Charles Knight

I've been using blue plaques as an excuse to get out and explore some more parts of our local area. I've bagged most of the nearest, but two in Windsor have been eluding me.

According to the local authority web site there is a plaque in Alexandra Gardens, near to the river. They even provide a map that shows where it is in the gardens, but despite several detours on recent rides to Windsor I've never been able to find it. Today I discovered it hiding about quarter of a mile away, at the other end of a footpath that leads to the gardens from Thames Street. I'm going to claim that I was looking in the right place but the plaque was elsewhere. I've added it to OSM and Open Plaques.

The other plaque that I've finally been able to track down and add (pictured) is in the Old Burial Ground at the end of Madeira Walk, next to Bachelor's Acre. It's pretty much where they said it was. If I'd not been looking in the wrong place I'd have found it on my first attempt.

Of the two, the background to the plaque in Bachelor's Acre sounds the more interesting.

Charles Knight was a publisher. Among other things he published the Windsor, Slough and Eton Express, and the Local Government Chronicle, both of which are still going today. He also published the "Library of Entertaining Knowledge", and the "Penny Cyclopaedia", which are both great titles, if nothing else. There are samples from the cyclopaedia here (it's got nothing to do with bicycles).