Editing Datchet (section)

==History==
There is evidence of habitation in the area shortly after the end of the last [[Quaternary glaciation|ice age]], between 10,000 and 6,500 years ago, and of a multi-period settlement at Southlea from the Neolithic to the late [[Roman people|Roman]] periods.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Martin |first1=Julia |title=Evidence of Prehistoric Settlement at Southlea Farm, Datchet |date=5 June 2016 |publisher=Datchet Village Society |location=UK. |url=http://datchethistory.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Southlea_Report_Vol1.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605030103/http://datchethistory.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Southlea_Report_Vol1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2021|archive-date=5 June 2016 }}</ref> An excavation at Riding Court, a [[manorial]] sub-division of Datchet, has revealed a monument complex that included a [[cursus]], [[ring ditches]], [[tumulus|oval barrows]] and [[causeway]]ed enclosures. The monuments had developed alongside the River Thames, which acted as a barrier, a gateway and a routeway to other regions. The 2017 investigations at Riding Court Farm have provided evidence of Early Neolithic activity (4000–3350 BC) with the discovery of a previously unknown causewayed enclosure.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Krakowka |first1=Kathryn |title=Neolithic causewayed enclosure discovered in Berkshire |url=https://www.archaeology.co.uk/articles/neolithic-causewayed-enclosure-discovered-in-berkshire.htm |website=Current Archeology |date=28 March 2018 |publisher=Current Publishing |access-date=27 September 2020}}</ref>

Datchet is first mentioned between 990 and 994, when [[Æthelred the Unready|Æthelred]] made small grants of land here. In the [[Domesday Book]], in 1066 the lords were the brothers Saewulf and Siward. In 1086 the lord and tenant-in-chief was Giles, brother of Ansculf,<ref name="OD"/> also referred to as Giles de Pinkney.<ref name=page>{{Cite web|url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/bucks/vol3/pp249-255|title=Parishes: Datchet &#124; British History Online|website=www.british-history.ac.uk}}</ref> In 1150, the church already existed in Datchet, and the Pinkney family sold it to the [[St Albans Cathedral|abbey]] of [[St Albans]]. The Abbot became [[rector (ecclesiastical)|rector]] as impropriator of the parish and had the right to appoint vicars.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} There was a ferry at Datchet Ferry which provided a shorter route from London to [[Windsor Castle]] and was frequently used by royalty.{{cn|date=January 2023}}
[[File:Bend in London Road - geograph.org.uk - 1173872.jpg|thumb|left|upright|St Mary's Church with its octagonal tower]]
[[File:Datchet Mead and Datchet Ferry 1686.jpg|thumb|right|Datchet Mead and Datchet Ferry in 1686 with Windsor Castle in the background]]
[[File:OpenStreetMap render Datchet.svg|thumb|right|Datchet from J5 of the M4 and the Queen Mother Reservoir to Datchet Golf Course]]
In 1249, [[Henry III of England|Henry III]] gave a great oak from [[Windsor Great Park| Windsor Forest]] to make a barge for passage from Windsor to Datchet. In 1350, [[Edward III of England|Edward III]] gave Datchet Church as part of the endowment of his new church and college of [[St George]] at Windsor Castle. St. Mary's church originated as a rectory in the 13th century.<ref name="HoD1896">{{cite book |last1=Osborn |first1=S. |title=The History of Datchet |date=1896 |publisher=Oxley and Son |location=Windsor, UK |edition=2nd}}</ref>{{rp|24}} A church, dated from 1559 by the parish registers, was dismantled in 1857, rebuilt, and reopened in 1860. It is notable in that its tower is octagonal, the greater number of church towers being square or round.<ref name="HoD1896"/>{{rp|27}} On the [[dissolution of the monasteries]], [[the Crown]] confiscated the rectory, which was sold by [[UK Parliament|Parliament]] in 1659 to William Stanbridge and [[Sir Thomas Roberts, 4th Baronet|Thomas Roberts]].<ref name=page/>

The history of the manor begins in 1335 when Edward III gave the manor of Datchet to William de Montacute, who then passed it on to Sir [[John Molyns]], who held it until 1631, when it passed to the Winwood family and eventually to the Buccleuch and Montagu families. [[Lord Montagu of Beaulieu]] is still the [[titular ruler|titular]] Lord of Datchet Manor but owns no property here. 

In 1641, [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] sold the manor house and estate of Riding Court to William Wheeler. It was later sold out of the Wheeler estates, and, after passing through various hands, was finally conveyed to [[John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu]] in 1742, and so came once more under the same ownership as Datchet Manor. After the death in 1790 of his son-in-law, George, [[Earl of Cardigan]], created Duke of Montagu in 1766, the manors passed to the latter's daughter Elizabeth wife of [[Henry Scott, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch]]. From 1802 the title followed the same descent as Datchet and Ditton in [[Stoke Poges]], and the manorial rights were vested in John Walter Edward, the second Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, until recently transferred to David Mapley, the current owner.

In 1706, the ferry that carried traffic across the River Thames through Datchet was replaced by [[Datchet Bridge]]. The crossing was replaced three times until it was finally demolished in 1851 as part of the re-routing of roads and bridges when the [[LSWR]] railway line was built from [[Richmond-upon-Thames|Richmond]] to Windsor. Traffic between [[Old Windsor]] and Datchet now uses a southerly route along Southlea Road and crossing [[Albert Bridge, Datchet|Albert Bridge]], while a new Windsor Road was built from Datchet riverside and crossing the new [[Victoria Bridge, Datchet|Victoria Bridge]].{{citation needed|date=June 2020}} In 1742, [[John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu]] bought Datchet manor, and his family owned it until at least 1925; at one point it was owned by the head of the influential Montagu-Douglas-Scott family, [[Henry Scott, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch]].<ref name=page/>

In 1790, a [[workhouse]] was built in Holmlea Road and in 1820 an [[almshouse]] belonging to the workhouse was turned into a shop. In 1848, the first train went through Datchet to [[Windsor, Berkshire|Windsor]] and by 1860 Datchet Common's beer house, The Plough, was in existence. In 1886, Datchet was described as having been known as Black Datchet in the early 1800s because of a large number of bad characters living there, and that [[Aylesbury]] [[County Jail]] had one building known as the 'Datchet Wing' filled mostly with [[poachers]], for which there is good evidence.<ref>{{cite book |last=Osborn |first=Samuel |date=1886 |title=The History of Datchet |publisher=British Library }}</ref>

In early 1911 a young [[Sydney Camm]] watched Sir [[Thomas Sopwith]] land his aircraft on Datchet [[golf course]], on his return journey from [[Windsor Castle]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sweetman |first1=John |title=Sydney Camm Hurricane and Harrier Designer, Saviour of Britain. |date=2019 |publisher=Pen & Sword Books |location=Newburyport |isbn=9781526756237}}</ref>