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Living in Eton close to the world’s most famous
school brought my family many advantages.
During the summer we children could swim in Eton
College’s swimming pool. As a family we went to
dances, musical and dramatic productions in the
College’s Farrar Theatre and to the hilarious
end-of-year show put on by the Eton College
Masters, known as “The Beaks” Concert.
My father became a town councillor and was
appointed “Bridge Master” in charge of charitable
funds left to Baldwin’s Bridge, the bridge that
connects the town of Eton to the College. In 1971
my father was instrumental in getting Windsor
Bridge closed to road traffic. He received hate-mail
from the local shopkeepers who thought their
businesses would be ruined, but in fact the town
has prospered ever since, and property prices have
risen dramatically as a result of the closure.
I used to babysit for Eton College Masters for the
princely sum of one shilling an hour in order to
earn the £20 my parents required me to save before
they bought me my beloved pony. My teenage
years were spent galloping across Dorney
Common, competing in local gymkhanas and
riding on the Brocas (left) and other Thames-side
meadows.
Gregory; Boulters Lock Sunday Afternoon 1892-1897
On hot days, such as we have had this summer, I would
ride my pony bareback into the Thames for a swim, and
we would watch the Eton boys (known as ‘Wet Bobs’)
rowing on the river in “fours” or “eights” with a master
shouting instructions through a megaphone while
cycling along the bank. My father and I especially
loved walking our dog across the Playing Fields of
Eton, where the Duke of Wellington famously remarked
that the Battle of Waterloo had been won (meaning that
life at Eton in the 18th century was so tough that if a
boy could survive that he could survive anything!)
The river was always an important part of our lives.
Our favourite walk was along Cock Marsh at Cookham,
looking across to the beautiful houses opposite on the
Riverdene Estate at Bourne End. A great treat was
when my parents took us for a fish-and-chip lunch at
the Catherine Wheel in Henley which in those days was
a Berni Inn. It’s one of City and Village groups’
favourite lunch venues today. We also loved walking
along Maidenhead Riverside ending with an ice cream
from the kiosk at Boulter’s Lock, perhaps the most
famous lock on the River Thames. It was originally
called Ray Mill Lock after the mill on the island, owned
by the Ray Family, one of whom became the first
lock-keeper. Its present name was adopted later,
“boulting’ being an old milling term – the miller ground
the flour, the boulter sifted it. In the Edwardian era
Boulter’s Lock was known throughout the British
Empire. The “Cream of Society”, royalty and cabinet
ministers, were entertained at nearby Cliveden and
Taplow Court. The high point of the season was Ascot
Sunday when the lock was packed with rivercraft with
everyone dressed in their finest for the occasion.
Edward John Gregory’s painting “Boulter’s Lock
Sunday Afternoon” marvellously evokes the crowded,
milling, democratic chaos of a summer weekend.
I always look forward to guiding one of City and
Village’s river trips (whatever the weather!!). There is
so much to see as the river is an ever-changing scene.
Many writers have waxed lyrical about the Thames,
from Edmund Spenser to Jerome K. Jerome, but for
me the most captivating and evocative words are those
written by John Burns, MP for Battersea and the first
working-class cabinet minister.
“
I have seen the Mississippy; that is muddy water.
I have seen the St. Lawrence; that is crystal water.
But the Thames is liquid history.
”
Barbara is part of the City & Village Tours
Upper Thames Team along with Amanda,
Victoria, Marian, Liz and the two Martins.
Five Upper Thames trips, including two new
ones are described inside this issue.