Today, Ascot is a small town in East Berkshire, England, 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Windsor, 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Bracknell and 25 miles (40 km) west of London.
The town comprises three areas: Ascot itself, North Ascot and South Ascot.
Ascot was the centre of an important Bronze Age cemetery consisting of a number of Round Barrows. Unfortunately, these have almost all been flattened and built upon. Only one of which now survives. An old story tells how they were the home of the mythical ‘Side-hill Winder’. This bovine creature had two legs shorter than the others, so it could only live on the side of hills or burial mounds. If you wanted to catch one, you just had to chase it onto level ground where it would fall over!
The name Ascot is Saxon and derives from ‘East Cote,’ the Eastern Cottage, probably a reference to being east of the Royal estate at Easthampstead (alias Yethampstead). Some have suggested that it was the original of Sir Thomas Malory’s ‘Astolat’ where, just prior to this period, Sir Lancelot (of King Arthur fame) had stayed with the loyal Sir Bernard and slept with his lovesick daughter, Elaine the White.
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Queen Anne
At the beginning of the 18th c, Queen Anne, whilst hunting in Windsor Forest discovered the nearby heathland at Ascot. She considered it a good place for "horses to gallop at full stretch", and it was she who founded the current racecourse on 'Ascot Heath'. A section of the racecourse track can be seen from the placement of this cache.
Ascot Heath circa 18c
Ascot 'Heath' 2017
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