17. The Brocas

Belonging to Eton College, the Brocas is a large meadow which is adjacent to the River Thames and part of the floodplain.

It affords magnificent views of Windsor Castle where the slender buttresses of St George’s Chapel give delicate relief from the rugged bare walls of the Lower Bailey and the Curfew Tower.

The name comes from the Brocas family. They were originally from Gascony where they fought for several generations in the English cause against the French, the family finally settling in England and acquiring a considerable amount of land in Eton and Windsor. 

Sir Bernard Brocas (1330-1395), was Master of the Horse to King Edward III and a good friend of the Black Prince.

He was also a friend of William of Wykeham, (who was first connected with Sir Bernard’s father Sir John de Brocas, over the building of Windsor Castle).

Sir Bernard died in 1395 and was buried in St Edmund’s Chapel in Westminster Abbey.

In present times, the Brocas is a popular area for dog walking, picnics, and flying kites. 

There is also an annual fair on the meadows in July and August, though this is not connected directly to the fairs that were provided in ancient times; these were for the temporal wants of the pilgrims to Eton on the Feast of the Assumption, at which indulgences were sold to sinners for the remission of their sins.

Walk across the Brocas fields towards the River Thames keeping the backs of the houses to the left, for about 170m. 

At the River, turn left towards Eton Boathouse along the public path and go through the riverside development.