Eton Wick, United Kingdom

In the 18th century, Eton Wick saw changes in agriculture with the introduction of crop rotations and selective breeding. The village was traditionally managed through a system of Lammas rights, which allowed communal grazing on the commons. The 19th century brought industrial advances and the village began to modernize with the introduction of railway connections and better road infrastructure. The college was traditionally responsible for the social well-being of the settlement and throughout the 19th century, scholars at Eton College took a personal interest in the village. building a village hall and, in 1840, a small school in the village. Eton Wick Census records reveal that in 1851 that there were 76 children recorded as "Scholars". The village grew rapidly between the 1880s and the 2000s.

Eton Wick school was first opened in 1840 near the then Greyhound Public House.

In 1880, the owner of Bell Farm, Charles Dorney, sold some of his land for residential building. The new village was called Boveney New Town. After the Civil Parish Act 1894, the Wick was transferred from Eton parish to Boveney parish and became known as Eton Wick. Eton Wick and Boveney New Town were almost immediately next to each other yet both retained their own councils until 1934. The population of the villages during this time was around 500.

A new school was built in between 1886 and 1888 on Sheepcote Road and was upgraded and expanded in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1990s as the villagee grew in the 1950s, 1960s and 1990s.

The early 20th century was a period of significant social and physical development for Eton Wick. In 1906, Edward Littleton Vaughan, master at Eton College for 27 years, played a pivotal role in founding the Eton Wick and Boveney Institute, now known as the Village Hall, which became a social hub for the community. The hall was intended to foster fellowship and recreation, initially excluding, but later including, women and girls in its activities.

During the World Wars, Eton Wick adapted to the national demands, with the village hall serving as a school for evacuees and a gathering place for community support activities.

Several 3.72” anti-aircraft guns of 564 Battery stationed on the SM7 Site in Dorney Common during WW2.

Locals retrieved the body of a dead German fighter pilot from Thames Field after his parachute failed to deploy on June 29th, 1940.

On 2nd October 1940 a bomb fell near East of Manor Farm Dorney and near Dorney Court.

On 1st/2nd November 1940 1 high explosive and 3 unexploded HE bombs fell on Boveney.

On 15th and 18th November 1940 1 unexploded bomb fell on Eton Wick.

On April 14th, 1941, 2 incendiary bombs fell on Eton Wick school and 'a number of incendiaries' fell on the allotments below the school in Sheepcote Road.

During May 10th, 1941,1 or 2 small high explosive bombs fell on Dorney Army Camp along with an incendiary oil bomb that went in to the neighbouring Roundmoor Ditch. 2-12 bombs (depending on the person's account) fell on Dorney sewage works. Eton Wick also got a high explosive bomb that did not explode on impact.

The German pilot, Oberleutnant Fisher, was captured near his shot down aircraft on September 30th, 1941.

A bomb fell on February 22 or 23, 1944 making a crater 12ft by 5ft diameter and damaging 50 houses.

The buildings of the camp from April/May, 1940 to 1944 or 1945, and it's AA-guns were on Dorney Common, but the armoury and a few other small building opposite Roundmoor Ditch were on the land now covered by Tillstone Close. It was permanently closed in 1945.

The armoury was converted in to a home and homeless people squatted in the Nissen huts between 1946 and 1947. The flood of 1947 damaged them beyond repair and the site was levelled in 1950, or 1945-1955, depending on the account given. They were rehoused during the housing building spree that occurred between 1945 and 1952.

Post-war Eton Wick witnessed a period of renewal, marked by the introduction of secondary education and the establishment of modern council housing bringing the population up to around 3,000.

In 1965, the land surrounding the village was registered as common land under the Commons Registration Act, meaning the land cannot be developed without permission from the Secretary of State for the Environment.