Details of the Blue Plaques (2)

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Mariquita Tennant

Name:	Mariquita Dorotea Francesca Eroles
Born:	1811
Place:	Barcelona
Died:	1860
Profession:	Social Reformer
Educated:	Studied law in Catalonia and was supported by her first husband’s family.
Sponsor:	Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead
Unveiled:	21 Nov 2005
Location:	The Limes, Mill Lane, Windsor, SL4 5JE
Famous for:	She married a brewer named David Reid in 1833, and her sister Rosa married Francis Beaufort Edgeworth, both in St Pancras. All four moved to Florence, but David died nine months later. She returned with a new baby to London, supported by Reid’s family. In 1834, Reid’s family supported her to return to Catalonia where she studied law. She married the Revd Robert Tennant in 1838, an Anglican pastor educated at Cambridge University. They went to Florence where he died suddenly in July 1842. Following this, she returned to the UK and moved into The Limes, which her sister owned. In mid-1849, she took in her first fallen woman and soon had 18 under her roof. Needing more space, the local rector, Revd TT Carter, provided two cottages in Nightingale Place, which became the House of Mercy. In the 1851 Census, she had a helper and 24 penitents. Due to ill health, she gave up in 1851 and moved somewhere local. Harriet Monsell, another clergy widow, took over at the House of Mercy. Mariquita is buried in the churchyard of St Andrew, Clewer.
Windlesora:	“Roses and Lilies – the Early Years of the Clewer Sisters” by Valerie Bonham in Windlesora 03 (1984)
Notes:	It was a cold and damp day when the mayor, Councillor Eric Wiles, with members of WLHG, WESOC & the Clewer Group, along with the residents of The Limes and their neighbours, unveiled the blue plaque. Some photos from the Royal Windsor Website are below.

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Freddie Shenston MBE

Name:	Frederick Charles Shenston MBE
Born:	1 Apr 1912
Place:	Camberwell, London
Died:	Aug 1998
Profession:	Furniture retailer
Educated:
Sponsor:	Windsor & Eton Society incorporating Windsor Heritage
Unveiled:	2002
Location:	Guildhall Island, Windsor, SL4 1PA
Famous for:	Conservationist and Founder of Windsor Heritage. Known for the High Street and the Conservation Area facelifts, which became models adopted worldwide. Chairman of the ’72 Committee. Director of various companies, including Pyle Bros, Heybourn Travel, Berkshire Bloodstock and Windsor Furnishings. Ardent critic of the Ward Royal development.
Windlesora:
Notes:

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Mary Delany

Name:	Mary Delany
Born:	1700
Place:	Coulston, Wiltshire
Died:	1768
Profession:	Artist
Educated:	As a child, she spent much of her time at the court of Queen Mary II and later under the guardianship of her wealthy uncle, Lord Lansdowne. Her education was unusually rich for a girl of her time, exposing her to languages, music, and art — skills that would later inform her creative work.
Sponsor:	Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead
Unveiled:	6 Jul 2007
Location:	Windsor Castle Wall, St Albans Street, Windsor, SL4 1PF
Famous for:	Mary Delany (née Granville) was an English artist who is best remembered for her intricate “paper mosaics” and botanical drawings, although her needlework and prolific correspondence were also significant. She developed much of her artistic skill during marriage and, between the ages of 71 and 88, produced 985 works that captured fine detail and subtle variations of light and colour. She was an English Blue Stocking was well liked by King George III and Queen Charlotte, who, after the death of Delany’s second husband, offered her a house and a pension of £300 per year.
Windlesora:	“Jane Vigor – An Extended Article“
Notes:	Please see the story of the plaque unveiling ceremony below. See “Curtain up on famous women” from the Windsor and Slough Express of 20 Jul 2007. “The Blue Stockings Society“

Unveiling Ceremony

The unveiling ceremony was on Friday, 6th July 2007; however, the local historian and chair of the WLHG. Hester Davenport had collected the plaque a few days earlier and taken it home. On Friday in St Albans Street in Windsor, it was a sunny but very windy day. With Hester were:

• Daughter of the historical novelist Lady Antonia Fraser, Flora Fraser, unveiled the plaque.
• Ruth Hayden was an authority and writer on Mrs Delany (the lady with the floral-patterned blouse ).
• Professor Peter Sabor, Director of the Burney Centre at McGill University of Montreal and Patron of the Burney Society of North America (the man with the white jacket).

The unveiling coincided with the conference of the British branch of the Burney Society.

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Frances ‘Fanny’ Burney

Name:	Frances “Fanny” Burney
Born:	1752
Place:	King’s Lynn, Norfolk
Died:	1840
Profession:	Novelist and Diarist; Keeper of the Robes to Queen Charlotte.
Educated:	Largely educated at home by her father, Dr Charles Burney, who was a musician and writer. Her education included reading, writing, music, and languages, and she also received guidance from family friends in London after the family moved there in 1760.
Sponsor:	Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead
Unveiled:	6 Jul 2007
Location:	Windsor Castle Wall, St Albans Street, Windsor, SL4 1PF
Famous for:	Frances “Fanny” Burney, later known as Madame D’Arblay, was a pioneering English novelist, diarist, and courtier. Celebrated for works like Evelina (1778), Cecilia (1782), and Camilla (1796), she won admiration from literary greats including Samuel Johnson, Edmund Burke, and David Garrick. Her diaries vividly record life within 18th-century literary circles and her years as Second Keeper of the Robes to Queen Charlotte (1786–91). Born in King’s Lynn and the daughter of Dr Charles Burney, she became a literary sensation with Evelina, which was so compelling that Burke reportedly read it through the night. Her influence on later writers was profound: Jane Austen admired her work and even subscribed to Camilla, while Virginia Woolf later described Burney as “the mother of English fiction”.
Windlesora:	“Memorial to Hester Davenport“ “Jane, Henry and the Crutchleys“, by Chris Viveash in Windlesora 28 (2012)
Notes:	Please see the story of the plaque unveiling ceremony above. See “Curtain up on famous women” from the Windsor and Slough Express of 20 Jul 2007. There is another plaque erected in 1885 by (Royal) Society of Arts at 11 Bolton Street, Mayfair, London, W1J 8BB.

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Oliver Brooks

Name:	Oliver Brooks
Born:	31 May 1889
Place:	Paulton, near Midsomer Norton, Somerset
Died:	25 Oct 1940
Profession:	Soldier and Commissionaire
Educated:	St John’s School, Midsomer Norton, Somerset
Sponsor:	Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead
Unveiled:	26 May 1998
Location:	47 Clewer Avenue, Windsor, SL4 3QB
Famous for:	He was educated in Midsomer Norton and was then employed at Norton Hill Colliery (where his father worked) as a carting boy. He enlisted at Bath on 17th April 1906, just short of his 17th birthday, though he added two years to his age. He trained at Caterham and served at Victoria Barracks, Windsor. Awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery at Loos, France, 1915, serving with the Coldstream Guards. VC was presented 1 Nov 1915 by King George V aboard a hospital train at Aire Station, France Lived in Windsor from 1919 until he died in 1940 at home and is buried in Windsor Cemetery. He was also a commissionaire at the White Hart Hotel in Windsor.
Windlesora:	“Oliver Brooks VC“, by Derek Hunt in Windlesora 17 (1999). “First World War Memorial Garden“, by Derek Hunt in Windlesora 33 (2018). “Battle of the Somme“, by Derek Hunt and Dr Brigitte Mitchell in Windlesora 32 (2010) “Victoria Cross Recipients“
Notes:	Buried in Windsor Cemetery, Section GN, Grave 352, 2 down 5 across. Coldstream Guards, Guards Museum, Wellington Barracks, Birdcage Walk, London. “Oliver Brooks VC” on victoriacrossonline.co.uk

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Henry Engleheart

Name:	Henry William Engleheart VC
Born:	14 Nov 1863
Place:	County Gaol, Maidstone
Died:	9 Aug 1939
Profession:	Soldier and Lodge Keeper
Educated:
Sponsor:	Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead
Unveiled:	6 Jul 2007
Location:
Famous for:	Datchet resident. The first Datchet blue plaque was erected in his name. He was the lodge keeper at the South-Western Lodge, Windsor Castle, 1908 – 1933.
Windlesora:
Notes:	See our Victoria Cross recipients page, which has more information about Henry

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References

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Sponsor:	Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead
Unveiled:	6 Jul 2007
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