In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Ascot like this:
ASCOT, a chapelry and a racecourse in Winkfield parish, Berks. The chapelry adjoins the Staines and Reading railway, 8 miles W by S of Staines; was constituted in 1866; and has a post office under Staines, and a r. station. Pop., 900. Ascot Place is the seat ofC. Ferard, Esq. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Oxford. ...
Value, £100. Patron, the Bishop of Oxford. There is a national school.-The racecourse is adjacent to the SW extremity of the Great Park of Windsor; has a rich sward, a grand stand with noble view, and the most complete range of racing chateanx in the empire; is circular, and only 66 yards short of 2 miles; and goes half the way on the descent, the other half chiefly up hill. The races were instituted by the Duke of Cumberland, uncle of George III.; they take place early in June; and they are generally attended by the Royal Family in state, and by the élite of the court, the nobility, and the fashion. A cup was given to them by the Emperor Nicholas of Russia after his visit to England, and discontinued at the Crimean war; and another has been given, in its stead, by the Emperor Napoleon of France.
Ascot through time
Ascot is now part of Windsor and Maidenhead district. Click here for graphs and data of how Windsor and Maidenhead has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Ascot itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Ascot, in Windsor and Maidenhead and Berkshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/20647
Date accessed: 26th April 2024
Not where you were looking for?
Click here for more detailed advice on finding places within A Vision of Britain through Time, and maybe some references to other places called "Ascot".