General Information
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor, built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it has been used by a succession of monarchs and is the longest-occupied palace in Europe. More than 500 people live and work in Windsor, making it the largest inhabited castle in the world.
Additional Information
Windsor Castle is owned by the Occupied Royal Palaces Estate on behalf of the nation but it is the Royal Household that is responsible for day to day management. It is the largest inhabited castle in the world and the longest-occupied palace in Europe, but it also remains a functioning royal home.
The Queen has used the castle as a royal palace as well as her weekend home with increasing frequency and it is now as often used for state banquets and official entertaining as Buckingham Palace. During the Queen’s tenure much has been done, not only to restore and maintain the fabric of the building, but also to transform it into a major British tourist attraction, containing a significant portion of the Royal Collection of art, which is managed from Windsor. In late 2011 two water turbines were installed along the River Thames to provide hydroelectric power to the castle and the surrounding estate.
Architecture: Highlights
Designed to protect Norman dominance around the outskirts of London, and to oversee a strategically important part of the River Thames, the castle was built as a motte-and-bailey, with three wards surrounding a central mound. Among the castle’s architectural gems are the 15th-century St George’s Chapel and the early 19th-century State Apartments.
Architecture: Explained
A motte-and-bailey is a fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade.
Windsor Castle occupies a large site of more than 5 hectares, and combines the features of a fortification, a palace, and a small town. The present-day castle was created during a sequence of phased building projects, culminating in the reconstruction work after a fire in 1992. It is in essence a Georgian and Victorian design based on a medieval structure, with Gothic features reinvented in a modern style.
Since the 14th century, several architects have attempted to produce a contemporary reinterpretation of older fashions and traditions, repeatedly imitating outmoded or even antiquated styles. During the Restoration, Charles II rebuilt much of Windsor Castle with the help of architect Hugh May, creating a set of extravagant, Baroque interiors, still praised today. After a period of neglect during the 18th century, George III and George IV renovated and rebuilt Charles II’s palace at colossal expense, producing the current design of the State Apartments, full of Rococo, Gothic and Baroque furnishings. Queen Victoria made minor changes to the castle, which became the centre for royal entertainment for much of her reign.
Middle Ward: Highlights
Middle Ward is a bailey formed around the 15-metre chalk motte in the centre of the ward. The keep, called the Round Tower, on the top of the motte is based on an original 12th-century building, extended upwards in the early 19th century.
Middle Ward: Explained
The western entrance to the Middle Ward is now open, and a gateway leads north from the ward onto the North Terrace. The eastern exit from the ward is guarded by the Norman Gatehouse, heavily vaulted and decorated with carvings, including surviving medieval lion masks, traditional symbols of majesty, to form an impressive entrance to the Upper Ward. The interior of the Round Tower was redesigned in the 1990s to provide additional space for the Royal Archives.
Upper Ward: Highlights
The Upper Ward consists of major buildings enclosed by the upper bailey wall, forming a central quadrangle. An equestrian statue of Charles II sits beneath the Round Tower, which, along with the motte, forms the west edge of the ward. The Upper Ward adjoins the North Terrace, overlooking the Thames, and the East Terrace, overlooking the gardens.
Upper Ward: Explained
The walls of the Upper Ward are built of Bagshot Heath stone faced on the inside with regular bricks, the Gothic details in yellow Bath stone. The buildings in the Upper Ward are characterised by the use of small bits of flint in the mortar for galletting, originally started at the castle in the 17th century to give stonework from disparate periods a similar appearance. Archaeological and restoration work following the 1992 fire has shown the extent to which the current structure represents the survival of elements from the original 12th-century stone walls.
State Apartments: Highlights
The State Apartments run along the north of the ward, with a range of buildings along the east wall, and the private royal apartments and the King George IV Gate to the south, with the Edward III Tower in the south-west corner.
State Apartments: Explained
The State Apartments form the major part of the Upper Ward and lie along the north side of the quadrangle. The modern building follows the medieval foundations laid down by Edward III, with the ground floor comprising service chambers and cellars, and the much grander first floor forming the main part of the palace. On the first floor, the layout of the western end of the State Apartments is primarily the work of architect Hugh May, whereas the structure on the eastern side represents Jeffry Wyattville’s plans.
The interior of the State Apartments was mostly designed by Wyattville in the early 19th century. Wyattville intended each room to illustrate a particular architectural style and to display the matching furnishings and fine arts of the period. Different rooms follow the Classical, Gothic and Rococo styles, together with an element of Jacobethan in places.
Lower Ward: Highlights
The Lower Ward lies below and to the west of the Round Tower. Originally largely of medieval design, most of the Lower Ward was renovated or reconstructed during the mid-Victorian period to form a consistently Gothic composition. The Lower Ward holds St George’s Chapel and most of the buildings associated with the Order of the Garter.
Lower Ward: Explained
On the north side of the Lower Ward is St George’s Chapel. This huge building is the spiritual home of the Order of the Knights of the Garter and dates from the late 15th and early 16th century, designed in the Perpendicular Gothic style.
The ornate wooden choir stalls are of 15th-century design, having been restored and extended at the end of the 18th century, and are decorated with a unique set of brass plates showing the arms of the Knights of the Garter over the last 600 years. On the west side, the chapel has a grand Victorian door and staircase, used on ceremonial occasions. The vault in front of the altar houses the remains of Henry VIII, Jane Seymour and Charles I, with Edward IV buried nearby.
At the east end of St George’s Chapel is the Lady Chapel, originally built by Henry III in the 13th century and converted into the Albert Memorial Chapel between 1863–73. Built to commemorate the life of Prince Albert, the ornate chapel features lavish decoration and works in marble, glass mosaic and bronze. The east door of the chapel, covered in ornamental ironwork, is the original door from 1246.
At the west end of the Lower Ward is the Horseshoe Cloister, originally built in 1480, near to the chapel to house its clergy. It was restored in 1871 and little of the original structure remains. Other ranges originally built by Edward III sit alongside the Horseshoe, featuring stone perpendicular tracery. Behind the Horseshoe Cloister is the Curfew Tower, one of the oldest surviving parts of the Lower Ward, dating from the 13th century. The interior of the tower contains a former dungeon, and the remnants of a sally port, a secret exit for the occupants in a time of siege. As of 2011, they are used as offices, a library and as the houses for the Dean and Canons.
Park and Landscape: Highlights
Windsor Castle is surrounded by extensive parkland. The immediate area stretching to the east of the castle is a 19th-century creation known as the Home Park. The Home Park includes parkland and two working farms, along with many estate cottages mainly occupied by employees and the Frogmore estate.
Park and Landscape: Explained
The Home Park adjoins the northern edge of the more extensive Windsor Great Park, occupying some 4,800 acres (1,900 ha) and including some of the oldest broadleaved woodlands in Europe. In the Home Park, to the north of the castle, stands a private school, St George’s, which provides choristers to the chapel. Eton College is located within 16-minute walk of the castle, across the River Thames.
The Long Walk, a double lined avenue of trees, runs for 5 km south of the castle, and is 75 m wide. The original 17th-century elms have since been replaced with alternating chestnut and plane trees, large scale replanting having occurred after 1945 due to the impact of Dutch elm disease.
History: Highlights
Windsor Castle was originally built by William the Conqueror in the decade after the Norman conquest of 1066. He established a defensive ring of motte-and-bailey castles around London; each was a day’s march, about 32 km, from the city and from the next castle, allowing for easy reinforcements in a crisis.
History: Explained
Windsor Castle, one of this ring of fortifications, was strategically important because of its proximity to both the River Thames, a key medieval route into London, and Windsor Forest, a royal hunting preserve previously used by the Saxon kings.
Windsor was not initially used as a royal residence; the early Norman kings preferred to use the former palace of Edward the Confessor in the village of Old Windsor. The first king to use Windsor Castle as a residence was Henry I, who celebrated Whitsuntide at the castle in 1110 during a period of heightened insecurity. Henry’s marriage to Adela, the daughter of Godfrey of Louvain, took place in the castle in 1121. Henry II came to the throne in 1154 and built extensively at Windsor between 1165 and 1179. Henry replaced the wooden palisade surrounding the upper ward with a stone wall interspersed with square towers and built the first King’s Gate. Inside the castle Henry remodelled the royal accommodation.
The castle played a role during the revolt of the English barons: the castle was besieged in 1214, and King John used the castle as his base during the negotiations before the signing of the Magna Carta at nearby Runnymede in 1215. In 1216 the castle was besieged again by baronial and French troops under the command of the Count of Nevers, but John’s constable, Engelard de Cigogné, successfully defended it. The damage done to the castle during the second siege was immediately repaired in 1216 and 1221 by Cigogné on behalf of John’s successor Henry III, who further strengthened the defences. The walls of the Lower Ward were rebuilt in stone, complete with a gatehouse in the location of the future Henry VIII Gate, between 1224 and 1230. The Middle Ward was heavily reinforced with a southern stone wall, protected by the new Edward III and Henry III towers at each end. Windsor Castle was one of Henry’s three favourite residences and he invested heavily in the royal accommodation, spending more money at Windsor than in any other of his properties. In the Lower Ward, the king ordered the construction of a range of buildings for his own use along the south wall, including a 21-m-long chapel, later called the Lady Chapel. It resulted in a division in the castle between a more private Upper Ward and a Lower Ward, devoted to the public face of the monarchy.
Edward III was born at Windsor Castle and used it extensively throughout his reign. He was influenced both by the military successes of his grandfather, Edward I, and by the decline of royal authority under his father, Edward II. Between 1350 and 1377 Edward spent £51,000 on renovating Windsor Castle; this was the largest amount spent by any English medieval monarch on a single building operation, and over one and a half times Edward’s typical annual income of £30,000. Windsor Castle was already a substantial building before Edward began expanding it, making the investment all the more impressive, and much of the expenditure was lavished on rich furnishings. Edward built further luxurious, self-contained lodgings for his court around the east and south edges of the Upper Ward, creating the modern shape of the quadrangle. In the Lower Ward, the chapel was enlarged and remodelled, with grand buildings for the canons built alongside. The earliest weight-driven mechanical clock in England was installed by Edward III in the Round Tower in 1354. Later in the 14th century, the castle also found favour with Richard II, who conducted restoration work on St George’s Chapel.
Windsor Castle continued to be favoured by monarchs in the 15th century, despite England beginning to slip into increasing political violence. Henry IV seized the castle during his coup in 1399, although failing to catch Richard II, who had escaped to London. By the middle of the 15th century England was increasingly divided between the rival royal factions of the Lancastrians and the Yorkists. Edward IV seized power in 1461 and began the construction of the present St. George’s Chapel in 1475, resulting in the dismantling of several of the older buildings in the Lower Ward. By building the grand chapel Edward was seeking to show that his new dynasty were the permanent rulers of England, and may also have been attempting to deliberately rival the similar chapel that Henry VI had ordered to be constructed at nearby Eton College. Henry VII completed the roof of St George’s Chapel, and set about converting the older eastern Lady Chapel into a proposed shrine to Henry VI, whose canonisation was then considered imminent. Eventually, Henry VI was not canonised and the project was abandoned, although the shrine continued to attract a flood of pilgrims. Henry VII appears to have remodelled the King’s Chamber in the palace, and had the roof of the Great Kitchen rebuilt in 1489. He also built a three-storeyed tower on the west end of the palace, which he used for his personal apartments. Windsor began to host international diplomatic events, including the grand visit of the future Philip I of Castile in 1506.
Throughout the Tudor period, Windsor was also used as a safe retreat in the event of plagues occurring in London. Henry VIII built a long terrace, called the North Wharf, along the outside wall of the Upper Ward; constructed of wood, it was designed to provide a commanding view of the River Thames below. The design included an outside staircase into the king’s apartments, which made the monarch’s life more comfortable, at the expense of considerably weakening the castle’s defences. During the rebellions and political strife of 1549, Windsor was again used as a safe haven for the king and the Duke of Somerset. Elizabeth I converted the North Wharf into a permanent, huge stone terrace, complete with statues, carvings and an octagonal, outdoor banqueting house, raising the western end of the terrace to provide more privacy. The chapel was refitted with stalls, a gallery and a new ceiling. Elizabeth increasingly used the castle for diplomatic engagements, but space continued to prove a challenge as the property was simply not as large as the more modern royal palaces.
James I used Windsor Castle primarily as a base for hunting, one of his favourite pursuits, and for socialising with his friends. The absence of space at Windsor continued to prove problematic, with James’ English and Scottish retinues often quarrelling over rooms. Charles I was a connoisseur of art, and paid greater attention to the aesthetic aspects of Windsor Castle than his predecessors. Charles had the castle completely surveyed by a team including some famous architects in 1629, but little of the recommended work was carried out. In the final years of peace, Charles demolished the fountain in the Upper Ward, intending to replace it with a classical statue. In 1642 the English Civil War broke out, dividing the country into the Royalist supporters of Charles, and the Parliamentarians. In the aftermath of the battle of Edgehill in October, Parliament became concerned that Charles might advance on London. John Venn took control of Windsor Castle with twelve companies of foot soldiers to protect the route along the River Thames, becoming the governor of the castle for the duration of the war. Over the winter of 1643, Windsor Castle was converted into the headquarters for the Earl of Essex, a senior Parliamentary general. The Horseshoe Cloister was taken over as a prison for captured Royalists, and the resident canons were expelled from the castle. The Lady Chapel was turned into a magazine. In 1647 Charles, then a prisoner of Parliament, was brought to the castle for a period under arrest, before being moved to Hampton Court. The Parliamentary Army Council moved into Windsor in November and decided to try Charles for treason. Charles was held at Windsor again for the last three weeks of his reign; after his execution in January 1649, his body was taken back to Windsor that night through a snowstorm, to be interred without ceremony in the vault beneath St George’s Chapel.
The Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 saw the first period of significant change to Windsor Castle for many years. The civil war and the years of the Interregnum had caused extensive damage to the royal palaces in England. Windsor was the only royal palace to be successfully fully modernised by Charles II in the Restoration years. During the Interregnum, however, squatters had occupied Windsor Castle. Shortly after returning to England, Charles appointed Prince Rupert, one of his few surviving close relatives, to be the Constable of Windsor Castle in 1668. Charles attempted to restock Windsor Great Park with deer brought over from Germany, but the herds never recovered their pre-war size. Although Windsor Castle was now big enough to hold the entire court, it was not built with chambers for the King’s Council, as would be found in Whitehall. Instead Charles took advantage of the good road links emerging around Windsor to hold his council meetings at Hampton Court when he was staying at the castle. William III commissioned Nicholas Hawksmoor and Sir Christopher Wren to conduct a large, final classical remodelling of the Upper Ward, but the king’s early death caused the plan to be cancelled. Queen Anne was fond of the castle, and attempted to address the lack of a formal garden by instructing Henry Wise to begin work on the Maestricht Garden beneath the North Terrace, which was never completed. Anne also created the racecourse at Ascot and began the tradition of the annual Royal Ascot procession from the castle.
By the 1740s, Windsor Castle had become an early tourist attraction; wealthier visitors who could afford to pay the castle keeper could enter, see curiosities such as the castle’s narwhal horn, and by the 1750s buy the first guidebooks to Windsor. As the condition of the State Apartments continued to deteriorate, even the general public were able to regularly visit the property. George III reversed this trend when he came to the throne in 1760. He wanted to move into the Ranger’s House by the castle, but his brother, Henry was already living in it and refused to move out. Instead, George had to move into the Upper Lodge, later called the Queen’s Lodge, and started the long process of renovating the castle and the surrounding parks. Initially the atmosphere at the castle remained very informal, with local children playing games inside the Upper and Lower Wards, and the royal family frequently seen as they walked around the grounds. As time went by, however, access for visitors became more limited. The outside of the building was restyled with Gothic features, including new battlements and turrets. Inside, conservation work was undertaken, and several new rooms constructed, including a new Gothic staircase to replace May’s 17th-century version, complete with the Grand Vestibule ceiling above it. The king undertook extensive work in the castle’s Great Park as well, laying out the new Norfolk and Flemish farms, creating two dairies and restoring the Virginia Water lake, grotto and follies.
In 1788 the king first became ill during a dinner at Windsor Castle; he was diagnosed as suffering from madness. After relapses in 1801 and 1804, king’s condition became enduring from 1810 onwards and he was confined in the State Apartments of Windsor Castle, with building work on the castle ceasing the following year. George IV came to the throne in 1820, intending to create a set of royal palaces that reflected his wealth and influence as the ruler of an increasingly powerful Britain. George expanded the Royal Lodge in the castle park whilst he was Prince Regent, and began a programme of work to modernise the castle itself once he became king. The terraces were closed off to visitors for greater privacy and the exterior of the Upper Ward was completely remodelled into its current appearance. The Round Tower was raised in height to create a more dramatic appearance; many of the rooms in the State Apartments were rebuilt or remodelled; numerous new towers were created, much higher than the older versions. The south range of the ward was rebuilt to provide private accommodation for the king, away from the state rooms. The statue of Charles II was moved from the centre of the Upper Ward to the base of the motte. The work was unfinished at the time of George IV’s death in 1830, but was broadly completed by Wyattville’s death in 1840. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert made Windsor Castle their principal royal residence. The growth of the British Empire and Victoria’s close dynastic ties to Europe made Windsor the hub for many diplomatic and state visits, assisted by the new railways and steamships of the period. Prince Albert died in the Blue Room at Windsor Castle in 1861 and was buried in the Royal Mausoleum built at nearby Frogmore, within the Home Park. The prince’s rooms were maintained exactly as they had been at the moment of his death and Victoria kept the castle in a state of mourning for many years, becoming known as the ‘Widow of Windsor’. Towards the end of her reign plays, operas and other entertainments slowly began to be held at the castle again, accommodating both the Queen’s desire for entertainment and her reluctance to be seen in public.
Edward VII ascended to the throne in 1901 and immediately set about modernising Windsor Castle. Many of the rooms in the Upper Ward were de-cluttered and redecorated for the first time in many years. Electric lighting was added to more rooms, along with central heating; telephone lines were installed, along with garages for the newly invented automobiles. George V continued the process of more gradual modernisation, assisted by Queen Mary, who had a strong interest in furniture and decoration. Queen Mary was also a lover of all things miniature, and a famous dolls’ house was created for her at Windsor Castle, designed by the architect Edwin Lutyens and furnished by leading craftsmen and designers of the 1930s. Meanwhile, during World War I, anti-German feeling led the members of the Royal Family to change their dynastic name from the German House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. George decided to take their new name from the castle, becoming the House of Windsor in 1917. Edward VIII created a small aerodrome at the castle on Smith’s Lawn, now used as a golf course. Edward’s reign was short-lived and he broadcast his abdication speech to the British Empire from the castle in December 1936, adopting the title of Duke of Windsor. On the outbreak of World War II in 1939 the castle was readied for war-time conditions. Many of the staff from Buckingham Palace were moved to Windsor for safety, security was tightened and windows were blacked-out. The king and queen and their children Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret lived for safety in the castle, with the roof above their rooms specially strengthened in case of attack. The king and queen drove daily to London, returning to Windsor to sleep, although at the time this was a well-kept secret, as for propaganda and morale purposes it was reported that the king was still residing full-time at Buckingham Palace. In February 1952, Elizabeth II came to the throne and decided to make Windsor her principal weekend retreat. The private apartments which had not been properly occupied since the era of Queen Mary were renovated and further modernised, and the Queen, Prince Philip and their two children took up residence. A programme of repair work to replace the heating and the wiring of the Upper Ward began in 1988. Work was also undertaken to underpin the motte of the Round Tower after fresh subsidence was detected in 1988, threatening the collapse of the tower.
Windsor Castle Fire in 1992: Highlights
On 20 November 1992, a major fire occurred at Windsor Castle, lasting for 15 hours and causing widespread damage to the Upper Ward. The Private Chapel in the north-east corner of the State Apartments was being renovated and it is believed that one of the spotlights being used in the work set fire to a curtain by the altar during the morning.
Windsor Castle Fire in 1992: Explained
The fire spread quickly and destroyed nine of the principal state rooms, and severely damaged over a hundred more. Many of the rooms closest to the fire had been emptied as part of the renovation work, and this contributed to the successful evacuation of most of the art collection. The fire spread through the roof voids and efforts continued through the night to contain the blaze, at great risk to the 200 firefighters involved. It was not until late afternoon that the blaze began to come under control, although the fire continued during the night before being officially declared over the following morning. Along with the fire and smoke damage, one of the unintended effects of the firefighting was the considerable water damage to the castle, which in many ways caused more complex restoration problems than the fire.