Maidenhead Walk: Town Centre【4K】

Located in the county of Berkshire, and around 25 miles west of central London, is the town of Maidenhead.

Geographically Maidenhead lies just west of the River Thames at a bend where it runs from north to south. In the 9th century the Vikings disembarked from their longboats at Maidenhead on their way to Reading, which for a while became their operational base in the south of England, or Wessex as it was then.

In the 13th century a wooden bridge was constructed across the river to replace a previous ferry service. At the time the area was a small hamlet known as South Ellington. It was later renamed 'Maidenhyth' around 1296. The bridge led to its development as a staging post on the road from London to Bristol, i.e. a resting stop for horse-drawn carriages.

A town charter was granted to Maidenhead in 1582 by Elizabeth I. A century later, in 1688, Maidenhead Bridge was the site of a skirmish between James II and William of Orange during the Glorious Revolution. The town, still loyal to King James, broke the bridge to prevent William from crossing. However, William's army was able to march around it in a matter of days. James's troops ended up retreating back to London. William of Orange became King William III in what was one of the most casualty-light coups in history.

The present-day bridge across the Thames to the east of Maidenhead town centre was built between 1772 and 1777. This forms part of Bath Road, which in turn is part of the A4 which runs from London to Bristol.

Maidenhead first received a railway connection in 1871 courtesy of Great Western Railway. To this day it serves as a key commuter link into London on the Great Western Main Line which reaches Paddington Station in under an hour. TFL Rail also operate a like-for-like service on the same tracks as a precursor to Crossrail, which is under construction at the time of writing.

Maidenhead claims the honour of having the oldest senior ground in football continuously used by the same club. York Road was opened in 1871, and has been home to Maidenhead United Football Club ever since. At the time of writing they are in the National League (fifth tier) and their chairman is Peter Griffin. I kid you not.

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Filmed: 30th May 2021

Link to the walk on Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/v3YwpSryNHDtviVw6

Filmed on a Sony FDR-AX700 with a Zhiyun Crane 2 and a Sony ECM-XYST1M Stereo Microphone.

TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 Market Street
1:32 High Street
1:46 Queen Street
5:48 King Street
9:32 High Street
14:30 The Cut
14:40 High Street
15:23 Bridge Street