Shaw Farm is on the royal estate at Windsor. Originally a home farm for

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

, by the early 19th century it came into the ownership of Princess Augusta Sophia. Upon her death in 1840, it was purchased by the

Crown Estate The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...

. In 1851, the tenant farmer was evicted and the tenancy taken over by

Albert, Prince Consort Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Franz August Karl Albert Emanuel; 26 August 1819 – 14 December 1861) was the husband of Queen Victoria. As such, he was consort of the British monarch from their marriage on 10 February 1840 until his ...

. Albert ran it as a model farm and constructed a number of buildings, including a new farmhouse and workers' dwellings. Albert raised a variety of livestock including prize-winning Clydesdale horses. Following Albert's death, the farm was used to house exotic livestock given to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

Early history

The farm has its origins as a home farm for the supply of produce to the nearby Windsor Castle. By the early 19th century, it was owned by Princess Augusta Sophia and tenanted to the Voules family. It was extended in 1817 during the

enclosure Enclosure or inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land", enclosing it, and by doing so depriving commoners of their traditional rights of access and usage. Agreements to enc ...

of Windsor and in the early part of Queen Victoria's reign, with the demolition of labourer's dwellings, formerly a hospital granted to the Crown by the Windsor Corporation in 1784. In September 1840, the farm was purchased by the Crown Estate, upon the death of Augusta. The land was let by the Crown to a Mr Watkins and, after his death in 1845, to his son-in-law Charles Cantrell. Further land had been added to the farm in 1843 with the Crown's purchase of the Keppel estate to the south and east.

Albert's model farm

Victoria's husband Prince Albert had managed the nearby Home Farm since 1841 and looked to expand his land, which was used as a model farm. In February 1851, Cantrell was advised that his tenancy would be ended in favour of one to Albert. Cantrell unsuccessfully petitioned for compensation. The decision may also have been made as the construction of Albert Road around this time divided the Shaw Farm lands and may have affected its viability to a commercial tenant. Albert's annual rent to the Crown Estate was almost £250 (). Albert constructed a number of new buildings on the site before his death in 1861. These were half-funded by Albert and half by the Crown Estate. Albert showed concern for the welfare of his workers and an eight-roomed house with tower was constructed north of the main farm buildings for their lodgings. Two labourer's cottages were built on Albert Road from 1852, at a cost of £450 (), and a new farmhouse during 1853-54 at a cost of £5,691 (). The farm was regarded as well-equipped by early-Victorian standards with stables, cattle boxes, stalls, poultry house, piggeries, a covered sheep shed and manure tank. Albert delegated the general running of the farm to Lieutenant-General William Wemyss (died 1852) and then to his stewards, Mr Wilson and then Mr Tait. Albert introduced a short-horned dairy cattle herd in 1853. He also bred Clydesdale horses with which he won

Royal Agricultural Society of England The Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) promotes the scientific development of English agriculture. It was established in 1838 with the motto "Practice with Science" and was known as the English Agricultural Society until it received i ...

prizes,

Berkshire pig The Berkshire is a British breed of pig. It originated in the English county of Berkshire, for which it is named. It is normally black, with some white on the snout, on the lower legs, and on the tip of the tail. It is a rare breed in the Un ...

s and Cheviot sheep.

Victorian era

By 1862, the year following Albert's death, the farm amounted to , of which was used for arable crops and the remainder as pasture. The farm was worked by six pairs of plough horses and employed thirty men full time, with more on a seasonal basis. A painting of the farm in this period is held by the

Royal Collection Trust The Royal Collection of the British royal family is the largest private art collection in the world. Spread among 13 occupied and historic royal residences in the United Kingdom, the collection is owned by King Charles III and overseen by the ...

. The farm was used to house a number of exotic livestock gifted to the queen. This included Zebu cattle presented by the Maharajah of Mysore in 1862, Zulu cattle from

Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley (4 June 183325 March 1913) was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army. He became one of the most influential British generals after a series of victories in Canada, West Africa and E ...

, in 1880, wild boar sent from Sandringham by Edward, Prince of Wales, and a kangaroo. The farmhouse contained a suite of rooms for Victoria from which she could directly enter the poultry department.

Recent history

The site remains an active farm. During the state funeral of Elizabeth II on 19 September 2022, the procession to Windsor Castle began from the Shaw Farm gate on Albert Road, where it was joined by the

state hearse The state hearse is a vehicle of the Royal Mews used for funerals of the British royal family. Based on a Jaguar XJ model, it was designed by the Royal Household and Jaguar Land Rover with the input of and approval from Elizabeth II and conver ...

carrying the Queen's coffin from London. The gate is regularly used by Prince William and his family who live at nearby Adelaide Cottage. On the night of 13 October 2024 Shaw Farm was subject to a burglary, with a pick-up truck and quad bike stolen from a barn on the site and the farm gate destroyed in their getaway.

Early history

Albert's model farm

Victorian era

Recent history

References

Further reading