Town hall
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In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre, a guildhall, a Rathaus, or a municipal building, is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city or town council, its associated departments and it also usually functions as the base of the mayor of a city, town, borough, or county / shire. By convention, until the mid 19th-century, a large open chamber formed an integral part of the building housing the council. The hall may be used for meetings and other significant events. This large chamber, the hall, has become synonymous with the whole building. The terms council chambers, municipal building or variants may be used locally in preference to town hall if no such large hall is present within the building, the local government may endeavor to use the town hall building to promote and enhance the quality of life of the community. In many cases, town halls serve not only as buildings for government functions and these may
Windsor, Berkshire
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Windsor is a historic market town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the residences of the British Royal Family. The town is situated 23 miles west of Charing Cross, London,7 miles south east of Maidenhead and it is immediately south of the River Thames, which forms its boundary with its ancient twin town of Eton. Windlesora is first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, the name originates from old English Windles-ore or winch by the riverside. By the late 12th century the settlement at Windelsora was renamed Old Windsor, the early history of the site is unknown, although it was almost certainly settled some years before 1070 when William the Conqueror had a timber motte and bailey castle constructed. The focus of royal interest at that time was not the castle, however, from about the 8th century, high status people started to visit the site occasionally, and possibly this
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The Last Supper by Franz de Cleyn in the West Gallery of Windsor parish church of St John The Baptist.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ire
Berkshire
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Berkshire is a county in south east England, west of London. It was recognised as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of Windsor Castle by the Queen in 1957, Berkshire is a county of historic origin and is a home county, a ceremonial county and a non-metropolitan county without a county council. Berkshire County Council was the main county governance from 1889 to 1998 except for the separately administered County Borough of Reading, in 1974, significant alterations were made to the countys administrative boundaries although the traditional boundaries of Berkshire were not changed. The towns of Abingdon, Didcot and Wantage were transferred to Oxfordshire, Slough was gained from Buckinghamshire, since 1998, Berkshire has been governed by the six unitary authorities of Bracknell Forest, Reading, Slough, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead and Wokingham. It borders the counties of Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Greater London, Surrey, according to Asser, it takes its na
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Berkshire shown within England
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Physical map of Berkshire. From a book called Berkshire, by H. W. Monckton, published by Cambridge University Press, 1911. Map is credited to George Philip & Son, Ltd.
Windsor Castle
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Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is notable for its association with the English and later British royal family. The original castle was built in the 11th century after the Norman invasion of England by William the Conqueror, since the time of Henry I, it has been used by the reigning monarch and is the longest-occupied palace in Europe. Inside the castle walls is the 15th-century St Georges Chapel, considered by the historian John Martin Robinson to be one of the achievements of English Perpendicular Gothic design. Gradually replaced with stone fortifications, the castle withstood a siege during the First Barons War at the start of the 13th century. Edwards core design lasted through the Tudor period, during which Henry VIII and Elizabeth I made increasing use of the castle as a royal court and centre for diplomatic entertainment. Windsor Castle survived the period of the English Civil War, when it was used as a military headquarter
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Windsor Castle, viewed from the Long Walk
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The South Wing of the Upper Ward; the Official Entrance to the State Apartments is on the left
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The State Apartments in the Upper Ward; (l to r) Queen's Audience and Presence Chambers, the Official Entrance, St George's Hall; the Guest's Entrance
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The Crimson Drawing Room in 2007 following the
1992 fire and subsequent remodelling
Listed building
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A listed building or listed structure, in the United Kingdom, is one that has been placed on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. The statutory bodies maintaining the list are Historic England in England, Cadw in Wales, Historic Scotland in Scotland, however, the preferred term in Ireland is protected structure. In England and Wales, an amenity society must be notified of any work to a listed building which involves any element of demolition. Owners of listed buildings are, in circumstances, compelled to repair and maintain them. When alterations are permitted, or when listed buildings are repaired or maintained, slightly different systems operate in each area of the United Kingdom, though the basic principles of the listing remain the same. It was the damage to caused by German bombing during World War II that prompted the first listing of buildings that were deemed to be of particular architectural merit. The listings were used as a means of
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Buckingham Palace, the official London residence of the British monarch, listed Grade I.
Eton College
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Eton College /iːtən/ is an English independent boarding school for boys in Eton, Berkshire, near Windsor. It educates more than 1,300 pupils, aged 13 to 18 years and it was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as The Kings College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor, making it the 18th oldest Headmasters and Headmistresses Conference school. Eton is one of the seven public schools as defined by the Public Schools Act 1868. Eton has educated 19 British prime ministers and generations of the aristocracy and has referred to as the chief nurse of Englands statesmen. The school is headed by a Provost and Fellows, who appoint the Head Master and it contains 25 boys houses, each headed by a housemaster, selected from the more senior members of the teaching staff, which numbers some 155. Almost all of the pupils go on to universities, about a third of them to Oxford or Cambridge. The Head Master is a member of the Headmasters and Headmistresses Conference, Eton has a long list of distinguished for
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16-17th century
coat of arms produced from the masonry of Eton College building.
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Eton College
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Eton College, Provost's Garden
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Statue of the founder
Henry VI in School Yard
John Norden
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John Norden was an English cartographer, chorographer and antiquary. He planned a series of county maps and accompanying county histories of England and he was also a prolific writer of devotional works. Norden is known to have born in Somerset, to a genteel family. He entered Hart Hall, Oxford, in 1564, and graduated BA in 1568 and he was married and had at least two sons, John Norden junior, and Josias. The first instalment of Nordens chorographical project was published in 1593 as the Speculum Britanniae, the First Parte, the manuscript in the British Library has corrections in Lord Burleighs handwriting. In 1595 he wrote a manuscript Chorographical Description of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, Wight, Guernsey and Jersey, dedicated, in 1596 he published his Preparative to the Speculum Britanniae, dedicated to Burleigh. In 1598 there appeared the other part of the project to reach print in his lifetime, Speculi Britaniae Pars. He also completed accounts of five counties
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John Norden's map of London in 1593, engraved by
Pieter van den Keere. There is only one bridge across the Thames, but parts of Southwark on the south bank of the river have been developed.
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John Norden's map of Westminster, 1593.
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Large version of the London map
Christopher Wren
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Sir Christopher Wren PRS is one of the most highly acclaimed English architects in history. The principal creative responsibility for a number of the churches is now commonly attributed to others in his office. Other notable buildings by Wren include the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, the Wren Building, the main building at the College of William and Mary, Virginia, is attributed to Wren. Educated in Latin and Aristotelian physics at the University of Oxford, Wren was a notable anatomist, astronomer, geometer and he was a founder of the Royal Society, and his scientific work was highly regarded by Isaac Newton and Blaise Pascal. Wren was born in East Knoyle in Wiltshire, the surviving son of Christopher Wren Sr. and Mary Cox. Christopher Sr. was at time the rector of East Knoyle. Their son Christopher was born in 1632 then, two later, another daughter named Elizabeth was born. Mary must have died shortly after the birth of Elizabeth, although there does not appear to be any surviving
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked t
Festival of Britain
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The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Up and down the land, lesser festivals enlisted much civic, Labour cabinet member Herbert Morrison was the prime mover, in 1947 he started with the original plan to celebrate the centennial of the Great Exhibition of 1851. However it was not to be another World Fair, for international themes were absent, instead the 1951 festival focused entirely on Britain and its achievements, it was funded chiefly by the government, with a budget of £12 million. The Festivals centrepiece was in London on the South Bank of the Thames, there were events in Poplar, Battersea, South Kensington and Glasgow. The Festival became a beacon for change that proved popular with thousands of elite visitors. It helped reshape British arts, crafts, designs and sports for a generation, journalist Harry Hopkins highlights the widespread impact of the Festival style. It was
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The Festival of Britain emblem – the
Festival Star – designed by
Abram Games, from the cover of the South Bank Exhibition Guide, 1951
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Visitors to the South Bank Exhibition with the Dome of Discovery in the background
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The Skylon on the Southbank, Festival of Britain, 1951
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
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Elizabeth II has been Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand since 6 February 1952. Elizabeth was born in London as the eldest child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and her father acceded to the throne on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII in 1936, from which time she was the heir presumptive. She began to undertake duties during the Second World War. Elizabeths many historic visits and meetings include a visit to the Republic of Ireland. She has seen major changes, such as devolution in the United Kingdom, Canadian patriation. She has reigned through various wars and conflicts involving many of her realms and she is the worlds oldest reigning monarch as well as Britains longest-lived. In October 2016, she became the longest currently reigning monarch, in 2017 she became the first British monarch to commemorate a Sapphire Jubilee. Elizabeth has occasionally faced republican sentiments and press criticism of the f
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The Queen in March 2015
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Princess Elizabeth aged 3, April 1929
Guild
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A guild /ɡɪld/ is an association of artisans or merchants who control the practice of their craft in a particular town. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of tradesmen and they were organized in a manner something between a professional association, trade union, a cartel, and a secret society. A lasting legacy of traditional guilds are the guildhalls constructed and used as meeting places, an important result of the guild framework was the emergence of universities at Bologna, Oxford and Paris, they originated as guilds of students as at Bologna, or of masters as at Paris. Usually the founders were free independent master craftsmen who hired apprentices, there were several types of guilds, including the two main categories of merchant guilds and craft guilds but also the frith guild and religious guild. In many cases became the governing body of a town. The Freedom of the City, effective from the Middle Ages until 1835, gave the right to trade, Trade guilds aros
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One of the legacies of the guilds, the elevated
Windsor Guildhall was originally a meeting place for guilds, as well as magistrates' seat and
town hall.
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Traditional
wrought-iron guild sign of a
glazier — in
Germany. These signs can be found in many old European towns where guild members marked their places of business. Many survived through time or staged a comeback in industrial times. Today they are newly created or even restored, especially in old town areas.
Magistrate
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The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a magistratus was one of the highest ranking government officers, in other parts of the world, such as China, a magistrate was responsible for administration over a particular geographic area. Today, in some jurisdictions, a magistrate is an officer who hears cases in a lower court. In other jurisdictions, magistrates may be volunteers without formal training who perform a judicial role with regard to minor matters. In ancient Rome, the word referred to one of the highest offices of state. Analogous offices in the authorities, such as municipium, were subordinate only to the legislature of which they generally were members. Ex officio, often a combination of judicial and executive power, in Rome itself, the highest magistrates were members of the so-called cursus honorum -career of honors. They held both judicial and executive power within
Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead
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The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is a Royal Borough of Berkshire, in South East England. It is home to Windsor Castle, Eton College, Legoland and it inherited royal borough status from Windsor, the site of Windsor Castle. The local authority is Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council and it became a unitary authority on 1 April 1998 with the abolition of Berkshire County Council. It is the only Royal Borough outside Greater London, as with many other parts of the United Kingdom, the borough was affected by the UK storms of January-February 2014. The two seats are considered to be safe Conservative seats, the Royal Borough is currently under a Conservative administration. Elections for councillors to the Royal Borough take place four years. The political control of the Royal Borough is as follows,57 councillors represent the electorate of 23 wards, there are 14 parish councils and 1 town council in the borough. They are, Bisham, Bray, Cookham, Cox Green, Datchet, Eton, Horton,
Charles, Prince of Wales
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Charles, Prince of Wales is the eldest child and heir apparent of Queen Elizabeth II. Known alternatively in South West England as Duke of Cornwall and in Scotland as Duke of Rothesay, he is the heir apparent in British history. He is also the oldest person to be next in line to the throne since Sophia of Hanover, Charles was born at Buckingham Palace as the first grandchild of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. After earning a bachelor of degree from Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1981, he married Lady Diana Spencer and they had two sons, Prince William later to become Duke of Cambridge, and Prince Harry, in 1996, the couple divorced, following well-publicised extramarital affairs. Diana died in a car crash in Paris the following year, in 2005, Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles. Charles has sought to raise awareness of the dangers facing the natural environment. As an environmentalist, he has received awards and recognition from environmental groups around the world. His support
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The Prince of Wales in
Jersey, July 2012
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Signature
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Queen Elizabeth II formally invests the Prince of Wales with
his coronet, 1969
Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall
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Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, GCVO, CSM, PC, is the second wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, who is the eldest child and heir apparent of Queen Elizabeth II. Instead of using the title of Princess of Wales, she uses the title Duchess of Cornwall, in Scotland, she is known as the Duchess of Rothesay. Camilla was born into a family as the eldest child of Major Bruce Shand and his wife, the Honourable Rosalind Cubitt. She was raised in East Sussex and South Kensington, and was educated in England, Switzerland, subsequently, she worked for different firms based in central London, most notably the decorating firm Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler. In 1973, Camilla married British Army officer Andrew Parker Bowles, for many years, Camilla was in a relationship with the Prince of Wales before and after their former marriages. The relationship became highly publicised in the media and attracted worldwide scrutiny, as the Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla assists the Prince of Wales on his official duties
David Furnish
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David James Furnish is a Canadian filmmaker, former advertising executive, and now a film director and producer most known for his documentary Elton John, Tantrums & Tiaras. He is married to Elton John, David Furnish was born in Scarborough, Ontario, to Jack Furnish, a director at the Bristol-Myers pharmaceutical company, and Gladys Furnish. He has a brother, John, and a younger brother, Peter. Furnish graduated from the Sir John A and he was recruited by the advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather, eventually transferred to the London, England, office and was appointed to their Board. Furnish is co-chief of Rocket Pictures along with John, Furnish serves on the board of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, attending fundraisers and other events in support of that cause. Furnish is an editor for Tatler magazine and also is a regular columnist for Interview. Furnish began a relationship with singer Sir Elton John in 1993, John proposed to Furnish in May 2005 at a dinner party with friends and fam
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican R
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Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
