John the Baptist’s Church

Windsor Parish Church of St John the Baptist was built on the site of an earlier church dating back to the days of Henry I. The vaults of the earlier church are still below the floor. This church was designed by Charles Hollis and building began with Robert Tebbott and James Bedborough in 1820. It was consecrated on 22 June 1822.

In 1870 the chancel and apse were built by the Gothic revivalist architect, Samuel Teulon, with mosaics made by Italian workers. The screen was added in 1898 to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee the previous year.

Near the altar, on the south side, is the Royal pew, which contains two magnificent thrones given to the church by Princess Augusta, 2nd daughter of George III who worshipped here regularly. George III gave the church an altar rail from St George’s Chapel, carved by Grinling Gibbons. Behind the pew is a door through which members of the Royal Family could enter, unseen by the congregation.

Outside the Parish Church is the Windsor Town Memorial, at which wreaths are laid on Remembrance Sunday. In the West Gallery of the church hangs the 17th-century painting, The Last Supper, by Francis Cleyn, originally in St George’s Chapel. The register of the church dates back to 1559. On the other side of the road is 13 High Street, which served as Windsor’s first photographic studio established there in 1852.