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Trailblazers: Virtual Tours
History's Hinge - 'Ain Jalut

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Windsor Castle, in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, is the largest inhabited castle in the world and, dating back to the time of William the Conqueror, is the oldest in continuous occupation. The castle's floor area is approximately 45,000 square metres (about 484,000 square feet).

Together with Buckingham Palace in London and Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh, it is one of the principal official residences of the British monarch. Queen Elizabeth II spends many weekends of the year at the castle, using it for both state and private entertaining.

Most of the kings and queens of England have had a direct influence on the construction and evolution of the castle, which has been their garrison fortress, home, official palace, and sometimes their prison. The castle's history and that of the British monarchy are inextricably linked. Chronologically the history of the castle can be traced through the reigns of the monarchs who have occupied it. When the country has been at peace, the castle has been expanded by the additions of large and grand apartments; when the country has been at war, the castle has been more heavily fortified. This pattern has continued to the present day.


Plan of Windsor Castle. Throughout this article the letters marked in red on this plan will be used to reference locations discussed.

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History

1070�1350

Windsor Castle was originally built by William the Conqueror, who reigned from 1066 until his death in 1087. His original wooden castle stood on the site of the present Round Tower ("A"). The castle formed part of his defensive ring of castles surrounding London, the site chosen in part because of its easily defensible position.

Early in William's reign he had taken possession of a manor in what today is Old Windsor, probably a Saxon royal residence. A short time later between 1070 and 1086, he leased the site of the present castle from the Manor of Clewer and built the first motte-and-bailey castle. The motte is fifty feet high and consists of chalk excavated from a surrounding ditch, which then became a moat.

At this time the castle was defended by a wooden palisade rather than the thick stone walls seen today. The original plan of William the Conqueror's castle is unknown, but it was purely a military base, and nothing structural survives from this early period. From that time onwards the castle has remained in continuous use and has undergone numerous additions and improvements. His successor William II is thought to have improved and enlarged the structure, but the Conqueror's youngest son King Henry I was the first sovereign to live within the castle.

Concerned for his own safety due to the instabilities of his reign, he took up residence there and celebrated Whitsuntide at the castle in 1110. His marriage to Adela, the daughter of Godfrey of Louvain, took place in the castle in 1121.

The earliest surviving buildings at Windsor date from the reign of Henry II who came to the throne in 1154. He replaced the wooden palisade surrounding the old fortress with a stone wall interspersed with square towers; a much-altered part of this defensive wall can be seen on what is today the east terrace. Henry II also built the first stone keep on the irregular mound at the centre of the castle.

In 1189, the castle was besieged during the revolt of the English barons against Prince John. The King's Welsh troops (little more than private mercenaries) took flight, and the Prince escaped to France. Later in 1215 at Runnymede, close to the castle, the Prince, now King, was forced to sign Magna Carta. In 1216, again during the First Barons' War, the castle was again besieged, but this time withheld despite severe damage to the structure of the lower ward.

This damage was immediately repaired in 1216 by King John's successor Henry III, who further strengthened the defences with the construction of the western curtain wall, much of which survives today. The oldest existing parts of the castle include the curfew tower ("T"), constructed in 1227. The interior of the tower contains the former castle prison, and also the remnants of a "Sally port", a secret exit for the occupants in a time of siege. The upper storey contains the castle bells placed there in 1478, and the castle clock of 1689. The French-style conical roof is, however, a 19th-century addition. Henry III died in 1272, and there seems to have been little further building carried out at the castle until the reign of King Edward III (1327�1377).

1350�1500

King Edward III was born in the castle on 13 November 1312, and was often referred to as "Edward of Windsor". Beginning in 1350, he initiated a 24-year rebuilding program by demolishing the existing castle, with the exception of the Curfew Tower ("T") and some other minor outworks. In overall charge of the rebuilding and design of the new castle he placed William of Wykeham. Henry II's keep (the Round Tower) was replaced by the present keep, although it was not raised to its present height until the 19th century. The fortifications too were further increased. The castle's chapel was substantially enlarged, but plans to build a new church were not executed, probably due to the scarcity of manpower and resources following the Black Death. Also dating from this time is the Norman Gate ("M"). This large and imposing gate at the foot of the Round Tower is the last bastion of defence before the Upper Ward ("B") where the Royal Apartments are situated.

In 1348 Edward III established the Order of the Garter, whose annual ceremony still takes place in St George's Chapel, the principal chapel of the castle. In 1353�1354, he had the Aerary Porch built.

The construction of the chapel marked a turning point in the architecture of the castle. The more stable political climate following the end of the Wars of the Roses meant that future building tended to be more considerate of comfort and style than of fortification. In this way the castle's role changed from that of royal bastion to that of a royal palace. One example of this is the "Horseshoe Cloister" ("H") from 1480, built near the chapel to house its clergy. This curved brick building is said to be in the shape of a fetlock: one of the badges used by Edward IV. Restoration work in 1871 was heavy, and little of the original building materials remain.

Fortress to palace

While it is accepted that Edward III was the monarch who began the transformation of the castle from a fortress to a comfortable residence, when compared to the other royal palaces at Whitehall and Nonsuch Windsor remained a very bleak residence.[3] Henry VIII (who reigned from 1509�1547) rebuilt the principal castle gateway in about 1510, siting it in such a place that, should the gateway fall in an attack, further invasion into the castle would involve an uphill battle. The coat of arms above the arch and portcullis bears the pomegranate badge of the king's first queen, Catherine of Aragon.

Henry VIII's successor and son, the boy King Edward VI (who reigned from 1547�1553), wrote while staying in the castle "Methink I am in a prison, here are no galleries, nor no gardens to walk in."

Edward VI's sister Queen Elizabeth I (who reigned 1558�1603) spent much of her time at Windsor and regarded it as the safest place in her realm and would retire here in moments of anxiety, as she described it: "knowing it could stand a siege if need be".[3] While her statement suggests the castle was still very much a fortress, she too contributed to the transformation by constructing the north terrace ("N") as a place to exercise, and over it she built a covered gallery, a very early example of what was later to be known as a conservatory. This building has survived relatively unaltered. Still containing an enormous Tudor fireplace, it today houses the Royal Library.

The Civil War

Elizabeth I was followed by James I, and he by his son Charles I, neither of whom made significant changes to the castle. However, following the deposition of Charles in the English Civil War, the castle became the headquarters of Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army. Windsor Castle fell to Cromwell's Parliamentarians early in the hostilities due to the cunning of Colonel John Venn. Prince Rupert of the Rhine arrived to retake the town and castle a few days later, but though he severely battered the town, he was unable to retake the castle. Venn remained Governor of the castle until 1645.

Under Parliamentarian jurisdiction the castle suffered, but not as badly as such an iconic symbol of monarchy could have been expected to. However, the garrison stationed there was underpaid and was allowed to loot the castle's treasures. For the duration of the Commonwealth period, the castle remained a military headquarters, and a prison for more important Royalists captured. For a short time prior to his execution in 1649, Charles was imprisoned in the castle, although in today's terminology house arrest would be a more accurate term. Following the King's execution, Britain was ruled by Cromwell until the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. Charles' body was smuggled back to Windsor in the dead of night through a snowstorm to be interred without ceremony in the vault beneath the choir in St George's Chapel, next to the coffins of Henry VIII and his wife Jane Seymour.

The Restoration

The Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 was to prove the first period of significant change to Windsor Castle for many years. Charles II did much to restore and refurnish the castle from the damage suffered during the civil war. At this time Versailles was being constructed in France, and with this in mind Charles II laid out the avenue known as the Long Walk ("L") (see illustration right). Running south from the castle, this avenue runs for three miles and is 240 feet wide. The original elms the King planted have since been replaced with chestnuts and planes. The Long Walk was not the only part of Windsor to be inspired by Versailles. Charles II commissioned the architect Hugh May to rebuild the Royal Apartments and St George's Hall. May replaced the original Plantagenet apartments on the north terrace with the cube-like Star Building. The interiors of these new apartments were decorated with ceilings by Antonio Verrio and carving by Grinling Gibbons. The King also acquired tapestries and paintings to furnish the rooms. These artworks were to form the core of what was to become known as the Royal Collection. Three of these rooms survive relatively unchanged: the Queen's Presence Chamber and the Queen's Audience Chamber, both designed for Charles II's wife Catherine of Braganza, and the King's Dining Room. These retain both their Verrio ceilings and Gibbons' panelling. Originally there were twenty rooms in this style. Some of Gibbons' carvings were rescued at various times when alterations were being made in the name of change or restoration, and in the 19th century these carvings were incorporated into new interior design themes in the Garter Throne Room and the Waterloo Chamber.

The 18th and 19th centuries

Following the death of Charles II in 1685, the Castle fell slowly into a state of neglect. Needless to say, while the precincts and park remained a complex of inhabited royal mansions, the sovereigns themselves preferred to live elsewhere. During the reign of William and Mary (1689�1702), Hampton Court Palace was enlarged and transformed into a huge modern palace. Later Queen Anne preferred to live in a small house close to the walls of the castle. It was not until 1804 � when King George III, the father of 13 children, needed a larger residence than could be found elsewhere � that the castle was once again fully inhabited. The work carried out by Charles II had been on the contemporary, more classical, style of architecture popular at the time. Inigo Jones had introduced Palladianism to England during the time of Charles I; George III felt this style was not in keeping with an ancient castle, and had many of Charles II's windows redesigned and given a pointed Gothic arch, and thus the castle began once again to acquire its original medieval appearance. During this period Windsor Castle was once again to become a place of royal confinement. In 1811 King George III became permanently deranged and was confined to the castle for his own safety. During the last nine years of his life he seldom left his apartments at Windsor.

It was during the reign of King George IV between 1820�1830 that the castle was to undergo the greatest single transformation in its history. George IV, known for his extravagant building at both Carlton House and the Royal Pavilion during his regency, now persuaded Parliament to vote him �300,000 for restoration. The architect Jeffry Wyatville was selected, and work commenced in 1824.

The work took twelve years to complete and included a complete remodelling of the Upper Ward ("B"), private apartments ("D"), Round Tower ("A"), and the exterior facade of the South Wing ("E") which gave the castle its near symmetrical facade seen from the Long Walk.

Wyatville was the first architect to view the castle as one composition, rather than a collection of buildings of various ages and in differing styles. As an architect he had a preference for imposing symmetry, whereas the castle which had evolved piecemeal over the previous centuries had no symmetry at all. Wyatville imposed a symmetry of sorts on the existing buildings of the Upper Ward, by raising the heights of certain towers to match others, and refacing the Upper Ward in a Gothic style complete with castelated battlements to match the medi�val buildings, including St George's Chapel in the Lower Ward. The Round Tower had always been a squat structure, and now this was further accentuated by the new height of the buildings in the Upper Ward. Wyatville surmounted this problem by building on top of the Round Tower a hollow stone crown, basically a false upper storey. Some 33 feet high, this crown gives the entire castle its dramatic silhouette from many miles away.

Much of the interior of the Castle was given the same makeover treatment as the exterior. Many of the Charles II state rooms which remained after George III's redecorations were redesigned in the Gothic style, most notably St George's Hall (see illustration right), which was doubled in length. Wyatville also roofed over a courtyard to create the Waterloo Chamber. This vast hall lit by a clerestory was designed to celebrate the victors of the Battle of Waterloo and was hung with portraits of the allied sovereigns and commanders who vanquished Napoleon. The large dining table at the centre of the chamber seats 150 people.

The work was unfinished at the time of George IV's death in 1830, but was virtually completed by Wyatville's death in 1840.

[Administration]

Big Royal Dig

The Upper Ward excavation


Windsor Castle was one of three royal sites excavated over four days by the Time Team of archaeologists led by Tony Robinson, on 25�28 August 2006. In the United Kingdom, Channel 4 devoted an evening program to each day's findings and also followed the dig live on More4, together with a simulcast on the internet.



Timed to help celebrate the 80th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II, along with many other events ongoing throughout 2006, this marked the 150th dig conducted by Time Team. For the first time, the Queen gave permission for trenches to be dug in the Garden of Buckingham Palace, as well as in Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh. The Big Royal Dig is an example of the Queen opening up her homes for greater access to the public, as she did during her Golden Jubilee Weekend in 2002 and throughout 2006 for her birthday.




Lower Ward excavations

The archaeologists had an unprecedented opportunity to probe the geophysics and history of three royal residences over a four-day period, with teams working concurrently in the three locations.

Windsor Castle was the scene of two remarkable finds:

    * In the Upper Ward, the foundations of the Round Table building erected in 1344 by Edward III were discovered, and also, among other finds, a spectacular decorated mediaeval tile in situ.[8] In Edward's day the Round Table building, 200 feet in diameter, was used for feasting, festivals, and theatrical re-enactments of the Knights of the Round Table of Arthurian legend.

    * In the Lower Ward, the Great Hall of Henry III's palace was located and one of its walls, still standing, was found. This has assisted archaeologists in assessing where Windsor's first palace actually stood.

These finds have added to knowledge of the location, history, and uses of the Round Table and the Great Hall.


Round Table
reconstruction
Conclusions: Upper Ward
England's earliest theatre?

As if the discovery of the foundations of the mysterious Round Table building erected by Edward III at Windsor Castle in 1344 wasn't significant enough in itself, Time Team's experts have used the documentary and archaeological evidence to come up with a thrilling conclusion to the weekend's investigations. Based on what they have discovered, they believe that the Round Table building may have been England's earliest known theatre � 250 years before Shakespeare.

As Richard Barber explained here previously (see Saturday 4.30pm), Round Tables were not just physical objects, but a kind of festival at which knights jousted with each other, feasted and danced. They also involved theatrical performances, in which knights and ladies acted out scenes from the stories of King Arthur and his knights and dressed up as Lancelot, Guinevere and other characters. The enthusiasm for these re-enactments had begun a century earlier, and by the time of Edward's festival in 1344 there was a long tradition of such events, which had become increasingly elaborate.

Only the foundation trench of the Round Table building survives, but we can deduce what it was like from the detailed building accounts in the National Archives. These list the materials and wages of the men working on it. We also have an eyewitness account of the festival, and we know from both the documentary and archaeological evidence that the building was 200 feet in diameter � bigger than the Pantheon in Rome.

From all this evidence we can now make a good shot at reconstructing the 'house of the Round Table', as the accounts refer to it.

It was an elaborately decorated stone building with a single arcade inside, rather like a cloister, perhaps 10 metres high. The 300 knights of the Order of the Round Table would have sat on a stone bench against the wall, with a stone table in front, under a roof supported on pillars. The open central area would have had a fountain in the middle, and around it the dramas of the Arthurian stories were re-enacted while the knights watched from their seats. Once the drama had been played out, the feasting would begin. The celebrations concluded with music and dancing, for which pavilions and arbours were set up in the central space.

The building and festivities were symbols of Edward's power and prestige � the message being that here was a king as chivalric and as great as Arthur himself. Edward intended to hold such festivals every year, but the ambitious building project was never finished. Instead, Edward called a halt to the building before it was roofed and spent the money on trying to conquer France.

> Posted by Steve Platt | 7.00pm 28 Aug 2006

Big Royal Dig

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Open to tourism

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Virtual tour

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QUEEN MARY'S DOLLS' HOUSE

Conceived as both a gift from the nation to Queen Mary, and an historical record of the ideal early twentieth century English house, this magnificent dolls' house remains on permanent display at Windsor Castle.

It is far more than an elaborate toy; its serious purpose as a demonstration of the best of English arts, crafts and manufacturing makes it a unique structure.


The day Nursery with its array of children's toys, including a train set and model theatre.
The Royal Collection � 2005 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Princess Marie Louise and the dolls' house
The idea of creating a dolls' house for the Queen was that of the King's cousin, Princess Marie Louise.

After returning home from a visit to the King and Queen at Windsor Castle, during which they had shown her much kindness, Princess Marie Louise found her mother and her sister assembling a collection of miniature furniture for Queen Mary.


The centre of the north side of the dolls' house, showing the hall and staircase with flanking lobbies.
The Royal Collection � 2005 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Mary was known as a collector of miniature objects including Faberg� animals, children's silver furniture and other examples of 'tiny craft'. This gave Princess Marie Louise an idea. She announced to her family that she would commission a dolls' house as a present for the Queen.


The library, with walnut furniture and fitted walnut bookcases.
The Royal Collection � 2005 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

The dolls' house takes shape
Lutyens took overall command of the scheme and within a few weeks he had created a complete set of scaled plans and elevations, just like those that would be drawn up for a proper building.

Once the timber shell was completed, it was set up in Lutyens' Delhi office in Apple Tree Yard, where artists painted the ceilings whilst craftsmen and decorators began work on the interior.

More than 40 rooms were planned to fulfil all the functions possibly required in a contemporary ideal home. For the master and mistress of the house there were a dining room; a sitting room; a library; an imposing entrance hall; private suites comprising bedroom, bathroom and wardrobe; and a strong room for valuables such as crowns and jewels.


The Queen's bedroom, which includes a tall four-poster bed similar to those at Hampton Court Palace.The dramatic night sky painted in the ceiling cove is by Glyn Philpot.
The Royal Collection � 2005 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

At Lutyens' insistence, everything in the house was made to work, including the goods and passenger lifts, the electric lights and the major plumbing.

Once the structure and architectural embellishments were complete, the dolls' house was moved to Lutyens' own house in Mansfield Street, Marylebone, where it occupied the drawing room for two years whilst the furniture and other contents were assembled. Queen Mary took a great interest, frequently visiting and once staying for over four hours 'arranging and playing with everything'.

The 'tiny craft' of Queen Mary's dolls' house
It is the elaborate detail of the furnishings which is the house's most remarkable feature. No utensil or realistic touch was too small to be considered - ornaments, mirrors, a kitchen range, ice safe (an early form of refrigerator), flat iron, napkins, stamp album, tapestries, gramophone, oil paintings, miniature thrones, and even a tiny snail resting in the garden were included.

Led by Lutyens, a Dolls' House Committee was established to supervise the production of these different items, almost all of which were newly commissioned. Nearly 1,500 tradesmen, artists and authors were involved, generously donating their time and materials.

The list of those involved reads like a roll-call of the leading manufacturers of the day. The silver in the dining room is made by Garrard & Co; there is a treadle Singer sewing machine for repairs in the linen room; and the pantry houses sets of Minton, Doulton and Wedgwood china (marked 'K' for Kitchen and 'N' for Nursery).

Prominent writers, artists and crafts organisations of the early 1920s were also involved. The books in the library are real, commissioned from over 170 authors, including Thomas Hardy, JM Barrie, GK Chesterton, Rudyard Kipling, Poet Laureate Robert Bridges and Hilaire Belloc. Many volumes were in the authors' own handwriting.

Two large walnut cabinets in the library store 700 scaled drawings and watercolours by well-known artists of the day. The 18th century-style bed in the King's Bedroom is hung and embroidered with materials worked by the Royal School of Needlework.

[Administration]

The First Siege of Windsor Castle


The artist's impression above illustrates how the castle might have looked in its earliest days, constructed on a chalk mound on a bend of the river amidst a barely populated landscape. No claims of historical accuracy are made for this painting (by Michael Vickery).

Barons besiege Prince John 1193

Having been founded in 1070, it was over a hundred years before the defences of Windsor Castle were first put to the test. While King Richard the Lionheart was away fighting in the Third Crusade, his brother, Prince John, plotted against the Crown and arranged to have him captured and imprisoned by Leopold of Austria in December 1192. The prince subsequently built up a strong garrison at Windsor Castle, much to the resentment of the English barons who remained loyal to their King. In March 1193, therefore, the  Justiciar, Archbishop Walter of Rouen, sent a large force of knights, under the command of William Marshal, to surround the castle and trap John inside. It was always said, however, that this siege was "not very earnest" because the Archbishop had many friends holed up with the prince. At any rate, by April, the castle had surrendered and was soon delivered into the hands of Eleanor, the Queen Mother.

The Second Siege of Windsor Castle
Barons besiege King John's Men 1216

The well-known Barons� Rebellion, which dominated the reign of King John, should have come to an end in June 1215, when the unhappy monarch was forced to agree terms and sign the now World-famous Magna Carta. However, only four months later, war broke out again. Though "almost the whole nobility of England" had apparently been ranged against John on the fields of Runnymede, during the ensuing months circumstances caused many of the barons to become his allies again. With the help of his mercenaries and his English allies, John raced about the country, relieving his friends and revenging himself upon his enemies. Quickly, he recovered much of his old power, to such an extent that the barons had to appeal to the King of France for help, at the price of agreeing to recognise King Philip's son, Louis, as their sovereign. This offer was too attractive to be refused; and, in due course, Louis landed in England with his foreign army. Before long, the French prince was master of the greater part of the kingdom, although several castles held out against him, among them notably Windsor and Dover.

At this point, it is interesting to note that, on the 22nd April 1216, "The king to all the foresters, verderers and other officers of the forest of Windsor: Know that we have committed to our beloved and faithful Engelard de Cygony the custody of the Castle of Windsor, with the forest, and all its appurtenances, during our pleasure, and therefore we command you that you assist and obey the said Engelard in all things, etc." It was this Engelard who, with sixty knights, held out against the might and power of the English barons. The barons, having ravaged Norfolk and Suffolk, and exacted heavy ransom from the big towns, later "assembled a great army, under the leadership of the Count of Nevers and laid siege to the Castle of Windsor with engines of war, which they brought close to it, and fiercely attacked the defences. But the Constable of the Castle was a man very skilful in the art of war and, with him, were sixty knights and their following. These repeatedly made sorties and strove to drive the enemy from the walls." That these sorties were often successful is confirmed by a French chronicler who says that the besieged soldiers twice cut the beam of the attackers' catapult, and that during one engagement "a knight of Artois, called William de Ceris, was killed, lamented by few, for he was hated much."

While this siege, and the siege of Dover Castle, was occupying the attention of the barons' army and the French army respectively, King John skulked in Wales, ravaging all lands within striking distance that belonged to the barons who had joined Louis. After Windsor had withstood nearly two months of the siege, John came to the conclusion that it was time to relieve it. He collected a Welsh army and set out for Windsor from Corfe. Soon, he was so near to the Castle that, during the night, his Welsh bowmen shot their arrows at the besiegers. The barons prepared for battle, but a week went by without John's having made the anticipated attack. At the end of that time, the King suddenly, and for no explainable reason except cowardice, withdrew from the district and marched his Welsh army to the eastern counties, where he adopted his old tactics of ravaging the countryside.

At this point, the situation at Windsor becomes confused, for the accounts of the chroniclers conflict with one another. Some say that the barons continued their efforts to capture the Castle, even while they were expecting the King to attack; but that when news reached them of John's destructive work in Cambridgeshire and Essex, they raised the siege and chased after the King in the hope of taking him prisoner. On the other hand, certain writers maintain that the Count of Nevers was bribed, either by John or by Engelard, to use the King's presence in the eastern counties as an excuse for retiring from the Castle.

Whatever the truth may be, the fact remains that the Castle successfully resisted a siege which lasted more than two months and, whether or no Nevers was subsequently bribed to raise the siege, while it lasted, it was a most determined one. The Castle was attacked again and again, its walls were constantly battered by engines of war and by huge rocks hurled at them from catapults. Presumably, its defenders had to live upon such provisions as they had succeeded in storing before the siege. In these circumstances, it is hard to believe that the Castle nearly capitulated to the half-hearted attack which had been launched at it during the previous reign.