Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

Borough and unitary authority in Berkshire, England

Place in England

Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

Royal borough, unitary authority area, borough

* From left to right
* Top: Grenfell Road, Maidenhead
* Middle: Church Street, Windsor and Ascot Racecourse Grand Stand
* Bottom: Eton College and Windsor Castle

Coat of arms

Shown within Berkshire

Coordinates: 51°28′00″N 0°40′00″W﻿ / ﻿51.4667°N 0.6667°W﻿ / 51.4667; -0.6667
Sovereign state| United Kingdom
Constituent country| England
Region| South East England
Ceremonial county| Berkshire
Status| Unitary authority
Incorporated| 1 April 1974
Admin HQ| Maidenhead
Government

• Type| Unitary authority
• Body| Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council
• MPs|

* Jack Rankin (Windsor)
* Joshua Reynolds (Maidenhead)

Area

• Total

| 76.61 sq mi (198.43 km2)
• Rank| 146th (of 296)
Population

(2022[1])

• Total

| 154,738
• Rank| 138th (of 296)
• Density| 2,000/sq mi (780/km2)
Ethnicity (2021)

[2]

• Ethnic groups|

List

* 79.8% White
* 13.1% Asian
* 3.4% Mixed
* 2.1% other
* 1.5% Black

Religion (2021)

[2]

• Religion|

List

* 49.8% Christianity
* 31% no religion
* 13.6% other
* 5.6% Islam

Time zone| UTC0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)| UTC+1 (BST)
ISO 3166| GB-WNM
ONS code| 00ME (ONS) E06000040 (GSS)
OS grid reference| SU926750
Website| www.rbwm.gov.uk

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is a unitary authority area with royal borough status in Berkshire, England. The borough is named after its two largest towns of Maidenhead (where the council is based) and Windsor. The borough also includes the towns of Ascot and Eton, plus numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. It is home to Windsor Castle, Eton College, Legoland Windsor and Ascot Racecourse. It is one of only four boroughs in England entitled to be prefixed royal, and the only one of them which is not a London borough.

## History

[edit]

The non-metropolitan district of Windsor and Maidenhead was created in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, as one of six districts within Berkshire. It covered the whole area of five former districts and part of a sixth, which were all abolished at the same time:[3]

* Cookham Rural District
* Eton Rural District (parishes of Datchet, Horton and Wraysbury only, rest split between Beaconsfield and Slough)
* Eton Urban District
* Maidenhead Municipal Borough
* New Windsor Municipal Borough
* Windsor Rural District

The two Eton districts had been in Buckinghamshire prior to the reforms. The new district was named 'Windsor and Maidenhead' after its two largest towns.[4] The district was also given the additional honorific title of royal borough, which had previously been held by the municipal borough of New Windsor.[5]

From 1974 until 1998 the council was a lower-tier authority, with Berkshire County Council providing county-level services. The county council was abolished in 1998 and the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead took on county-level services, making it a unitary authority. Berkshire continues to legally exist as a ceremonial county and a non-metropolitan county, albeit without a county council.[6]

## River Thames

[edit]

The borough straddles the River Thames. Approximately half of its flow through the borough has a bypass and seasonally-variable flood relief channel, the Jubilee River. Further flood relief channels are planned for the reaches below the Borough to benefit many other settlements including Datchet and Wraysbury in the borough which were the settlements most widely affected by the UK storms of January-February 2014.[7]

## Towns and villages

[edit]

The borough contains the following towns and villages:

* Ascot
* Bray
* Clewer
* Cookham
* Datchet
* Eton
* Eton Wick
* Horton
* Maidenhead
* North Ascot (part)
* Old Windsor
* South Ascot
* Sunningdale
* Sunninghill
* Waltham St. Lawrence
* White Waltham
* Windsor
* Wraysbury

## Governance

[edit]

Main article: Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council

Since 1998, the council has been a unitary authority, providing both district-level and county-level functions. It is based at Maidenhead Town Hall. Much of the borough is covered by civil parishes, which form an additional tier of local government for their areas, although the two largest towns of Maidenhead and Windsor are unparished.[8]

### Westminster

[edit]

The Royal Borough is represented at Westminster by two members of parliament: Jack Rankin of the Conservative Party (for Windsor) and Joshua Reynolds of the Liberal Democrats (for Maidenhead). Maidenhead was held by the Conservative Party since its creation in 1997 until 2024. Windsor has been held by the same party since 1874 with varying representation from its 1484 creation including more than 350 initial years with two MPs. Small parts of other districts, notably Slough and Wokingham have intermittently been included in each constituency to prevent malapportionment which is a definition of boundaries which causes any MP to serve a significantly different number of potential voters (electors) than the others.[9][10]

The irregular, elongated shape of the Windsor seat being the south-east half of the Borough has been criticised by academics who noted the net changes which the Heath administration led through Parliament in 1972, implemented in 1974, intensified difference. They frequently grouped right-leaning suburban areas within urban historic centres and more modern, urban left-leaning areas such as the bulk of Slough. This ostensibly amounted to nationwide gerrymandering or homogenisation to install a greater number safe seats at the expense of marginal seats however also reflected the majority of social associations of people in each area.[11]

### Parish and town councils

[edit]

There are 14 parish councils and 1 town council in the borough:

* Bisham
* Bray
* Cookham
* Cox Green
* Datchet
* Eton (town)
* Horton
* Hurley
* Old Windsor
* Shottesbrooke
* Sunningdale
* Sunninghill and Ascot
* Waltham St Lawrence
* White Waltham
* Wraysbury

The towns of Maidenhead and Windsor are unparished.

## Education

[edit]

Main article: List of schools in Windsor and Maidenhead

The Windsor and Maidenhead LEA provides a comprehensive system, with a three-tier successive school system in Windsor, and two-tier education elsewhere. Colleges and sixth forms are available in the main two towns as well as across its borders in Egham, Slough and Wokingham.[12]

## Freedom of the Borough

[edit]

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (May 2019)

|

### Individuals

[edit]

* Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh: 1947.
* Charles, Prince of Wales: 1970.
* Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother: 1980.
* Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh: 1995.
* Thomas Bailey: 1974.
* Stanley Platt: 1974.
* Sir John Smith: 1975.
* James Matthews: 1988.
* Peter Gray: 1994.
* Geoffrey Blacker: 1996.
* Sir Nicholas Winton: 1999.
* Harry Parker: 1999.
* Sir Clive Woodward: 2003.
* David Lunn: 2008.
* David Oram: 2012.

[13]

### Military Units

[edit]

* The Royal Berkshire Regiment: 1959.
* The Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment: 1960.
* The Household Cavalry: 1965.
* The Brigade of Guards: 1968.
* The Berkshire Yeomanry: 1993.
* The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment: 1999.
* The Rifles: 2006.

[14]

## Twin towns

[edit]

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is twinned with the following Towns:

* Neuilly-sur-Seine, France – established 1955 with Royal Borough of New Windsor.[15]
* Saint-Cloud, France – established 1957 with Maidenhead.
* Bad Godesberg, Germany – established 1960 with Maidenhead.
* Goslar, Germany – established 1969 with Royal Borough of New Windsor.
* Frascati, Italy – established 1972 with Maidenhead.
* Kortrijk, Belgium – established 1981 with Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Windsor and Maidenhead (Unitary District, Windsor and Maidenhead, United Kingdom) – Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location". citypopulation.de. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
2. ^ a b UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – Windsor and Maidenhead Local Authority (E06000040)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
3. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 26 July 2024
4. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 26 July 2024
5. ^ "The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (Electoral Changes) Order 2002", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2002/2372, retrieved 26 July 2024
6. ^ "The Berkshire (Structural Change) Order 1996", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1996/1879, retrieved 9 May 2024
7. ^ Lower Thames Strategy Study: Strategic Environmental Assessment environmental report, Environment Agency, 2009. Accessed 31-12-2017
8. ^ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
9. ^ Parliamentary Constituencies (England) Order 1995 (SI 1995/1626)
10. ^ The Parliamentary Constituencies (England) (Miscellaneous Changes) Order 1998 (SI 1998/3152).
11. ^ Polity: 6:298 (147 and 183) "The Case of the Vanishing Marginals", D. R. Mayhew (1974)
12. ^ "School system in Windsor to remain as three-tier". Windsor Advertiser. 5 July 2012.
13. ^ "Honorary Freemen and Freedom of Entry to the Royal Borough | The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead". Archived from the original on 12 May 2019.
14. ^ "Honorary Freemen and Freedom of Entry to the Royal Borough | The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead". Archived from the original on 12 February 2019.
15. ^ "British towns twinned with French towns". Archant Community Media Ltd. Retrieved 11 July 2013.

* v
* t
* e

Settlements in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

Towns|

* Eton
* Maidenhead
* Windsor

Civil parishes|

* Bisham
* Bray
* Cookham
* Cox Green
* Datchet
* Horton
* Hurley
* Old Windsor
* Shottesbrooke
* Sunningdale
* Sunninghill and Ascot
* Waltham St Lawrence
* White Waltham
* Wraysbury

Other villages
and hamlets|

* Ascot
* Braywick
* Burchetts Green
* Cheapside
* Clewer
* Cookham Dean
* Dedworth
* Eton Wick
* Fifield
* Holyport
* Knowl Hill
* Littlewick Green
* Paley Street
* Pinkneys Green
* Shurlock Row
* Sunninghill
* Touchen End
* Warren Row

* v
* t
* e

Electoral wards in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead

2003|

* Ascot and Cheapside
* Belmont
* Bisham and Cookham
* Boyn Hill
* Bray
* Castle Without
* Clewer East
* Clewer North
* Clewer South
* Cox Green
* Datchet
* Eton and Castle
* Eton Wick
* Furze Platt
* Horton and Wraysbury
* Hurley and Walthams
* Maidenhead Riverside
* Old Windsor
* Oldfield
* Park
* Pinkneys Green
* Sunningdale
* Sunninghill and South Ascot

2019|

* Ascot and Sunninghill
* Belmont
* Bisham and Cookham
* Boyn Hill
* Bray
* Clewer and Dedworth East
* Clewer and Dedworth West
* Clewer East
* Cox Green
* Datchet, Horton and Wraysbury
* Eton and Castle
* Furze Platt
* Hurley and Walthams
* Old Windsor
* Oldfield
* Pinkneys Green
* Riverside
* St Mary's
* Sunningdale and Cheapside

* v
* t
* e

Districts of South East England

Berkshire|

* Bracknell Forest
* Reading
* Slough
* West Berkshire
* Windsor and Maidenhead
* Wokingham

Buckinghamshire|

* Buckinghamshire
* Milton Keynes

East Sussex|

* Brighton and Hove
* Eastbourne
* Hastings
* Lewes
* Rother
* Wealden

Hampshire|

* Basingstoke and Deane
* East Hampshire
* Eastleigh
* Fareham
* Gosport
* Hart
* Havant
* New Forest
* Portsmouth
* Rushmoor
* Southampton
* Test Valley
* Winchester

Isle of Wight|

* Isle of Wight

Kent|

* Ashford
* Canterbury
* Dartford
* Dover
* Folkestone and Hythe
* Gravesham
* Maidstone
* Medway
* Sevenoaks
* Swale
* Thanet
* Tonbridge and Malling
* Tunbridge Wells

Oxfordshire|

* Cherwell
* Oxford
* South Oxfordshire
* Vale of White Horse
* West Oxfordshire

Surrey|

* Elmbridge
* Epsom and Ewell
* Guildford
* Mole Valley
* Reigate and Banstead
* Runnymede
* Spelthorne
* Surrey Heath
* Tandridge
* Waverley
* Woking

West Sussex|

* Adur
* Arun
* Chichester
* Crawley
* Horsham
* Mid Sussex
* Worthing

* v
* t
* e

Ceremonial county of Berkshire

Berkshire Portal

Unitary authorities|

* Bracknell Forest
* Reading
* Slough
* West Berkshire
* Windsor and Maidenhead
* Wokingham

Major settlements
(cities in italics)|

* Ascot
* Bracknell
* Earley
* Eton
* Hungerford
* Maidenhead
* Newbury
* Reading
* Sandhurst
* Slough
* Thatcham
* Windsor
* Wokingham
* Woodley
See also: List of civil parishes in Berkshire

Topics|

* Country houses

* Flag
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* Grade II* listed buildings
* High Sheriffs
* History
* Lord Lieutenants
* Museums
* Parliamentary constituencies
* Places
* Population of major settlements
* Public art
* SSSIs

* v
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* e

Unitary authorities of England

Areas|

* Bath and North East Somerset
* Bedford
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* Blackpool
* Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
* Bracknell Forest
* Brighton and Hove
* Bristol
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* Thurrock
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* Wokingham
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Councils|

* Bath and North East Somerset
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* Bracknell Forest
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* Redcar and Cleveland
* Rutland
* Shropshire
* Slough
* Somerset
* Southampton
* Southend-on-Sea
* South Gloucestershire
* Stockton-on-Tees
* Stoke-on-Trent
* Swindon
* Telford and Wrekin
* Thurrock
* Torbay
* Warrington
* West Berkshire
* Westmorland and Furness
* West Northamptonshire
* Wiltshire
* Windsor and Maidenhead
* Wokingham
* York

Elections|

* Bath and North East Somerset
* Bedford
* Blackburn with Darwen
* Blackpool
* Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
* Bracknell Forest
* Brighton and Hove
* Bristol
* Buckinghamshire
* Central Bedfordshire
* Cheshire East
* Cheshire West and Chester
* Cornwall
* County Durham
* Cumberland
* Darlington
* Derby
* Dorset
* East Riding of Yorkshire
* Halton
* Hartlepool
* Herefordshire
* Isle of Wight
* Isles of Scilly
* Kingston upon Hull
* Leicester
* Luton
* Medway
* Middlesbrough
* Milton Keynes
* North East Lincolnshire
* North Lincolnshire
* North Northamptonshire
* North Somerset
* North Yorkshire
* Northumberland
* Nottingham
* Peterborough
* Plymouth
* Portsmouth
* Reading
* Redcar and Cleveland
* Rutland
* Shropshire
* Slough
* Somerset
* Southampton
* Southend-on-Sea
* South Gloucestershire
* Stockton-on-Tees
* Stoke-on-Trent
* Swindon
* Telford and Wrekin
* Thurrock
* Torbay
* Warrington
* West Berkshire
* Westmorland and Furness
* West Northamptonshire
* Wiltshire
* Windsor and Maidenhead
* Wokingham
* York

Authority control databases

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