THE WINDSOR AND ETON SOCIETY

Incorporating Windsor Heritage

NEWSLETTER NO 48 November 2009

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

About 100 members attended the AGM on Monday 2nd November in Upper School , Eton College by kind permission of the Provost, Lord Waldegrave and arranged by Philip Highy and Nanette McFall of Eton College , to all of whom the Society is most grateful.

Particular highlights of the meeting were the election as President of Air Marshal Ian Macfadyen CB OBE, the Constable and Governor of Windsor Castle, and the illustrated talk after the business meeting by the Head of Planning for the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Mr Tim Slaney; this comprehensively covered the work of his busy department, including what is scheduled to happen next year and beyond, the appeals process, and the intricacies of S106. The Society’s powerpoint projector came into its own, being set up by Mike Willcocks with our new President immediately demonstrating his multiskills by making the final connection!

Colleen and Dennis Garrett arranged and served the delicious refreshments with contributions from Beryl Hedges, Joan Biggs and others.

ANNUAL DINNER

As announced at the AGM, the 2010 Annual Dinner has been arranged for Friday 5th March at the Mercure Castle Hotel, when our Guest of Honour speaker will be Air Marshal Ian Macfadyen who will be accompanied by his wife, Sally.

There will be free parking and better entrance and cloakroom facilities with the same successful formula of a welcoming glass of wine and three selected courses followed by coffee with mints. The cost will be £28 and the application form is with this newsletter; please book early.

HERITAGE AND ENVIRONMENT

Planning

The planning applications and appeals weekly lists are checked every week and the following are the main ones which have been considered by the Heritage and Environment Committee

Legoland Hotel

The Society have raised the following points:-

(a) The impact the development would have on the Legoland Buffer Zone

(b) Flooding implications

(d) Traffic and road congestion

(e) The size of the development and its impact on the character of the area

(f) Trees

Windsor Rackets and Fitness Club

The exhibition was visited by the Society before the Council agreed to knock down the club to make way for a new private care home with 58 suites and associated car parking and a letter has been sent which states “It is a great pity that this establishment which has been in Windsor for 25 years and has 1,100 members is being demolished. The Society would like to support its relocation to the Windsor Boys School site and urges that this decision is made within the foreseeable future. The Society is of two minds about the provision of a swimming pool as the Leisure Centre provides adequate facilities in this respect but Windsor needs squash courts and this club is the only one in Windsor with this provision.”

King Edward Court

The Society is continuing to press for more natural landscaping in King Edward Court with seating in the vicinity. We have brought to the attention of the Local Authority the disgraceful and, at times, very unhygienic state of the stairway opposite the entrance to the new Travel Lodge and we are encouraging improvements to the Goswell Hill area.

We have also asked how much Section 106 money was awarded from the Waitrose development and on what this money was spent. Funding should have been provided for landscaping and seating.

Windsor Town Centre Conservation Area Appraisal – Consultation Draft – June 2009

A tour of Windsor Town Centre was carried out by members of the Heritage and Environment Committee on the 16th June and the Society’s views with respect to the above were spelt out in a three page letter and it is hoped that further buildings can be afforded Listed Buildings status, in particular Barclays Bank in the High Street.

It was further noted that some listed buildings were in need of cosmetic attention, the kind afforded by past facelifts.

The Society also put forward the following issues which it was hoped would be adopted:-

· The provision of leaflets about the history of significant buildings in this area.

· Commitment to have local consultations with the community on specific significant planning issues.

· Elimination of all unnecessary, unwanted street furniture and signage.

· Enhancement of the area behind 30/31 Peascod Street / Library area.

· Reintroduction of the ‘face lift’ initiative every 4/5 years.

· Programme of tree planting and landscaping.

The Royal Borough hopes to complete the process by November.

Trees

The Royal Borough’s consultation “A Tree and Woodland Strategy for the Borough” is available on its web site and responses are required by the 20th November 2009 .

To celebrate National Tree Week the Society’s Heritage and Environment Committee have organised a tree dressing at The Parish Church @ 2.00 p.m. on Sunday 6th December 2009 which will be followed by a guided tree walk commencing at 2.30 p.m. If you are interested in attending please contact Karin Lohr on 01753 840651.

CIVIC TRUST

Civic Society Initiative

The Civic Society Initiative (CSI) reported in August 2009 that £23,000 (of £50,000) had been raised to fund the CSI. The Windsor and Eton Society has contributed to the fund.

One hundred civic societies participated in the Heritage Open Days ( 10th-14th September 2009 ), run by English Heritage.

There is news of a new partnership with the National Trust to provide a free day access offer to civic society members worth up to £14. It is likely this free ticket will be transferable.

The Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) was recently established to accelerate decisions on major infrastructure projects such as new airports, power stations and seaports and its decisions will be final. The IPC is regarded by many as diminishing the democratic planning process and the Conservatives have indicated they would abolish the IPC which would become part of the Planning Inspectorate with final decisions made, as before, by the Secretary of State.

The Civic Trust South East Conference was held at Guildford on 26th September 2009 . Two committee members from the Windsor and Eton Society attended and will report to the committee on 12th November 2009 .

Over 100 delegates contributed to a lively and enjoyable Civic Society Convention, which was held on 15th & 16th October 2009 at Blackpool . A report “Own the future”, the result of discussion and debate, was presented to the Convention. The full report can be obtained from Ian Harvey at admin@civicsocietyinitiative.org.uk It considers how civic societies might work most effectively together, the role of a new national body and funding arrangements.

Thoughts on and reactions to the following five issues are requested by 20th November 2009 to be sent to admin@civicsocietyinitiative.org.uk

1. Whether the principles of the movement (collective, networked,

independent, federal) and a new national body (campaigning, responsive, light-footed, grassroots) are sound.

2. The balance of priorities of a new national body between representing the movement, supporting societies and helping societies network together.

3. How societies can best network with clusters of civic societies and about thematic issues.

4. Defining the common thread uniting the movement founded on the importance of place, pride, identity and community.

5. Securing independence for the movement by funding it through contributions from individual societies on a per capita membership basis. A range between £1 and £3 per member is suggested or £5 to be eligible for the National Trust offer to civic societies.

There will be a new civic society Street Pride campaign 2010. It will promote the importance of civilised streets and open spaces and highlight the damage being caused by poor pavements, poorly designed and unnecessary signs, posts, bollards and guardrails. English Heritage is supporting this campaign.

MUSIC EVENT

The event will be held on Thursday 27th May 2010 at 8.00 pm in St. George's School , Windsor Castle .

Alto Lay Clerk Tim Carleston, who is also a professional trumpeter will entertain us with a selection of music, accompanied by Richard Pinel.

Further details and application forms will be in the next copy of the newsletter.

OUTINGS

Monday 12th October 2009 - Eltham Palace , London

We certainly started the 2009-2010 programmes of visits on a lovely sunny but chilly autumnal morning and after a good journey, we arrived at Eltham Palace in plenty of time for morning coffee. Eltham Palace is one of the few important medieval palaces in England to survive with substantial remains intact. In 1933, Stephen and Virginia Courtauld acquired Eltham Palace and the architects Seeley & Paget were commissioned to restore the Great Hall and to design and build a new adjoining home built on the site of the 19th century remains of the royal palace. The Art Deco mansion is a masterpiece of 20th century design, completed in 1936, the red brick exterior of the house was built in sympathy with the older building. The interior remains a glamorous 1930s showpiece, an eclectic mix of Art Deco, ultra-smart ocean-liner style and cutting-edge Swedish design. The entrance hall is magnificent, the walls lined with Australian blackbean veneer which incorporates marquetry panels on either side of the entrance doors. From the entrance hall, the route continues into the drawing room, the boudoir, the library and then into the Great Hall which was built for Edward IV in the 1470s. Returning to the 1930s house we went to the first floor and to the minstrels’ gallery from where you can look down into the Great Hall. After various other rooms including Virginia Courtauld’s suite, Mah-Jongg’s quarters (the Courtaulds’ pet ring-tailed lemur) and after various guest bedrooms, we returned to the ground floor. The dining room is a tour de force, with pink leather upholstered chairs, bird's-eye maple veneered walls, a shimmering aluminium-leaf ceiling, and black-and-silver doors portraying animals and birds. The medieval palace, where Henry VIII spent much of his childhood, presents a striking contrast to the opulent 1930s house. The Palace's beautiful gardens feature both 20th century and medieval elements and include a rock garden sloping down to the moat, a medieval bridge, herbaceous borders and a sunken rose garden. During the course of the day we all made very good use of the Tea Room. 37 Members took part in this visit and everyone agreed that it had been a fascinating day.

Future Outings 2009-2010

Gilbert White’s House and The Oates Museum, Selborne, Hampshire -

Tuesday 20th April 2010

This visit will incorporate talks about the house and museum. There will be time to explore Selborne village and there are establishments for tea and lunch. More details in February Newsletter.

Woodstock and Rousham House & Gardens, Oxfordshire -

Wednesday 9th June 2010

After stopping in Woodstock to explore and have lunch there will be a visit to Rousham House and Gardens. More details in February Newsletter.

A date for your diary 2010-2011

Tuesday, 19th October 2010 - The Drapers’ Hall, London

Our tour of The Drapers’ Hall will commence at 11 am and finish at approximately 12.45. Another venue is being pursued for the afternoon part of the outing.

For your information

Arundells (home of Sir Edward Heath), Salisbury

The Curator of Arundells has reported that their Guide Book is now on sale. Members who took part in our April outing to Salisbury, may be interested in buying the Guide Book which is full of photographs of Sir Edward’s collection, plus photographs of the interior of the rooms in the house, including close-ups of the paintings and ceramics. The thirty page booklet is priced at just £5, plus £2 for postage. You can either send a cheque to the value of £7 made payable to The Sir Edward Health Charitable Foundation to Arundells, 59 The Close, Salisbury , Wiltshire SP1 2EN or telephone 01722 326546 from 11am-3pm between Friday and Tuesday to pay by either debit or credit card

TALKS

Bygone Windsor - Elias Kupfermann

As you know the season of lectures begins, where possible, with a talk on or about Windsor . Elias Kupfermann gave a very interesting laptop presentation on Windsor then and now at our September meeting, provoking many questions.

Kew Gardens

The speaker on Kew Gardens arranged for the October afternoon meeting at Gardeners' Hall cancelled at the last minute and we were fortunate to get Major Paul Whittle to talk on Railways. He had visited the Society before when he spoke on The Tsars and St.Petersberg and we were pleased to see him once again.

Beryl Hedges says that she has only been let down like that twice before so that if you were thinking of volunteering to be Talks Chairman don't let that put you off !!!!!

Sir Sydney Camm - Malcolm Lock

We were back to Windsor again in November to hear the story of Sir Sydney Camm - a son of Windsor . Malcolm Lock gave an illustrated talk on Sir Sydney's childhood in the town and explained how he eventually became an aircraft designer. He was responsible for the design of the Hurricane in World War 11 and later for many other Hawker aircraft for which work he was knighted.

A date for your diary

Thursday 3^rd December 8.00pm

At The Brigidine School John Lloyd from Combermere Barracks Museum will speak on the Household Cavalry.

MEMBERSHIP

The following is a new member whom we welcome and hope to see in the near future at our social events.

Miss M Lake Windsor

The current membership for the society stands at 497 of whom 354 members pay by standing order. 300 members have signed a gift aid form which helps the society financially by claiming back the tax element on your subscriptions from the government. We would encourage all members who are subject to paying tax to complete a gift aid form. Please complete and forward the gift aid form in this newsletter if you are eligible and have not already done so.

Annual subscriptions are now due. The majority pay by standing order and this is automatically taken from your account and you need do nothing. Those few who pay by cheque need to forward their renewal subscriptions to Colin Meads, 9 Harwood Gardens , Old Windsor, Berkshire , SL4 2LJ . You may wish to take advantage of completing a standing order mandate which is attached at the end of this newsletter.

LOCAL NEWS

Friends of the Windsor & Royal Borough Museum

26^thNovember 8.00pm at Windsor Library Royal Christmases – Frances Diamond (£2.00) For details contact Hester Davenport who also has Friends’ Christmas cards for sale. These will also be available at the meeting.

Members of the WES are corporate members of this organisation.

For information contact Chairman Dr Brigitte Mitchell 01753 774642

Or visit www.windsormuseumappeal.org.uk

Royal British Legion

Branch Meetings

Mondays 16th November and 18^th January at 7.45pm at Combermere Barracks (Bring ID)

For more details contact Garry Williams 01753 861911.

Poppy Appeal

Windsor Branches have achieved a record total again for the 2008/9 Poppy Appeal.

Local Councillors’ Surgery

Saturday 12^th December 10.00 – 12.00am in RBWM Trailer, opposite Post Office in Peascod Street . The Council is presently consulting about extending the Peascod Street pedestrian Area and changing the Theatre Royal ‘island’

Traffic flow; see Autumn edition ‘Around the Royal Borough’ pp10-11. Free post responses RLYH – SHYR – JUXJ by Friday 30^th November.

WEA

John Harvey, the well-known author, poet, dramatist, broadcaster and, above all, writer of detective fiction, will be speaking at St George's School , Windsor , on Saturday 27 February. Peter Leyland will be leading this WEA Windsor Branch special event which starts at 10am .

The classes for spring and summer mornings include The History of London 's Underground, Plays and Playreading, Painting for Beginners and Visiting London Galleries. Evening classes include Astronomical Observing, New Testament Studies, Georgian England and Why are Trees So Special?

For more information contact Tony Davenport 01753 866198

e-mail - tonydavenport1@gmail.com

Other Events of Interest

Saturday 28^th November, RBWM Tree Wardens’ planting day at Sutherland Grange Windsor

Sunday 29^th November 5.00pm , St George’s Chapel via Henry VII Gate – Service of Music and Readings for Advent. The full schedule of concerts and Christmas services is now available.

Saturday 5th December, RBWM Tree Wardens’ planting day at Broomhall Lane Recreation Ground, Sunningdale. Details Liz Henderson 01628 622073 or email ek.henderson@btinternet.com

Boxing Day 26^th December Windsor and District Ramblers’ Association invite WEA members to join with them at 10am in the Car Park at Queen Anne’s Gate, King’s Road, Windsor for a 3 mile walk to the Copper Horse, led by local historian Anthony Ray. Free. Enquiries 01753 863851

RBWM Windsor Town Manager, Paul Roach, now has a full printed programme for Windsor Christmas season.

Meet Your Committee

Two members of your committee:-

Talks Chairman – Beryl Hedges

Some years ago Beryl was co-opted on to the Committee representing the Windsor Local History Group of which she is a founder member and, about ten years ago, she became Talks Chairman. She originally came to Windsor in 1962 and owned the Windsor Bookshop in St.Leonard's Road from 1971 until it closed in 1982. She is also a member of the Friends of the Windsor and Royal Borough Museum and she is a Steward Emeritus of St.George's Chapel having served as a steward for 35years.

Membership Secretary – Colin Meads

Colin was born in Hammersmith, west London in 1951. He joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 1970 upon leaving school where he continued his career for 30 years, serving in central and west London . He performed various operational roles, including various crime and vice squads, and was a public order and firearms trained officer. He also served as an Inspector in The Royalty Protection Department based at Buckingham Palace , performing duties at Windsor Castle and Balmoral in Scotland . It was here that Colin first met Gordon Franklin working closely together on staff security. Colin rose through the ranks retiring as a Chief Inspector. He then joined the BAA as a Senior Security Manager responsible for audit and compliance as well as investigations and security advice. Throughout his career Colin has specialised in counter terrorism working with many overseas and UK government law enforcement agencies. Semi retired Colin still offers security consultancy. Colin received the Long Service and Good Conduct medal and was made a Cavalier of the Order of Merit ( Italy ) for his organisation of the State Visit of the President of Italy.

Married to Maggie for 37 years they have two sons aged 30 and 28. They moved to Old Windsor in 1987.

Please note these email changes since the publication of the Annual Report.

David Murray Bruce davidmurraybruce@o2.co.uk

Karin Lohr karin.lohr@hotmail.co.uk

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Published by The Windsor and Eton Society www.wesoc.org.uk

Edited by Anne Taylor, Canon Cottage, Bishop’s Farm Close, Oakley Green, Windsor SL4 5UN 01753 866873