86-481: Pinkneys Green is a semi-rural village near the town of Maidenhead , Berkshire . It sits within the ancient parish of Cookham . Pinkneys Green is about two miles northwest of Maidenhead town centre, although it is located within the boundaries of the town. The village is located east of the A404 and north-west of the suburb of Highway. Cookham Dean and Bisham are to the north, Burchett's Green and Stubbings to
172-636: A British settlement at the top of the hill (close to which "much Romaine mony is found"), the Saxon and medieval town further south, and a more recent riverside development at Wigford. He was able to judge that the existing fabric of Ripon Minster "indubitately was made sins the Conquest ". He correctly distinguished what he called "Briton brykes" (actually Roman bricks ) at several geographically dispersed sites, including Verulamium , Richborough , Lympne , Dover Castle , Canterbury , and Bewcastle . He
258-405: A Catholic chapel that led to St Joseph's Church . Maidenhead clock tower was built for Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee and is located outside the railway station. Boulter's Lock is a lock on the river Thames on the east side of Maidenhead. It adjoins Ray Mill Island . In addition the town has a range of various statues which form part of a recognisable image of the town, including the 'Boy and
344-664: A few fragmentary notes survive. Leland kept notebooks on his travels, in which he entered and assessed information from personal observation, and from books, charters and oral sources. It is this material which we now know as his 'Itinerary'. In the 1906–10 edition, the Itinerary runs to five printed volumes. It comprises rough notes and very early drafts, the raw materials for a more digested description of England and Wales – Leland would not have envisaged publishing it in anything like its present form. The county on which he appears to have made greatest progress in organising his material
430-400: A formal appointment as "king's antiquary": however, it is now understood to have been merely Leland's own preferred way of describing himself. There is no evidence that he personally oversaw the relocation of the books to their new home or received a librarian's wages. What he did do was to compile his lists of important volumes, and to take measures to encourage their preservation. Even after
516-451: A hole worlde of thinges very memorable. He also described what use he intended to make of the information he had accumulated. He noted four projects: Of these projects, De uiris illustribus was already largely complete (it was written in two phases, in c. 1535 –36 and c. 1543 –46), but the others would never come to fruition. Polydore Vergil appears to have suggested that Leland had been unrealistically over-ambitious: he
602-464: A linear settlement in the 13th century along the newly diverted road with hostelries, a guildhall and a chapel dedicated to St Mary Magdalene was built in the middle of the road. The market was held outside the old guildhall which was set back from the High Street to form the market square. Maidenhead also became the first stopping point for coaches travelling from London to Gloucester and Bath and
688-674: A local landmark, dates from 1777 and was built at a cost of £19,000. It takes the A4 over the Thames to join Maidenhead to Taplow. All Saints' Church, Boyne Hill was completed in 1857 and is an early work by the architect G. E. Street . The church, consecrated on 2 December 1857 by Bishop Samuel Wilberforce , became the first ecclesiastical parish in the Borough of Maidenhead. Ten years later, in 1867, his brother William Wilberforce junior founded
774-572: A new leisure centre in the town to replace the outdated Magnet Leisure Centre which is located east of Kidwells Park. The new facility, Braywick Leisure Centre, opened in September 2020. The town also has various community centres, including 4 Marlow Road, a youth and community centre, located to the side of Kidwells Park near the town centre. Various activities take place here, including scheduled youth drop in times as well as classes in dance provided privately in its large sports and dance studios. There
860-476: A pseudonym for Vergil, was a type-name drawn from Juvenal for a wretched and dreary hack-poet.) He followed this with a longer published work, the Assertio inclytissimi Arturii regis Britannia (1544). In both texts, Leland drew on a wide range of literary, etymological, archaeological and oral sources to defend the historicity of Arthur. Although his central belief was flawed, his work preserved much evidence for
946-491: A series of journeys which lasted six years. Probably over the summer of 1538 (though there may also have been earlier and/or later trips), he made an extended excursion through Wales. He subsequently made a number of journeys in England: the exact sequence and their dates are again uncertain, but there seem to have been five major English itineraries, taken over the summers of the years 1539 to 1543. His one firmly dated itinerary
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#17327795657921032-567: A women's team and a large youth programme. The local newspaper is The Maidenhead Advertiser . Maidenhead has been the home of Maidenhead Citadel Band of the Salvation Army since 1886. The head office of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission is based in Maidenhead on Marlow Road. Furthermore, various private companies have their head offices located around the town including, Johnson & Johnson,
1118-517: Is Buckinghamshire New University in High Wycombe 14.5 km (9 mi) to the north. The University of Reading and University of West London (Berkshire Institute of Health-Reading) are both approximately 21 km (13 mi) to the south-west. Maidenhead is briefly mentioned in Jerome K. Jerome 's 1889 humorous novel, Three Men in a Boat , although the author makes clear he dislikes
1204-520: Is a new and authoritative edition (with English translation) of the work previously published by Hall as Commentarii de Scriptoribus Britannicis . This edition, based on Toulmin Smith's, rearranges Leland's topographical descriptions of England (with Wales added in the second edition) in county chapters, and renders them in modern English. It is less authoritative for scholarly purposes, but considerably more accessible and easier to navigate. It also corrects
1290-602: Is a publicly open gym at Furze Platt school, in North Maidenhead. The ( Brunel -built) Great Western Main Line and Elizabeth Line passes through the town, calling at Maidenhead railway station and offer direct services to London (Paddington and intermediate stations towards Liverpool Street, Shenfield, Canary Wharf and Abbey Wood) Reading , Didcot and an hourly direct Sunday service to Swindon . It passes over Brunel's Maidenhead Railway Bridge (known locally as
1376-579: Is linked to Maidenhead by the exclusive Fishery Estate which lies on the west bank of the Thames. To the east, on the opposite side of the river from Maidenhead, is the large village of Taplow in Buckinghamshire which almost adjoins the suburban village of Burnham, Buckinghamshire , which itself nearly adjoins the urban area of the large, industrial town of Slough . To the north are the Cookhams , Cookham Village, Cookham Rise and Cookham Dean. To
1462-485: Is named after Henry Reitlinger, a leading collector of fine art. On his death in 1950, the collection was vested in a trust, the Henry Reitlinger Bequest. The trustees were his adopted daughter, Mrs. M. Cocke, and a Maidenhead solicitor, who chose to house the collection at Oldfield House, now a private residence; the building dates back to 1892. The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead has built
1548-619: Is that of 1542, which took him to the West Country . By that date he had been on a tour to the north-west, which went via the Welsh marches to Cheshire , Lancashire and Cumberland ; while other itineraries took him to the west Midlands , the north-east (reaching Yorkshire and County Durham ), and the Bristol region. He probably explored the south-east in shorter excursions. He is not known to have toured East Anglia , for which only
1634-417: Is unclear. Maidenhead's name stems from the riverside area where the first "New wharf " or "Maiden Hythe" was built, as early as Saxon times . In the year 870, an army of Danes invaded the kingdom of Wessex . They disembarked from their longboats by the wharf and ferry crossing at Maidenhead and fought their way overland to Reading where they set up camp and made it their regional power base. The area of
1720-451: Is under construction. Part of the scheme involves restoring the old Thames tributaries which run through a historic section of the town centre. The redevelopment will bring an attractive waterfront quarter with new apartments, boutique stores, restaurants, bars, and cafes are to be a feature this new part of the town centre. The adjoining historic section of the High Street around the 18th century Chapel Arches Bridge has been restored as part of
1806-733: The Department for Work and Pensions , a local Jobcentre Plus which is located in Park Street. It is open 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday (10am on Wednesday) and offers help in finding employment, including the National Careers Service. In addition, as part of the UK Government roll out of the new social care benefit system, Maidenhead is now a Universal Credit Full Service area. Situated on the River Thames,
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#17327795657921892-596: The Dissolution of the Monasteries , Leland did not abandon his hunt for books. For instance, he obtained official permission to avail himself of the library belonging to the defunct monastery of Bury St Edmunds . The descriptions of Britain which he encountered in the manuscripts, however, and his personal experiences of travel, also sparked off fresh interests. By about 1538, Leland had turned his attention to English and Welsh topography and antiquities, embarking on
1978-644: The Elizabeth Line through the Thames Valley since 2022. Local bus services are provided by First Berkshire & The Thames Valley , Arriva Shires & Essex and Thames Valley Buses . The A4 runs through the town and crosses the Thames over Maidenhead Bridge . The town lies adjacent to junction 8/9 on the M4 motorway and is accessed via the A404(M) and A308(M) . The A308(M), A404(M) and A404 form
2064-533: The Marlow and Maidenhead bypass which also acts as an important link between the M4, to the south of the town, and M40 at High Wycombe . The River Thames runs 1 ⁄ 2 mile (800 m) to the east of the town centre, and York Stream, which runs through the town centre, connects to the Thames via a system of disused waterways . A renewal scheme is in progress to reopen these waterways. The Jubilee River , part of
2150-520: The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead . Much of the Maidenhead urban area is unparished , but some outlying parts of the built-up area are included in civil parishes , notably at Cox Green to the south-west and Bray to the south. The borough council is based in Maidenhead, having its main offices at Maidenhead Town Hall on St Ives Road, which had been completed in 1962 for the former Maidenhead Borough Council. The town of Maidenhead
2236-417: The 1530s and 1540s, the royal library was reorganised to accommodate hundreds of books that were previously kept in monastic collections. Leland himself describes how Henry's palaces at Greenwich , Hampton Court and Westminster were adapted for the purpose. Leland's part in this is uncertain. In humanist fashion, Leland styled himself antiquarius , a title which was at one time interpreted as referring to
2322-744: The American multi-national pharmaceutical. The schools listed below consist of various types of schools including free schools and academies. Although the town only has the one college, most students entering college level education travel to the various establishments in the area, including the Windsor Forest Colleges Group (formerly East Berkshire College) in both Windsor (Berkshire) and Langley , Slough as well as The Henley College in Oxfordshire and Reading College (Berkshire). The closest higher education institution
2408-528: The Arthurian tradition that might otherwise have been lost. Leland's material provides invaluable evidence for reconstructing the lost "tomb monument" of Arthur (thought to be a fabrication of the twelfth century) at Glastonbury Abbey . He was probably also responsible for making a drawing of the lead cross that identified the grave as Arthur's, afterwards published as a woodcut in the 1607 edition of Camden's Britannia . On his itinerary of 1542, Leland
2494-685: The Boat' location at the top end of the High Street, near the Methodist Church. Maidenhead has a long history of settlement, going back to the Anglo-Saxon and Roman periods. Despite this, there are no visible architectural remains in the present day town to show this. Although there are attractive residential and green areas in and around Maidenhead, the historic heart of the town has been redeveloped, primarily with office space, high technology company headquarters and apartments, making it one of
2580-613: The High Street, the site of which is now a branch of the NatWest Bank . A plaque commemorates their meeting. When the Great Western Railway came to the town, it began to expand. Muddy roads were replaced and public services were installed. The High Street began to change again, and substantial Victorian red brick architecture began to appear throughout the town. Maidenhead Citadel Corps of the Salvation Army
2666-411: The High Street. There are also plans to demolish the 1960s Nicholsons shopping centre and replace it with a new retail and residential quarter built around a network of revived historic streets and a micro brewery. A new town square featuring shops, restaurants and apartments is currently under construction between the central library and town hall . The Chapel Arches retail and residential development
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2752-456: The King for January 1546, but James Carley has shown that it must have been composed in late 1543 or early 1544 (so that if it was presented at the new year, which is not certain, it would have been in 1544). In the letter, Leland reported on his endeavours to preserve books, and the extent and thoroughness of his travels through England and Wales: I have so travelid yn yowr dominions booth by
2838-794: The New Economics Foundation rated Maidenhead as an example of a clone town and the town centre is regarded as in need of improvement. In December 2007, the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead set up the Partnership for the Regeneration of Maidenhead (PRoM), which in October 2008 launched a comprehensive 20 Year Vision and Action Plan for rejuvenating the town centre. Launch of the plan coincided with confirmation by central government that Maidenhead will be part of
2924-533: The Sounding Arch), famous for its flat brick arches. Maidenhead Station is the beginning of the Marlow Branch Line from Maidenhead to Marlow, Buckinghamshire ; Furze Platt railway station on this branch also serves the northern area of Maidenhead. Rail services for all services from Maidenhead have been provided by Great Western since 2003–04, and more recently, TfL Rail who have operated
3010-529: The Spring, commencing an annual " road run ". Scouts have been in Pinkneys Green since 1909. Pinkneys Green Scouts on Winter Hill Road has over 135 members. The first Girl Guide company in the world was the 1st Pinkneys Green Guides ( Miss Baden-Powell 's Own). Ellington Morris - Maidenhead's Morris Dance team - are based in Pinkneys Green. Formed in 1972, the side practices throughout the winter at
3096-799: The Yorkist claimant to the throne (d. 1525). He proceeded to Lambeth, London, serving Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk , as tutor to his son Thomas . When the duke died in 1524, the king sent Leland to Oxford , where as Anthony Wood later claimed from tradition, he became a fellow of All Souls College . He would later deplore the state of education at Oxford, which he felt was too conservative in its approach to classical studies. Between 1526 and 1528, Leland proceeded to Paris , studying along with many fellow expatriates, both English and German. His original plan to study in Italy, too, never succeeded. Leland honed his skills at composing Latin poetry and sought
3182-744: The acquaintance of humanist scholars whom he much admired, such as Guillaume Budé and Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples . A scholar of particular importance for Leland was François Dubois (Silvius), professor at the Collège de Tournai , who had a profound effect on his poetic as well as antiquarian interests. While in France, Leland kept in touch with his friends and sponsors in England, probably including Thomas Wolsey (d. 1530), Cardinal and Lord Chancellor, who made him rector at Laverstoke , Hampshire. By 1529, Leland had returned to England. When Wolsey fell from
3268-596: The antiquary, William Burton . Burton subsequently managed to recover several of the items given to Hales, and in 1632 and 1642–3 donated most of the collection—comprising the Collectanea , De scriptoribus and several of the Itinerary notebooks—to the Bodleian Library , Oxford, where the volumes remain. The Leland Trail is a 28-mile (45 km) footpath , which follows the footsteps of John Leland as he traversed South Somerset between 1535 and 1543 in
3354-892: The borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (which was allowed to use the style ' royal borough ' that had previously been used by Windsor ). The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead became a unitary authority in 1998 when it took over the functions of the abolished Berkshire County Council . The Maidenhead urban area includes urban and suburban regions within the bounds of the town, called Maidenhead Court, North Town, Furze Platt, Pinkneys Green , Highway, Tittle Row, Boyn Hill, Fishery and Bray Wick; as well as adjoining built-up areas in surrounding civil parishes : Cox Green and Altwood in Cox Green parish, Woodlands Park in White Waltham parish, and part of Bray Wick in Bray parish. Bray village
3440-503: The country. The Local Government Act 1894 directed that parishes were no longer allowed to straddle borough boundaries, and so a parish called Maidenhead was created covering the same area as the borough, and the parishes of Bray and Cookham were reduced to just cover the areas outside the borough. The municipal borough and parish of Maidenhead were abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 , becoming part of
3526-482: The county as the basic unit for studying the local history of England, an idea that has been influential ever since. Most evidence for Leland's life and career comes from his own writings, especially his poetry. He was born in London on 13 September, most probably in about 1503, and had an older brother, also named John. Having lost both his parents at an early age, he and his brother were raised by Thomas Myles. Leland
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3612-522: The course of his investigation of the region's antiquities. The Leland Trail begins at King Alfred's Tower on the Wiltshire / Somerset border and finishes at Ham Hill Country Park . Leland's prose writings, published and unpublished, include: Leland's writings are an invaluable primary source , not only for the local history and the geography of England, but also for literary history , archaeology , social history , and economic history . This
3698-947: The custody of Sir John Cheke . John Bale consulted some of them at this time. Cheke fell from favour on the accession of Queen Mary , and departed for mainland Europe in 1554: from that point onwards, and continuing after Cheke's death in 1557, the library was dispersed. Books were acquired by collectors including Sir William Cecil , William, Lord Paget , John Dee and Archbishop Matthew Parker . Leland's own manuscript notebooks were inherited by Cheke's son, Henry, and in 1576 they were borrowed and transcribed by John Stow , allowing their contents to begin to circulate in antiquarian circles. Antiquaries who gained access to them through Stow included William Camden , William Harrison , Robert Glover and Francis Thynne . The original notebooks passed from Henry Cheke to Humphrey Purefoy, and so (following his death in 1598) to Humphrey's son Thomas, who divided many of them between his two cousins John Hales and
3784-589: The destruction of the previous one in an arson attack in February 2004. Pinkneys Green F.C. was founded in 1978. The club currently plays in the Thames Valley Sunday Football League Division 2. [REDACTED] Media related to Pinkneys Green at Wikimedia Commons Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire , England. It lies on
3870-609: The development. Existing Georgian and Victorian buildings have been rejuvenated, and the adjoining new builds have been sensitively constructed in the same historic style to bring back a sense of history and lost heritage to this part of the town centre. Maidenhead was home to the amateur radio conference that agreed on the Maidenhead Locator System standard in 1980. It is located in grid square IO91pm . The average house price in Maidenhead in January 2021
3956-586: The earliest archaeological field report. Leland was a staunch patriot, and believed firmly in the historical veracity of King Arthur . He therefore took offence when the Italian scholar Polydore Vergil cast doubts on certain elements in the Arthurian legend in his Anglica Historia (published in 1534). Leland's first response was an unpublished tract, written perhaps in 1536, the Codrus sive Laus et Defensio Gallofridi Arturii contra Polydorum Vergilium . ("Codrus",
4042-684: The ex- Carmelite churchman and fellow antiquary John Bale , who much admired his work and offered his assistance. In 1536, not long after the Suppression of Religious Houses Act 1535 commanding the dissolution of lesser monasteries was passed, Leland lamented the spoliation of monastic libraries and addressed Thomas Cromwell in a letter seeking aid for the rescue of books. He complained that The Germans perceive our desidiousness, and do send daily young scholars hither that spoileth [books], and cutteth them out of libraries, returning home and putting them abroad as monuments of their own country. In
4128-475: The ferry in South Ellington. The Great West Road to Reading , Gloucester and Bristol was diverted over the new bridge. Previously, it had kept to the north bank and crossed the Thames by ford at Cookham , and the medieval town, later to become Maidenhead grew up on the site of Alaunodunum and South Ellington, between the new bridge and the bottom of Castle Hill. Within a few years a new wharf
4214-637: The flood defence scheme, begins above Boulter's Lock nearby. In the initial plan for Crossrail , Maidenhead was expected to become the terminus for the line, now known as the Elizabeth line. However, after consultation Crossrail Limited and Transport for London decided to extend this to Reading , which also serves as a major hub for the Great Western route. Some of the stopping services from Paddington to Reading were taken over in 2018 by Crossrail's precursor company, TfL Rail . The full timetable
4300-549: The key business and commuter towns of the Silicon Corridor . This has happened in piecemeal fashion over the last forty years and Maidenhead town centre has lost most many historic buildings and much of its traditional English market town character. The High Street and Bridge Street areas only possess one heavily restored Medieval building and a handful of Georgian buildings in the Chapel Arches area. Research by
4386-496: The king appears to have entrusted Leland with a document, "a moste gratius commission" (or principis diploma as he called it in Latin), which authorized him to examine and use the libraries of all religious houses in England. Leland spent the next few years travelling from house to house, for the most part shortly before they were dissolved, compiling numerous lists of significant or unusual books in their libraries. About 1535, he met
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#17327795657924472-523: The king's favour in that year, Leland appears to have sought the patronage of Thomas Cromwell , a relationship which would help explain his rising fortunes over the next few years. He was appointed one of the chaplains to King Henry VIII , who gave him the rectory of Peuplingues (Pepeling), in the marshes of Calais (though he may never have visited the place). In 1533, Leland received papal dispensation for four benefices, on condition that he became subdeacon within two years and priest within seven. He
4558-402: The mid-1540s, Leland wrote a letter to Henry VIII in which he outlined his achievements so far, and his future plans. It was subsequently published by John Bale in 1549 (with Bale's own additional commentary) under the title The laboryouse journey & serche of Johan Leylande for Englandes antiquitees . The letter has traditionally (following Bale) been regarded as a "New Year's gift" to
4644-426: The new Crossrail project. PRoM's plans highlight five key developments which will help shape the town for the future. A large new retail and residential development called 'The Landing' is due for construction shortly. Additionally there will be an upgraded railway station and transport interchange, movement of the leisure centre to Braywick Park, relocating the bowls club and improved links between Kidwells Park and
4730-575: The original manor of Pinkneys Court, then in the parish of Cookham , from the 12th to the 15th century. The wooded Maidenhead Thicket, owned by the National Trust , is at Pinkneys Green. The banks and ditches of a small Iron Age farmstead, called 'Robin Hood's Arbour' may be seen there. The Thicket was originally a much larger area of wilderness, famous as the haunt of highwaymen in the 17th and 18th centuries. Maidenhead's coaching inns grew rich on
4816-598: The planned western terminus for the Crossrail line (to and through London) until Reading station, situated 13 miles (21 km) southwest of Maidenhead, was chosen. Maidenhead lies immediately west of the Taplow ridge; a wooded spur of the Chilterns which rises dramatically above one of the most scenic stretches of the Thames. The ridge is crowned by the spectacular Cliveden House which can be seen from various parts of
4902-589: The present town centre was originally a small Anglo-Saxon town known as "South Ellington". The town would have likely developed on the Camlet Way on the site of Alaunodunum as the Bath Road was not re-routed until the 13th century. Maidenhead is recorded in the Domesday Book as the settlement of Ellington in the hundred of Beynhurst. A wooden bridge was erected across the river in about 1280 to replace
4988-473: The scouts hut and perform their traditional Mummers play on Boxing day followed by dancing out from May 1 at pubs, fetes and events in the area throughout the summer. The side dances traditional Cotswold dances together with their own Ellington tradition. Cricket has been played on Pinkneys Green since 1885. Michael Parkinson officially opened the new Pinkneys Green Cricket Club pavilion in May 2007 following
5074-429: The se costes and the midle partes, sparing nother labor nor costes, by the space of these vi. yeres paste, that there is almoste nother cape, nor bay, haven, creke or peere, river or confluence of rivers, breches, waschis, lakes, meres, fenny waters, montaynes, valleis, mores, hethes, forestes, wooddes, cities, burges, castelles, principale manor placis, monasteries, and colleges, but I have seene them; and notid yn so doing
5160-532: The southwestern bank of the River Thames , which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire . In the 2021 Census, the Maidenhead built-up area had a population of 67,375. The town is situated 27 miles (43 km) west of Charing Cross , London and 13 miles (21 km) east-northeast of the county town of Reading . The town gives its name to the Maidenhead constituency , which extends beyond
5246-646: The time of Henry's death, "he fell besides his wits". Leland was certified insane in March 1550 and died, still mentally deranged, on 18 April 1552, aged about 48. Leland was buried in the church of St Michael-le-Querne near his home. However the church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666, and not rebuilt, and so Leland's tomb has been lost. Following Leland's death or (more probably) his descent into madness, King Edward VI arranged for Leland's library, including many medieval manuscripts, to be placed in
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#17327795657925332-479: The town became populated with numerous inns . By the mid 18th century, Maidenhead was one of the busiest coaching towns in England with over ninety coaches a day passing through the town. The late 18th-century Bear Hotel on the High Street is the best of the town's old coaching inns surviving to this day. King Charles I met his children for the last time before his execution in 1649 at the Greyhound Inn on
5418-606: The town is a rowing centre. Maidenhead Rowing Club organises the Maidenhead Regatta which, along with Marlow Regatta and Henley Regatta , is often seen as a testing ground for Olympic rowing athletes. Maidenhead has often seen winners go on to represent the United Kingdom at the Olympic Games. The town's football team, Maidenhead United , play at York Road , which is the oldest football ground in
5504-416: The town to also include various nearby villages. The antiquary John Leland claimed that the area around Maidenhead's present town centre was a small Roman settlement called Alaunodunum. He stated that it had all but disappeared by the end of the Roman occupation. Although his source is unknown, there is documented and physical evidence of Roman settlement in the town. There are two well known villa sites in
5590-421: The town, one being in the suburb of Cox Green , and the other just west of the town centre on Castle Hill. This villa sat on the route of the Camlet Way which was a Roman road linking Silchester ( Calleva Atrebatum ) and Colchester ( Camulodunum ) via St Albans ( Verulamium ) and passes through the present town centre. Remnants of the road have been unearthed at various locations nearby, but its exact route
5676-477: The town. A number of notable figures can be counted amongst Maidenhead's current and former residents. John Leland (antiquary) John Leland or Leyland (13 September, c. 1503 – 18 April 1552) was an English poet and antiquary . Leland has been described as "the father of English local history and bibliography". His Itinerary provided a unique source of observations and raw materials for many subsequent antiquaries, and introduced
5762-493: The town. Maidenhead has a site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in the northern outskirts of the town called Cannoncourt Farm Pit , where the largest hand axe of the paleolithic era in Britain was discovered. The town also has a local nature reserve called The Gullet . On 12 July 1901 Maidenhead entered the UK Weather Records with the Highest 60-min total rainfall at 92 mm (3.6 in). As of January 2024, this record remains. The current Maidenhead Bridge ,
5848-471: The travellers' fear of crossing the Thicket at night. Pinkneys Green is a dormitory residential area and contains very few businesses or services. It has two public houses and a restaurant, and it is only a short distance from Maidenhead town centre and railway station. Pinkney's Green Common is frequented by dog-walkers at all hours of the day from across the area. It is owned by the National Trust. Carters Steam Fair used to stop at Pinkneys Green each year in
5934-512: The valuable rectory of Great Haseley , Oxfordshire . The year following he preferred him to a canonry of King's College, now Christ Church, Oxford , and about the same time, collated him to a prebend in the church of Sarum . He was an absentee pluralist, with the income and leisure to pursue his interests. He retired with his collections to his house in the parish of St Michael-le-Querne , adjoining Cheapside , London, where he intended to work on his various projects. However, in February 1547 near
6020-413: The west is the area of Pinkneys Green. These lie south of the Berkshire- Buckinghamshire border, which is formed by the River Thames (which then bends southwards to form the Maidenhead-Taplow border). Adjoining Bray and Bray Wick to the south is the suburban village of Holyport . Continuing by road to the South-East leads to the historic, royal twin towns of Windsor and Eton . Maidenhead was originally
6106-404: The west, and Cox Green to the south. Established as a hamlet circa 1650, it had become known as Pinkneys Green by the early 1700s, although it is unclear whether the name derives specifically from Ghilo de Pinkney, a Norman knight who supported William the Conqueror , or in reference to the Pinkney family as a whole. This prominent family, whose main estates were in Northamptonshire , owned
6192-478: The world continuously used by the same team. Maidenhead United were crowned champions of National League South at the end of the 2016/17 season. Due to this, the team were automatically promoted to the National League (fifth tier of English Football) for the 2017/18 season. The Maidenhead Rugby Club was founded in 1921 and is the largest organised sports team in the town. It consists of four men's teams,
6278-482: Was Kent . "Let this be the firste chapitre of the booke", he wrote; "The King hymself was borne yn Kent. Kent is the key of al Englande." John Bale later listed an Itinerarium Cantiae (Itinerary of Kent) among Leland's writings. Although Leland's Itinerary notes remained unpublished until the eighteenth century, they provided a significant quarry of data and descriptions for William Camden 's Britannia (first edition, 1586), and many other antiquarian works. In
6364-417: Was "a vaynegloryouse persone, whyche woulde promyse more, than ever he was able or intended to perfourme". Leland was concerned to record evidence for the history of England and Wales as it was visible in the landscape, and he therefore took pains to note all kinds of archaeological remains, including megaliths , hillforts , and Roman and medieval ruins. He came across several Roman inscriptions , though he
6450-554: Was appointed prebendary of Wilton Abbey in Wiltshire in 1535 and received two adjacent benefices. Leland and Nicholas Udall composed verses to be read or recited at the pageant of Anne Boleyn 's arrival in London in 1533, which was staged for the occasion of her coronation. Their common patron was probably Thomas, Duke of Norfolk and Cornwall. The poets worked together again during 1533 and 1534, when Leland contributed verses for Udall's Floures for Latine Spekynge . In 1533,
6536-467: Was constructed next to the bridge to replace the old Saxon wharf which needed replacing. At this time, the South Ellington name was dropped with the town becoming known as Maidenhythe. The earliest record of this name change is in the Bray Court manorial rolls of 1296. The new bridge and wharf led to the growth of medieval Maidenhead as a river port and market town . The present town was developed as
6622-404: Was educated at St Paul's School , London, under its first headmaster, William Lily . It was here that he already met some of his future benefactors, notably William Paget . Leland was subsequently sent to Christ's College, Cambridge , graduating in 1522 (BA). While studying there, he was for a short time imprisoned, having accused a certain knight of collaborating with Richard de la Pole ,
6708-572: Was elected MP in 1997 and has represented Maidenhead until she stood down in 2024. The seat is now held by Joshua Reynolds of the Liberal Democrats . Maidenhead was incorporated as a borough in 1582. The borough straddled the parishes of Bray and Cookham . It was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1836 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 , which standardised how most boroughs operated across
6794-606: Was established in 1993 and moved to permanent premises in a former pub in Park Street in 2006. In the Boyne Hill area there is Norden Farm Centre for the Arts (an arts centre including a theatre ). Waltham Place Estate on Church Hill is an 200-acre (80 ha) organic and biodynamic farm estate, with an ornamental garden, which is supported by the Campaign to Protect Rural England . The Reitlinger Open Space on Guards Club Road
6880-428: Was first opened in the town in the mid-1880s. Maidenhead Citadel Band was soon founded in 1886 by Bandmaster William Thomas, who later became mayor of the town. By Edwardian times, nearby Boulter's Lock became a favoured resort, especially on Ascot Sunday , and Skindles Hotel developed a reputation for illicit liaisons. There is one main tier of local government covering Maidenhead, at unitary authority level:
6966-568: Was formerly part of the Windsor and Maidenhead Parliament constituency, a Conservative safe seat. The Boundary Commission abolished this constituency for the 1997 general election since the electorate had become too large, splitting it into the new seats of Windsor and Maidenhead . Maidenhead had been held by the Conservative Party in every election since its foundation in 1997 until 2024 . The former Prime Minister, Theresa May
7052-585: Was introduced during the phased opening of the Elizabeth line in 2022. Just 2 miles to the south-west of the town lies White Waltham Airfield , a base for general aviation and flight training. Maidenhead is in England's Silicon Corridor along the M4 motorway west of London. Many residents commute to work in London , or to the nearby towns of Slough , Bracknell and Reading . Maidenhead's industries include software, plastics, pharmaceuticals , printing and telecommunications. The town also has an office for
7138-460: Was normally content to record surface remains and recovered artefacts, but on one occasion he adopted a more interventionist approach. At the hillfort at Burrough Hill , Leicestershire, he pulled some stones from the gateway to establish whether it had been walled or not: they were mortared with lime, which persuaded him that it had been. The account included in Leland's Itinerary may be regarded as
7224-582: Was the first to record the tradition (possibly influenced by the proximity of the villages of Queen Camel and West Camel ) identifying the hillfort of Cadbury Castle in Somerset as Arthur's Camelot : At the very south ende of the chirch of South-Cadbyri standeth Camallate, sumtyme a famose toun or castelle, apon a very torre or hille, wunderfully enstregnthenid of nature.... The people can telle nothing ther but that they have hard say that Arture much resortid to Camalat. In 1542, Henry presented Leland with
7310-539: Was unable to read most of them, complaining of one that it was made up of "letters for whole words, and 2. or 3. letters conveid in one". He often reported finds of coins, writing of Richborough , Kent, for example, that more Roman money had been discovered there "then in any place els of England". He investigated and recorded building materials in some detail. He was sometimes able to make astute and informed deductions from what he saw. At Lincoln , for example, he identified three phases of urban development, beginning with
7396-412: Was £540,940. Maidenhead offers High Street shopping facilities including Nicholson's Centre, a shopping centre on the site of Nicholson's brewery. The town also offers an eight-screen Odeon multiplex cinema. The local authority also provides a Shopmobility service, where those with physical disabilities can borrow mobility scooters to navigate around the town. Maidenhead Heritage Centre and Museum
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