Windsor

Windsor, British royal family

Windsor (wĭn`zər), family name of the royal house of Great Britain. The name Wettin, family name of Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, consort of Queen Victoria, was changed to Windsor by George V in 1917. The new name was adopted by all members of the family. In 1952, Queen Elizabeth II, who married Philip Mountbatten, duke of Edinburgh, decreed that she and her descendants (other than females who marry) should retain the name Windsor. A declaration of 1960, however, restricted the name to those descendants bearing the title prince or princess (i.e., the sovereign's children, the children of the sovereign's sons, and the eldest son of the eldest son of the prince of Wales); all other descendants are to be known as Mountbatten-Windsor.

---

Windsor, cities, Canada

Windsor.

1 Town (1991 pop. 3,625), central N.S., Canada, at the mouth of the Avon River on an arm of Minas Basin. It is the center of a gypsum and limestone-quarrying area. Manufactures include fertilizers, building materials, and lumber products. Windsor was settled by Acadians (1703) and called Pisiquid. After their expulsion it was settled by New Englanders and renamed in 1764. It is the site of Fort Edward, built (1750) by the British. King's College, the first English university in Canada, was founded in Windsor in 1789 but moved in 1923 to Halifax as part of Dalhousie Univ. Windsor claims to be the cradle of Canadian hockey, on the basis of evidence in T. C. Haliburton's The Attaché.

2 City (1991 pop. 191,435), S Ont., Canada, on the Detroit River opposite Detroit, Mich. It is Canada's leading port of entry from the United States and is in a rich agricultural region. Its manufactures include automobiles, industrial machinery, food and beverages, salt, and chemicals. The city was settled by the French in 1749. After the American Revolution many Loyalists settled in the area. In the early 20th cent., when Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, and other automobile companies built plants in the area, Windsor was known as the "Auto Capital of the British Empire." The former suburb of Sandwich was merged with Windsor in 1935. The city is the seat of Windsor Univ.

---

Windsor, town, England

Windsor, town (1991 pop. 31,544), Windsor and Maidenhead, S central England, on the Thames River. There is some light industry and printing. The town is a popular tourist destination; the Danish toymaker Lego opened a Legoland amusement park there in 1996. In Elizabethan times about 70 inns enlivened Windsor. Christopher Wren designed the town hall, and Grinling Gibbons did much of the wood carving in the Church of St. John the Baptist.

The town's importance derives from

Windsor Castle, the chief residence of English rulers since William I. The castle was improved and rebuilt by successive sovereigns. Henry II erected the Round Tower, and Edward IV began the construction of St. George's Chapel, one of the most splendid churches in England, where the Knights of the Garter are installed with medieval ceremony. In the chapel are buried several of England's kings. Some vaults are used to store art treasures, national archives, and museum collections.

The modern castle, which contains about 1,000 rooms and occupies 13 acres (5 hectares), consists of three "wards"—the upper, middle, and lower. In 1992 a fire in the upper ward destroyed or damaged more than 100 rooms; restoration was completed in 1997. The castle proper lies in the Home Park, and beyond it, separated by the tree-lined Long Walk, is the Great Park. In Frogmore, the royal mausoleum, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are buried. On the castle grounds is a large lake named Virginia Water.

---

Windsor, town, United States

Windsor, town (1990 pop. 27,817), Hartford co., N Conn., at the confluence of the Farmington and Connecticut rivers, just N of Hartford. Settled by Plymouth Colony in 1633, Windsor was the first English settlement in Connecticut and is the state's oldest town. Although primarily residential, the town has a variety of light industries; it was once renowned for its tobacco production. The American statesman Oliver Ellsworth was born there; his home is a museum. Colonial buildings in Windsor include Fyler House (1640) and the Joseph Loomis House.

---

Windsor

City (pop., 2001: 208,402), southern Ontario, Canada. Located on the southern bank of the Detroit River, opposite Detroit, Mich., U.S., it was settled by French farmers shortly after 1701, when a fort was established at Detroit. It was known first as “the Ferry” and later as Richmond before it was renamed in 1836. With its strategic location opposite Detroit, it became an industrial centre, an important railway terminus, and a busy port in Great Lakes shipping. Its manufactures include motor vehicles and parts, foods and beverages, and medicines. It is Canada's leading port of entry from the U.S.