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Windsor Castle, Berkshire

The Upper Bailey

Windsor Castle provides a commentary on royal and political history all the way back to Norman times. Building of the castle began around 1070, soon after the Norman Conquest. Windsor remains now the largest, and one of the last great palaces still occupied by its royal family. In continuing as a royal palace Windsor Castle is an almost unique survivor. In the words of A.L. Rowse: "The kings have departed from the palace-monastery of the Escorial; the Emperors have gone from the Hofburg and Schonbrunn, from Kremlin and Winter Palace; the Louvre and Versailles are museums, the Tuileries no more." (Windsor Castle in the History of the Nation P 12). Only a grossly unequal society can produce something as lovely as Windsor Castle. Of course there are some who believe that palaces like Windsor have no place in modern society, and views of that nature are nothing new. In the Seventeenth Century the dour puritans deposed the monarchy, and thought that Windsor should be done away with. The castle was only saved by a single vote in Parliament - there are more details on this later in the article. Admirable egalitarian ideals can turn around on themselves and destroy something beautiful, and in the end people wanted their monarch and his palace back. They did not like a dull society striving to be egalitarian. The part of us which desires a fairer society meets the part of us that values places like Windsor. ( For my personal view on this see the end of the article.)

Windsor Castle was founded by William the Conqueror as part of a ring of defences around London. The first castle was a motte and bailey fortification, which consisted of a wooden fort built on top of a high mound. William the Conqueror's son, Henry the First was the first monarch to build a residence within the Upper Bailey, where the royal residence remains today.

Henry didn't have a son. Following the chaotic reign of king Stephen, Henry's grandson took over as Henry the Second. He made the castle stronger, surrounding it with stone walls which can still be seen on the west side from Thames Street. In 1772 Henry the Second built the Round Tower, the famous central tower, built on the mound where the original wooden fort once stood. Henry's son, Richard then succeeded to the throne. Richard the First, or "Lionheart", spent most of his reign on crusades and had little time for Windsor, but his brother Jean, who became King John in 1199 spent much time at the castle. His evil reputation is graphically illustrated by Windsor. A once favourite companion, William of Briouze, witnessed John murdering his nephew, Arthur of Brittany, at Rouen Castle. John decided that William might use what he had seen against him. William managed to escape, but his wife and son fell into John's hands. They were taken to Windsor and starved to death.

John was brought to heel at Runnymede. During the week of the 15th to 23rd of June 1215 he would leave Windsor Castle and ride the few miles to the fields of Runnymede. Here he negotiated with the country's powerful nobles, who forced him to accept a statutory limit to his power. The laws John had to submit to were written down in a document known as the Magna Carta, which represents a milestone in the history of law. When John failed to abide by the Magna Carta, Windsor Castle was besieged for three months. Eventually John fled towards Cambridge, lost his crown jewels in the Wash, and died of dysentery a few days later at Newark.

John was succeeded by his son, Henry the Third. This man loved to leave his mark in architecture. As well as building Westminster Abbey as we see it today, at Windsor he built much of the western wall and the round towers overlooking Thames Street. Windsor was the scene of important episodes in the struggle between Henry the Third and the country's powerful barons. The barons were led by the king's brother in law, Simon de Montfort, and some historians see de Montfort as the true founder of Parliament. He attempted to conduct government through a group of powerful nobles , and insisted that government and king should themselves be subject to law. The barons gained control of Windsor in 1263. French support enabled Henry's son Edward to reoccupy Windsor that autumn. The following year Henry was defeated at the Battle of Lewes, and once again Windsor fell into the hands of the barons. In August 1265 the pendulum swung again when Henry and Edward defeated the barons at the Battle of Evesham. Ordinances re-establishing peace were issued at Windsor.

Albert Memorial Chapel

Henry's son, Edward the First was a powerful and ruthless king, who brought an end to the battle for authority with the barons. Following the short and shambolic reign of his son Edward the Second, it was his grandson Edward the Third who brought stability to the country, and a fresh grandeur to Windsor Castle. He built St George's Chapel as the home of the Order of the Garter, an award offered to men who had given great service to the country. The present Albert Memorial chapel probably sits on the same foundations as Edward the Third's original building. Beyond the Albert Memorial Chapel stands the present St George's Chapel where the Order of the Garter is still awarded.

Edward lost his son, the Black Prince, to illness, and on Edward the Third's death the throne passed to his grandson, the ten year old Richard the Second. Richard faced down the peasants revolt in 1381, but quickly lost his authority. He was replaced by Henry Bollingbroke, Henry the Fourth, another grandson of Edward the Third. Richard's supporters planned a plot to capture Henry during the winter of his enthronement as he enjoyed winter feasting at Windsor. An informer tipped Henry off, so that he was in London when the rebels burst into the castle. This event sealed Richard's fate. He was a prisoner in Pontefract Castle, and was probably murdered there in February 1400. Richard was the first victim of the Wars of the Roses. This was to be a struggle between the descendents of the sons of Henry the Third, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and Edmund Duke of York.

St George's Chapel

The next great period of building at Windsor took place towards the end of the fifteenth century. Edward the Fourth built the present St George's Chapel. Edward was a Yorkist, and perhaps built the chapel to compete with his Lancastrian rival Henry the Sixth, the monk-like king he had deposed. There was an interruption to Edward's reign in 1470- 1471, when Warwick the Kingmaker put Henry back on the throne. This short reign ended with the Battle of Tewkesbury where Henry's son was killed. After this Edward was in complete control. Unfortunately he died in 1483 before his two sons could grow to adulthood. His brother Richard locked the two boys in the Tower of London, the order given from Windsor. They were never seen again.The country turned against Richard, who was killed at Bosworth Field in August 1485.

Henry the Seventh finished building Edward the Fourth's chapel. His son, Henry the Eighth was very fond of Windsor, and what is now the main gate to the castle was built on his orders. He spent the early part of his reign enjoying himself at Windsor, while Cardinal Wolsey got on with the hard work of government. When Henry decided to marry Anne Boleyn he left Windsor in July 1531, without saying goodbye to his wife Catherine. The following month Catherine was ordered to leave the castle. Of course Anne's turn came to fall out of favour with Henry. She was executed on trumped up charges and was buried at Windsor. Henry himself was buried at the castle.

Poor Knight's Lodging (foreground)

Much of the religious crisis that followed Henry the Eighth's death was played out at Windsor. Henry's young son Edward the Sixth was in the care of the Lord Protector Somerset, Edward's uncle. Somerset was with Edward at Hampton Court when a coalition was formed against him. Hampton Court was indefensible, so Somerset woke Edward and fled through the night to Windsor Castle. But the alliance was too strong and Somerset was forced to yield.

Eventually Henry's Catholic daughter Mary took the throne, and did her ruthless best to turn the country back to the Catholic faith. At Windsor she had built the Poor Knight's Lodging, which survives today. On Mary's death her Protestant half sister became Elizabeth the First, and the reign that followed was long and generally successful. Elizabeth spent her early years at Windsor being tutored by Roger Ascham. His famous book The School Master was written at the castle. It followed a conversation about two boys who had run away from nearby Eton College to avoid a beating. Ascham didn't think that beating pupils was a good way to enthuse them about learning, and wrote The Schoolmaster on this subject. Ascham's pupil liked Windsor and spent more money on it than any other palace. Her work can still be seen in the building now used as the Royal Library.

Sometime between 1598 and 1601 Shakespeare wrote The Merry Wives of Windsor. Elizabeth is said to have requested a play where Falstaff would fall in love. The play has many scenes at Windsor...

 

Search Windsor Castle, elves within and without

Strew good luck, ouphs, on every sacred room

That it may stand till perpetual doom

In a state as wholesome as in state 'tis fit

Worthy the owner, and the owner it

 

 

Middle Ward

The Stuarts did little for Windsor, but decisive events continued to take place there. Charles the First retreated to the castle after he failed to arrest the five leaders of Parliamentary opposition to his rule. The Civil War was about to begin. Charles left Windsor and would never return as a free man. Windsor became a Parliamentary headquarters. Charles spent his last week before execution at Windsor, and he was buried there. During the Puritan rule of Parliament that followed, many of the country's great palaces were destroyed. Basing House, Theobalds, Raglan Castle and Nonesuch Palace all disappeared. Windsor was saved by a single vote in Parliament. The castle was used as a prison, but survived until Charles the Second was restored to the throne in 1660. A statue of Charles the Second now stands in the Middle Ward.

Unfortunately Charles son, James was a Catholic. The Protestant establishment of England was unable to accept this. James the Second was deposed in 1688 and William of Orange was invited to take over by Parliament. William reached Windsor on the 14th of December. It was during his ten days at Windsor that the decisive events of his succession took place. James had fled but was stopped by fishermen at Faversham. He was returned to Windsor and confined in the Round Tower. The country's leaders converged on the castle, and William's position was assured. James left once more, and this time measures were taken to make sure his journey out of the country was uninterrupted.

Queen Anne, who succeeded William in 1702, loved Windsor and spent much time there. Following the War of Spanish Succession a change of ministry in Parliament was decided upon to help bring about the end of the war. Jonathon Swift, writer of Gulliver's Travels was hired as a writer of propaganda. Swift lived and worked in the castle, and dreamt of taking on some kind of church position that would allow him to stay in his quarters overlooking Eton and the Thames. He wrote a humorous poem about his longing:

My Lord would carry on the jest

And down to Windsor takes his guest.

Swift much admires the place and air,

And longs to be a canon there,

In summer round the park to ride,

In winter - never to reside.

"A canon! that's a place too mean:

No, Doctor, you shall be a Dead,

Two dozen canons round your stall,

And you the tyrant o'er them all

 

After Anne's death the castle entered a long period of decline, and was rescued by George the Third, and his son George the Fourth. It was during the reign of George the Fourth that Windsor Castle took on the appearance we see today. Jeffrey Wyatville was hired, and he changed the facades, added height to the towers, and raised the Round Tower by thirty feet to give a strong central focus. The fanciful roofscape of towers and turrets is the result of Wyatville's work.

So that is the story of the last of the great palaces. Walking round Windsor, such a bigger house than my own, I recalled a passage in Charles Darwin'sVoyage of the Beagle. This was Darwin's wonderful account of the nineteenth century voyage that was to eventually result in the theory of evolution. In Tierra del Fuego he notices that the natives had a completely fair and egalitarian society, a society which nevertheless left them out in the cold:

"In Tierra del Fuego, until some chief shall arise with power sufficient to secure any acquired advantages, such as domesticated animals or other valuable presents, it seems scarcely possible that the political state of the country can be improved. At present, even a piece of cloth is torn into shreds and distributed; and no one individual becomes richer than another." (P184)

Windsor is a fanciful dreamy place. When I spent time there I had the strange feeling that an unequal society, with all its faults, had something to give all of us.

Opening Times: Windsor Castle is open daily. From 1st March to 30th October it is open 9.45am - 4pm. From 1st November to 31st December it is open 9.45am - 3pm. The castle is closed 25th and 26th December, March 21st, 23rd and 26th, April 2nd, 20th and 23rd, May 17th and June 16th. The State Apartments are closed 24th - 28th March, 22nd April and 14th - 17th June. St Georges Chapel is closed 13th - 16th June and closing at 1pm on 2nd June and 3rd May. These details are subject to change, do check prior to your visit.

Directions: From the M4 take exit 6. From the M3 take exit 3. Green Line operates a daily coach service from Victoria Coach Station, London. Click here for an interactive road and satellite map centred on Windsor Castle.

Access: most areas are accessible to wheelchair users. Wheelchairs can be borrowed free of charge from the Visitor Centre. Audio tours are available. Telephone in advance to arrange assistance by a warden.

Contact:

telephone: +44(0)1753831118

web: www.royal.gov.uk