Maidenhead Heritage Centre

Memorials to the Fallen of the two World Wars 1914-1918 and 1939-1945 are dotted around Maidenhead and nearby villages. Some no longer survive, but we know of thirty that have existed. What was the story behind the erection of these … Click the image - or here - to read more

Our next online lecture 'Maidenhead in Fine Art ' will take place online on the last day of Lockdown 2 on Wednesday 2nd December at 7pm UK time (2pm EST, 11am Pacific Time). To receive the Zoom logon details for this lecture, please email … Click the image - or here - to read more

Ruth Bowler, Custodian of the David Jarvis Collection, has selected a range of historical images and provided a commentary which confirms Littlewick Green as a "quintessential English village". Image: MAIHC 2007.52.78.1, Fairey Aerial Surveys … Click the image - or here - to read more

Sunday 16th August is the 80th anniversary of an aerial battle which earned Maidenhead trained pilot James Nicholson the Victoria Cross. He was the only Battle of Britain pilot and the only RAF Fighter Command pilot to win the VC during World War … Click the image - or here - to read more

In 1937 Britain introduced Air Raid Precautions (ARP) because of the threat of aerial bombing. Stella Isaacs, Marchioness of Reading, set up the Women’s Voluntary Service (WVS) in 1938 to recruit women to help with ARP. The role of the WVS soon … Click the image - or here - to read more

During the Second World War (1939-1945), posters were used to get across basic messages to the public. How many of these posters do you think are relevant to the Covid-19 lockdown? Colouring in There are two slides available for colouring … Click the image - or here - to read more

The people of Maidenhead like a celebration, and have been marking coronations, jubilees and royal weddings for many a year - as well as the recent VE-Day anniversary. Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee 1897. The Bell Hotel is in the background. … Click the image or here to read more...

Inspirational women from a century of Maidenhead life were under the spotlight (July/August 2019).  Nick Forder, curator at the town’s museum, put together a fascinating … Click the image - or here - to read more

We've prepared a set of slides as an introduction to Maidenhead's fascinating history from the earliest times. You can view the whole exhibition (35 slides) or select the parts that interest you. There's a competition available … Click the image or here to read more...

Twenty local people were interviewed in 1994 (the 50th anniversary of D-Day) to share their memories, whether on the beaches, at sea with the Navy or in the air. Our exhibition is now a permanent memorial, available for you to read online. There are … Click the image or here to read more...

Opened 23rd February 2020 All the World's a Stage was the exhibition running when Maidenhead Heritage Centre closed for the Covid-19 outbreak. Photographs of the exhibits and the 14 wall panels are … Click the image - or here - to read more

The British public first saw the Spitfire at the RAF Hendon air display on Saturday 27 June 1936. Although full-scale production was supposed to begin immediately, numerous … Click the image, or here, to read more...

The 80th anniversary of the formation of ATA was marked with special new displays which featured ATA pilots and flight engineers (including Freddie Laker) with strong connections … Click the image - or here - to read more

Our online exhibition tells the story of "Skindles" and the central role it has played for over 150 years in the fashionable Maidenhead … Click the image or here to read more...

What did the Soviet Union know of Maidenhead?  The Cold War came to an end around 1991 with the fragmentation of the USSR - and the Soviet military maps went into the public … Click the image or here to read more...

In 1963 Civil Defence Booklet No 10 was issued 'Advising the Householder on Protection Against Nuclear Attack', possibly in response to public concerns about the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis when America risked the outbreak of war with the USSR over the … Click the image - or here - to read more

SIR NICHOLAS WINTON1909 - 2015 A Maidenhead resident dubbed the ‘British Schindler’, he rescued 669 children from the hands of the Nazis. In December 1938, a 29 year old stockbroker from Hampstead called Nicholas Winton was about to set off on a … Click the image - or here - to read more

Sculptor of monuments at the zenith of the British Empire - and Maidenhead resident - G E Wade's work is still on display across the world and his portable pieces sell at auction for thousands of pounds. Now, vandalism and theft are threats to his … Click the image - or here - to read more

Try out the side-by-side map. It shows old Maidenhead alongside familiar contemporary maps - and you can change the layers displayed yourself. The maps are not available to print but you can screen-grab. Maidenhead Heritage Centre and RBWM Museums & Libraries have pooled their collections … Click the image or here to read more...

Project Gutenberg has digitised over 60,000 out-of-copyright books. Free-of-charge, you can download these wonderful books to read on a Kindle e-reader or on a computer/tablet in your favourite browser. Maidenhead Heritage Centre has found 25 … Click the image or here to read more...

Visit our sister website https://atamuseum.org to access the Air Transport Auxiliary archive. Most of the 2-dimensional items have been digitised and can be viewed free-of-charge. The archive … Click the image or here to read more...

The local collection, approaching 15,000 items, can be viewed online using Search tools provided. Images are available for approximately 40% of items. Register (free-of-charge) to view the images at full resolution. Search Search includes all … Click the image or here to read more...

Our 2020 Christmas opening hours are: open from 3rd-19th December, closed from 20th to 27th, open 28th-30th, closed 31st-4th January. Our opening hours are Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm. General admission is free. Charges apply … Click the image or here to read more...

We offer a range of workshops for KS1 and KS2 that can be delivered at the museum or in your classroom.   Workshop KS1 KS2 Pre-History Yes Yes The Romans Yes Yes The Tudors Yes The Victorians & … Click the image or here to read more...