Churches in the Windsor Area

	Windsor's Oldest Church at Clewer, approximate date 1087 Also see Clewer Village Web Site
St Andrews Church, Clewer	The grave of Lord Vansittart at St Andrews Church, Clewer
This is the oldest building in the area, being a norman Church, and pre-dating Windsor Castle. A church was almost certainly on this site in Saxon times. A photograph of Clewer Church from Stovell Road, taken by T E Cochrane in c. 1909 is here, in a our Then and Now feature. A fuller account of St Andrews Church, Clewer, its history and services are available at the Clewer Village Web Site

Windsor Parish Church High Street, Windsor 1820-22

Windsor Parish Church stands in the High Street near the Guildhall and is dedicated to St John the Baptist. The church was designed by Charles Hollis under the supervision of James Wyatt. A church has stood on this site since the 12thC. There is some carving by Grinling Gibbons and a painting, 'The Last Supper', which came from St George's Chapel where it formed the reredos in the reign of George III. More information about the Parish Church. An article about the earlier Church on this site appears in Windlesora 18

Holy Trinity Parish & Garrison Church Trinity Place, Windsor Foundation Stone: 4th April 1842   Holy Trinity Church, looking east from Alma Road, Windsor

The foundation stone of Holy Trinity Church was laid by the Prince Consort in 1842. [Contemporary report of the laying of the foundation stone by Prince Albert]. Besides being a Parish Church, the church is also a Garrison Church. The church contains memorials to the Household Cavalry and Brigade of Guards. Along the front of the gallery are the names of the officers, non-commissioned officers and men of the Brigade of Guards who fell in the Crimea. The text round ("Fight the Good Fight ") was chosen by Queen Victoria specially for the memorial. Against the wall under the gallery are the names of those of the Household Cavalry Brigade of Guards who fell in the South African War. The memorial was unveiled on January 28th, 1905, by King Edward VII.   On the south side is a chapel built by the 1st Life Guards in memory of the Egyptian Campaign. The Chancel screen was put up to those of the Household Cavalry who fell in the Great War. It was unveiled by Lieut. Colonel Tweedmouth, C.M.G., on October 6th, 1921. The altar rails were put up in memory of those of the Household Battalion who fell in the Great War, 1914-1918. This was unveiled on the same date by Lieut. Colonel W. Porter, M.V.O. The reredos and end-panelling were dedicated on June 15th, 1922, to the memory of those of the Brigade of Guards who fell in the Great War. The names of all those of the Household Cavalry, Household Battalion and Brigade of Guards who fell in the Great War are recorded in three books, which are placed close to the memorials. The books, containing 14,000 names of those who fell from the Brigade of Guards, was placed on the shelf of the memorial by H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught, K.G., Senior Colonel of the Brigade of Guards. The architect for these three memorials was Sir Gilbert Scott.   The church features a stained glass window commemorating Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale. His father, then Prince of Wales, later to become Edward VII, attended the private inauguration of the great triple window in the North Transept. Trinity Church from a tinted postcard of 1906 looking east. Although hand-tinted the colouring in this view may be quite accurate. Little has changed in the Valentine postcard view above, although the horse chestnut trees to the right are rather larger these days and there is a wall behind them which would have surrounded the playing fields of the Boys School which was to open in 1908. The school buildings later became Windsor Library. Around the 1900s Trinity Church was still surrounded by a wall topped by wrought iron railings and a gate, visible in the detail view below. The low wall, gateway and railings are visible in this detail from the above postcard.

St Edwards Roman Catholic Church Alma Road, Windsor

St Edwards Roman Catholic Church Alma Road, Windsor 1868 This Roman Catholic church is dedicated to St. Edward and was opened in 1868. It is constructed of Kentish ragstone in the Early English style with chancel, nave, aisles and chantry. The chapel features pictures by Murillo and Carlo Dolci, a reredos and a 14th century statue of the Virgin Mary. The windows are all stained glass. The church will seat about 600 persons. St Edward's Rectory next door dates from 1883. An early photograph of St Edwards Church dating from around 1910 with the rectory beyond. The nearby trees are now fully matured.

All Saints Church Dedworth All Saints Church Dedworth Website Following the death of Mary Sophia Tudor, a member of the Thynne family, her family decided to build All Saints Church in a field near their home as a private chapel to commemorate her life. The red brick chapel was consecrated in 1863. William Morris and his team produced the stained glass windows that made All Saints an important stopping place for visitors to Windsor.   By the early 1960s it became clear that All Saints church was suffering from cracks caused by the movement of the Thames Valley clay on which the church is built. It is also possible that a nearby World War II doodlebug explosion may have added to the instability. In 1962 the brickwork was so cracked and deteriorated that it was decided that the church had to be closed to avoid injury to the congregation.   The specification was for a multi-purpose building that could seat 150 people, but could also be partitioned to allow other activities like meetings and play groups. The new building was to contain a kitchen and toilets. The Morris stained glass windows were to be incorporated in to the new building. On Saturday 9th June 1973 the Bishop of Reading came to conduct the service to dedicate the new Church.   Since then there have been a number of extensions to the church centre, which is now a thriving focal point for the community of Dedworth.

All Saints Church Frances Road, Windsor Date: 1863

All Saints Church Frances Road, Windsor

Reputed to have been designed by Thomas Hardy, the author. In 1862 The Parish Church was proving too small. "It seats 1713" said Canon Ellison. "478 are for school children: families cannot get sufficient seatings" so the daughter Church of All Saints was planned. H.M. Queen Victoria expressed her approval and contributed £300, and her daughter Empress Frederick laid the foundation stone in 1863. A tinted postcard of All Saints Church postmarked 1908 by Valentine Views of Windsor Engravings and Post Cards For Sale Old engravings and paintings, both framed and unframed, of the Windsor area are always available through Thamesweb. If there are any views that you are looking for, please contact Windsorviews The Royal Windsor Web Site also offers a selection of postcards of the Windsor area to support the web site's costs. By buying the card above or other cards you will be helping to ensure the continued existence and growth of the Royal Windsor Web Site. We are always keen to receive either scans (JPG) of Windsor as it was, or old post cards, engravings or books and booklets to illustrate forthcoming Windsor Web Site stories. Please contact The Editor Christ Church, United Reformed Church The present church dates from 1979 The roots of the present Church go back to 1662 and the Act of Uniformity. William Street in Windsor saw the building of the Congregational Church in 1832, and its replacement by the present United Reformed Church in 1979. For a full history of this church, a map and times of services, please see the URC Web Site   Back to Royal Windsor Home Page To contact us, email Thamesweb.