Miyamoto Musashi

The earliest records show a church on this site in the twelfth century built by Geoffrey de Clinton sometime between 1100 and 1135. Geoffrey or his successor later made over the manor of Hughenden including the church to the priory of Kenilworth and it seems that the monks established a small priory in what is now Church House.

A small chapel and a bell tower were added in the thirteenth century on the north side, and later still a small nave, about half the length of the present one was added, and a rounded Norman Arch used for the porch, though where this was originally we do not know. By 1870 the church was in a very bad state of repair, and the vicar, Canon Blagdon, with considerable financial help from his father-in-law, James Searight, set about rebuilding it. He raised the floor of the chancel, altered the pitch of the roof in the vestry, rebuilt the nave, moved the tower to its present position and raised it two stories. The result is an interesting example of Victorian Church architecture at its best.*

The Disraeli tomb in the churchyard is a large crypt containing the remains of a number of members of the Disraeli family. It was finally sealed when the last member of the family was buried there in 1967. For the Earl’s funeral use was made of the natural slope of the ground from West to East, and a cutting was dug from the line of the present hedge to the door of the crypt enabling the bearers to carry the coffin right into the crypt.

One of the names on the tomb is not Disraeli. Mrs Brydges Williams, a great admirer of the statesman, offered to make him her heir if she might be buried alongside him. Her offer was accepted, and her body now lies in the crypt in Hughenden churchyard.*

• Information from St Michael & All Angels website

Statesman Benjamin Disraeli and his wife Mary Anne had a significant influence on the styling of the country manor you see today. Disraeli hired architect Edward Buckton-Lamb to complete the transformation of Hughenden from a Georgian white stuccoed building into a Victorian country retreat. As you move through the rooms you will see the personalities of both husband and wife reflected in their tastes, and their status as rising members of Victorian high society.

Disraeli purchased Hughenden in 1848, shortly after becoming leader of the Conservative Party. Securing the manor was vital to the realisation of his political ambitions and his personal aspirations, and elevated him to the status of landed country gentleman.

In the main house the rooms are recreated as Disraeli would have known them, with the library full of his beloved books and the dining room set for Queen Victoria’s visit in 1877.

On the first floor is his study, bedroom and Mary Anne’s boudoir along with the black silk robe worn by Disraeli as Chancellor of the Exchequer, which he notoriously refused to give up. A special display ‘Treasured’ celebrates 125 years of National Trust care, through pieces from the Hughenden collection with a story to tell.

On the top floor is a timeline of Disraeli’s history and a special exhibition, The Royal Gifts of Hughenden, based on Disraeli’s close friendship with Queen Victoria.

The rooms in the west wing tell the story of Hughenden’s requisition by the Air Ministry in 1941 when the manor became home to a secret map-making operation, code-named Hillside.

Brooklands Museum houses historic aircraft including a Vickers Wellington bomber recovered from Loch Ness in 1985, a British Airways Concorde, G-BBDG (c/n 202), the UK’s first production Concorde, and now also owns the 40% scale Concorde model “G-CONC” displayed for many years as a gate guardian at Heathrow Airport, until movement in 2007. After restoration and repainting, the model was relocated for similar duty at Brooklands Museum’s public entrance off Brooklands Drive on 29 September 2012.

There are civil and military aircraft on display including a Vickers Vanguard, Viscount 800 and Standard VC-10. The majority of exhibits were built at Brooklands or have close associations with the site. The VC-10 was built and first flown at Brooklands in 1964 and after airline service with British United as G-ASIX and later British Caledonian Airways, in 1974 it became the official VIP transport for the Sultan of Oman until retired and flown back to Brooklands on 6 July 1987 and donated to Brooklands Museum by the Sultan of Oman’s Royal Flight.

Brooklands was a 2.767-mile (4.453 km) motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world’s first purpose-built ‘banked’ motor racing circuit^{[n 1]} as well as one of Britain’s first airfields, which also became Britain’s largest aircraft manufacturing centre by 1918, producing military aircraft such as the Wellington and civil airliners like the Viscount and VC-10.^[1]

The circuit hosted its last race in August 1939 and today part of it forms the Brooklands Museum, a major aviation and motoring museum, as well as a venue for vintage car, motorcycle and other transport-related events.

The Brooklands motor circuit was the brainchild of Hugh Fortescue Locke-King, and was the first purpose-built banked motor race circuit in the world. Following the Motor Car Act 1903, Britain was subject to a blanket 20 mph (32 km/h) speed limit on public roads: at a time when nearly 50% of the world’s new cars were produced in France, there was concern that Britain’s infant auto-industry would be hampered by the inability to undertake sustained high-speed testing.[2] King commissioned Colonel Capel Lofft Holden of the Royal Artillery to design the projected circuit and work began in 1906.[3]

Requirements of speed and spectator visibility led to the Brooklands track being built as a 100 ft (30 m) wide, 2.767 mi (4.453 km) long, banked oval. The banking was nearly 30 feet (9.1 m) high in places. In addition to the oval, a bisecting “Finishing Straight” was built, increasing the track length to 3.369 mi (5.422 km), of which 1.250 mi (2.012 km) was banked. It could host up to 287,000 spectators in its heyday.[4]

Owing to the complications of laying tarmacadam on banking, and the expense of laying asphalt, the track was built in uncoated concrete. This led in later years to a somewhat bumpy ride, as the surface suffered differential settlement over time.

More information can be found on Wikipedia.

The fountain was installed in Goswell Park, Windsor in 2012 for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Fountain was inspired by the crown jewels and features 60 different water jets. There are also lights which make it a magical site at night. There is a garden area around the fountain where you can sit and admire the fountain.

Sadly the gates to the garden where the fountain is installed were closed on the day on the day we chose to include it as part of our walking route.

St George’s Chapel is the place of worship at Windsor Castle. It is both a Royal Peculiar and the Chapel of the Order of the Garter.

The castle chapel was established in the 14th century by King Edward III and began extensive enlargement in the late 15th century. It has been the location of many royal ceremonies, weddings and burials. The chapel is located in the Lower Ward.

In 1348, King Edward III founded two new religious colleges: St Stephen’s at Westminster and St George’s at Windsor. The new college at Windsor was attached to the Chapel of St Edward the Confessor which had been constructed by Henry III in the early 13th century. The chapel was then rededicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, St Edward the Confessor and St George the Martyr. Edward III also built the Aerary Porch in 1353–1354.

The chapel was a popular destination for pilgrims during the late medieval period. The chapel was purported to contain several important relics: the bodies of John Schorne and Henry VI of England and a fragment of the True Cross held in a reliquary called the Cross of Gneth.

• More of the history can be viewed here.

THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION WAS IN full swing when “The Queen,” the early steam locomotive that transported Queen Victoria between Windsor and London, was constructed. In fact, Victoria was the first British monarch to travel by rail, making her maiden voyage on June 13, 1842.

During her long reign, from 1837 to 1901, Victoria traveled by train dozens of times. This was quite adventurous for the queen, considering train travel was relatively new and dangerous at the time. Many deaths and injuries were reported from the tracks in 1842 alone.

Today a full-size replica of a Great Western Railway class steam locomotive No. 3041, is permanently parked at Windsor & Eton Central Railway Station. Named “The Queen,” black engine is adorned with the regal flourishes and features seen on the original machine, including the Royal Coat of Arms and the loco’s name inscribed along the side.

The recreation of Queen Victoria’s Royal Train was displayed in the late 1980s and early ’90s in an exhibition called Royalty and Railways (renamed Royalty and Empire) at the Windsor Royal Shopping complex in the newly restored railway station. It was too expensive to remove the locomotive after the exhibit closed, however, so there it remains today.

The current oak-framed building suffers from a distinct lean. It replaced an earlier building (1592) that was demolished  in 1687 to allow for the building of the Guildhall next door However there was a land dispute and eventually the new  Market Cross  was “rebuilt” in 1718 on or very close to its original location.

The original building was rented by a butcher, which makes perfect sense as the area was once the shambles (the meat market) for Windsor.

Over the years the building has been used for many purposes. Jewellers, brewers, printers (1931), architects, fruit sellers, coal merchants, florists (1933 and again in the 1960s) and many others have run businesses from Market Cross House.

The present building dates from 1822 when it replaced an ancient building with Saxon arches and Norman work that was in dire need of expensive renovation. The outer walls follow the plan of the mediaeval church with old burial vaults lying beneath the present floor; retained memorials from the previous church can be found on the walls. The architect, Charles Hollis, designed the building with cast iron columns and ribs that support a 84’ X 60’ roof. It was consecrated by the Bishop of Salisbury on 22nd June, 1822. Along the South Wall you can find a painting of the earlier church, photographs of the church plate and some past and more recent information about the church. The eight bells, were transferred from the old building; they are, by ancient command, rung for royal occasions at the Sovereign’s expense.*

The Last Supper – a national treasure painted by Franz de Cleyn (1588-1658), court painter to James I. Previously hung in the St. George’s, Windsor, it was given to the Parish Church by George III. Before the Apse was added, the painting hung over the Altar where the screen is now. For the best view, stand at the end of the central aisle and look up towards the west door.*

Royal Pew The two ‘thrones’ were a gift of Princess Augusta (daughter of George III) who regularly worshipped in the Parish Church. The pew is fronted by wooden panels carved by Grinling Gibbons (1648-1720), each showing a pelican feeding its young. (Look for the peapod – Gibbons signature) Formally, these were part of the altar rail in St George’s, Windsor.*

Mayor’s Pew Midway down the Centre Aisle are wide pews reserved for Aldermen and Councillors, while the Mayor’s pew bears the Royal Arms of the Borough of Windsor and a cushion for the mayoral mace.*

Chancel and Apse was added in 1870 by Samuel S Teulon. The stained glass windows illustrate Jesus words in Matthew’s Gospel. (Matthew 25 v35-40) . The mosaics are by Antonio Salviati (1816-90) and depict the instruments of the Passion, and below, several angelic musicians with other symbols. The Chancel Screen was added in 1898 as a thank offering for the 60 years reign of Queen Victoria.*

*More information can be found on the Church Welcome Leaflet, the source of the quotes above.