Since its inception, WLHG has published research on the town and its people, either annually as in our journal Windlesora, or as a group, such as the Windsor and Eton Express book. Members have also published their research individually. Here is a selection of our publications. Please do get in contact if you are looking to source one of these, as we do hold a small stock for sale. Some are also available from eBay, the seller ID is windsorlocalhistorygroup.
The Institute that became an Institution
The History of the Royal Albert Institute Trust
by John Handcock CVO DL LLB
The latest publication from one of our historians is the history of the Royal Albert Institute. It’s full of fascinating information, and the names of those who visited is very impressive. Although slim, it is good value for money and such an interesting book.
See the book review for more information.
ISBN: 978-09545-8711-6
Windsor and Eton Express 1812 – 1830
The Charles Knight Years
by Dr Brigitte Mitchell and members of the WLHG
Windsor and Eton Express 1812-1830 was written to celebrate the 200 years of informing, educating, and entertaining the community since the first edition of the newspaper was published. Using articles in the newspaper during the period, it tells the story of the founders, Charles Knight and his son (also Charles), and their world as they report and comment on news locally, nationally, and internationally.
ISBN: 978-09505-5678-9
You can see the book launch covered in the special Windsor & Eton Express, celebrating their 200 years of publication. It makes interesting reading about the team that put it together.
Windsor in the Great War
by Derek Hunt and Dr Brigitte Mitchell
The Great War involved people from all backgrounds and had a deep impact on every aspect of civilian life; from recruitment to exemptions, rationing and shortages to sacrifice and suffering, the heartbreaking to the comic. Windsor in the Great War tells the stories of the men who served, the families they left behind, and how a garrison town came together to support the war and their men in it. Using letters, newspapers, photographs, and personal accounts, the candour and courage of Windsor’s lost generation shine through. Informative and atmospheric, the authors cover every aspect of the war as it impacted the town and its people.
ISBN: 978-09505-5679-6
Windsor A Thousand Years
– a living history
by Windsor Local History Publications Group
Did you know that Oscar Wilde’s “Ballad of Reading Jail” was inspired by the execution of a Windsor man? Do you know when Windsor became a Royal Borough? This fascinating illustrated chronology of life in Windsor and Old Windsor over the last thousand years will tell you of the people, places and events which have made the two communities what they are today.
ISBN: 0-950556-75-0
Streets of Windsor & Eton
by Windsor Local History Publications Group
Did you know that the poet Geoffrey Chaucer was Clerk of Works at St George’s Chapel in 1390 but no road in Windsor was named after him until the 1990s? Did you know that Queen Charlotte Street is the shortest street in England but no one has ever lived there? Did you know that St Alban’s Street was named after the son of a royal mistress? Find out about these fascinating facts and more in this book on the streets of Windsor, Eton and Old Windsor.
ISBN: 0-9505-567-69
Vanished Windsor
Compiled by Elias Kupfermann
Vanished Windsor is a pictorial record of past views of the townscape of central Windsor. It explores buildings which have disappeared from within the town from the medieval period to the present day. The innovation of the camera allows a snapshot of the past as it happens. Photographs enable long-lost buildings, traditions, and ceremonies to be recorded, which have disappeared with time. Using a variety of sources and many previously unpublished drawings and photographs, this book illustrates how Windsor changed over the centuries and how the town has evolved to create the Windsor of today.
ISBN: 978-0-9505-5677-2
Catholic Windsor
and The Church of St. Edward the Confessor
By Dr Brigitte Mitchell
The Catholic Church of St Edward the Confessor was born out of the turbulence of the Reformation, periods of persecution, and finally the Victorian emancipation of Catholics. In the move from dependence on land-owning families, and with the growth of industrialisation, the rapidly expanding Catholic communities in England were in urgent need of churches and schools.
Windsor was not exempt from the restrictions imposed on Catholics, but as the Church emerged from the strictures of penal laws, so too the congregation moved to create their church and school. The building of St. Edward’s Church and later St. Mark’s, and the founding of St. Edward’s School, remain a testament to the steadfast devotion of Windsor Catholics to their Faith.
ISBN: 978-0-9545-8712-3
Magna Carta
by Dr Brigitte Mitchel and Carol Dixon-Smith
This delightful, short book is a real gem at explaining the story of the Magna Carta over the centuries. It is very well presented, in short, crisp bites that are extremely easy to read and make excellent use of images, including those newly made available from the British Library. It answers all the questions: the who, the why, the where and the when. What is really enjoyable is how the authors show the relevancy of the Magna Carta in recent history for the United States, for women, and of course, still to this day in the UK. Even the ‘feel’ of this book, using high grade gloss paper and colour throughout, adds to the overall reading experience. A true ‘must-have‘ for anyone studying what Lord Denning has called ‘the greatest constitutional document of all time‘. Available at the Craft Coop, Windsor (which is definitely worth popping in to for a browse).
ISBN: 9-780992-969417 (2015)
Windsor Pubs
by Dr Brigitte Mitchel and Carol Dixon-Smith
The Berkshire town of Windsor has a rich royal history and you’ll find no better illustration of this than in its many and varied old hostelries. People have been enjoying the hospitality offered by the town’s watering holes since William the Conqueror first built a castle here in the eleventh century. Today, that reputation continues as a lively mix of locals and tourists look to quench their thirst. From bustling alehouses that maintain a live music scene through to traditional taverns offering a more sedate atmosphere redolent of a seemingly bygone age, this book will guide you through the town’s pub landscape.
ISBN: 9-781445-658056 (2017)
A History of Berkshire
by Judith Hunter
The story of the county as it existed for more than a thousand years, together with the southern tip of Buckinghamshire gained in 1972. Further local government restructuring will mean loss of county identity, and this gives timely topicality to the book’s publication. Dr. Hunter reveals a history as varied as the landscape of the Royal County, including 146 illustrations. Part of the Darwen Series. Published by Phillimore.
ISBN: 9-780850-337297 (1995)
Exploring Windsor
by Beryl Hedges
This is a revised and updated version of Beryl Hedges’ Discovering Windsor, which was originally published in 1971. This small volume, which fits neatly into a pocket or handbag, is available at bookshops and was sold in aid of Thames Valley Hospice.
ISBN: 9-780952-703303 (1995)
Writers in Windsor
by Hester Davenport
A blend of literary biography and local and national history, this book tells the story of writers’ connections with the town and castle over a period of 600 years. Windlesora readers will remember Hester Davenport’s contributions on Margaret Oliphant and Edward Lear in 1993 and 1994, and this book includes Chaucer, Shakespeare, Pepys, Fanny Burney and Dickens.
ISBN: 9-780952-667803 (1995)
Windsor Great Park – A Visitor’s Guide
by Andrew Fielder
Andrew Fielder lived in Windsor Great Park for over 35 years and has worked for the Forestry Department there, so this book is written from a deep and intimate knowledge and love of the subject. He has illustrated it with his own photographs, which are a historical record of the park at the beginning of the 21st century.
The book is presented as a series of walks around the Park with full details of how to get there and a map of each recommended walk. A commentary on the features along the route is supplemented by old maps, photographs and paintings, many of them from the Royal Collection. Some of the subjects are covered in considerable detail, and I was particularly interested in the full life history of the racehorse Eclipse.
The Guide is beautifully produced in full colour.
ISBN: 978-0-9564703-0-0 (2010)
Windsor Local History Group 