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Local history
Maidenhead 100AD to Present Day
Here are some key dates in the history of Maidenhead.
If you are interested in reading more about Maidenhead's history, many books are available to buy at the Heritage Centre shop or to consult in our reference library. By the way, local history goes back to the stone age: the oldest objects in our collection are about 4000 years old!
| 100 | Roman Villa in Cox Green. | |
| /400 | Our collection includes finds from the villa. | |
| 620 | Saxon Warrier king Taeppa buried in Taplow. | |
| 997 | Witan (Saxon parliament) meets in Cookham. | |
| 1086 | Domesday Book - entries for Bray, Cookham, Elentone (modern North Town) ... but Maidenhead does not yet exist. | |
| 1250 | First wooden bridge is built and the town begins to grow. | |
| 1451 | Guild of St Andrew & St Mary is founded - start of civic life. [read more] | |
| 1582 | Royal Charter granted by Queen Elizabeth I. [read more] | |
| 1612 | The Godayn Seal in use as the town seal. [read more] | |
| 1647 | King Charles I's last meeting with his children, at an inn in Maidenhead High Street. [read more] | |
| 1740 | First Performance of Rule Britannia, at Cliveden. [read more] | |
| 1772 | Boulters Lock built, the first ‘pound lock’ on the middle Thames. | |
| 1777 | The present stone Maidenhead Bridge is built. Maidenhead’s prosperity is based on the coaching trade. | |
| 1839 | Brunel’s "Sounding Arch” railway bridge is built and the Coaching era comes to an end. | |
| 1891 | Artist Sir Stanley Spencer RA born in Cookham. [read more] | |
| 1894 | Greatest Flood on Record. | |
| 1897 | Diamond jubilee of Queen Victoria. | |
| 1903 | Lifting of toll of Maidenhead bridge, after 750 years. [read more] | |
| 1914 /18 |
In the first world war, Maidenhead suffers 900 casualties from a population of c. 13,000. Four Victoria Crosses are awarded to local people. | |
| 1927 | Ivor Novello buys Redroofs at Littlewick Green as his country house. [read more] | |
| 1935 | Opening of White Waltham aerodrome. | |
| 1940 | Wartime HQ of Air Transport Auxiliary established at White Waltham. [read more] | |
| 1947 | Most severe flood of 20th century. | |
| 1948 | Maidonian rower Bert Bushnell wins a Gold Medal in the London Olympic Games for his victory in Mens Double Sculls [read more] | |
| 1950 /66 |
Hammer, the 'House of Horror', make over 80 films in Bray. [read more] | |
| 1957 | A Vanwall racing car, driven by Stirling Moss, becomes the first British car to win the British Grand Prix since 1934. | |
| 1957 | First flight of the Fairey Rotodyne, the world's first vertical take-off airliner, promising fast city-centre to city-centre travel. [read more] | |
| 1961 | The Profumo Affair (at Cliveden). [read more] | |
| 1961 | Completion of Maidenhead bypass - after 38 years! | |
| 1972 | Buildling of relief roads, named after our twin towns in Germany, France and Italy. | |
| 1974 | Local government reorganization replaces the Borough of Maidenhead with the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead. | |
| 1997 | New parliament constituency of Maidenhead is formed. | |
| 2002 | The Maidenhead Windsor and Eton Flood Alleviation Scheme (known as the Jubilee River) is opened, providing protection against floods of 1947 proportions. [read more] | |
| 2003 | Worst floods since 1947. Maidenhead is saved by the Jubilee River, but there is severe flooding from Cookham to Hurley. | |
| 2003 | Maidenhead Library, designed by Ahrends Burton & Koralek and completed in 1972, becomes the town's first post-war listed building. | |
| 2004 | Maidonian rower Cath Bishop wins Silver medal at the Athens Olympic Games. | |
| 2005 | ‘The Fat Duck’ at Bray voted the best restaurant in the world. | |
| 2006 | Sounding Arch railway bridge used for commemorative stamp celebrating Brunel's bicentenary. |
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