Holy Trinity is uniquely a Parish Church and a Garrison Church with permission to wear the White Ensign (the Royal Navy flag flown above ships and shore establishments). It is fairly easy to find, at the lower end of the main shopping streets (walking away from Windsor Castle). Known locally as 'the Church on the roundabout', located at the junction of Claremont Road & Trinity Place, next to East Berkshire College.
Holy Trinity is probably the only parish and garrison church in the country and functions as a parish church being also used by the army chaplains for services. Its upkeep is entirely funded by the generosity of the congregation and visitors. At present there are two traditional Church of England Holy Communion Services each week.
Holy Trinity was founded originally with a gift of 200 guineas from Queen Victoria. Other contributions made by the Duke & Duchess of Kent, Eton College, St George’s Chapel and Prince Albert allowed the construction of the Church to begin. The foundation stone was laid on 4 April 1842 by Prince Albert himself and it is rumoured that he later designed the main ceiling. Today those entering by the main door are greeted by a life-size statue of the Prince.
Queen Victoria wanted the church to be built both for the spiritual welfare of her troops (garrisoned at Combermere and Victoria Barracks) and for the growing population of Windsor (particularly the poor who lived in the slums by the river—now Alexandra Gardens). In the early years the church both educated and fed the poor. There was a daughter church, St Saviour’s, nearer to the river - it was demolished with the slums and only the lychgate survives, now forming an entrance into Clewer Memorial Park on the Dedworth Road.
The church was designed by Edward Blore (most well known for his work on Buckingham Palace). It houses many memorials including the panels on the gallery which commemorate the lives of the 2,116 Officers and Men of the Grenadier, Coldstream and Scots Guards who gave their lives in the Crimean War (1854-1857). The text round ("Fight the Good Fight ") was chosen by Queen Victoria specially for the memorial. On the panels on the ground floor there are 86 panels of the names of the 742 Officers and Men of the household Brigade who died in the Boer war in South Africa (1899-1902). The memorial was unveiled on January 28th, 1905, by King Edward VII. Two other significant military memorials are to: John Siddall, veterinary surgeon for 53 years, who as the last surviving member of the Household Brigade of Cavalry present at Waterloo 1815; and Col Fredrick Burnaby who was an officer in the Royal Horse Guards and a famous adventurer. The largest memorial is the Guard’s Chapel, built in 1883, dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives in the 1882 Egyptian Campaign. On poles around the gallery there are Standards and Regimental Colours (flags) of the Royal Horse Guards, Life Guards, Coldstream and Irish Guards. Two of the Coldstream colours were at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
The Chancel screen was put up to those of the Household Cavalry who fell in the Great War. It was unveiled by Lieut. Colonel Tweedmouth, C.M.G., on October 6th, 1921. The altar rails were put up in memory of those of the Household Battalion who fell in the Great War, 1914-1918. This was unveiled on the same date by Lieut. Colonel W. Porter, M.V.O. The reredos and end-panelling were dedicated on June 15th, 1922, to the memory of those of the Brigade of Guards who fell in the Great War. The names of all those of the Household Cavalry, Household Battalion and Brigade of Guards who fell in the Great War are recorded in three books, which are placed close to the memorials. The books, containing 14,000 names of those who fell from the Brigade of Guards, was placed on the shelf of the memorial by H.R.H. the Duke of Connaught, K.G., Senior Colonel of the Brigade of Guards. The architect for these three memorials was Sir Gilbert Scott.
The church also features a stained glass window commemorating Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale. His father, then Prince of Wales, later to become Edward VII, attended the private inauguration of the great triple window in the North Transept.
Although Holy Trinity is a garrison church it has (above the pulpit) a White Ensign commemorating those who lost their lives at sea especially Lord Louis Mountbatten, Admiral of the Fleet and Honorary Colonel of the Life Guards who made his last ever public appearance on Sunday 22 July 1979 at Holy Trinity before he was killed by an IRA bomb. For the family of Holy Trinity now it is also a reminder of the Royal Navy officers who have more recently given faithful service to the church.
If you would like to visit the church but do not wish to worship please go come along just after 10:35am on a Wednesday, or on the 1st Saturday of the month the church is open between 9:30am & 12pm with coffee and bacon butties (and sometimes cake!).
To find the cache:
At Waypoint 1,
i) there is blue doorway with two words in a plaque - No of letters in first word = A
ii) There are some steps up to a second door on your left, no. of steps (not including the one in line with the door) = B
At waypoint 2, you will find the entrance to a function room
i) Number of letters in the name of the person for whom this room is named = C
ii) Number of letters in first word on left hand door = D
At waypoint 3, there are winged creatures decorating the arches of the window
i) How many are birds = E
ii) How many altogether = F
The final co-ordinates are: N51º 28.(A+E)(F-E)(A-F) W 0º 36.(D+F)(C-2F)(B-E)
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See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
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