Maidenhead, mun. bor. and market town, Bray and Cookham pars., Berks, near river Thames, 11 miles NE. of Reading and 24¼ W. of London by rail, 2123 ac., pop. 8220; P.O., T.O., 2 Banks, 1 newspaper. Market-day, Wednesday. Maydenhythe is an early name of the place, which in the 12th century possessed a wharf for timber and a bridge across the river. Its first charter was granted in the reign of Edward III. The town has a large timber trade, also breweries, maltings, and grain mills; and in vicinity (in Bucks) are the Taplow Paper Works. Here, at the Greyhound Inn, Charles I. bade farewell to his children. Thomas Rickman (1776-1841), the architect, was a native.

(John Bartholomew, Gazetteer of the British Isles (1887))