WindsorDay.co.uk is all about celebrating the history and the community that is Windsor. The 17th July 1917 being the day King George V changed the Royal Family name to Windsor.
Tell us about your event and if you want us to, we’ll share it with our networks 😉
956 years since the first castle was built, 940 years since Doomsday Book listing, 750 years a Borough, 100 years “Royal Borough” status and 52 years since it changed its name from New Windsor to Windsor.
I Love Windsor CIC, in looking for a day to celebrate community in Windsor asked AI in 2025. St. George’s Day was mentioned but carries negative associations. The 17th July was suggested as it was on this day in 1917 that the King thought it might be a jolly good idea to change the family’s surname to Windsor. That works for us… does it work for you?
It would be great to see community events and parties across the town on 17th July each year. Be they low key when it falls on a “school day” or more energetic if at the weekend. Events focused around the history of Windsor’s community. What was life like in Windsor a hundred years ago? What’s needed today? How can we make the most of things for the betterment of the community?
This year the 17th July is a Friday… poets day 😉
The day we are celebrating is the 17th but if you want to host on a Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Tuesday then who are we to argue, could be a 2 week party 😉 Nearest day that best fits with your world but aim for 17th for that Perfect Day…
We like to garner support from local organisations, people and the relevant authorities and so to that end, invite you to complete our petition / register of interest and we’ll keep you posted as to its progress…
A Little History of Windsor
https://www.rct.uk/visit/windsor-castle/who-built-windsor-castle
Windsor Castle was built by William the Conqueror starting around 1070, shortly after the Norman Conquest, as a wooden motte-and-bailey fortress to guard London’s western approach; it was later converted to stone by Henry II and expanded by subsequent monarchs, making it the world’s oldest and largest occupied castle, continuously used by royalty for nearly 1,000 years.
Domesday Book
https://opendomesday.org/place/SU9676/windsor
It had a recorded population of 26 households in 1086, putting it in the largest 40% of settlements recorded in Domesday.
Land of King William
Households
- Households: 22 villagers. 2 smallholders. 1 slave. 1 priest.
Land and resources
- Ploughland: 1 lord’s plough teams. 10 men’s plough teams.
- Other resources: Meadow 40 acres. Woodland 50 swine render. 1 fishery. 1.5 church lands.
Valuation
- Annual value to lord: 15 pounds in 1086; 7 pounds when acquired by the 1086 owner; 15 pounds in 1066.
Owners
- Tenant-in-chief in 1086: King William. Lords in 1086: Aelfric; another Aelfric; Albert of Lorraine; Eudo the steward; Gilbert Maminot; Walter son of Other; William Bellett; King William; servants, two. Lord in 1066: King Edward.
Other information
- Phillimore reference: Berkshire 1,1
Windsor, UK (Berkshire): Became a key town and free borough with its first charter in 1277, but its name officially changed from “New Windsor” to just “Windsor” in 1974.
The House of Windsor
https://www.windsor.gov.uk/ideas-and-inspiration/royal-connections/the-house-of-windsor
On 17 July 1917, at a meeting of the Privy Council, King George V declared that ‘all descendants in the male line of Queen Victoria, who are subjects of these realms, other than female descendants who marry or who have married, shall bear the name of Windsor’. It remains the family name today.
In 1901, the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha succeeded the House of Hanover with the accession of King Edward VII, son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
In 1917 the name change came about due to anti-German sentiment in the United Kingdom during WW1. These feelings reached a peak in March 1917 when the Gotha GIV, a heavy aircraft capable of crossing the English Channel, began bombing London and it became a household name.
Add to that the abdication of King George’s first cousin, Tsar Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia, which raised the spectre of the eventual abolition of all monarchies in Europe. The King changed the family name plus all German titles and house names were anglicized. The name had a long association with monarchy in Britain, through the town of Windsor and Windsor Castle.
Thank you for your support.
Jon Davey
Community Champion
I Love Windsor CIC
