| Clewer | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
 St Andrew's Church | |
  Clewer Location withinBerkshire | |
| OS grid reference | SU954772 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | WINDSOR |
| Postcode district | SL4 |
| Dialling code | 01753 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Royal Berkshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
| 51°29′06″N0°37′37″W / 51.485°N 0.627°W /51.485; -0.627 | |
Clewer/ˈkluːər/ (also known as Clewer Village) is an ecclesiastical parish and an area ofWindsor, in the ceremonial county ofBerkshire, England.[1] Clewer makes up threewards of theRoyal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, namelyClewer North,Clewer South and Clewer East.[2]
The name Clewer comes from the wordClifwara meaning "cliff-dwellers", and is named after those who lived below the hill on whichWindsor Castle was built.[3] Historically, Clewer pre-datesNew Windsor and still exists as a separate ecclesiastical parish. ASaxon settlement existed there, and it is thought that the settlement of Clewer may have grown up at a place where the riverThames could be forded. A wood-and-thatchSaxon church is believed to have existed on the site of the present church. The survivingfont is thought to be Saxon, and is presumed to have belonged to the earlier church. Until the 1850s this font was in an improbable position at the west end of the northaisle and it is likely that it had never been moved from its position in the earlier Saxon church.
By the time of theNorman Conquest, there was aManor of Clewer, mentioned in theDomesday Book asClivore and recorded as having a church andmill. It was from here thatWilliam I took the lands on which he built hisfort, which becameWindsor Castle. The Manor of Clewer continued to receive a rent of 12 shillings per annum from theCrown for this land until the 16th century.[3] The presentSt Andrew's Church is ofNorman construction[4] and it is traditionally believed that William I habitually attended mass there, as there was no chapel within the original castle. It has a 14th-century chantry chapel to the memory of the second wife of the hero of theHundred Years' War, SirBernard Brocas. The family lived in the sub-manor of Clewer Brocas until rebellious activities obliged them to retreat[4] to obscurity atBeaurepaire inSherborne St John.
TheClewer Park area of Clewer Village is where the former home of SirDaniel Gooch once stood.[3] It was at Clewer thatCharles Thomas Wooldridge murdered his wife Laura Ellen; the execution of Wooldridge in 1896 was immortalised inOscar Wilde'sThe Ballad of Reading Gaol. Hatch Lane is the site of the formerCommunity of St John Baptist convent which closed in 2001, when the community moved toOxfordshire.[5]
In 1891 thecivil parish had a population of 9766.[6] In 1894 the parish was split with the part in New Windsor Municipal Borough becomingClewer Within and therural part becomingClewer Without.[7]
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| Geographic | |
