Old Windsor

Old Windsor
Berkshire
Prince Consort Pond, Windsor Great Park
Location
Grid reference:	SU983744
Location:	51°27’36"N, -0°35’10"W
Data
Population:	4,775
Post town:	Windsor
Postcode:	SL4
Dialling code:	01753
Local Government
Council:	Windsor and Maidenhead
Parliamentary constituency:	Windsor

Old Windsor is a large village at the eastern edge of Berkshire. The village stands just south of the town of Windsor and near to the villages of Englefield Green and Datchet. It sits on the River Thames, and provides a pleasant walk along the river's edge to Old Windsor Lock in the summer.

Old Windsor was originally the site of an important palace of the Anglo-Saxon Kings. Certainly the settlement is documented as a defended royal manor in Edward the Confessor's time (1060s), but archaeological evidence suggests royal connections had existed since at least 9th century. Old Windsor was popular with the monarch because of its convenient location: near the River Thames for transport and Windsor Forest for hunting.

Old Windsor was also an early minster location and market and important riverside mill complex. The Saxon palace was eventually superseded by the Norman Windsor Castle at 'New' Windsor. The mediæval manor house, however, became a popular Royal hunting lodge, at a time when the castle was a fortress rather than a comfortable residence.

The Great Park

Windsor Great Park is largely within the bounds of Old Windsor, including both the Royal and Cumberland Lodges.