Useful Links

These links useful in researching the Windsor and Eton area. This is a living list and we will continue to update it with useful sources. We hope these help you with your journey.

The Windsor & Royal Borough Museum	The Museum eventually opened in 2011 after a lot of work by the Friends of the Windsor Museum Collection. There is a permanent display within the Windsor Guildhall and an Archive Store in the west of Windors. Well worth a visit both in Windsor and online too.
Royal Windsor Web Site	An excellent website maintained by Thamesweb (Roger Cullingham) with articles and images of the area is a real “must-go-to” for anyone wanting to know the background and details about the area. You will even find articles from Windlesora there too!
Royal Windsor Forum	This is a discussion group hosted by Tapatalk (free membership is required) and moderated by Thamesweb. It has multiple discussion areas including “Windsor Now”, “The Thames at Windsor” and “Windsor History”. There are over 50 thousand posts covering a range of topics so have a cuppa ready when you start your search.
British Association for Local History	This is a national charity that promotes local history and serves local history. Apart from its publications, it provides guides and help for local historians and provides interesting stories on its blog. The WLHG are members of this society.
Historic England	This is a national charity that promotes local history and serves local history. Apart from its publications, it provides guides and help for local historians and provides interesting stories on its blog. The WLHG are members of this society.
A Vision of Britain Through Time	Provides a great place to start any research with its extensive database of places, statistics, historical maps, and reports. There is a learning zone with eLearning tutorials and downloadable guides. The searchable statistical atlas is organised by theme to give information from 1951 to date.
The British Newspaper Archive	The British Newspaper Archive is an online newspaper archive created by the partnership between Findmypast and the British Library. Working on the digitisation for over ten years they have created an easy-to-use, online search experience.
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead	The main website for the local council has a diverse range of information and services for the local community. It has information about local libraries and museums which is invaluable due to both the information and the extremely helpful and knowledgeable staff.
The Royal Collection Trust	The RCT looks after the Royal Collection, one of the most important art collections in the world. They also manage the royal residences and offer exhibitions, learning programs, and publications. The searchable database is very useful due to the local connection to royalty.
The Royal Berkshire Archive	The RBA (previously the Berkshire Records Office) holds the archives for Berkshire with over 900 years of the County’s history. The online searchable catalogue allows quick identification of relevant documents that can actually be seen in the BRO’s facilities in reading. You need a free membership to gain access to the documents.
The National Library of Scotland	It is strange to mention a Scottish library for Windsor & Eton, but they have an invaluable source of online maps that are easily accessible. You can view maps side-by-side or even overlay them to show changes. These go back to the earliest days of the Ordnance Survey, and much earlier too.
Berkshire Local History Association	Suppose you have an interest in local history, either as a researcher or resident and would like to discover more about your locality. In that case, the BLHA is there to help you. In addition to running events, such as talks, study days, and walkabout trips, it also publicises events and talks of local history societies.

There are also other historical groups and societies that are close by. They have put together some fantastic websites over the years that are an indispensable source of information. Please do get in contact with us if we have mistakenly omitted a local website.

Friends of the Windsor and Royal Borough Museum	After campaigning for many years, they managed to get local council support to create a museum on the lower floor of the famous Windsor Guildhall. Apart from volunteering, they fundraise and hold events to raise awareness of local history.
Eton Wick History	The Eton Wick History Group was founded to research and record the local history of Eton Wick and Eton. Meetings are held every six weeks or so. Their website highlights the local area and people with a range of very interesting articles and photographs from over the years.
Slough History Online	This online project about the history of Slough, although a little dated, provides a vast range of stories, essays, reports, and images about Slough over the ages. From Herschel, to the coming of the railways, to the invention of snooker by a local man, it is all there in this comprehensive record of Slough.
The Windsor and Eton Society	This society aims to promote and protect the heritage of Windsor and Eton. With nearly 400 members, most of whom live locally, they have a range of events including regular talks and visits. Founded in 1946, they are active in the area protecting local buildings and areas for future generations.
Dedworth Green – A Suburb of Royal Windsor	This is a great information source for the people of Dedworth. One section of the website provides a good source of local information not be found elsewhere. From HMS President III to the Flying Bomb that hit the area, it is well worth a wee look.
Datchet History	A website about Datchet was compiled by local historian Janet Kennish. This is a complement to other existing websites and provides a mass of local archive photos, paintings, and prints along with historical maps. It also has a chronological past history of Datchet.
Datchet Village Society	A great information source for the locals of Datchet, it also includes articles about Datchet and its people through the two world wars and includes interesting stories and images of that time. The section on their projects is also worth a look as there are some pearls in there.
Dorney History Group	Dorney History is a not-for-profit association of local residents who work together to research, record and promote all aspects of the history of the Dorney area. Articles cover the last 300+ years including what are its roots.
Windsor & District U3A	u3a is a UK-wide collection of 1000+ charities providing the opportunity for those no longer in work to come together and learn for fun. The Windsor is particularly active and apart from Local History talks, they cover a wide range of topics from languages, to sports, to discussion groups, to music. to …..
Maidenhead Archaeological and Historical Society	The aim of Maidenhead Archaeological and Historical Society is to explore, interpret, preserve and share as much historical and archaeological evidence as they can about the area in which they live, and beyond.
Old Windsor Parish Council	In the History section you can find the “Old Windsor Parish Heritage Survey” which provides a detailed assessment of the heritage of the parish by Oxford Archaeology. It is broken down into 3 areas: archaeology, historic buildings and historic landscape.
Windsor Directory of Community Groups and Charities	The Directory was launched by the Mayor of RBWM on 20th March 2024. Originally created to help residents looking for volunteering opportunities, it now forms an invaluable way to find all the local groups, societies, locations, et al across Windsor and the surrounding area.