CHRISTMAS IN STAINED GLASS
A collection of photographs of stained glass Nativity scenes in churches in Maidenhead and the surrounding villages.
LITTLEWICK GREEN
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”.
LET’S CELEBRATE!
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.
JEWEL OF THE THAMES
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.
WOMEN IN GREEN
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.
WW2 POSTERS
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 in. Download and print the PDF file.
TOWN CENTRE 1964
These photographs are part of a collection believed to have been taken by Gordon Slater, Chairman of Maidenhead Civic Society, in 1964. Gordon travelled around Maidenhead and its environs on his motorbike, stopping to take pictures of whatever interested him, and carefully writing details on the back of each print.
ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE
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 available to view online.
MEMORIES OF D-DAY
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 also some general panels about the Home Front.
SKINDLES
Our online exhibition tells the story of “Skindles” and the central role it has played for over 150 years in the fashionable Maidenhead riverside.
COLD WAR MAIDENHEAD
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 domain.
SPITFIRE SUMMER 2018
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 problems could not be overcome for some time, and the first production Spitfire, K9787, did not roll off the Woolston, Southampton assembly line until mid-1938.
MAIDENHEADS’ INSPIRATIONAL WOMEN
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 exhibition which included suffragette Victoria Simmons, Nancy Astor, Joan Hughes, Agnes del Riego, Baroness Shreela Flather, Theresa May and other prominent women who could be inspiring role models for the young women of today.
ATA-GIRLS & ANCIENT AIRMEN
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 with White Waltham. Exhibition shown September & October 2019.
WAR MEMORIALS
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 memorials? Maidenhead resident Leslie Ritson-Smith did extensive research into the background between 1998-2012.
