Windsor

History

The early history of the site is unknown, although Old English field names in its vicinity that survived to be documented in the medieval period, confirm that a substantial community existed on this site for a considerable time before 1066. By 1070, recognising the strategic importance of the site, William the Conqueror had a timber motte-and-bailey castle constructed. In 1778, royal visits to Windsor resumed, although not to the castle as this was in a state of decay. Rather, George III extended a summer house first built by Queen Anne, which faced the upper ward walls, and was known as the Garden House. The extended building was renamed Upper lodge, but owing to George III's ill health, part of the royal apartments in the castle were refurbished in 1804 for his use. This started a period of new development in Windsor, with the building of two army barracks. However the associated large numbers of soldiers led to a major prostitution problem by 1830, in a town where the number of streets had little changed since 1400. In the 18th century the town traded with London, selling Windsor Chairs which were actually made in Buckinghamshire. A number of fine houses were built in this period, including Hadleigh House on Sheet Street, which was built in 1793 by the then mayor of Windsor, William Thomas. In 1811 it was the home of John O'Reilly, the apothecary-surgeon to George III. Windsor Castle was the westernmost sighting-point for the Anglo-French Survey (1784–1790), which measured the precise distance between the Royal Greenwich Observatory and the Paris Observatory by trigonometry. Windsor was used because of its relative proximity to the base-line of the survey at Hounslow Heath. The substantial redevelopment of the castle in the subsequent decade and Queen Victoria's…

Most-observed species

• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  22,327
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  18,709
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  18,566
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  17,708
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  16,522
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  14,476
• Red Kite

  Milvus milvus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,788
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  13,667

Most recent

• M 3.1 — 2020-09-22
  5 km N of Aylesbury, United Kingdom
• M 3.9 — 2020-09-08
  2 km WSW of Pitstone, United Kingdom
• M 3.3 — 2019-02-27
  3 km SE of Dorking, United Kingdom
• M 2.8 — 2018-07-05
  1 km S of Ewhurst, United Kingdom
• M 2.6 — 2018-06-27
  5 km W of Capel, United Kingdom
• M 2.7 — 2018-04-01
  4 km E of Holmwood, United Kingdom