A brief history of Ascot

Ascot is one of those places which at first glance seems to be famous for one thing – in this case, of course, the races. The history of Ascot really springs to life when the racecourse was instituted by, rather surprisingly, Queen Anne, not a monarch known for having very many exciting ideas. She was apparently out riding one day in 1711 and noticed a flat stretch of heath ideal for gallops and the rest is indeed history. Home Instead carers in Ascot will be familiar with the excitement of Royal Ascot and although the town gets very crowded then, it is still worth a trip to see the amazing hats and dresses on the racegoers.

Ascot is not a big town, just 11,000 inhabitants from most recent available figures, but it is home to some quite famous faces. This is not a recent thing; some clients of Home Instead may remember that King Zog of Albania lived in South Ascot for a time during the Second World War, when he and his government were in exile. For any home care clients in Ascot who enjoy a bit of trivia, here is a nice thing to remember – King Zog is the only person ever to feature on a postage stamp smoking a cigarette. He was a chain-smoker and couldn’t even bear to pose for long enough without one; a hard thing to imagine today!

For such a relatively small place, Ascot has more than its fair share of red brick Gothic Revival churches, with three very lovely examples. Home Instead carers in Ascot have access to our wheelchair accessible vehicle and a nice day out is a trip to All Souls in South Ascot which has an amazing coffee shop as well as some lovely architecture. The church has a four-bay nave and is very unusual, with rib vaulting in the roof. According to Tripadvisor, the coffee shop is one of the best in the area so it is well worth a trip whether you are a cake or an architecture fan. Home carers in Ascot and their clients will probably find that you can be both!

Ascot wasn’t very important until Queen Anne had her lightbulb moment out on the heath near Windsor so doesn’t have much history of its own – until the racecourse, it lived very much in the shadow of Windsor. But since the racecourse was begun, it is arguably one of the best known small towns in England. This is shown by the amount of Gothic revival buildings, the most notable architect being George Gilbert Scott, best known of course for the Albert Memorial in Hyde Park. It's also been home to John Lennon and Ringo Starr!

Fans of the Carry On films – and there are many among the carers and clients of Home Instead! – may not know that the hospital in Ascot, Heatherwood Hospital, was the location for filming the classic Carry On Matron with, of course, Hattie Jacques as the matron and Barbara Windsor as the feisty nurse. It would be interesting to know if any clients of Home Instead home care in Ascot had fun playing small unscripted parts in the film.

Home Instead is proud to be a leading care agency in Ascot, Camberley and Wokingham. If you’re interested in receiving home care for yourself or a loved one, please get in touch via our contact form (click here) or by calling us on 01276 903106. Whether it is companionship, home help, personal care, dementia care or live-in care, our team can help you to remain living independently in your own home.