1883 and designed by A.M. Fowler, engineer. It is a wide single-span bridge taking the High Street over Barnes's Pool. No boy from the school was supposed to cross this bridge after nightfall.
Gate piers to St.John's Church with two associated bronze tablets badges of Rifle Brigade and Church Lads Brigade
Post-box, an early example of its type, it dates from 1854. It has a fluted pillar surmounted by a pill-box
Sun Inn. This was an ancient building demolished at the end of he 19th. There are said to have been large oak beams in it and a Sun Insurance plaque on the wall.
Keates Lane
This was once called Woodward Lane and the name was changed to call it after the Headmaster. John Keate, in the 19th
Sign about the distance to Maidenhead
Jourdelays. 17th buildings with 19th additions in red brick. It is a boys'’ house’ of Eton College. The name of the house dates back to 1441 when it was owned by Thomas Jourdelay. It was built by Andrew Snape and his initials are on the rainwater head.
Ballard’s House. 17th or 18th building in colour washed brick. Another ‘house’.
Keate House. Another 18th red brick boarding house named after headmaster, John Keate.
Montague James School – classics department classrooms
Elliott Schools – economics department classrooms
Science School
American sweet gum tree behind the Science School
Queens School a building with computer and science departments, the building is by Blomfield in red brick. The foundation stone for these was laid by Victoria in 1889.
Lower Chapel built in 1890 by Arthur Blomfield as there were too many boys for the original chapel. Refurbished in 1924 by Walter Tapper. It is dedicated to St.Mary the Virgin and seats 500 boys. Many of the fittings were donated by old Etonians. Windows reflect the virtues. Tapestries were given as a First World War memorial from the Morris Merton works and show the life of St.George.
Music Schools, Music was not taught at Eton in the early 19th and revived in the 1870s. The current schools have an attached concert hall and rehearsal rooms
King Stables
The street appears to be named after the royal stables which were probably at the east end of the road. They were mentioned in 1512 and new mews was built in Windsor in 1770’s
Church. There are stories that a medieval church stood on a site here but there is no evidence for this.
Eton Wharf House. This was on the site of a malt house, which was present in the 1770s. This included a yard fronting onto the Thames. This had been demolished by the mid 19th and replaced by a coal shed and a wharf. It was later a sawmill and a builders yard until it became a rowing clubhouse, Eton Wharf House.
Eton Excelsior Rowing Club. This was founded in 1826 formally in 1851.The club’s original boat house, used for more than 150 years, was leased from Eton College here. In the mid 1990's the College decided to build flats on the site and the Club therefore moved.
Luxmoore Garden
Luxmoore Garden.This is on an island in the Thames beyond Cloister Court. A wooden bridge leads onto it. There is an informal lawn and later paths, borders and specimen trees. There is also a 19th wooden summerhouse. The garden was developed in the late 19th by a house master, H E Luxmoore in a 'natural' style
Slough Road
Many references give these buildings addresses in High Street. However there is a street sign for Slough Road on the first house north of Baldwin's Bridge
Corner House – between Baldwin’s Shore and the Churchyard Built 1682 and has had several uses. Mainly as a boarding house for boys, including Gladstone.
Memorial Building. This was built in 1905-8 as a Boer War Memorial and containing the school hall and library. It is in red brick. There are two buildings here and the northern one is octagonal with a leaden dome with cupola over. The architect was: L K Hall.
Long Wall. This runs parallel to the street along the front of the College buildings. Names, including Gladstone, are said to be cut in the top of it. Boys would be lined up here to meet royalty and the like.
Milestone. This gives the distance to Hyde Park and is at the end of a piece of the Long Wall of which it forms part.
St. Marys Chapel. This has a Charter from 1140 and the foundation stone was laid by Henry VI in 1441. He endowed this on a large scale with clerics and requirements as to services. It was intended to attract pilgrims but ended in the 1460s. It is built above ground level as a protection against flooding. This was the parish church for many years - and bells in the tower were used for parish purposes. There is a statue of William Waynefleet by Blomfield. In the 1880s the interior was ‘restored’ by James Deacon. There are important wall paintings in the building. These were whitewashed over in 1560 and were rediscovered in 1847 but not fully realised until 1923 after which they were restored. In 1905 it was repaved with black and white marble in memory of Etonians who died in the South African War. The glass in the building was destroyed in 1940 bombing and has since been replaced with designs by John Piper. The roof was replaced in 1959 because of death-watch beetle. It is stone-faced concrete hung from steel trusses.
Graveyard. The graveyard is on the site of the original parish church dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin and demolished about 1480. It contains a number of chest and other tombs – many with inscriptions in Latin.
Lamp post. This is sited in the centre of Eton and called Burning Bush. It dates from 1864 designed by Henry Woodyer with an octagonal pedestal with a very ornate wrought-iron standard with foliage decoration, and an octagonal lamp. It was Originally a gas lamp, now converted to electricity
South Meadow Lane
Eton College Natural History Museum. More than 16,000 specimens and displays are housed at the museum. It is free and open to the public between one afternoon a week It was first opened to house the Thackeray Collection of British Birds in 1875 There are also extensive collections of insects (mainly butterflies and moths), the William Hincks Herbarium, a full set of Banks’ Florilegium, fossils and birds’ eggs.
Tangier Lane
Apparently called Tangier because that town was part of Catherine of Braganza's dowry when she married Charles II
30 Tangier Mill House. A 19th front on a house which may be older. The mill itself is long gone. It was wooden with a low breast-shot wheel. The wheel drove the flour-mill machinery and pumped water as well. It was pulled down in 1891, but the channel leading water to it had been dammed in 1888 prior to placing the old mill by another turbine installation. The last miller was in post in about 1860
Winsor and Eton Corporation Water Works. The first successful works was built in 1701 on the island known as Tangier. The works changed hands several times in the 18th but from 1747 until 1888 was owned usually by the Cutler family and then bought by the Corporation. They supplied river water direct until 1915 when electricity and a chlorination plant were installed. In 1868 the Cutlers had an Act to allow them open up streets and a lot of the water was very dirty and there were all sorts of rows with the town authorities. When the works was taken over by the corporation the equipment dated from 1873 and it continued to be used – the water wheel had been replaced in 1770. In 1890 a compound Worthington pumping engine was installed along with other new plant. The pumps delivered direct into a closed system of mains, with no reservoir until 1960. In 1971 daily use of the turbines ceased, and the works were closed each night.
Pump Houses built 1870, for in red brick and round plaques with insignia. There are two outward-flow turbines, built in 1873 by Stothert and Pitt of Bath, to a design of Wm. Henry Cutler. They drive 9 in double-acting pumps and each develops 42 hp. This is thought to be unique
35-42 Terrace of eight houses from the 1860s. Built by J.D.M. Pearce of Maidenhead. They are in massed concrete - Pearce, was known as the Concrete King'. The walls, floors and stacks are built of concrete which had been poured into moveable shutters
The Brocas
These meadows are named from the Brocas family who were local nobility in the 13th. It is a large meadow along the river. It is a wide open space, to fly kites or let dogs run. In summer it is a picnic spot, a popular mooring for boats, and a site for funfairs and other events. There have been claims that these are Lammas Lands, but this may/may not be so.
Sources
Austin–Leigh. Eton Guide
Baldwin's Bridge Trust. Web site
British History on line. Web site
British Listed Buildings. Web site
Eton College. Web site
Eton Excelsior Rowing Club. Web site
Etonwick History. Web site
Eton Wick Village Hall. Newsletter
Chelsea Speleological Society. Newsletter
Geograph. Web site
Historic England. Web site
Mills Archive. Web site
Our Lady of Sorrows. Web site
Oxford Archaeological Unit. Web site
Pevsner. Buckinghamshire
Stjamesstjohn. Web site
Waterman’s Arms. Web site
Windsor and Maidenhead Council. Web site
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