Here are two views of Victoria Street and the Infirmary. In later years part was used by the Windsor Liberal Club.
We are keen to find out more about these buildings.
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The Royal Windsor Forum |
Views of Victoria Street
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 thamesweb |
Views of Victoria Street |
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Posts: 1195 (26-May-2008 01:25 PM) |
Here are two views of Victoria Street and the Infirmary. In later years part was used by the Windsor Liberal Club. We are keen to find out more about these buildings. |
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Pat Larkin |
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Posts: 175 (28-May-2008 01:23 PM) |
Looking at the top picture, what is the tall chimney to the right-hand-side, that's if it is a chimney?
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thamesweb |
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Posts: 1204 (28-May-2008 04:07 PM) |
Well spotted. I hadn't noticed. It would be a laundry, if there was a laundry there, or a brewery, if there was a brewery there, or some sort of factory,
but none of these fit.
I am sure someone out there knows! |
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Pat Larkin |
Breweries in Windsor - 1910 | ||
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Posts: 176 (30-May-2008 08:56 AM) |
I trawled through the amazing 'Pubs in Windsor' site on the Forum and came across this from around 1910...
'There were three local breweries operating in Windsor. Burge & Co. had their premises in Victoria Street, just on it's junction with Alexandra Road. J. Canning had their premises at 44 Peascod Street, whilst Neville Reid & Co. had their brewery in Thames Street near to the junction with Datchet Road...' I can only place Burge & Co. as being the nearest to 'the chimney', and then I think it's too far away. |
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thamesweb |
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Posts: 1210 (30-May-2008 12:06 PM) |
'Fraid not. The picture towards Bachelors Acre with the chimney in the distance is taken from very near the Burge Brewery and the junction with Alexandra
Road. The chimney is in probably in the area between Bachelors Acre and Sheet Street.
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Pat Larkin |
Tall chimney in background of the Victoria Street postcard view. | ||
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Posts: 180 ( 3-Jun-2008 08:58 AM) |
Still on the trail of this chimney, I contacted the Windsor History Group and have just forwarded to them your postcard view with the hope that they can
identify it.
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acreboy |
That chimney | ||
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Posts: 2 ( 5-Jun-2008 10:13 AM) |
Between the Acre and Sheet St, I seem to remember, was the Windsor Gas, Light & Coke Company, whch could explain the chimney.
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Pat Larkin |
That Chimney! | ||
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Posts: 183 ( 6-Jun-2008 08:55 AM) |
Hello acreboy, well, my husband and I talked and tried to remember, because it's a long time ago that the coke works were around, exactly where they were.
We only know of the coke yard quite near to where my husband was born, that was close to the river, in Bridgewater Terrace, it was the old gas works and is now
a car park. We both remember very well too, the odours and smells around the big arch there. If any one of us had a cold, my Granny, who lived in Gardner
Cottages, Duke Street, would tell my Dad to take us to the 'gasworks', 'make them breathe in the fumes and they'll soon be
alright'....uggg, awful. I wonder if there's any proof that this 'remedy' really worked, I doubt it, but, you never know.
Neither of us knows of another gas or coke factory, but, assuming the date of the postcard is around the late 1800's, early 1900's, we could be wrong. If only video cameras and the like were invented sooner, we wouldn't have this problem. There again, we wouldn't have the fun of trying to find out what this chimney really represents...
Last Edited By: Pat Larkin
6-Jun-2008 04:35 PM.
Edited 1 times.
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thamesweb |
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Posts: 1221 ( 6-Jun-2008 09:18 AM) |
The gas and coke works were indeed by the railway arches at the Goswells. Here is a view of the retort chimneys from the railway line over the arches.
Across the road was the area where the gas holders were. The premises in Victoria Street, near the Sheet Street, junction on the north side, were the showrooms so the chimney almost certainly belonged to a different business. |
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acreboy |
More That Chimney | ||
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Posts: 3 ( 6-Jun-2008 09:34 AM) |
From the street one could see only showrooms. (Later the building was taken over by the Southern Electricity Board.) I doubt very much that coke was made
there, but it could be that gas appliances and the quality of gas and coke were tested somewhere at the back. I can imagine that the folks on the far side of
Sheet Street would not welcome the fumes, however therapeutic; hence a chimney.
You^re right about the fun. |
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Pat Larkin |
The chimney | ||
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Posts: 186 ( 6-Jun-2008 05:05 PM) |
We've taken yet another look, through a magnifying glass this time, at the 'thing'.....my husband suggests it might be a flagpole. Sorry, but I
disagree. Anyway, it's far too thick to be a flagpole....
Apart from this 'chimney', what about the letters 'INFIRMARY' on the top of the corner part of the building. My husband and I have driven round that same corner hundreds of times over the years my Mother-in-Law lived in Ellison House, and we never, ever once looked 'up'....are those letters still there? I would ask thamesweb to kindly pay a quick visit just to check on this...I'm afraid with petrol at the price it is, we will have to delay our next visit 'up' to Windsor. Also, has anyone noticed the horse dung on the road? I think the Postman crossing the road is trying to avoid stepping in it. When living in Albert Street, my Mother-in-Law might be sweeping her front step and would rush in, grab the coal shovel and bucket, rush out and race to the pile of horse dung in the middle of the road. She'd carry it in and go straight through to the back of the house and leave it in her back garden. This would then be spread round several different plants once my Father-in-Law came home.......it was quite something to beat a neighbour to the 'pile'.....the coalman's horse was always welcome in Albert Street in those days. These two postcard views have really stirred up the old brain cells, thamesweb. Can you please put some more old Windsor views on the forum ?
Last Edited By: Pat Larkin
7-Jun-2008 06:57 AM.
Edited 1 times.
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Pat Larkin |
That Chimney | ||
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Posts: 188 ( 9-Jun-2008 09:06 AM) |
I've looked at 'BREWERY.HISTORY', The Journal of The Brewers' Historical Society Online', and the 'backdrop picture' to their web
page is a photo of an old brewery....Well, the chimney in the picture does look slightly like 'our' chimney.....could someone else have a look at this
and give an opinion please. It's probably some brewery in the Midlands, but, it could be the mystery chimney......?
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thamesweb |
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Posts: 1224 ( 9-Jun-2008 07:06 PM) |
That whole area was rebuilt around twenty years ago so nothing remains from the Alms Houses through to that corner.
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thamesweb |
The Demolition of Burges Brewery 1971 | ||
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Posts: 1733 ( 3-May-2009 04:52 PM) |
The Queen's Arms in the process of demolition, on the corner of Alexandra Road and Victoria St., no 47, with the brewery buildings to the left. 
The brewery buildings along Russell Street to the west. 
The Hand and Glove, now a Chinese Restaurant [as of 2009], and the brewery buildings fronting Alexandra Road.  The Queen's Arms in the process of demolition viewed from Victoria Street, with the brewery buildings beyond. Herewith four photos taken during the demolition of Burges Brewery at the junction of Alexandra Road and Russell Street and their pub, . |
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Hazel Austin |
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Posts: 176 ( 3-May-2009 06:51 PM) |
I'd love to see these photos but can open only the top one - an IrfanView jpg. - but the others don't open and have no type listed. Any suggestions
about what I can do this end?
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spranglebolt |
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Posts: 45 ( 3-May-2009 09:38 PM) |
I too can only see the 1st pic. But I have a prob with the caption of that one. Presumably we are looking along Alexandra Road towards Victoria Street? But the
building on the left looks remarkably like the surviving one in Russell Street, now nicely refurbished as a fancy office block (also visible through one of the
arches in Victoria Street).
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thamesweb |
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Posts: 1736 ( 4-May-2009 12:53 PM) |
Pix reloaded... should be OK now.
The white Daimler and green van are parked in Alexandra Road beside what is now the multistorey car park. Not all the buildings were demolished and Russell Street survived. See pix 2. |
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Pat Larkin |
The Hand & Glove p.h. | ||
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Posts: 559 ( 4-May-2009 03:34 PM) |
The Hand & Glove was mentioned in the guide to Windsor's public houses - just a brief mention saying that.....'The Hand & Glove was the only
pub in Russell Street and was run by a Mr. S. Vallis. It is now the .... .... Chinese restaurant...' not the exact words, but almost...it is a pub my
husband completely forgot about til seeing your photos thamesweb. He had never used the pub, so couldn't make any comments...I had never seen nor heard of
this p.h. Seems strange that Courage's should have a pub right near Burge's Brewery building. Did the Hand & Glove belong to the Burge's
Brewery Company at one time?
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thamesweb |
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Posts: 1737 ( 4-May-2009 05:53 PM) |
Did the Hand & Glove belong to the Burge's Brewery Company at one time? Courage History There have been many name changes for Courage's as featured in the above history. It is very likely that Courage took possession of the pub, and branded it as their own, following one of the many take-overs and mergers that took place over the decades. Some detective work needed to identify the original owners, but it would very likely have been a local brewery's outlet. |
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