motte and bailey structure in the manor of Clewer. It was noted in the
Domesday Book as 'Windsor Castle'. Some time after 1086, probably in the reign
of King Henry I, the royal household moved upstream to the recently built
castle. By 1110, important crown wearings (Great Council of state) were noted
as taking place at the castle and King Henry married his second wife there in
1121, after the 'White Ship' disaster. The settlement at Old Windsor largely
transferred to this 'New' Windsor during the 12th century, although substantial
planning and setting out of the new town (including the parish church,
marketplace, bridge and leper hospital) did not take place until c. 1170,
following the civil war of Stephen's reign. At about the same time, the present
upper ward of the castle was rebuilt in stone. Windsor Bridge is the earliest
bridge on the Thames between Staines and Reading, having been built when bridge
building was not common. It played an important part in the national road
system, linking London with Reading and Winchester, but also, by diverting
traffic into the new town, underpinned its success.
The town of New Windsor, as an ancient
demesne of the Crown, was a privileged settlement from the start, apparently
having the rights of a 'free borough' for which other towns had to pay
substantial fees to the king. It had a merchant guild (known by the 14th
century as the Fraternity or brotherhood of the Trinity) from the early 13th
century and, under royal patronage, was made the chief town of the county later
in the same century. Windsor was granted royal borough status by Edward I's
charter in 1277. This gave no new rights or privileges to Windsor but, as one
historian puts it, "recognised [Windsor's] existence and gave it a legal
status as a borough". Importantly, as a self-governing town, it maintained
a 'common cheest' paying for improvements to the town from its own resources
