b.Sfi,'Jtv.-.v.'.-«;.-<-

 
 L 
 
 WINDSOR: 
 
 A HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CASTLE AND THE TOWN. 
 
 / 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. JOHN STOUGHTON. 
 
 LONDON: 
 WAllD AND CO., 27, PATERNOSTER ROW 
 
 WINDSOR: S. COLLIER. 
 
 1862. 
 
 pa
 
 LONDON: 
 
 SAVILL *ND KDWABDS, PRINTEHS, CnANDOS STHEm, 
 
 COVENI GAKBEN.
 
 TO 
 
 THE REVERED MEMORY OF 
 
 H.R.H. 
 
 THE PRINCE CONSORT, 
 
 TO WHOM, IN ITS ORIGINAL FORM, THIS LITTLE WORK WAS 
 
 BY SPECIAL PERMISSION DEDICATED : 
 
 IT IS NOW, 
 
 WITH HUMBLE GEATITCDE AND AFFECTION, INSCRIBED, 
 
 BY 
 
 THE AUTHOR.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 IGHTEEN years ago the Author published 
 " Windsor in the Olden Time," which was 
 very favourably received, and especially 
 by those best acquainted with the Castle 
 and neighbourhood. That little volume has now for a long 
 time been out of print, and though repeatedly requested 
 to republish it, sensible of its imperfection, he has always 
 refused to do so. At length, however, having collected 
 materials to render the book more complete, and more 
 generally acceptable as a guide to the Castle, he has 
 recast the whole, and now presents to the public a sub- 
 stantially new work. 
 
 He sincerely thanks all his friends connected with 
 Windsor Castle and the Royal Service there — particularly 
 Mr. Woodward, the Queen's Librarian — for the valuable 
 assistance which he has received from them in preparing 
 this publication.
 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 HISTORICAL. 
 CASTLE. 
 
 FAGB 
 
 CHAP. I. — THE FOUNDATION 1 
 
 CHAP. II.— FROM HENRT III. TO EDWARD III 9 
 
 CHAP. III.— ORDER OP THE GARTER . . .... 27 
 
 CHAP. TV. — FROM RICHARD II. TO EDWARD IV, ... 37 
 
 CHAP. V. — THE TUDORS 60 
 
 CHAP. VI. — THE STUARTS 87 
 
 CHAP. VII. — WILLIAM AND ANNE 138 
 
 CHAP. VIII. — HOUSE OF HANOVER 144 
 
 TOWN. 
 
 CHAP. I. — MEDI.EVAL WINDSOR 149 
 
 CHAP. II. — MARTYRS IN THE REIGN OF HENRT VIII. . . 158 
 
 CHAP. III. — AGE OP ELIZABETH 165 
 
 CHAP. IV. — TOWN IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY AND 
 
 SINCE 178 
 
 PART II. 
 DESCRIPTIVE. 
 
 CHAP. I. — THE ROYAL PRECINCTS 193 
 
 CHAP. II. — THE NEIGHBOURHOOD 228
 
 PART I. 
 
 HISTORICAL.
 
 CASTLE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE FOUNDATION. 
 
 HE antiquities of Windsor carry us back 
 to the time when the Romans were in 
 possession of our island. Traces of their 
 triumphant career are to be found in 
 the neighbourhood. Roman bricks have 
 been found at Old Windsor, and coins and virns at St. 
 Leonard's. At Egham, also, Roman remains have been 
 discovered. One of the great Roman roads passed the 
 first-named place at no great distance. Some antiquaries 
 have supposed that the station called " Pontes,^'' mentioned 
 in the ancient Roman Itinerary (called the Antonine 
 Itinerary), was at Old Windsor ; but others, with greater 
 probability, have fixed it at Staines. About eight years 
 ago, the neighbourhood of Virginia Water was examined 
 with a view to trace the remains of the Roman road. — " An 
 investigation," says Mr. Edgell,the gentleman chiefly engaged 
 in the research, " was commenced in Mr. Forbes' field, west 
 of Broomhall, near the road leading to SunninghUl, in which 
 situation may be seen a remarkable specimen of Roman 
 road in its most perfect state : whilst in the fields, still more 
 
 - B
 
 2 CASTLE. 
 
 to the westward, are scattered fragments of Koman bricks, 
 tiles, and lead, affording sufficient indication that a Roman 
 town, which must have been of considerable extent, once 
 existed there. Its course was kept in view for some distance ; 
 crossing the western road, it passed north of the clock-case, 
 and terminated on the brow at the extremity of the heath. 
 The remarkable and undeviating line taken by the Eoman 
 engineer was observed, bearing to the north side of Ashford 
 church, where, in my recollection, a portion of the Roman 
 road existed perfect ; but now it is nearly, if not entirely, 
 destroyed by the plantations, &c. From a bridge crossing 
 the Thames below Staines, from those of the large encamp- 
 ments adjoining the river, together with the bridge at the 
 ford at Ashford, must the station of Pontes have been 
 denominated."* 
 
 These antiquarian researches, however, relate rather to 
 the neighbourhood of Windsor than to the place itself. 
 Poetry and tradition have associated with the latter the 
 romance of King Arthur ; and, in the preface to the 
 " Black Book," or register of the Garter, we are gravely 
 informed that this deservedly noted and famous prince, 
 " in whose reign the riches and power of the Britons 
 largely increased, began that noble tower at Windsor, 
 And there instituted his Round Table." It need scarcely 
 be remarked, that there is no evidence whatever to 
 support such a statement, and that most, if not all, of 
 what is related respecting that celebrated personage is 
 fictitious. 
 
 There can be no doubt, however, that, at a very remote 
 period, the Saxon kings had a palace at Old Windsor. It 
 then bore the name of Wyndleshora, a Saxon appellation, 
 
 * " Observations upon certain Roman Roads and Towns in the 
 Soutli of Britain." — Appendix, p. 45.
 
 THE FOUNDATION. 3 
 
 probably referring to the winding banks of the Thames in 
 that vicinity.* A town of some extent existed there prior 
 to the Conquest, and in the reign of William the Conqueror 
 contained a hundred houses. Though Saxon urns, at 
 different times, have been dug up in the neighbourhood, 
 no one yet has been able to identify the site of the royal 
 palace. Wherever it stood, it seems to have been the 
 resort of the Saxon princes ; and here, it is said, Edward 
 the Confessor held his court. A story is related of him 
 by William of Malmesbury, to the effect that one Wulwin, 
 who was cutting down wood at Brill, in Bucks, fell asleep, 
 and lost his sight for seventeen years, but through a dream 
 he came to the king's court at Windsor, and was cured by 
 the royal touch. In accordance with his saintly character, 
 Edward was a munificent benefactor to the church ; and in 
 an ancient deed of gift to the monks of Westminster, we 
 find the king, " for the hope of eternal reward, the re- 
 mission of his sins, the sins of his father and mother, and 
 all his ancestors, to the praise of Almighty God, granted, 
 as an endowment and perpetual inheritance, to the use of 
 the monks there that served God, Windsor, and all its 
 appurtenances." 
 
 But the brotherhood at Westminster were not permitted 
 long to retain the gift, for William the Conqueror, being 
 attracted by the beauty of the neighbourhood, selected it 
 as a residence. He required the monks to resign it into 
 his possession, and compensated them for the loss by the 
 grant of certain estates in the county of Essex. William 
 ascended the English throne in the year 1066, and pro- 
 
 * In the " Annals of Windsor," p. 11, a new derivation is pro- 
 posed from Windles, a river iu Windsor Forest, several miles distant. 
 That Windsor should take its name, not from a large river on which 
 it stands, but from a small one a long way off, is a very strange 
 hypothesis. 
 
 b2
 
 4 CASTLE. 
 
 bably at an early period of his reign erected a castld on 
 the site of the present one, since in " Domesday Book," 
 which was completed in the year 1086, the edifice is re- 
 ferred to as already in existence, and as containing within 
 its precincts half a hide of land, parcel of the manor of 
 Clewer. Being extremely fond of the chase, the king 
 appropriated for that purpose the forest for many miles 
 round, and established laws for the preservation of the 
 game. No description of William's castle remains, but it 
 was probably of the same character with other Norman 
 strongholds, of which many remains may be seen in dif- 
 ferent parts of the kingdom. A high solid rampart, flanked 
 by salient towers, and defended by a parapet, enclosed an 
 open space, in which, near the extremity, and on the highest 
 elevation which could be obtained, stood the keep, the 
 citadel of the fortification, and, in some cases, the residence 
 of the lord. The entrance was accessible only by a pre- 
 cipitous flight of steps exposed to the missiles of the 
 besieged, or by stairs of studied intricacy. The approach 
 was guarded by a stockade, or a second rampart and ditch, 
 dividing the enclosure into two wards or "baileys," called 
 upper and lower. Sometimes within the ramparts other 
 buildings were erected, as the residence of the owner of the 
 fortress, rather more adapted to domestic habitation than the 
 cheerless keep.* The castle at Windsor, though intended 
 as a hunting seat for the Conqueror, would, as a matter of 
 course, in a warlike age, and under circumstances such as 
 those which attended his accession to the sovereignty of 
 England, partake of the nature of a fortress. The accom- 
 modation it afibrded must have been of limited extent, and 
 therefore the festivities of his court at Windsor, in the 
 
 * See Introduction to the Illustrations of Windsor Castle, by Sir 
 .Teffirey Wyatville.
 
 THE FOUNDATION. 5 
 
 Whitsuntide of 1070 and 1072, to which authors refer, 
 were most probably held at the old Saxon palace. 
 
 William Rufus, wearing his crown, no doubt, in accor- 
 dance with royal custom at such festivals, was there at the 
 same season in 1095 with all his retinue, except the Earl 
 of Northumberland, whose absence being construed into 
 disaffection, he was besieged at Bamborough, and being 
 afterwards taken prisoner, was conveyed to Windsor, and 
 there confined. The Bishop of Durham, when attending 
 the Christmas court festivities, died here on New Year's 
 day, 1095. 
 
 Henry I. enlarged the castle and erected a chapel, and 
 in the year 1110 kept the feast of Whitsuntide at New 
 Windsor, and invited the nobles of the realm to attend 
 the solemnity. This is the first undoubted instance of a 
 court being held in the new palace ; and it was on this 
 occasion that ambassadors came to solicit the hand of 
 the Princess Matilda for the Emperor Henry V., to whom 
 the royal maiden, then but five years of age, was solemnly 
 betrothed by proxy, — there being no small disparity in 
 age between the noble pair, for her illustrious suitor had 
 seen more than forty summers. In the reign of the first 
 Henry, scenes of regal festivity and splendour within the 
 walls of the castle were not unfrequent. Here, on the 
 29th of January, 1121, he was vinited to his second queen, 
 Adelaide, daughter of Godfrey of Louvam. 
 
 " The coronation of this lady," says Speed, "was appointed 
 to be celebrated by Roger, Bishop of Salisbury, the infirmity 
 of palsy so troubling Ralph, Archbishop of Canterbury, 
 that himself could not perform it ; yet, because Roger was 
 not appointed by him, he forbad his employment ; and the 
 king wearing his crown, saith the monk of Chester, this 
 testy old man could hardly be intreated by the lords to 
 withhold his hands from striking the same from the king's
 
 O CASTLE. 
 
 tead. Of such spirits then were those spiritual prelates, 
 and jealousy to lose their pompous pre-eminence of 
 honour." * 
 
 A similar contention about placing the crown on the 
 king's head arose between the Archbishops of Canterbury 
 and York, at the Christmas festival, in the year 1127, 
 when David of Scotland and the English barons swore 
 fealty to the Empress Maude. 
 
 The castle of Henry I. differed but little in point of 
 extent from that part which now forms th'e middle and 
 lower wards. The king's house occupied " the upper ward, 
 and the hall formed a portion of a line of buildings 
 separating the two courts, and defended on the lower side 
 by a ditch." A few architectural fragments, in the Norman 
 style, brought to light from the excavations made in the 
 castle-yard during the late improvements under Sir Jeffrey 
 Wyatville, are, perhaps, the only existing relics of the 
 palatial buildings of the twelfth century at Windsor, and 
 might probably belong to a chapel which then formed part 
 of the castle, and which is supposed to have covered a portion 
 of the site of the military knights' houses. This chapel was 
 dedicated to Edward the Confessor, and had an establish- 
 ment of eight secular priests. 
 
 In the reign of Stephen, Windsor was considered the 
 most important fortress in the kingdom next to the Tower 
 of London ; and in the treaty of peace between him and 
 Duke Henry, afterwards Henry II., it is mentioned as the 
 place of meeting between them. In the year 1170, the 
 latter held his court in the castle, when William of Scotland 
 and his brother David visited the monarch to present their 
 congratulations on his return from Brittany. Five years 
 afterwards, a treaty of peace was concluded on the same 
 
 * Speed's " History of Great Britain," p. 459.
 
 THE FOUNDATION. 7 
 
 spot between Henry and Eoderic O'Connor, King of 
 Connauglit, by wliich the coast of Ireland, from Dublin to 
 Waterford, was ceded to the English monarch. In the 
 same reign, expenses were incurred in repairing or improv- 
 ing the royal buildings, of which there are several curious 
 entries in the records of that period. In the nineteenth 
 year of Henry II. 's reign, the expenditure on the castle 
 was estimated at £73 7s. 6d. ; and in following years 
 different sums are mentioned as paid by Master Geoffry, 
 who, from the frequent occurrence of his name, seems to 
 have been master of the works. Among the appendages 
 to the royal palace at that time was a vineyard, and the 
 expense of the vintage is specified in the annual charges 
 relating to Windsor. 
 
 Every one knows that Henry II. was an unhappy father, 
 and the Chronicler Fabyan relates that the king ordered to 
 be painted on the walls of his apartment at Windsor, an 
 old eagle with four young ones pecking at it. " What 
 means such a picture 1 " it was asked. " I am the old eagle," 
 said the poor monarch, "and the eaglets are my sons. 
 John, whom I love best, imagines my death." John was 
 represented picking out the old man's eyes. 
 
 In the reign of Richard I., Windsor was involved in the 
 troubles of the period. Hugh de Pudsey, the martial 
 Bishop of Durham, occupied it, as regent, during the 
 absence of the chivalrous monarch ; but he was compelled to 
 surrender it to Longchamp, Bishop of Ely, a brother prelate, 
 of similar warlike propensities. He retained it for awhile, 
 and then delivered it to the Earl of Arundel ; it was after- 
 wards yielded into the hands of Prince John. Subsequently 
 it was besieged and taken by the barons who remained 
 faithful to the interest of their absent sovereign. 
 
 It is recorded that John, after his accession, imprisoned 
 in the castle of Windsor the Lord of Bramber and his wife
 
 8 CASTLE. 
 
 and children, and starved them to death, because, when 
 the imperious monarch sent for the baron's eldest son to be 
 his page, the mother heroically exclaimed, that she would 
 not surrender her children to a king who had murdered 
 his nephew. Within the walls of Windsor Castle the same 
 monarch afterwards sought security during his perilous 
 struggle with the barons ; and thither he repaired, after 
 the charter of England's freedom had been extorted from 
 him on the neighbouring plain of Runnymede, to brood 
 over plans of revenge, and to lament, with the fury of a 
 maniac, over the concessions he had been forced to make.* 
 Attempting again to invade the rights of his subjects, he 
 was once more assailed by his powerful barons, who invested 
 the castle, but were obliged by the garrison to raise the 
 siege. 
 
 * " It is probable that John and his attendants went to the con- 
 ference (at Magna Charta Island, Ankerwyke) from Windsor in the 
 morning of each day, and returned to the castle at night." — " Annals 
 of Windsor," vol. i. p. 53. 
 
 i'N 
 
 t
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 FROM HENRY III. TO EDWARD III. 
 
 ENRY III., a munificent patron of archi- 
 tecture, soon after his accession to the 
 throne, made very considerable additions to 
 the castle. In the eighth year of his reign, 
 it appears, from existing records, that the 
 sheriffs of London were commanded to deliver one hundred 
 of fir to Master Thomas, for the purpose of making doors and 
 windows, an order which probably relates to some new and 
 stately edifice. In the twenty-third year of the same reign 
 an order was given to the bailifis of Windsor to paint the 
 queen's chamber, to line or plaster the chamber of the prince, 
 to make a private room contiguous, to put iron bars in the 
 windows, and to form a floor in the turret of the gate, so 
 as to divide it into two stories, and to cover it with lead ; 
 entries which, though trivial in themselves, become interest- 
 ins as indications of the state of domestic architecture at 
 that early age. In the twenty-fourth year, "Walter de 
 Burgh was commanded to make a certain apartment for 
 the king's use in the castle of Windsor, near the wall of 
 the said castle, sixty feet in length and twenty-eight feet 
 wide ; and another apartment for the queen's use, which 
 should be contiguous to the king's, and under the same 
 roof; and a chapel, seventy feet long and twenty-eight feet 
 wide, along the same wall, so that a suSicient space should
 
 10 CASTLE. 
 
 be left between the apartments and the chapel to 
 make a grass-plot. Respecting the royal habitation, nothing 
 further can be ascertained than the dimensions. Of the 
 chapel there are other notices, which prove it to have had 
 the appendages of a galilee or porch, a cloister, and a bell- 
 tower. In three years the walls of the chapel were ready 
 for the roof, and a pressing order was addressed to the 
 Archbishop of York to see the works completed. The roof 
 is described as a lofty wooden one, after the manner of 
 that which was then being built at Lichfield ; and directions 
 are given that it should be lined and painted, so as to 
 appear like stone ; and, also, that it should be covered 
 with lead. The same order directs a beJl-tower to be 
 erected in front of the chapel, to be built of stone, and of a 
 size to hold three or four bells. Four gilt images were also 
 to be provided, and placed where the king had previously 
 determined. The cloisters seem to have been partially 
 completed about this time, but some portion was not carried 
 up to the roof until five years later, when six carrates of 
 lead for covering it are mentioned, to be provided by the 
 sherifis of London. An order was also given to enclose 
 the space from the door of the great hall to the galilee with 
 a wall, ten feet high, with a small door near the wardrobe ; 
 and, also, to make a wooden barrier round the galilee, to 
 prevent horses from approaching it. While these altera- 
 tions were going on, the king must have been hard pressed 
 for money, since Madox, in his " History of the Exchequer," 
 relates that in the twenty-ninth of Henry's reign, not 
 having enough to pay the officers of the chapel, he was 
 driven actually to pawn a valuable image of the Virgin, 
 which stood within its precincts. 
 
 "Many entries and particulars," observes Mr. Britton, 
 " respecting towers, a new kitchen, an oriel, a private chapel, 
 an oratory, accommodation for the queen, colours, boards,
 
 FROM HENRY III. TO EDWARD III. 11 
 
 laths, lead, crenellation of towers and walls ; a salting- 
 house, and other offices ; a wardrobe for the queen's clothes, 
 and a chamber for nurses, are specified in the items of 
 accounts and works for this reign. A fountain, a conduit, 
 a drawbridge, iron chains, a portcullis, a lavatory, a barbican, 
 and many other domestic essentials, as well as military 
 objects, were made and provided."* 
 
 In those days, the natural soil rammed down and strewed 
 with litter or rushes, was the only floor of which even the 
 baron's home could boast; but as a special piece of regal 
 luxury, Henry III. oi'dered a room on the ground floor at 
 Windsor to be " boarded like a ship." 
 
 To entertain the poor at certain seasons was deemed in 
 those times no mean virtue ; and in the twenty-fourth year 
 of this reign an order was given to the bailiffs to fill the 
 great hall of the castle, on the Nativity of our Lord, with 
 poor people, and the lesser hall likewise on the days of St. 
 Stephen and St. John, and the Epiphany. Similar direc- 
 tions are given to fill the hall with poor chaplains and 
 clerks on the day of St. Thomas, and with poor boys on St. 
 Innocents' Day. Carpenters were maintained in the royal 
 establishment, and minute items of domestic expenditure 
 are preserved, down to one of 15s. to Matilda, the wife of 
 Master Thomas, carpenter, to buy a new gown.t The 
 lesser hall was in the upper bailey, the large hall in the 
 lower. A description is preserved of a throne, painted and 
 gilt, which stood in the large hall, with the figure of a king 
 in his regalia on either side. Mention is further made of 
 stained glass windows, which were not completed till some 
 
 * " Architectural Illustrations of Windsor Castle." — By Britten. 
 
 t Among the writs issued from Windsor during this reign, is a 
 curious one relating to a white bear, which was kept in the Tower 
 of London, for the purpose of catching fish in the river Tliames for 
 the royal table.
 
 12 CASTLE. 
 
 years after the erection of the building, but which, together 
 with the other decorations, evince a decided progress in the 
 conveniences and luxuries of life. But little remains of 
 the castle as it was in the reign of Henry III.* The old 
 grey towers, which still flank the western wall — namely, the 
 Salisbury Tower, at the bottom of the hill ; its neighbour, 
 now undergoing "restoration," formerly known as the Garter 
 Tower ; and the old bell tower, often called Julius Caesar's 
 Tower, are the chief remains of Windsor Castle as it 
 stood in those distant days. In removing some buildings 
 connected with the canons' houses to the south of St. 
 George's Chapel — on the spot where the Domus Regis of 
 Henry III. stood — a door in a wall belonging to that 
 period has been brought to light — probably the relic of a 
 chamber for the king or queen, of which a notice is extant 
 in orders given to Walter de Burgh in the 24th of 
 Henry III. It may be added that when extensive altera- 
 tions were made in Thames-street in the year 1852, the 
 workmen employed in pulling down the houses which 
 stood in the castle ditch discovered a subterranean passage, 
 which has since been kept open by a well-like shaft com- 
 municating with the green bank which slopes down from 
 the castle wall, close to the Garter tower. The author was 
 allowed very recently to explore the passage, and found 
 that in one direction it descended towards the lower part 
 of the ditch, where it terminates, and in the opposite 
 direction ascended towards the castle wall. A good flight 
 of stone steps still remains, and the masonry of the roof is 
 perfectly sound. A screen wall is built across the upper 
 part, and this intercepts further access ; but it was stated 
 by one of the castle workmen that the passage takes a bend 
 and turns up to the crypt of the bell tower. It no doubt 
 
 * The Domiis Regis, with the larger hall, must have occupied the 
 site of what is now St. George's Chapel.
 
 FROM HENRY III. TO EDWARD III. 13 
 
 belongs to Henry III.'s castle, and was possibly a sally- 
 port in the fortification. It is supposed to have been con- 
 nected with a barbican noticed in the rolls of the 23rd year 
 of Henry III., but there appears no direct evidence to show 
 where that barbican stood. We may notice, that in the 
 thirty-fifth year of his reign, Henry III. made a grant of 
 land in the forest for a Lejjer Hospital, of which probably 
 we have a memento and a mark of the site in the hamlet 
 of Spital, on the road to St. Leonard's. 
 
 Henry III.'s son, afterwards Edward I., was educated at 
 "Windsor, for we find in the Issues of the Exchequer the fol- 
 lowing order : — " Pay out of our treasury to Hugh Giffard and 
 William Brun £200, for the support of Edward our son and 
 his attendants residing with him at our castle of Windsor." 
 
 The quietude of Windsor was disturbed by the wars 
 between the king and the barons. Prince Edward during 
 this turbulent period held Windsor Castle, but Henry and 
 his queen chiefly resided at the Tower of London. On one 
 occasion, when her residence was assailed by a mob, she 
 attempted to escape in her royal barge to Windsor ; but 
 the populace endeavoured to sink the vessel, and she with 
 difficulty escaped their violence and returned to the Tower. 
 Not feeling herself safe there, she afterwards removed to 
 the Bishop of London's palace, whence she was privately 
 conveyed to Windsor Castle. The monarch subsequently 
 made the city of London pay dear for the insult which had 
 been offered to his queen. He deprived it of its charters, 
 and summoned the Lord Mayor and some other citizens to 
 appear before him at Windsor, there to affix the city seal 
 to the instrument of their humiliation. On their arrival at 
 the castle, they were treated with the greatest indignity by 
 the officers of the household, and committed to the charge 
 of the constable of the Round Tower, where they were con- 
 fined till the following day. The mayor and four others
 
 14 CASTLE. 
 
 were afterwards subjected to strict confinement till they 
 should pay their ransom. Sixty thousand marks was the 
 sum demanded, which, however, was reduced to twenty 
 thousand marks, on the earnest plea of the citizens, who 
 declared themselves unable to raise the larger amount. 
 
 During the same reign in which Windsor Castle was dis- 
 turbed by the civil commotions of the kingdom, the ele- 
 ments also assailed it with violence. Holinshed mentions 
 a remarkable storm in the year 1251, on St. David's Day, 
 when the chamber wherein the queen and her children 
 then were, was beaten down to dust, and the whole build- 
 ing sore shaken. " In the parks oaks were rent asunder and 
 turned up by the roots, and much hurt done, as mills with 
 the millers in them, sheepfolds with their shepherds, and 
 ploughmen, and such as were going by the way, were de- 
 stroyed and beaten down, the chimney of the nursery 
 thrown down by the shock, several oaks being at the same 
 time uprooted in the parks by a tremendous hurricane." 
 
 These scanty fragments, associated with the information 
 which the history of our country at large affords, respecting 
 the circumstances of our monarchs, and the state and habits 
 of society in those remote times, may enable us to form 
 some imperfect idea of the place and its appearance during 
 the reigns of the early Norman sovereigns. The castle was 
 the only building of any importance whatever. A few 
 scattered dwellings around the royal abode, inhabited by the 
 vassals of the king, or the serfs of the soil, were all that consti- 
 tuted the Windsor of that period. It was the age of feudal- 
 ism, when everything deserving the name of civilization was 
 confined to the prince and the baron, and the great mass 
 of society was in a state of semi-barbarism. Nor could 
 royalty itself, in those days, boast of any other magnificence 
 than such as in our eyes seems most rude and comfortless. 
 The apartments, the banquets, the festivities, the costumes,
 
 FROM HENRY III. TO EDWARD III. 15 
 
 were all of this description, and the manners of society 
 were of a corresponding character. One can picture the 
 Norman stronghold on the brow of Windsor Hill, its towers 
 and fortifications, its gloomy halls with their oaken rafters, 
 and its large straggling chambers, with narrow loopholes 
 fitted rather to exclude than to admit the light of heaven. 
 We can also fancy that we see the mail-clad lords doing 
 homage to their feudal sovereign, or unbending from the 
 toils of the field amidst the boisterous merriment of the 
 royal feast. The forms of England's queens, and the ladies 
 of their courts, pace along the battlements or wander in the 
 gardens of the castle. Nor can we forget that violence and 
 war often broke in upon scenes which just before were quiet 
 and joyous. 
 
 In the reign of the first Edward, brighter days dawned 
 on Windsor. The country being relieved from intestine 
 feuds, and the differences between the king and the nobles 
 of the realm being adjusted, the seat of royalty, no longer 
 exposed to the incursions of war, became the scene of 
 courtly magnificence, and witnessed many of those rude 
 displays of festivity which characterized the age. It 
 had been the favourite residence of his wife Eleanor 
 while he was prince, and here she gave birth to three chil- 
 dren, John, Eleanor, and Henry. 
 
 In the sixth year of Edward's reign, according to a record 
 preserved among the archives in the Tower, a splendid 
 tournament was held in Windsor Park. Accoutrements 
 were provided for thirty-eight knights ; and, from the ac- 
 counts of the money expended, it would appear that they 
 were clothed in very costly array. " Armour was provided 
 for all the knights. It appears to have been of gilt 
 leather ; and various sums, from 7s. to 25s., were paid for 
 making and gilding each suit to the three persons employed, 
 Cosmo the tailor, Salvag' the tailor, and Repnunde de
 
 16 CASTLE. 
 
 Burdieus. At tlie end of this item of the account, there is 
 a memorandum stating that each suit of armour consisted 
 of a tunic, a surcoat, a pair of ailettes (appendages to the 
 shoulders), a crest, a shield, a helmet of leather, and a 
 sword of ' balon,' probably whalebone (6a?ee»)."* 
 
 Among the anecdotes relating to the castle at that period, 
 there is a remarkable account of the preservation of the 
 king from what might have proved a most serious accident. 
 One day, when he was playing at chess with a knight, he 
 suddenly rose from his seat, without having any definite 
 motive for doing so ; and the next instant the centre stone 
 of the groined roof of the apartment fell to the ground on 
 the spot which he had just left. 
 
 Stow mentions that in this reign, in the year 1295, a 
 destructive fire broke out in the castle of Windsor, con- 
 suming many of the offices, and defacing several "goodly 
 images made to beautify the building." 
 
 Edward II. frequently resided at Windsor, and here his 
 renowned son Edward III. first saw the light. He was 
 christened in the then existing chapel, four days after his 
 birth. The uncle of Isabella, and the rest of the French 
 nobles who were at the court of his royal parents, were 
 urgent with the king to allow his name to be Louis ; but 
 the English nobles, always averse to foreign appellations, 
 insisted that the princely boy should be baptized by none 
 other than the name of Edward. The ceremony was per- 
 formed by Cardinal Arnold, and the prince had no less 
 than seven godfathers. Eude, no doubt, was the splen- 
 dour of the ceremonial, as high-born dames, noble 
 knights, and mitred priests gathered round the font ; 
 far different from that display of beauty and grandeur 
 which, after the lapse of more than five long centuries, 
 
 * " Annals of Windsor," vol. i. p. 107.
 
 FROM HENRY III. TO EDWARD III. 17 
 
 graced tlie baptism of a regal descendant, who had given 
 him, in addition to tlie name of Albert, that of Edward, in 
 the spirit of the old nobles at the first Windsor christening. 
 
 Astrological studies were usual in those days, and much 
 importance was attached to them. The horoscope of 
 Edward was drawn at the time of his birth ; and according 
 to Ashmole, who describes it as painted on a window in 
 the prebend's lodgings belonging to Doctor Hever, it repre- 
 sents the king as "born "at 40 minutes after five in the 
 morning" of the 23rd of November, 1312 ; " the Gth degree 
 of the sign of Scorpio ascending, and the 18th degree of 
 Leo culminating." 
 
 Among the relics relating to Edward III. and the town 
 of Windsor, the place of his birth and his favourite resi- 
 dence, is a curious tale in verse, the MS. of which has been 
 discovered by Mr. Hartshorne, and inserted by him in his 
 " Collection of Ancient Metrical Tales." It turns upon 
 the common ballad incident of a king incognito meeting 
 with a peasant — visiting his home — hearing all he has to 
 say — inviting him to the royal castle — and redressing his 
 wrongs. 
 
 In the reign of Edward III. Windsor Castle was rebuilt. 
 Amongst the Harleian MSS.* we find a paper in which 
 John Stow, the antiquary, tells us, " The two higher wards 
 were builded by Edward the Third, certainly, and ujjon 
 occasion, as is reported, of his victory against the French 
 King John, and the King of Scots, David — both of them 
 prisoners at one time in the old castle of Windsor, as is 
 said, where being visited by the king, or riding together 
 with him, or walking together in that ground where the 
 wards be now, as a parcel of his park, the strangers com- 
 mending the situation, and judging the castle to have been 
 better built in that place than where it was, as being on 
 
 * No. 367. 
 C
 
 18 CASTLE. 
 
 higher ground, and more open to see and to be seen afar 
 off, the king approved tlieir sayings, adding pleasantly, that 
 it should so be, and that he would bring his castle thither, 
 that is to say, enlarge it so far with two other wards, the 
 charges whereof should be borne with their two ransoms, 
 as after it came to pass." According to this story, France 
 and Scotland suggested the improvement, and had to pay 
 for it. 
 
 Under Edward III. the old castle was taken down, 
 with the exception of three towers at the west end of the 
 lower ward before noticed, which still remain as mementos 
 of the old feudal fortifications. Ashmole,* whose venera- 
 tion for all that pertains to royalty and knighthood is 
 most amusing, begins his account of the rebuilding of the 
 castle by observing, that to the end it might be honestly 
 and duly performed. King Edward, by letters patent, in 
 the twenty-third year of his reign, appointed John Peyn- 
 tour, Richard de Rochell, and Robert de Bernham, and 
 other surveyors, to press hewers of stone, carpenters, and 
 other artificers ; also, to provide stone, timber, and other 
 materials. Tlie same historian goes on to repeat the re- 
 newal and amplification of these powers to other architects, 
 especially the famous William of Wykeham, to whose 
 genius and taste the monarch was mainly indebted for the 
 construction of his favourite edifice. He further tells us 
 that, in the thirty-fourth year of Edward's reign, there was 
 then great store of the best diggers and hewers of stone 
 imprest in London, and out of divers counties of England,t 
 by virtue of writs directed to the sheriffs, with command to 
 
 * See bis " History of the Order of the Garter." 
 f The counties mentioned were as follows: — Essex, Hertford^ 
 Wiltshire, Leicestei'shire, Worcestershire, Cambridgeshire, Hunting- 
 donshire, Kent, Gloucestershire, Somersetshire, Devonshire, and 
 Nortbamptonsliire ; each was to supply forty men.
 
 FROM HENRY III. TO EDWARD III. 19 
 
 send them to Windsor by the Sunday next after the feast 
 of St. George, there to be employed at the king's wages. 
 The sheriffs were to take security that the workmen should 
 not depart from Windsor without license, under the penalty 
 of £100 : and because some left Windsor clandestinely, 
 proclamation was made to punish the fugitives with im- 
 prisonment in Newgate ; and any person who dared to 
 employ them, with the forfeiture of all his goods. The 
 pestilence having swept off a large number of the workmen, 
 fresh writs were issued to the sheriffs,* commanding them 
 to press as many more as were wanted ; and in default of 
 doing this, they were to be fined £200. Parts of the 
 castle, both in the reign of Henry II. and Edward III., 
 were built of Egremont stone, which considering the diffi-: 
 culty and expense of bringing it must have been highly 
 esteemed.f 
 
 In the thirty-seventh year of the king's reign, when the 
 building was ready for glazing, twelve glaziers, a very scarce 
 class of artificers (for glass windows were then little used), 
 were also impressed. In the same year also the work went 
 on effectually, says Ashmole, as may be guessed from the 
 <^reat store of workmen 2}ressed for the service ; and from 
 this time, he adds, to the forty-third year of this king's 
 reign, artificers were yearly ])ressed. Thus men were 
 forcibly brought from all parts of the kingdom to do the 
 monarch's bidding. The circumstance throws a strong 
 light on the condition of the labouring classes of that period. 
 It indicates the imperfection of the personal liberty of the 
 subject, and the unconstitutional assumptions of royal 
 
 * The places to which the writs were sent, and the number of 
 men each county was to provide, were as follows: — York, sixty; 
 Derby, twenty-four; Salop, sixty; Hereford, fifty; Nottiugliam, 
 twenty-four ; Lancaster, twenty-four ; Devon, sixty. 
 t " Domestic Architecture," vol. i. 25. 
 
 c2
 
 20 CASTLE. 
 
 authority. It shows that the people were only in a sort of 
 transition state from the villanage of feudalism to the rights 
 of hired freemen. It also affords an illustration of the 
 pecuniary means of our early sovereigns. There had been 
 no necessity to impress workmen, had they been properly 
 paid by their royal master. The fact was, that the revenue 
 of the sovereign was so comparatively trifling, that he had 
 not the means of bearing the expense of costly buildings ; 
 and therefore, if he resolved to have them, his vanity or his 
 taste could only be gratified by a violation of justice. The 
 statute of labourers, passed in the same year which wit- 
 nessed the commencement of the castle by Edward, sheds 
 further light upon the condition of the artisan. That 
 famous statute recites, that workmen were not willing to 
 serve after the pestilence, which had just proved so destruc- 
 tive of life, without taking excessive wages ; and it enacted 
 that such manner of servants, as well men as women, should 
 be bound to serve at such wages as were paid in the 
 twentieth year of the king's reign, on pain of imprison- 
 ment. This was quite in the spirit of Edward's impress- 
 ment of labourers, showing a similar disregard to personal 
 liberty, and must be acknowledged to be a clumsy, as weU 
 as unjust mode of legislation, to meet a difficulty which 
 competition among workmen, in the natural course of 
 things, would easily have removed. The same statute 
 shows the wages that were paid ; for the regulation of these 
 was an important part of the enactments. Master car- 
 penters were to have threepence a day ; journeymen, two- 
 pence ; master masons, fourpence ; journeymen threepence; 
 labourers, one penny. Agricultural labourers were to re- 
 ceive, during harvest, threepence a day, besides diet ; or 
 twopence per quarter for threshing wheat. These, it must 
 be confessed, were high wages ; as threepence a day then 
 was equal to five shillings now ; and the fact places the
 
 FROM HENRY III. TO EDWARD III. 21 
 
 labourer of the fourteenth century, with regard to the 
 means of livelihood, in enviable comparison with his de- 
 scendants in the nineteenth.* 
 
 The rebuilding of the castle occupied eighteen years, 
 during which period large sums were annually expended on 
 the works. In the first half of the year 1363, for instance, 
 the expenses amounted to £3802 17s. 8d., out of which 
 £932 was paid for lead only. In the next year, the outlay 
 altogether was £3031 9s. 9d. The last year or two the 
 sums paid were about £2000 per annum. 
 
 The castle was finished in 1369, having been eighteen 
 years in progress. It was built under the direction of the 
 illustrious Wykeham, the favourite of Edward III., who 
 
 * The following extract from "Domestic Architecture in England," 
 vol. ii. 28, is interesthig in coimexion with the works at Windsor 
 Castle : — 
 
 " As in earlier times, all the metal work was executed on the spot, 
 and forges and furnaces were built for the smiths and plumbers. 
 These forges and furnaces required fuel, and it had been already 
 discovered that coal was a more efficient material than wood. Owing, 
 however, to the prejudice of the Londoners against that mineral 
 product, no supply of it could be procured in the metropolis, and the 
 king's master of the works was compelled to buy a cargo of it at 
 the pit mouth in Durham. At this time, when thousands of vessels 
 and many lines of inland railway are daily engaged in bringing this 
 important necessary of life to the capital, the narrative of the voyage 
 of a ship chartered to carry coals for the works at Windsor in 1367 
 may be interesting to the reader. According to the custom of the 
 time the king sent his writ to the sheriff of Northumberland 
 ordering him to buy seven hundred and twenty-six chaldron of coals, 
 and send them to London. The sheriff purchased them by the 
 greater hundred, at Winlaton, in the county of Durham, at I7d. the 
 chaldron. On their voyage to London the colliers met with a 
 'mighty tempest at sea,' and through that, and by reason of the 
 excess of London measure over that of Newcastle, a loss of eighty-six 
 chaldron and one quarter was incurred, the greater part having been 
 thrown overboard during the tempest. Arrived at London, the coals 
 were put on board ' shutes,' or barges, and taken to Windsor, at a 
 cost of Is. a chaldron. The total expense of bringing this insignificant 
 quantity of fuel to London, including its cost price, was £1G5 5*. 2(1., 
 to which must be added the barge hire to \\'indsor."
 
 22 CASTLE. 
 
 rose from very humble origin, to fill the highest offices in 
 church and state. His architectural genius shed a lustre 
 around the age in which he lived. He was not only an 
 architect, but a wit and a courtier, as one might judge from 
 the round, comely, and good-humoured face of the effigy 
 on his tomb at Winchester. His social qualities probably 
 contributed to raise him to his elevation ; and saved him 
 on one occasion, as tradition says, from the displeasure of 
 his royal master. When he had finished the castle, he 
 wrote the famous inscription, " Hoe fecit Wykeham ;" re- 
 specting which an old Latin historian* tells the following 
 story : — " The courtiers represented to the king that the 
 architect had arrogated to himself all the glory of the 
 palace ; but when the king, greatly incensed, charged 
 Wykeham with the crime, he, not with a sorrowfiil and 
 affrighted countenance, but with great composure and good 
 humour, replied, the man was either ignorant of grammar, 
 or a malicious calumniator, who founded a criminal charge 
 upon a mere inversion of grammatical cases. ' J^J" either, 
 serene prince,' he added, ' did / mahe this castle, but this 
 castle made me all I am ; that is, it has placed me in your 
 majesty's favour, and raised me from a humble condition 
 to the highest fortune :' which reply, so facetious and worthy 
 of Wykeham (for it was a true sj)ecimen of learning, readi- 
 ness, and wit), not only removed the displeasure of the 
 king, but raised him greatly in his estimation. "t 
 
 Of the general appearance of Edward III.'s castle, some 
 idea may be formed from a consideration of the style of 
 architecture which prevailed in the fourteenth century, 
 combined with such historical statements regarding this 
 noble edifice as antiquarian research has brought to light. 
 
 * " Historica Descriptio Vitse Wicam," quoted by Bayle in loco 
 " Wicam." 
 t Lowth, the biographer of Wykeham, discredits the whole story.
 
 FROM HENRY III, TO EDWARD III. 23 
 
 At that period a considerable change took place in the con- 
 struction of baronial residences. While regard was had to 
 defence, more attention was paid to effect. The solidity of 
 the fortress was united with somewhat of the beauty and 
 grandeur of the palace. Buildings designed for the com- 
 fort of the lord and his family formed a more prominent 
 feature in the general plan. The solidity of the keep and 
 the strength of the outworks were no longer the sole con- 
 sideration. The grouping of towers variously shaped, those 
 flanking the gateway being generally the most conspicuous for 
 lofty proportions, formed a characteristic distinction. The 
 loophole gave place to the glazed window, and even to the 
 elegant oriel ; while the machicolation, at once defensive 
 and ornamental, crowned the gateways. The improved 
 character of the architecture of the period is not only a 
 sign of increasing taste, but an indication of the more 
 settled and peaceful state of society. 
 
 Before the time of Edward III., "Windsor Castle did not 
 extend to the east much beyond the round tower ; the 
 buildings forming the quadrangle were his additions. They 
 formed a third and upper ward. On the southern and 
 eastern sides they presented an aspect of defence. A ditch 
 ran along their base, guarded by curtain walls, blank and 
 unbroken save by the gateways and loopholes of the towers. 
 The north side, before Queen Elizabeth added the present 
 fine terrace, probably presented the same appearance. The 
 apartments were lighted from the inner courts ; and hence 
 several smaller courts, known as the Brick Court, Kitchen 
 Court, and Horn Court, were introduced on the north side, 
 which had a double range of buildings. 
 
 The round tower crowning the middle moat was a striking 
 and characteristic feature of Edward's fortress. It is, no 
 doubt, the same as the " Unus Turris vocat la Bose," men- 
 tioned in the accounts of Adam de Hertyngdon ; from
 
 24 CASTLE. 
 
 which it appears that this building was painted externally, 
 and gilded too. White lead, verdigris, vermilion, and blue, 
 as well as leaves of gold, are enumerated for the use of 
 William Burdon, the painter, who for a hundred and thirty- 
 three days and a half was engaged on the work.* The 
 tower must have looked gay, and even gorgeous, as it shone 
 in the sun, so brilliantly tinted ; and altogether — with 
 tapestry hangings, and standards, and armorial bearings, 
 and equestrian equipments, and royal array, and knights' 
 mantles, and suits of armour, and heralds' tabards, and the 
 costumes of squires, and the robes of ladies, and the pictu- 
 resque dresses of the commonalty — Windsor Castle, on a 
 tilt-day or a tournament, must have been a brilliant scene 
 in an age of feudal festivity. 
 
 Of the external appearance of Edward's castle no remains 
 have been spared ; but the square outlines of the towers 
 in general seem to have been relieved by lofty and pictu- 
 resque turrets, most of which disappeared under the moder- 
 nising ravages of the reign of Charles II. + 
 
 Two interesting relics of the interior of Edward's castle 
 may be still seen — in the groined vaulting which forms the 
 basement to the Devil's Tower, and that which runs for a 
 considerable distance along the north side of the quadrangle, 
 under the guard-chamber of St. George's Hall. The hall 
 
 * "Annals of Windsor," vol. i. 179. 
 f A chair of great antiquity, belonging perhaps to the time of 
 the founder, remained till within a few years in St. George's Hall ; 
 when, through some strange neglect, it was suffered to be removed, 
 and is now, I am informed, in the possession of the Marquis of 
 Salisbury. Chairs were at that period often richly painted and 
 gilded; in illustration of which we find in the wardrobe book of 
 Edward I., an entry of £1 19*. ^d. to Walter the painter, for a step 
 to the foot of the new chair, in which the stone of Scotland was 
 placed, near the altar, before the ihrine of St. Edward at West- 
 minster; and to the carpenters and painters, for painting the said 
 step, and for gold and colours to paint it with : also, a case for its 
 covering.
 
 FROM HENRY III, TO EDWARD III. 25 
 
 was restored by George IV., somewhat in its primitive style. 
 The architect, Sir Jeffrey "Wyatville, adopted the original 
 form of the windows ; but the roof at first was of open 
 timbers, the main rib being a four-centred arch, springing 
 from an embattled cornice, and the space between the arch 
 and the rafters being richly ornamented with open foliated 
 panelling. The wall at the upper end, above the springing 
 of the arch, was also richly panelled, in a style which might 
 have seemed at first to be of a later date ; but the English 
 perpendicular architecture was gaining ground before these 
 buildings were completed. 
 
 While the castle was being rebuilt under Sir Jeff'rey 
 Wyatville a curious subterranean passage was discovered 
 under the east terrace, close to what is now the Victoria 
 Tower. It is walled and arched with stone work, and was 
 originally, it appeared, a sally-port in the fortifications con- 
 structed in the time of Edward III. As an illustration of 
 the curious changes produced by modern habits, it may be 
 remarked, that this gloomy excavation, intended for de- 
 fence or escape in warlike times, has been turned into a 
 furnace chamber connected with the heating apparatus that 
 now comfortably warms the long corridors and winding 
 passages. Much more recently, while several new rooms 
 were being made to the east of the York Tower, the clerk 
 of the works, Mr. Turnbull, lighted on a stone which 
 he found covered a short shaft, leading to an under-ground 
 passage. This, too, the author has been permitted to 
 examine. It is from six to eight feet high, by five broad, 
 walled and arched, partly round and partly pointed. Several 
 fragments of Norman architecture are inserted in the 
 masonry. After running twenty feet, the stone work ter- 
 minates, and the rest of the passage is cut out of the 
 chalk. It ends in what was the castle ditch on the south 
 side, and on the chalk there are stiU a few rude inscrip-
 
 26 CASTLE, 
 
 tions of names. Here again, no doubt, we have a sally- 
 port of the time of Edward III., built up with fragments 
 of Henry's, or it may be of William the Conqueror's castle. 
 Another hidden relic of the ancient building exists in a 
 modern underground passage, near the equerry's entrance. 
 It is a piece of wall which does not run flush with the 
 building above it. There can be no doubt it belongs to 
 Edward III.'s additions, the upper part having most 
 likely been altered in the reign of Charles II. 
 
 Edward III. took down the old chapel, and erected an- 
 other more spacious. Writs were issued, as in the case of 
 the castle, empowering the master of the works to impress 
 artificers, and convey them to Windsor, and to arrest and 
 imprison them summarily in case of refusal. He also 
 erected houses adjoining for the accommodation of the 
 custos, or dean and canons. Geoffrey Chaucer, the great 
 poet, was appointed clerk of the works to the chapel, in 
 the year 1390, and empowered to imitate his predecessors 
 in pressing workmen. He was allowed a payment of two 
 shillings a day for his own services. At that time the 
 chapel, which had been erected but forty years, was de- 
 scribed to be in a ruinous condition, and its unsafe state 
 was the cause of its being rebuilt by Edward IV., — a fact 
 which has led some architects to conjecture that there must 
 have been some very great settlement in the foundation of 
 the structure. 
 
 'f
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ORDER OP THE GARTER. 
 
 HE reader's attention must now be directed 
 to tlie institution of the Order of the 
 Garter, an event intimately connected with 
 the history of Windsor in the fourteenth 
 century. Orders of knightliond are of 
 ancient date, and the indefatigable Ashmole has given a 
 laborious disquisition on the various kinds, both religious 
 and military. He describes the Knights of the Holy 
 Sepulchre, of St. John the Baptist, of the Order of St. 
 Lazarus, and others to the number of forty-six, of the 
 religious class, and also specifies their various insignia ; 
 and then he adds a catalogue of the military class, beginning 
 with the far-famed Knights of the Round Table, for which 
 the worthy antiquary entertained the highest veneration, 
 and enters upon minute particulars relative to forty-five 
 other orders. No wonder he thus expatiates on the theme, 
 for he observes that, " in the dignity, honour, and renown 
 of knighthood is included somewhat of magnificence, more 
 excellent than nobility itself, which, mounting the royal 
 throne, becomes the assertor of civil nobUity, and sits as 
 judge at the tribunal therefore." 
 
 The institute of the Garter sprang from the spirit of 
 chivalry, which appeared in its greatest splendour in the 
 fourteenth century. Religion, whose genius was sadly
 
 28 CASTLE. 
 
 mistaken, was made to impart her sanction to a life of 
 violence and bloodshed, and the sword and the cross were 
 strangely coupled ; while gallantry animated the bosom of 
 the holy soldier, and " God and the ladies" was his favourite 
 watchword. 
 
 In tracing the particular origin of the symbol of the 
 order, Ashmole repudiates, as unworthy of so glorious a 
 society of knights, the common tale of the Countess of 
 Salisbury dropping her garter, or the equally silly one of 
 the queen's meeting with the same misfortune. He also 
 notices the story of Richard I. binding a leather thong 
 round the legs of some of the knights at the siege of Cyprus 
 and Aeon, as an heroic badge, and then adds, with charac- 
 teristic solemnity, " the true motive was neither the ladies' 
 garters or King Richard's leather thong that it owes its 
 onginal to ; but King Edward being a person of consum- 
 mate virtue, gave himself to military affairs, and being 
 eno-aged in war for recovering his right to France, made 
 use of the best martialists of the age, and thereupon first 
 designed (induced by its ancient fame) the restoration of 
 King Arthur's Round Table, to invite hither the gallant 
 spirits from abroad, and to endear them to himself, and 
 adjudging no place more requisite than Windsor, upon new 
 year's day, 1344, he issued letters of protection for the safe 
 going and return of foreign knights, to try their valour at 
 the solemn jousts to be held there on Monday after the 
 feast of St. Hilary." Then he briefly describes the solemnity, 
 and guesses that either the queen or the countess might 
 have dropped her garter while dancing at the ball, thus 
 giving rise to the story of the origin of the order.* The 
 
 * Respecting the origin of the symbol of the Garter, Mr. Beltz 
 remarks: "Amidst such various speculations, aud in the absence of 
 positive evidence upon the point, we shall adopt an opinion which 
 has been formed by other writers— that the garter may have been
 
 OEDER OF THE GARTER. 29 
 
 celebrated round table at Windsor was made about 1356 ; 
 in that year .£26 13s. 4d was paid to tbe prior of Merton 
 for fifty-two oaks cut from Ms wood near Reading, for 
 making the round table at Windsor. But in 1344, " The 
 king," says Stow, in his " Chronicles," " caused to be called 
 together a great many artificers to the castle of Windsor, 
 and began to build a house, which was called the Round 
 Table, the floor whereof, from the centre or middle point 
 into the compass, was an hundred foot, and the whole 
 diameter two hundred foot, and the circumference thereof 
 six hundred foot three quarters." 
 
 When Edward had arranged the plan of the order, he 
 placed it, according to the custom of the age, under the 
 protection of the Holy Trinity, and of certain saints. The 
 Blessed Virgin, St. George of Cappadocia,* and St. Edward 
 the Confessor, Avere the patrons whose aid and benediction 
 were invoked by the monarch. 
 
 The laws and ordinances of the order are elaborate 
 affairs, and amusingly illustrate the punctilious character of 
 that chivalrous age. They fiU two ponderous folios, edited 
 by Anstis. There, and in Ashmole, the reader will find the 
 
 intended as an emblem of the tie or union of warlike qualities, to be 
 employed in the assertion of the founder's claim to the French crown ; 
 and the motto as a retort of shame and defiance upon him who should 
 think ill of the enterprise, or of those whom the king had chosen to 
 be the instruments of its accomplishment. The taste of that age for 
 allegorical conceits, impresses, and devices, may reasonably warrant 
 such a conclusion." — " Order of the Garter," Introd. p. xlvii. 
 
 * "This blessed holy martyr saynt George, is patrone of this 
 roiaume of Englond, and the crye of men of warre, in the worshyp 
 of whome is founded the noble Ordre of the Garter, and also a noble 
 college in the Castle of Wyndsore, by kynges of England, in which 
 college is the herte of saynt George, whyche Sygismunde the 
 emperor of Almayne brought and gave for a grete and precious 
 relique to K. Harry the fytlic ; and also the said Sygismunde was a 
 broder of the sayd Garter, and also here is a pyece of hys head. 
 Whyche college is nobly endowed to thonnur and worship of almighty 
 God, and his blessed martyr saynt George."
 
 30 CASTLE, 
 
 most minute account of the habits and ensigns of the 
 knights. " In describing the mantle," says Ashmole, " we 
 shall first set down its various appellations it is mentioned 
 by in the records of the order ; secondly, the materials 
 whereof it consists ; thirdly, the colour ; fourthly, the 
 quantity ; and last of all, the ornamental trimmings, that 
 nothing may be omitted to satisfy any curious inquirer :" a 
 pledge which the author fully redeems, for several closely- 
 printed pages follow, treating upon these momentous topics. 
 
 In reference to the costume of the order, it may be stated 
 that it consisted of a mantle of woollen cloth, the staple 
 manufacture of this country, of a blue ground, lined with 
 scarlet cloth, the garters of blue cloth, or silk, embroidered 
 with gold, having on them the motto of the order in letters 
 of gold, and the buckles, bars, and pendants of silver-gilt ; 
 of a surcoat, also of woollen cloth, narrower and shorter 
 than the mantle, and fastened to the body by a girdle, the 
 colour to be changed every year ; and of a hood, made of 
 the same materials as the surcoat. 
 
 The mystic meaning of the several badges is a favourite 
 theme with Ashmole and other antiquaries. The garter 
 itself betokened the golden bond of unity and internal 
 society ; its being bound on the leg was a caveat against 
 the knight's running away in battle ; and its well-known 
 motto taught the members not to admit anything into the 
 actions of their lives, or among their thoughts, unbeseeming 
 to themselves. The image of St. George, hanging at the 
 breast, is to put the knights in mind of that illustrious 
 saint, and to excite them to imitate him as the soldiers of 
 Christ. The purple robe is the mark of majesty. The 
 collar of the order, in all cases of equal weight and of a 
 like number of small links and knots, is a witness of the 
 bond of faith, j)eace, and unity, strictly to be observed 
 among them ; and, to make the bond and tie of love and
 
 ORDER OF THE GARTER. 81 
 
 friendstiip more close and binding, the members of the 
 order are to be called fellows, associates, colleagues, brethren, 
 and knights-companions, and their habits and ornaments to 
 be all alike as to fashion and material — " to no other end 
 but to represent how they ought to be united in all chances 
 of fortune, both in peace and war." 
 
 In connexion with the Order of the Garter and the 
 Chapel of St. George, Edward appointed the foundation of 
 the Military Knights, originally called Milites Pawperes, or 
 " Poor Knights." The number at first was twenty-four, 
 but shortly after, upon the institution of the Order of the 
 Garter, which consists of twenty-six, there were added two 
 more to the former number. To each alms-knight was ap- 
 pointed a red mantle, with a scutcheon of St. George, but 
 without any garter around it. Their exhibition at first was 
 twelve-pence a day, and forty shillings per annum besides. 
 They had to attend divine service, and pray for the pros- 
 perity of the sovereign and knights-companions ; but for 
 every day's absence from chapel, they forfeited the allowance 
 of twelve-pence ; and whatsoever was raised in that way 
 was set apart for the use of the rest of the alms-knights. 
 
 The exact date of the institution of the order is uncer- 
 tain. As early as 1347, garters were worn at a tournament 
 in Windsor. About the same time, the first mention of the 
 well-known motto occurs. In 1348, on the feast of St. 
 John the Baptist, there was a joust in honour of the queen's 
 purification after the birth of her fourth son, William. A 
 robe is mentioned as given to David of Scotland, then 
 a prisoner in England. Vanquished at the battle of 
 Neville's Cross, by the arms of the heroic Philippa, who, 
 in her husband's absence, led his army against the Scots, 
 the monarch was taken captive, and conducted in triumph 
 to London. Eleven long years he spent in imprisonment, 
 first at Nottingham, then at Windsor, his aftectionate
 
 32 CASTLE. 
 
 Queen Joan, Edward's sister, following him in his fortunes, 
 and alleviating his sorrows with exemplary devotion. In 
 1348, also, Edward, Prince of Wales, presented twenty- 
 four garters to the knights. In 1350, Stow describes a 
 feast of the order. " The knights, together with the king, 
 were clothed in gowns of russet, powdered with garters blue, 
 wearing the like garters also on the right leg, and mantles 
 of blue, with scutcheons of St. George. In this sort of 
 appareU they, being bareheaded, heard mass, which was 
 celebrated by Simon Islip, Archbishop of Canterbury, and 
 the Bishops of Winchester and Exeter." 
 
 The chronicler, after touching on the scene in the chapel, 
 leads us to the banqueting haU, and tells us that the 
 knights went to the feast, "setting themselves orderly at 
 the table, for the honour of the feast, which they named 
 to be of St, George the Martyr, and the choosing of 
 the Knights of the Garter." In 1358, on the feast of 
 St. George, a grand tournament was held at Windsor, indi- 
 cative of the growing splendour of the institution of the 
 Garter. John, King of France, taken captive at the battle 
 of Poictiers by Edward the Black Prince, was at that 
 time a prisoner at Windsor.* 
 
 * The following extracts from the royal accounts, inserted by 
 Mr. Beltz in his work on the Order of the Garter (p. 5), show some 
 of the expenses incurred on this memorable occasion : — 
 
 "A payment to Queen Philippa of £500, as a gift from the King 
 for the preparation of her apparel against the feast of St. George, to 
 be celebrated at Windsor. 
 
 " To divers messengers and runners sent into various parts of 
 England with letters under the privy seal and signet directed to 
 several lords and ladies, hiviting them to the feast of St. George at 
 Windsor, 47*. lid. 
 
 " To Walter Norman and his twenty-three fellows, for the carry- 
 ing of oats to Windsor, about the time of St. George's Feast, 13*. Ad. 
 
 "To William Volaunt, king of the heralds, in money issued to 
 him of the king's gift for his good services at the said feast, 66*. 8d. 
 
 " To Hankin Fitz-Lebbin and his twenty-three fellows, the king's 
 minstrels, for their services at the said feast, £16." 
 
 The feast for which the above services were rendered is mentioned
 
 ORDER OF THE GARTER. S3 
 
 Beneath a golden canopy, splendidly arrayed, sat Queen 
 Philippa, on whose dress £500, according to the wardrobe 
 account, had been expended. Squires, pages, and yeomen, 
 in rich liveries, were standing or moving in attendance 
 about this royal spot ; and knights and nobles were amongst 
 the spectators of the spirit-stirring scene. Heralds and 
 pursuivants ran to and fro, their gorgeous coats sparkling 
 in the sun. Cased in steel, reining in his steed, with 
 a white swan conspicuous on his shield, rode the founder 
 of the festival, King Edward ; and near him, clothed in 
 sable armour, was Edward the Black Prince, the mirror of 
 chivalry. On a horse richly caparisoned, sat John of 
 France, and in his rear were several nobles of his court, 
 who, though prisoners in England, were allowed by the 
 courtesies of chivalry to enter the lists.* 
 
 Then came the banquet. St. George's Hall on one side 
 was painted with quaint scenes and objects taken from 
 chivalry and scripture, and on the other side enlivened by 
 the richly-stained windows, while the oaken roof and 
 rafters with sober grandeur spanned the apartment. At 
 the upper end was the dais, with the chair placed for the 
 monarch ; on either side ran a long table spread for the 
 guests — rude ornaments, gaily painted, adorned the board, 
 with here and there costly pieces of gold and silver plate, 
 
 by foreign, as well as domestic historians. A MS. in the Harleian 
 Library records the royal feast, at which was present King John of 
 France, " the which king said in scorn, that he never saw so royal a 
 feast, and so costly, made with tallies of tree, withont paying of gold 
 and silver." 
 
 * The Earl of Salisbury met with a fatal accident at this tourna- 
 ment. His countess was a favourite with the king, and was the 
 noble lady whose garter, according to common report, was picked up 
 by the monarch, and suggested the badge for the knights' order.. 
 This lady must have possessed distinguished charms ; for it is said 
 that Jolin, King of France, on this occasion, was captivated by her 
 beauty. She was, however, proof against both these royal suitors, and 
 after the death of the earl lived in perfect seclusion. 
 
 D
 
 34) CASTLE. 
 
 saltcellars, cups, bowls with covers, chargers, spice-plates, 
 large covered vessels, splendidly chased, and ornamented 
 with eagles, herons, and leopards. 
 
 The next morning the tournament was renewed, and the 
 pleasures of the tilt were succeeded by those of the chase. 
 The knights, ladies, and dignified ecclesiastics, led on by 
 Edward, followed the hounds in pursuit of the deer, or 
 amused themselves with the sport of falconry. 
 
 Ten years afterwards the chroniclers show us, stretched 
 on a bed in Windsor Castle, and watched by the monarch, 
 the noble lady who graced the tournament. Her dying 
 words are thus recorded: — "We have enjoyed our union 
 in happiness, peace, and prosperity : I entreat therefore of 
 you, that on our separation, you will grant me three re- 
 quests. My lord, I beg you will acquit me of whatever 
 engagements I may have entered into formerly with mer- 
 chants for their wares, as well on this as on the other side 
 of the sea. I beseech you also to fulfil whatever gifts or 
 legacies I may have made or left to churches, here or on the 
 continent, wherein I have paid my devotions, as well as 
 what I may have left to those of both sexes who have been 
 in my service. Thirdly, I entreat that when it shall please 
 God to call you hence, you will not choose any other 
 sepulchre than mine, and that you will lie by my side in 
 the cloisters of Westminster." " Lady," replied the king, 
 " I grant them."* 
 
 In connexion with the Order of the Garter, it appears 
 that during the reign of Richard II. it was not uncommon 
 for ladies to attend the feasts, and to wear the badge of 
 the order. 
 
 In reference to the custom of that period, Mr. Beltz, in 
 his " History of the Order of the Garter," introduces the 
 following remarks : — 
 
 * Froissart, vol. ii. p. 14.
 
 ORDER OF THE GARTER. 35 
 
 "To the cliivalrous gallantry wliicli characterizes the 
 heroes of the middle ages, and which tempered in no unim- 
 portant degree the natural ferocity of their spirit and 
 manners, can alone be ascribed the happy conception of 
 imparting to the fair sex a portion of the honours of this 
 illustrious order. The origin of the custom of decorating 
 ladies with tbe robes and insignia may easily be traced to 
 the natural wish of the victorious knight, in joust or 
 tourney, to share the distinction which he had acquired 
 with the beloved witness of his triumph. 
 
 " Whether an addition, at once so graceful and interesting, 
 to the splendour of the ceremonies at Windsor, had been 
 made during the time of the royal founder, cannot be 
 learnt from the statutes or other public records. We have 
 noticed the superb array of Queen Philippa and her nume- 
 rous train of ladies at the first feast, and the large sum 
 issued for her ladies on another occasion ; we find, also, 
 that in 13G2 she made an oblation during the celebration 
 of high mass in St. George's chapel on the day of the 
 feast ; and that in 1358 messengers were desi^atched to 
 invite the attendance of ladies at the festival of the order ; 
 but, admitting the inference from these facts, that they 
 were usually present at such solemnities, it might be con- 
 sidered that they assisted as spectators only. 
 
 " In a wardrobe account, however, under a warrant of 
 the 8th of April, 1376, towards the close of the preceding 
 reign, there is a charge for the issue of a long robe, together 
 with a hood of cloth, of the colour of sanguine in grain, 
 made in the fashion of those of the Knights of the Garter, 
 for the king's daughter, the Countess of Bedford, to be 
 worn by her at the then approaching feast. But if this bo 
 the only memorial yet discovered of the custom in question, 
 during the life of the founder, it is certain that the taste 
 for pomp and magnificence which distinguished the court 
 
 D 2
 
 36 CASTLE. 
 
 of his successor, produced a more general participation in 
 the knightly decorations ; and that ladies of high rank, as 
 well as others, who probably occupied stations of honour 
 near the person of the Queen, received robes and hoods, 
 ornamented with garters, and corresponding in other 
 respects, as to the colour, quality, and quantity of cloth 
 and furs, with those of the knights ; and that they wore 
 around the left arm, a little above the elbow, a garter of 
 the same fashion and materials, with a motto of the order 
 embroidered thereon. It appears also that the ladies so 
 favoured were sometimes designated, '■'■ Domince de Sectd et 
 Liheraturd Garterii,''' and at others, "Dames de la Fraternite 
 de Saint George; " that the habits were delivered to them 
 annually, to be worn at the feast, by warrants from the 
 Crown, in the same course of delivery as to the knights ; 
 and that the robes and hoods were differenced in the num- 
 ber of garters thereon, according to the superiority of the 
 titles and degrees of the ladies upon whom this singular 
 privilege had been conferred. 
 
 " By what system the admission to the distinction was 
 regulated, — whether the nominations were solely at the 
 pleasure of the sovereign, or by election in chapter, — 
 whether any ceremonies were observed at the investiture, 
 or ordinances prescribed for the governance of those invested, 
 are points upon which no light has hitherto been thrown. 
 It will be seen by the list of ladies so distinguished, that 
 the favour was not limited to the consorts and relicts of the 
 knights of the order, but extended to others of their families : 
 and where such connexion does not appear, there is room for 
 the conjecture that the distinction was an especial homage 
 to eminent personal or mental endowments, spontaneously 
 paid by the sovereign himself, or at the suggestion of a 
 knight, who, by some martial act, had acquired a claim to 
 the nomination."* 
 
 * Beltz, p. 244.
 
 s^^l 
 
 "'^ Sj^^MB^^^S^ 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 FROM RICHARD II. TO EDWARD IV. 
 
 JNDSOR CASTLE was the occasional resi- 
 dence of Richard II. It was here that he 
 parted from his Queen Isabella, then but 
 „j a girl. He had assisted at mass, chanted 
 a collect (for he was musical) and made 
 a rich offering at the altar ; then leading his little con- 
 sort to the door of the chapel, he took her in his 
 arms and repeatedly kissed her, exclaiming, " Adieu, 
 madam, adieu, till we meet again." But the unhappy- 
 pair saw each other no more. It was here, too, that the 
 lively historian, Froissart, took leave for the last time of 
 the ill-fated prince. After describing his munificence and 
 hospitality, he adds, "And I, John Froissart, canon and 
 treasurer of Chirnay, saw it and considered it ; and I lived 
 in it a quarter of a year ; and good cheer did he give me, 
 forasmuch as I, in my youth, had been clerk and familiar 
 to the noble King Edward, his grandfather ; and when I 
 departed from him (it was at Windsor), on my leavetaldng, 
 he gave me a silver goblet, and gilt, and having within one 
 
 hundred nobles therefore am I much bound 
 
 to pray God for him." 
 
 Froissart gives us a peep at a scene in Windsor, illustra-
 
 38 CASTLE. 
 
 tive of the politics of the day. The Londoners, in 138G, 
 were grumbling about the fire-tax. The Duke of Gloucester 
 advised them to address the king at Windsor. So off they 
 went in a body sixty strong, on horseback, accompanied by 
 deputations from other places. They lodged in the town, 
 and must have crowded the hostelries and excited no 
 small stir amongst the quiet Windsor folk, as they went 
 upon St. George's day to have an audience with his majesty 
 in the town hall, " without the new building where the 
 palace stood in former times." Simon de Sudbury was 
 the opening orator on the occasion, followed by seven others, 
 who said some startling things, dwelling upon grievances 
 at large, and declaring, " It is not justice, sir king, to cut 
 off heads, wrists, or feet, or any way to punish ; but justice 
 consists in the maintaining the subject in his right, and in 
 taking care he live in peace, without having any cause of 
 complaint." The conference ended in what in modern 
 parlance we should call the appointment of a committee of 
 inquiry — really in putting off the evil day. 
 
 Other circumstances in Richard's history also occurred at 
 Windsor. It was here, on a scaffold erected within the 
 castle, that Richard heard the appeal of high treason 
 brought by Henry of Lancaster, Duke of Hereford, against 
 Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk. "In riding from 
 Windsor to Brentford, in December, 1397, they conversed 
 on the king's bad government. Mowbray observed, ' We 
 are about to be ruined.' Henry asked, ' For what 1 ' 'For 
 the affair at Piadcot Bridge,' answered Mowbray. ' How 
 can that be, after a pardon 1 ' replied Henry. ' As easily,' 
 says Mowbray, ' as he has recalled the pardons granted to 
 others.' The Duke of Norfolk at last said, that Richard 
 had broken all his oaths." Lancaster complained to the 
 king against Mowbray, who had charged him with having 
 uttered these scandalous words. The parties were at
 
 FROM RICHARD II. TO EDWARD IV. 39 
 
 length summoned to meet at Windsor. They did so ; King 
 Kicbard was seated on a platform in the castle square, with 
 his lords and prelates around him. The constable and mar- 
 shal, by the king's desire, sought to make peace between 
 the quarrellers, but in vain. So it was agreed that the 
 matter should be determined by single combat. Coventry 
 was the place appointed for the contest, and there occurred 
 the scene, so important in its results to the sovereign and 
 the nation, which Shakspere has so well portrayed in his 
 tragedy of " Richard the Second." 
 
 Henry IV. ascended the throne in October, 1399. About 
 Christmas time that year, a plot was formed to rush on 
 him and his sons at a tournament at Kingston. The king, 
 at the time, was at Windsor, little apprehending the con- 
 templated violence, when the Earl of Rutland, one of the 
 conspirators, revealed the plot. The disaifected lords set 
 out with five hundred horse, intending to surprise the king 
 at Windsor. But Henry had escaped before their arrival, 
 and repaired to London, where he issued writs for their 
 apprehension, and raised forces to quell their rebellion. 
 Disappointed in their plans, they were suddenly surprised 
 by the appearance of a royal army, and were glad to flee to 
 their respective castles. Not long afterwards, the same . 
 monarch had another escape of a different kind, an instru- 
 ment called a caltrappe having been concealed in his bed, 
 it is reported by one of Queen Isabella's household. 
 
 Windsor Castle in the fifteenth century has some well- 
 known historical associations. The first circumstance of 
 interest here during the century, was the long imprison- 
 ment of James I. of Scotland. On his way to France, 
 in 1405, to receive his education, being then eleven 
 years of age, he was taken prisoner by an English 
 corsair, contrary to the law of nations, for England and 
 Scotland were then at peace : but knowing the importance
 
 40 CASTLE. 
 
 of keeping such an hostage, the English king, Henry IV., 
 resolved to detain him, exclaiming, " In fact, the Scots 
 ought to have given me the education of this boy, for I am 
 an excellent French scholar."* After two years' imprison- 
 ment in the Tower of London, he was removed to Windsor, 
 where for sixteen years he was unjustly detained by the 
 English monarch. It may seem strange that no vigorous 
 efforts were made by the Scotch to recover their young 
 prince from his captivity, but it should be remembered that 
 the Duke of Albany, after the death of James's father, 
 ■which took place in 1406, was Regent of Scotland, and it 
 was to his interest to allow the royal boy to remain a 
 prisoner, that he might himself exercise the dominion of a 
 sovereign. Henry and the Regent seem to have under- 
 stood each other, and poor young James was the victim of 
 their crafty policy. During the period of James's imprison- 
 ment, however, his education appears to have been carefully 
 conducted, as his literary taste and attainments amply 
 proved. Nor were there wanting other influences to cheer 
 the captive's sorrows. The tale of his love for Joanna 
 Beaufort, the niece of Richard II., a tale to which the 
 author of the "Sketch Book" has imparted additional 
 charmp, is familiar to every reader. The lovely counte- 
 nance and form of Joanna made a tender impression on 
 the heart of the royal youth, as he looked from his prison 
 window, and saw her walking in the gardens below ; her 
 image was engraven on his memory, her charms were the 
 subject of his song ; and true to his early attachment, he 
 afterwards sought and won her hand, when he had the 
 prospect of returning to his country, and ascending his 
 throne. The poem by James, entitled the " King's Quhair," 
 in which his love for the Lady Jane forms the leading 
 theme, contains a minute description of the garden at the 
 * Sir Walter Scott's " History of Scotland/' vol. i. p. 240.
 
 FROM RICHARD II. TO EDWARD IV. 41 
 
 foot of the round tower ; and enable us, as we read it, to 
 transport ourselves to its green arbours and shaded alleys, 
 30 they were in the days of the royal poet. " He had 
 risen, he says, at daybreak, according to custom, to escape 
 from the dreary meditations of a sleepless pillow." 
 
 " Bewailing in his chamber thus alone," 
 
 despairing of all joy and remedy — 
 
 " Fortired of thought, and woe-begone," 
 
 he had wandered to the window, to indulge the captive's 
 miserable solace of gazing wistfully upon the world from 
 which he is excluded. The window looked forth upon a 
 small garden, which lay at the foot of the tower. It was 
 a quiet, sheltered spot, adorned with arbours and green 
 alleys, and protected from the passing gaze by trees and 
 hawthorn hedges : — 
 
 "Now was there made, fast by the tower's wall, 
 
 A garden faire, and in the corners set 
 An arbour green, with wandis long and small 
 
 Railed about ; and so with leaves beset 
 Was all the place, and hawthorn hedges knet, 
 
 That lyf* was none, walkyng there forbye, 
 
 That might within scarce any wight espye. 
 
 " So thick the branches, and the leves grene, 
 Beshaded all the alleys that there were. 
 
 And midst of every arbour might be seen 
 The sharpe, greene, sweet juniper. 
 
 Growing so fair, with branches here and there 
 That, as it seemed to a lyf without. 
 The boughs did spread the arbour all about. 
 
 " And on the small grene twistisf set 
 
 The lytel swete nightingales, and sung 
 So loud and clear the hymnis consecrate 
 
 Of lovis use, now soft, now loud among, 
 That aU the garden and the wallis rung 
 Eight of their song." 
 
 * Lyf, " person." f Twistls, " small boughs or twigs."
 
 42 CASTLE. 
 
 The royal captive was liberated in the year 1424 by 
 Henry VI., on the Scots agreeing to pay £40,000 ; not for 
 the king's ransom, — that would have been an acknowledg- 
 ment on the part of the English sovereign, that he had 
 taken and held him as a prisoner, and would have reflected 
 on his justice ; — but for the expenses of his board and 
 education. A strange school, truly, was that old round 
 tower ; and a rather heavy bill was this for the boy's 
 schooling. So foolishly, sometimes, have kings and states- 
 men varnished over their wicked deeds with fine words 
 and courteous phrases, as if posterity would never see 
 through them. James proved the father of his country 
 after his restoration ; and perhaps the mental and moral 
 education he had received in his captivity, unjust as it was, 
 tended to improve his character, and to fit him for his sub- 
 sequent usefulness. But this monarch, vmfortunate in his 
 boyhood, met with a corresponding destiny at the close of 
 life. The story of his death is a mournful episode in 
 Scotch history. One night when he was in the Dominican 
 monastery at Perth, with his faithful queen, a band of 
 armed men rushed into the place, and made their way to 
 the royal apartment. Catherine Douglas, a lady in waiting 
 on the queen, thrust her arm through the staple of the door 
 to supply the place of a bolt, but the frail fastening soon 
 snapped in twain, and the conspirators entered. In the 
 mean time the king had been let down by the queen and 
 her ladies into a vault beneath, and might have escaped, 
 but leaving the vault too soon, the assassins discovered 
 their victim, rushed upon him, overpowered his valiant re- 
 sistance, and plunged their weapons in his body. The 
 leading person implicated in his murder was the furious 
 Grahame, a Scottish chief of whom tradition reports that 
 when asked, " How dare you slay your king ?" he replied, 
 " I dare do anything ; I dare leap from the highest heaven
 
 FROM RICHARD II. TO EDWARD IV. 43 
 
 to the pit of hell :" an exclamation highly characteristic 
 of the spirit of many a chieftain of tliose days. 
 
 The early aft'ection and the mournful fate of this orna- 
 ment of the Scottish throne, have shed a soft but melan- 
 choly hue around the tower of Windsor ; and often as the 
 beautiful composition of Washington Irving's is read, that 
 rainbow hue of love and sadness will shine on the reader's 
 soul. I remember, long before I knew Windsor, revelling 
 in the scenes which that little tale awakened, and longing 
 for an opportunity, " on some soft sunny xuorning, when 
 the weather is of that voluptuous kind which calls forth all 
 the latent romance of a man's temperament," to visit the 
 round tower ; pace the deserted chamber ; lean on the 
 window where James looked out ; gaze on the suit of 
 armour hanging up in the hall, and transport myself to 
 days gone by. What, then, was my mortification, when, 
 as a stranger, I first went to see the round tower, and 
 asked, with anxiety, to be shown the rooms where James 
 was imprisoned, to find the workmen dismantling the walls, 
 pulling up the floors, and sweeping away, with most un- 
 romantic diligence, all the romantic charms with which 
 poetry had clothed the spot ! Such alterations do sad 
 violence to the feeling which Irving thus expresses, when 
 visiting the tower as it was : — " There is a charm about the 
 spot that has been printed by the footsteps of departed 
 beauty, and consecrated by the inspirations of the poet, 
 which is heightened rather than impaired by the lapse of 
 ages. It is, indeed, the gift of poetry to hallow every place 
 in which it moves ; to breathe round nature an odour more 
 exquisite than the perfume of the rose ; and to shed over 
 it a tint more magical than the blush of the morning." 
 
 A more elegant and imposing form given to a building — 
 more convenience and comfort spread over an apartment — 
 afford no compensation for the loss of that spell of antique
 
 44 CASTLE, 
 
 beauty wliicli once hallowed such places, and which, when 
 broken, is broken for ever. The resources of wealth and 
 art can easily rear an edifice fit for a monarch's abode, but 
 no power can reproduce a single venerable relic which has 
 perished under the hand of modern utilitarianism. We do 
 not profess to belong to that class of double-dyed anti- 
 quarians who regard as sacred all which is ancient, — who 
 look with equal veneration on old buildings and old laws, 
 old books and old prejudices, the rust which covers a coin, 
 and the rust which corrodes the constitution ; we would 
 let no veneration for the past stand in the way of social 
 improvement, we by no means sympathize with those who 
 crowd round the nodding ruins of cumbrous, useless, and 
 perhaps pernicious institutions, and sigh over the ruthless 
 devastations of reform : but we do plead for the preserva- 
 tion of those antiquities which in no way cross the path of 
 the progress of society, which are the rich remembrances of 
 days gone by, and which assist in giving the past predomi- 
 Bance over the present, — thus raising us " in the scale of 
 thinking beings." 
 
 In the reign of Henry V., the hero of Agincourt, and 
 during the imprisonment of James of Scotland, mention is 
 made in the Black Book of the Order of the Garter, of a 
 splendid solemnization of the feast of St. George at Windsor. 
 It was in the fourth year of the monarch's reign ; and to 
 add to the splendour of the occasion, Sigismund the Em- 
 peror of Germany was present, and was created a knight 
 of the order. " The finery of the guests," says the above- 
 mentioned record, " the order of the servants, the variety of 
 the courses, the invention of the dishes, with the other 
 things delightful to the sight and taste, whoever should en- 
 deavour to describe would never do it justice." It is re- 
 corded that two years later, when the English monarch was 
 engaged in his wars with France, he took care to celebrate
 
 FROM RICHARD II. TO EDWARD IV. 45 
 
 tlie feast of St. George at Caen in Normandy, wliere lie 
 was at the time ; and that on the same day a feast was 
 held at Windsor with due solemnity, John, Duke of Bed- 
 ford, presiding on the occasion as the king's representative ; 
 and thus the patron saint of England this year was doubly 
 honoured. This Duke of Bedford filled the vice-regal office 
 several times ; and there is preserved, in the annals of the 
 Order of the Garter, a commission from Henry VI., which 
 is dated " Leicester, in the fourth year of our reign," and in 
 which he authorizes the duke to be present as his deputy at 
 the next feast at Wyndesor." 
 
 The last-mentioned monarch was born at Windsor, and 
 it seems, in the judgment of his father, under an evil des- 
 tiny. The great warrior appears to have had some skill in 
 astrology, the favourite science of the middle ages ; and, in 
 the anticipation of the birth of an heir, strictly forbade the 
 Queen's residence at that time in Windsor ; over which he 
 thought the stars would then shed no benign influence. 
 Catherine, for some reason, disobeyed the order, and gave 
 birth to her son within the walls of the forbidden fortress ; 
 a circumstance which greatly grieved the king, who, on 
 hearing it, is said to have repeated the following oracular 
 but unpoetical stanza : — 
 
 " I, Henry, 'born at Monmouth, 
 
 Shall small time reign, and much get ; 
 But Henry of Windsor shall reign long, and lose all : 
 But as God will, so be it." 
 
 Both his predictions were verified. He died within a 
 few months after the birth of his boy ; and his queen, who 
 seems to have had a great partiality for Windsor, retired 
 to the castle after her husband's death, to cheer her widow- 
 hood by the nursing of her babe. 
 
 It comes not within the scope of this work to pursue the 
 history of Catherine, or even to relate the bloody wars of
 
 46 CASTLE. 
 
 tlie houses of York and Lancaster, witli whicli tlie fate of 
 her son was identified. That contest, rich in romantic in- 
 cident, but deficient in political and moral interest, as it 
 was no conflict of principles, but merely a war of parties, 
 issued in the dethronement of Henry and the accession of 
 the victorious Edward IV. Both these monarchs are asso- 
 ciated with Windsor in their life and death. Henry 
 probably often visited his birthplace, and pursued here 
 those punctilious and superstitious observances which 
 gained for him the reputation of extreme sanctity, in an 
 age when religion was supposed to consist in habits of 
 monkish devotion. Weak, but amiable, poor Henry stands 
 on the roll of history as an object of pity. Altogether dis- 
 qualified for swaying a sceptre, it had been well for him if, 
 instead of being born to rule a kingdom, he had been the 
 child of some humble peasant, and had spent his life in 
 the lowly pursuits of the field, or the religious exercises of 
 the cloister. Nor were his faculties, feeble in themselves, 
 constantly retained; for he was subject to insanity, of which 
 an instance is related as having occurred at Windsor. 
 Some commissioners came to visit him, to ascertain his 
 capacity for government ; and, when admitted to his cham- 
 ber, could obtain no reply to the questions they proposed. 
 " The Bishop of Chester read to him part of his instruc- 
 tions. To this statement they could get no answer nor 
 sign for none of their prayers or desires. After dinner 
 they moved him again for an answer, but they could get 
 none. From that place they wUled the king to go into 
 another chamber, and he was led between two men to the 
 chamber where he lieth, and there they stirred him the 
 third time ; but they could have no answer, word nor sign, 
 and therefore, with sorrowful hearts, came their way."* 
 
 * Mackintosh's " History of England," vol. ii. p. 18.
 
 FROM RICHARD II. TO EDWARD IV. 47 
 
 As it regards energy of mind, his heroic queen, Margaret, 
 was far more fitted to rule than he ; though as it respects 
 the moral qualities for government, she did not possess 
 such as were most likely to make a nation happy. 
 
 After a life of misfortune, the poor King met a death 
 of violence in the Tower of London. Attempts have been 
 made to discredit the story of his murder ; but there is too 
 much evidence of the fact to admit of its being doubted. 
 On the day of Ascension, May the 22nd, he was borne 
 barefaced on his bier to St. Paul's, when it is reported by 
 ancient chroniclers that the blood streamed from his wounds, 
 in testimony of his violent death — a circumstance which, 
 they relate, occurred again at Blackfriars — whence he was 
 afterwards removed at night, in a lighted barge, to Chertsey 
 Abbey, where his body for a while reposed. As one reads 
 the account in the old historians, that barge, with its royal 
 corpse, gliding along " the silent highway" of the Thames, 
 and shedding on the waters a melancholy light, passes 
 before the imagination an emblem of fallen greatness, and 
 rich in moral lessons of the vanity of this world. 
 
 Margaret, broken down by sorrow, was removed from the 
 Tower, where she had been long imprisoned, and taken to 
 Windsor, where she remained till she was removed to 
 Wallingford under the charge of Alice Chaucer, Dowager 
 Duchess of Suffolk, and granddaughter of the celebrated 
 poet. 
 
 The body of Henry did not find its final resting-place 
 at Chertsey, but was afterwards brought, in the time of 
 Richard III., to St. George's Chapel. " The holy body," 
 we are gravely told, "on this occasion was found very 
 odoriferous, which was not owing to any spices employed 
 about it when it was interred by his enemies and tor- 
 mentors. It was in a great measure uncorrupted ; the hair 
 of the head and body perfect ; the face as usual, but some-
 
 48 CASTLE. 
 
 what sunk, with a more meagre aspect than common. A 
 number of miracles immediately proclaimed the king's 
 sanctity, as sufficiently appears from the written account of 
 them there."* " He was interred," says Sandford, " under 
 a fair monument, of which there are now no remains. The 
 arch on the south side of the chapel, between the choir and 
 the altar, under which he was deposited, was gilt and 
 painted with several devices of this king ; on the keystone 
 of which are carved his royal arms, ensigned with a crown, 
 and supported by two antelopes collared and chained toge- 
 ther ; in the south window of which arch was pencilled the 
 history of his life in coloured glass, which, with many more 
 windows in the same chapel, was defaced in the late 
 rebellion." t 
 
 Stow relates the removal of Henry's body to Windsor, 
 and adds, " He was worshipped by the name of the Holy 
 King Henry, whose red hat of velvet was thought to heal 
 the headache of such as should put it on their heads. 
 There he rested for a time ; but now, his tomb being taken 
 thence, it is not commonly known what is become of the 
 body." Stow's supposition of the removal of the body 
 probably arose from the fact that a bull was obtained from 
 Julius II. to allow the removal of the monarch's remains, 
 but the purpose of the bull was never carried into effect. 
 An application was also made to Kome for the canonisation 
 of Henry, a project which, like the other, remained unac- 
 complished. Though no altar was ever erected to this 
 unfortunate prince, we find that prayers to him were in- 
 serted in service-books in the early part of the sixteenth 
 century. 
 
 Gough gives the design of a splendid monument for 
 Henry VI. ; but whether it was intended for St. George's 
 
 * Gough's " Monumental Antiquities," p. 231. 
 t " Genealogical History of the Kings of England/' p. 298.
 
 FROM RICHARD II. TO EDWARD IV. 49 
 
 Cliapel or Westminster Abbey does not appear. In con- 
 nexion with the history of Henry's burial, it may be here 
 observed, that in the year 1789, when the workmen were 
 preparing for the new pavement of the aisle in which he is 
 interred, they found the entrance of the vault, but were 
 directed not to open it. 
 
 Edward IV., whose white rose was drenched in blood 
 while the red rose of his rival was pale in death, appears 
 to have made "Windsor Castle the scene of ma2:nificent 
 pageants. Stow gives an account of the celebration of 
 St. George's Feast at Windsor, in the sixteenth year of 
 Edward's reign. 
 
 And as we read the graphic pages of the old annalist, 
 we see the knights entering the castle yard on Saturday 
 afternoon with bands of retainers. There in the chapel 
 sits the king in his stall, with a long line of knights 
 arranged on either side ; while the priests at the altar and 
 the esquires and heralds standing on the pavement of the 
 choir present a display of glittering pomp, rendered some- 
 what sombre by the gathering shadows of the evening. We 
 listen to the service chanted by the priests and minstrels, 
 as the stern old warriors are melted into tender mood, till 
 the last echoes of the evensong melt into silence. The 
 plumed knights are seen returning to the castle, the vesper 
 star shines softly over the grey towers, the shades of night 
 thicken, and all is still. At Sunday morning mass, the 
 prelate of the order, with his attendant priests, the pompous 
 worship, the ascending incense, the uplifted host, the wor- 
 shippers with bowed heads and bended knees, are all before 
 us. The feast in St. George's Hall, and the offering in the 
 royal clapel, with all their chivalrous associations, also pass 
 before our imagination. But these exciting dreams of 
 olden times, however they may interest us in the review, 
 were marked by a state of society, of manners, and of reli- 
 
 E
 
 50 CASTLE. 
 
 gion, by no means to be desired, and wliicli are now suc- 
 ceeded by times of purer, though less gorgeous brightness. 
 
 Mention is made in Stow's description of the perform- 
 ance of vespers in the royal chapel, and it may be interest- 
 ing here to notice an account which is preserved of the 
 choral establishment of the monarch. It appears that it 
 included thirteen minstrels, whereof some were trumpets, 
 some shawms, some pipes. Their pay was fourpence a day, 
 beside clothing and other rewards. They were allowed 
 every evening four gallons of ale, three wax candles, six 
 of pitch, and four billets of wood. Two servants were 
 appointed to wait on them. Dinner was provided in a 
 common hall. Besides the minstrels, there were eight 
 choristers, placed under the direction of the dean, or " of 
 the master of the song assigned to teach them."* Though 
 this account does not refer to the Windsor establishment, 
 yet that in all probability was of a similar kind. Of the 
 banquets of the period we have also some full descriptions. 
 Most persons have read of the entertainment once given in 
 the fifteenth century by the Archbishop of York, when 104 
 oxen, 6 wild bulls, 1000 sheep, 304 calves, as many swine, 
 2000 pigs, 500 stags, bucks, and roes, and 204 kids, were 
 provided; besides 22,512 fowls, large and small, rare and 
 common; with mountains offish, pasties, tarts, and jellies; 
 and rivers of ale and wine, to say nothing of twelve por- 
 poises and seals. At the end of a substantial course, it 
 was not unfrequent in those days to introduce a dish called 
 " Subtilty," consisting of curious figures made of jellies and 
 confectionary, to represent men and animals, or allegorical 
 characters illustrative of some event intended to be com- 
 memorated by the feast, with a label on them couched in 
 quaint enigmatic language. 
 
 * " Pictorial History of England," vol. ii. p. 235.
 
 FROM RICHARD II. TO EDWARD IV. 51 
 
 In the tliirteenth year of liis reign, Edward IV. appointed 
 Eichard Beauchamp, Bishop of Salisbury, to the office of 
 surveyor of the chapel, and gave him full authority to 
 remove whatever might be necessary to make room for the 
 erection of the new edifice.* In consequence of this, three 
 towers, and some other buildings on the east and north 
 sides of the chapel were pulled down, and the materials 
 employed in repairing the castle. The new chapel was 
 soon commenced, and the work was speedily prosecuted ; 
 for within five years it was ready to receive the bells, and 
 contracts were entered into for carving the stalls in the 
 choir. Most of the stone was brought by water from 
 Tainton in Oxfordshire, and some came from Caen in 
 Normandy, whence, as every one knows, large supplies of 
 stone were often obtained for ecclesiastical edifices in the 
 middle ages. The timber was procured from places in the 
 neighbourhood of Windsor. Many entries in the accounts 
 of Bishop Beauchamp, which have been preserved, throw 
 light upon the expenditure incurred in the undertaking. 
 There is an entry in the eighteenth year of King Edward's 
 reign, of 9755 feet of stone, at 2s. a foot; of £151 12s., 
 for the conveyance of stone from Tainton to Windsor 
 Bridge; of £29 10s. 3|J. for the carriage of timber ; of 
 £141 8s. Id. for materials and stores necessary for the 
 prosecution of the works ; and £556 6s. l^d. for workmen. 
 Several entries of charges for carved work also appear. 
 Six tabernacles for the choir, made by Eobert Ellis and 
 John Filles, cost £40 ; and St. George and the Dragon, 
 with St. Edward and other saints, were paid for at the rate 
 of 5s. the foot in length. Other years furnish other 
 examples of sums paid for timber, stone, and workmen. 
 
 * Mr. Britton thinks it is more likely that Edward IV. enlarged, 
 altered, and embellished the royal chapel, than that he built it anew. 
 — "Architectural Antiquities," vol. iii. i). 28. 
 
 e2
 
 52 CASTLE. 
 
 The funds for the erection of this noble structure were 
 obtained from the estates of Lords Shrewsbury, Wiltshire, 
 and Morley, who were minors at the time, and wards of 
 his majesty ; a fact illustrative of the unjust prerogatives 
 of the crown at that period, and by no means calculated to 
 reflect honour upon the royal builder, or to add pleasing 
 associations to the origin of an edifice devoted to the service 
 of religion. 
 
 At the time of Edward IV.'s death, the eastern portion 
 of the church was ropfed, and the choir nearly finished. 
 The roof of Lincoln Chapel, with the adjoining compart- 
 ment at the east end of the south aisle, the corresponding 
 compartment on the north side, and the passage at the back 
 of the altar, are the only portions which could have been 
 executed by Beauchamp. After his death, the works were 
 carried on by Sir Reginald Bray, who seems to have 
 united the talents of a statesman with the genius of an 
 architect. He was an important agent in the elevation of 
 Henry VII. to the throne, and promoted the marriage 
 between that prince and Elizabeth, the daughter of 
 Edward IV., an union which happily terminated the long- 
 continued animosity between the rival houses of York and 
 Lancaster. His patriotism and integrity are celebrated by 
 Polydor Vergil, but his talents and virtues do not seem to 
 have ever been fully appreciated by posterity. So devoted 
 was he to the erection of St. George's Chapel, that he 
 liberally contributed to it while he lived, and devoted all 
 his property to the same object after his death. He died 
 in 1502, and in his will he directed that his executors 
 should, after his decease, " cause a convenient tombe to be 
 made in the said chapell upon his grave in aU goodly 
 haste ;" and that thirteen poor men and women yearly 
 should receive a pound each at "the dore of the said 
 chapell." The directions respecting his tomb were most
 
 FROM RICHARD II. TO EDWARD IV. 
 
 53 
 
 ungratefully disregarded, and no monument but the build- 
 ing itself, which he so zealously carried forward, remains to 
 perpetuate his fame. Dr. Christopher Urswick was for 
 some time associated with Sir Reginald Bray in superin- 
 tending the works in St. George's Chapel. He was raised 
 to the Deanery of Windsor in 1495, after having been one 
 of the canons for a considerable period. Like his coadjutor, 
 he possessed talents as a statesman, and was employed by 
 Henry VII. on several important foreign embassies. In 
 the year 1505 he resigned his preferments, and retired to 
 the rectory of Hackney, where he spent the remainder of 
 his days, and died in 1521. The little chapel containing 
 the well-known cenotaph of the Princess Charlotte, still 
 bears his name ; and the dean's residence, erected at his 
 expense, is an instance of his liberality.* 
 
 * The following is an account of the yearly expenses of St. George's 
 Chapel, hi the latter part of the fifteenth century, extracted from the 
 Sloane MSS. in the British Museum, No. 4847 : — 
 
 " To y-^ deane .... 
 Item, xii. chanons 
 Item, XV. vicars 
 Item, a gospeller 
 
 Item, y<= apisteler and organ player 
 Item, xiii. queresters 
 Item, xiii. clerlccs 
 Item, y*-' sacristaries 
 Item, y" hellringers . 
 
 Item, ii. chauntry priests for King Edward 
 Item, ii. for Dutchess Exetur 
 Item, i. for Bishop of Sarum 
 Item, 
 
 Item, a verger 
 Item, y'^ clerk of y*' counts 
 Brede, wine, wax, oyle 
 Item, officers outward and inward 
 For rydlng officers, &c. the errands necessarie 
 Pees to councell lerned 
 " £23 Is. Sd. to y« 2 chaplins, by y-^ king's letters patent ; £20 by 
 y* grant which follows of y*^ said letters." 
 
 Lords Ferrars and Hastings 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d 
 
 . 100 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 240 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 150 
 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 . 52 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 130 
 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 13 
 
 4 
 
 . 26 
 
 13 
 
 4 
 
 . 16 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 13 
 
 4 
 
 . 16 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 10 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 20 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 20 
 
 
 
 
 
 3 20 
 
 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 
 

 
 54 CASTLE. 
 
 Before the Reformation, several shrines adorned the 
 chapels in this interesting edifice. In one of these, now 
 called Lincoln Chapel, at the east end of the south aisle, 
 there once stood the shrine of John Shorne, who was rector 
 of Northmarston in Buckinghamshire in the year 1290. He 
 was held in high reputation for the healing virtues he had 
 impaiied to a holy well in the neighbourhood where he 
 lived, and for other miracles he had wrought ; one of 
 which, the feat of conjuring the devil into a boot, was so 
 remarkable as to be represented on the east window of 
 his church. Bishop Beauchamp obtained permission to 
 remove the shrine of this wonderful man from Northmar- 
 ston, where it formerly stood, to any place he pleased ; and 
 as a mark of his special regard for St. George's Chapel, 
 Windsor, he caused the precious treasure to be placed 
 there. 
 
 The beautiful fabric attached to the east end of the choir 
 of the chapel, and covering the royal mausoleum, was 
 erected during the reign of Henry VII., and was intended 
 by that monarch as a burial-place for himself. In .Rymer's 
 " Foedera" there is a papal bull granting Henry the right 
 of preparing an edifice connected with the chapel of St. 
 George, in which he might choose himself a sepulchre.* 
 The king, however, altered his purpose, and prepared for 
 himself a more noble resting-place in the chapel at West- 
 minster. The former building, at least the interior, was 
 left in an unfinished state ; and in the reign of Henry VIII. 
 was given by him to his favourite, Wolsey. 
 
 During the reign of Edward IV. a serious collision oc- 
 curred between the dean and canons of Windsor and the 
 alms-knights connected with the chapel. As early as the 
 
 * " Proponat unam capellam in Ecclesia S. Georgii, in qua 
 sepulturam suam eligere intendit, de propriis bonis suis fundare et 
 construere." — Eynier, " Feed." vol. xii. p. 565.
 
 FROM RICHAED II. TO EDWARD IV. 55 
 
 time of Henry VI. disputes had commenced respecting tlie 
 allowances made to the latter, who complained of being 
 deprived of their rights ; but in the tenth year of Henry's 
 reign, the arrears were appointed to be forthwith paid ; and in 
 case the treasurer of the college became negligent in future, he 
 was to forfeit his own daily allowance until he settled the 
 account with the alms-knights. But the differences be- 
 tween the parties afterwards became so serious, that an act 
 of Parliament was passed in the twenty-second year of the 
 reign of Edward IV., containing this clause : " That the 
 dean and canons, and their successors, should for evermore 
 be utterly quit and discharged from all manner of exhibition 
 or charge of or for any of the said knights." " This was, 
 under cover," says Ashmole, " that the king had greatly 
 augmented the number of the ministers of the chapel, and 
 that the revenue was insufficient to maintain them and the 
 alms -knights : but in the dean and canons' answer to the 
 knights' petition to repeal this act, the cause is alleged for 
 that some of these knights used their utmost endeavours 
 before this act to incorporate themselves, and to be exempt 
 from the obedience and rule of the dean and canons."* 
 
 Some of the accounts preserved of the complaints made 
 by the alms-knights about this time are very amusing. It 
 seems that a last of red herrings, from the town of Yar- 
 mouth, was annually sent for the use of the college, and 
 hence the alms-knights considered that they had a right to 
 a share of the herrings : but they complained that while 
 the canons yearly caused the said herrings to be received at 
 Yarmouth, and brought to Windsor at the cost of the com- 
 mon revenues of the college, the canons residentiary take 
 care to divide the fishes among themselves, excluding the 
 knights from their portion ; yet they state that the dean 
 
 # « 
 
 History of the Garter," p. 97.
 
 56 CASTLE. 
 
 and six of the canons did by no means approve of this 
 arrangement, but tliought that the herrings should be 
 deemed part of the common revenues.* 
 
 The breach between the canons and alms-knights has 
 never been healed, and the latter still complain that they 
 do not enjoy the rights which should accrue to them ac- 
 cording to the will of the founder of the college. 
 
 Of the furniture of the castle and the fashions of the 
 court during the reign of Edward IV., there are some 
 curious illustrations to be found in an account written by 
 Louis of Bruges, Lord of Grauthuse, who paid a visit to 
 the king and his queen, Elizabeth Woodville. "When 
 the Lord of Grauthuse came to Windsor, my Lord Hastings 
 received him, and led him to the far side of the quadrat 
 (quadrangle), to three chambers where the king was then 
 Avith his queen." These apartments were very richly hung 
 with cloth of gold arras ; and when he had spoken with 
 the king, who presented him to the queen's grace, they then 
 ordered the Lord Chamberlain, Hastings, to conduct him 
 to his chamber, where supper was ready for him. After 
 
 * The following is an extract on the subject frona the MSS. in 
 the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford : — 
 
 "The said chanons embesille withdrawe yerely a last of rede 
 herings which the towne of Yarmouth hath geven to the sustenance 
 of the said collage generally and in speciall wordes as hit may appere 
 more playnley by a copie of a dede therof made by the gevers 
 whereof a copie to these presents is annexed.' Howe be it that 
 the said chanons yerely make the said herings to be received at 
 Yarmouth and brought to Wyndesore at the cost of the comon 
 revenues of the said collage agens the injuncions and the wille of the 
 said dipane, notwithstanding that the said herings is yerely devyded 
 among the chanons residencers of the said collage. And yit the 
 deane vj of the said chanons have full drelinged and ther names by 
 ther ovvne handes writen set therto that the said herings shuld be 
 part of the revenues and help to bere the comon charge of the said 
 collage as it hath been used of old tyme and as the said dede makith 
 mencion." 
 
 ^ Temp. Henry IV.
 
 FROM RICHARD II. TO EDWARD IV. 57 
 
 supper, lie went to the queen's withdrawing-room, where 
 she and some of her ladies were playing at the marteaux* 
 and the rest at closheys-\ of ivory or other games. " In the 
 morning," the writer proceeds, " when matins were done, 
 the king heard in his own chapel (that of St. George, at 
 Windsor Castle), Our Lady mass, which was most melodi- 
 ously sung. Then the king came into the quadrant. My 
 lord prince, also, borne by his chamberlain, called Master 
 Vaughan, bade the Lord Grauthuse welcome. Then the 
 king took his guest into the little park, where they had 
 great sport : there the king made him ride on his own 
 horse, a right fair hobby, the which the king gave him. 
 The king's dinner was ordained in the lodge in Windsor 
 Park. After dinner, the king showed his guest his garden 
 and vineyard of pleasure. The king, queen, and divers 
 ladies and gentlemen afterwards conducted their visitor to 
 his apartments, which are described as being hung with 
 white silk and linen cloth, and the floor covered with 
 carpets. The bed was of down ; the sheets of Eennes 
 cloth ; the counterpane, cloth of gold furred with ermine ; 
 the tester and ceiler also of the same material ; the curtains 
 of white sarcenet ; the head, suit, and pillows of the queen's 
 own ordering. In the second chamber was another state 
 bed, all white ; a couch covered like a tent, and a cup- 
 board. In the third chamber was a bath, covered with 
 white cloth. All this indicates not only splendour, but 
 comfort ; and, indeed, every provision seems to have been 
 made for the most luxurious entertainment of this great 
 lord ; for just after he had been in the bath, and was pre- 
 paring for bed, there was sent to him, by order of the queen, 
 " green ginger, divers syrups, comfits, and hyppocras." In 
 the morning he took Ms cup with the king, and returned 
 
 * A game with balls, like marbles. 
 f Nine-pins made of ivory.
 
 58 CASTLE. 
 
 to Westminster, higMy delighted, no doubt, with his visit 
 to Windsor and the hospitable reception he had expe- 
 rienced there.* 
 
 But from all this splendour Edward was shortly after 
 snatched by the hand of death ; leaving behind him the 
 reputation of possessing more mental vigour than the rival 
 he had dethroned, but none of his gentleness and purity. He 
 lies in St, George's Chapel, in the aisle opposite to that in 
 which Henry is entombed j — the grave, that mournful peace- 
 maker, having long since quelled those animosities which 
 for years rocked the kingdom with tempests and deluged it 
 with blood. " The body was placed in a chariot drawn by 
 six horses, and so went to Charing Cross, where the chariot 
 was censed ; and from thence to Syon, where it was re- 
 ceived that night with the usual ceremonies : from thence, 
 on the next morning they departed in good order to Eaton, 
 where they were received by the procession of Windsor ; 
 and at the castle gate the Archbishop of York and the 
 Bishop of Winchester censed the corpse : and from thence 
 they passed to the new church, where, in the choir, was 
 ordained a marvellous well-wrought hearse, being that 
 night watched with a good company of nobles and esquires 
 of the body, and was there buried with all solemnity."f 
 
 In the year 1789 the coffin of Edward IV. was dis- 
 covered by some workmen. It was of lead, seven feet 
 long, and was much compressed in some parts, and a little 
 decayed. On opening it, the entire skeleton was found, 
 measuring six feet three inches and a half in length. Some 
 brown hair was found lying near the skull and neck. The 
 coffin also contained a liquid, which at the feet was three 
 inches deep, and which Dr. Lind, who examined it, pro- 
 
 * The document from which this description is taken is given in 
 Miss Strickland's " Lives of the Queens of England," vol. iii. p. 335. 
 t "Genealogical History of the Kings of England," p. 392.
 
 FROM RICHARD II. TO EDWARD IV. 59 
 
 nounced to be the result of tlie decomposition of the 
 body.* 
 
 Elizabeth Woodville (or, as it is spelt on her tomb, 
 Widville) survived her royal husband, and at the same time 
 survived her peace and happiness ; for, after his decease, 
 troubles came, wave on wave, with overwhelming force. 
 After a series of misfortunes, she died at Bermondsey, 
 where she had spent her last days in monastic seclusion. 
 In her will she said, " I bequeath my body to be buried 
 with the body of my lord at Windsor, without pompous 
 interring or costly expenses thereabout ;" a direction ob- 
 served to the letter, if we are to believe an account of her 
 funeral written by an eye-witness. " On Whitsunday the 
 Queen Dowager's corpse was conveyed by water to Windsor, 
 and there privily through the little park conducted unto 
 the castle, without any ringing of bells or receiving of the 
 Dean, but only accompanied by the Prior of the Charter- 
 house and Dr. Brent, Mr. Haute, and Mistress Grace, a 
 bastard daughter of King Edward IV., and no other gentle- 
 women ; and as it was told to me, the priest of the college 
 received her in the castle (Windsor), and so, privily, about 
 eleven of the clock, she was buried, without any solemn 
 dirge done for her obit." The hearse was such as was used 
 for common people, with wooden candlesticks round it. 
 " Neither at the dirge were the twelve poor men clad 
 in black, but a dozen diversf old men, and they held old 
 torches and torches' ends." " The ladies came not to the 
 mass of requiem, and the lords sat about in the quire." 
 
 * Gough's " Monumental Antiquities," vol. ii. p. 278. 
 t That is, dressed in the many-coloured garments of poverty.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE TUDOR S. 
 
 HE opening of the sixteentli century found 
 Henry VII. occupying tlie throne of Eng- 
 land, occasionally residing at Windsor, and 
 maintaining the pomp and pageantry of 
 the Order of the Garter. It was there 
 that, in the year 1556 he received Philip the Fair, the hus- 
 band of the imbecile Joanna, Queen of Castile, and be- 
 stowed on him the honour of knighthood, Numerous 
 allusions are made by Ashmole to the ceremonial of his 
 installation, which seems to have been conducted with un- 
 usual splendour. The herald, with due solemnity, relates 
 the affair, and introduces, in black letter, the following 
 quaint quotation, containing an account of the furniture of 
 the castle : — " To wit, of the gret rich cobbord, which con- 
 tinually stode in the gret hall, which was all gilt plate, or 
 of the gret and rich beds of estate, hangings of rich cloth 
 of gold, or of the rich and sumptuous clothes of arras, with 
 divers clothes of estate, both in the king's loggings, and in 
 the King of Castile's loggings, so many chambers, haulls, 
 chappels, closettes, galleries, with odir loggings, so richly 
 and very well appointed, with divers odir things, that I 
 suffice or cannot discern, and as I suppose few or none that 
 there were, that ever saw castell or odir loggings in all 
 things so well and richly appointed, and the gret continual
 
 THE TUDOES. 61 
 
 fare open liouseliold, so many noble men so well appareilled 
 and with so short warnyng, heretofore as I think hath not 
 been seen." A full account of the arrival of the king has 
 been dug out of the Cotton MSS. by the indeftitigable 
 authors of the " Annals of Windsor ;"* whence it appears 
 that the reception was conducted with wonderful state 
 and ceremony ; the king riding a mule out of Windsor to 
 receive his Spanish guest, and welcoming him with a polite- 
 ness that must have charmed the Castilian, " As the king 
 perceived that the King of Castile's hat was off, he took off 
 his hat, and would not do it on till the King of Castile 
 was almost ready to do on his. And so went up the stairs, 
 and so passed through the upper gallery to the king's 
 great chamber, which was richly hanged with cloth of 
 arras, &c." 
 
 It was during this visit at Windsor that the following 
 conversation occurred, which may be taken as illustrative 
 of the crafty disposition which characterized Henry VII. 
 Philip had been driven by storms on the coast of England, 
 and contrary to his own wishes had visited Windsor. 
 " ' Sir,' said Henry to Philip, ' you have been saved upon 
 mv coast, I hope you will not suffer me to be wrecked on 
 yours.' The latter asked what he meant. ' I mean,' said 
 the king, ' that hair-brained wild fellow, the Earl of Suffolk,! 
 who is protected in your dominions.' ' I thought,' replied 
 Philip, ' your felicity had been above such thoughts ; but 
 if it trouble you, I will banish him.' ' These hornets,' 
 said the king, ' are best in their nests, and worst when they 
 
 * Vol. i. 434. 
 t "The persecution of a Yorkist," says Mackintosh, who gives 
 the conversation from Bacon, " was still the favonrite pursuit of the 
 English monarch. He chose a moment of courteous and kind inter- 
 course to sound Philip on the means of removing the jealousy, or 
 satisfying the revenge, of which one of the most unhappy of these 
 exiles was the object."—" History of England," vol. ii. p. 95.
 
 62 CASTLE. 
 
 % abroad. Let him be delivered to me.' 'That,' said 
 Philip, ' can I not do with my honour, and less with yours ; 
 for you will be thought to have used me as a prisoner.' 
 ' Then,' said the king with ready shrewdness and craft, ' the 
 matter is at an end ; for I wUl take that dishonour upon 
 me, and so your honour is saved.' Philip closed the con- 
 versation with equal quickness, and more honourable 
 address : ' Sir, you give law to me, so will I to you. You 
 shall have him ; but upon your honour you shall not take 
 his life.' The very ill-fated man in question was Edmund 
 de la Pole, the nephew of Edward IV. He was committed to 
 the Tower on his arrival in England. The king kept the 
 word of promise during the short sequel of his own reign, 
 but left directions for perpetrating the perfidious murder 
 among the dying injunctions to his son."* 
 
 From the period of the accession of Richard III. to the 
 reign of Henry VII., nothing of interest occurred in con- 
 nexion with the castle works. The latter monarch erected 
 that part which now appears between the Star Buildings and 
 the Elizabeth Gallery. " Of two lofty oriels, on the compli- 
 cated plan in fashion at that period, which originally 
 decorated the north front, one has disappeared, and the 
 other has suffered great wrong. The interior front has 
 been also materially altered by Sir Jeffrey Wyatville, but 
 with a judgment that has left its character unimpaired."t 
 
 The works in St. George's Chapel proceeded during the 
 early part of the sixteenth century. The fan-tracery of 
 the roof, at the intersection of the cross of the chapel, was 
 no doubt executed at that time ; and it occupies the place 
 where, according to the original design for the chapel, a 
 lantern was to have been erected. This contemplated 
 
 * Mackintosh's " History of England," vol. li. p. 96. 
 t Introduction to " Illustrations of Windsor Castle."
 
 THE TUDORS. 63 
 
 addition to tlie beautiful stnicture does not, however, seem 
 to have been altogether abandoned even after the com- 
 pletion of the gi-oined roof, as allusion is made to it in 
 records of a later date ; the lantern, consequently, must 
 have been intended merely for external decoration. The 
 groining of the side aisles of the choir, which are ex- 
 tremely fine, and have an imposing effect, was not executed 
 till some years later. The occurrence in that part of the 
 church of the royal arms, bearing a label, seems to indicate 
 that the building was not completed till some period 
 posterior to the birth of Edward VI., which happened in 
 1537 — an assumption confirmed by the fact of an entry in 
 the records of the Garter of that year, alluding to the 
 finishing of the fabric of the church, and to its being paid 
 for without delay. 
 
 In connexion with the chapel, there was a building 
 erected in the year 1519 which requires at least a passing 
 notice.* Until very lately there were some finely carved 
 canopied niches, an embattled wall, and an old doorway 
 
 * "This house, called the 'New Commons,' has for many years 
 been converted into one of the canons' houses, and during the time 
 that Lord Francis Seymour was possessed of it in his right as canon, 
 he caused to he removed several figures in old stained glass, which 
 were in an east window in a long inner room at the top of the 
 house, intended most probably for a library for the chantry priests 
 and choristers : the figures were half-lengths of Aristotle, Plato, and 
 Socrates, as the inscription under them showed. The faces were 
 very fine, and in high preservation, but the drapery was broken and 
 very much damaged. 
 
 " In the window of the buttery, looking into the hall, were the 
 remains of two round panes of stained glass, which exhibited a barrel 
 or tun, or, charged with a scallop shell, arpent; having these letters, 
 D E N, in the middle of it, which, according to the fashion of those 
 times, is clearly a rebus for Denton — the name of the founder. 
 
 " He assisted in the erection of a similar building at Lichfield." — 
 MS. note in a copy of the " History of Windsor," in the Dean and 
 Chapter's Library.
 
 64 CASTLE. 
 
 built up in front of one of the houses opposite the north 
 door of the chapeL This interesting architectural relic 
 bore the following inscription : "Edes pro mcellanorum et 
 choristarum, conviviis extructce, a.d. 1519 ;" and formed a 
 part of a building erected for " the lodging and dieting of 
 such of the chantry priests, choristers, and stipendiary 
 priests as had no certain place within the college where to 
 hold commons in, but were constrained to eat their meals 
 in sundry houses of the town." So runs the expression of 
 the founder's design, who was a certain John Denton, Canon 
 of Windsor and Dean of Lichfield ; at the latter of which 
 places he erected a building of a similar kind. The house 
 was provided originally with all needful furniture, and set 
 apart for the use of the persons specified. It cost 
 £489 7s. It/.; and the following items of expense are still 
 preserved in the Ashmolean MSS. The cost of furnishing 
 the house was =£22 10s. ; the hall, £2 14s.; the pantry, 
 £2 5s. 5d.; the kitchen, £6 lis. 7^d.; the cook's chamber, 
 lis. 4|c?. ; the storehouse, £7 6s. 8d.; and sundries, £2. 
 Honest John Denton no doubt thought that the hospitable 
 roof he had reared would be preserved, in perpetuo, as a 
 friendly shelter for the poor priests and choristers who had 
 no settled home ; that the hall would ever witness the well- 
 spread table ; and the kitchen smile with roasting fires for 
 the use of his beneficiaries ; but long since all disappeared, 
 except the doorway, which trifling fragment was incorpo- 
 rated with one of the prebendal houses. But the whole 
 building now has shared the fate of the prayers for his 
 soul which he requested that the choristers should ofier 
 as they entered the chapel ; and even the old arch with 
 its quaint-looking inscription no longer remains. This last 
 memento of the kind-hearted canon was swept away 
 about a year ago. 
 
 During the reign of Henry VIII. the cLief addition made
 
 THE TUDORS. 65 
 
 to the castle was the' gateway which still bears his name.* 
 Though considerably repaired and renewed, it still retains 
 much of its original character. The rose, portcullis, and 
 fleur de lis, the badges of the monarch, continue to orna- 
 ment the exterior front of the building ; and on the other 
 side of the gateway, facing the chapel, there is a specimen 
 of those wide windows which characterized the Tudor 
 style of domestic architecture. Another relic of the 
 same period, of a different character, yet illustrative of the 
 state of the arts at that time, is a beautifully wrought 
 shield, preserved in the guard-room of the castle. This 
 was presented to Henry VIII. by Francis I., at the memo- 
 rable interview of those sovereigns on the Field of the Cloth 
 of Gold. It was executed, it. is said, by the famous 
 artist, Benvenuto Cellini, whose strangely romantic history, 
 written by himself, presents a lively picture of the state of 
 the arts and of the habits of society on the continent of 
 Europe at the time in which he lived. Hence the shield, 
 besides the interest attached to it as a work of art, 
 connects with it historical associations almost as numerous 
 as the groups of figures which it elaborately represents. 
 
 A curious peep into the domestic economy of the 
 castle at this time is opened in an inventory made 
 in the thirtieth year of Henry VIII. " of such ward- 
 robe stuff of the beds as remain within the standing 
 wardrobe in Windsor Castle." It contains the particulars 
 of eight beds, some of which are described as sore worn 
 and needing to be amended. They were of satin, 
 Tartar hanging, crape, tawney silk, and silk of baudekyn.f 
 We find Henry VIII. repeatedly at Windsor, enjoying 
 
 * He also enlarged the Home Park by the addition of certain 
 lands in Windsor and Datcliet, the property of Sir John Norris, for 
 which he gave in exchange certain estates at Wallingford, Swincome, 
 and Ewelui. 
 
 f " Domestic Architecture," vol. iii. p. 100. 
 
 F
 
 66 CASTLE. 
 
 himself tliere with his " out-of-door" amusements — shoot- 
 ing, hunting, hawking, fishing, horse-racing, and playing at 
 tennis ; and in-doors, busy with backgammon, shovel-board, 
 dice, and cards, witnessing dogs' tricks, and laying wagers 
 and rewarding feats for eating bucks, and riding two hours 
 at a time. In the midst of these unkingly recreations 
 occurred the bestowment of the title of " Duke of Shore- 
 ditch" upon Barlow, the famous London archer, who per- 
 formed before him at Windsor. Rusticating at the castle, 
 Henry wished to have his letters conveyed as speedily as 
 possible. It was complained that as to posts between 
 London and the court there were none but two ; that some- 
 times there were more than a couple of despatches in a day, 
 and the post had to ride northward and southward — " too 
 moche," it is said, " for one horse or one man." 
 
 Edward, Duke of Buckingham, a distinguished favourite 
 of Henry VIII., excited his displeasure, and was condemned 
 for treason in the year 1 521. Being a Knight of the Garter, 
 he was therefore degraded from the noble order, treason 
 being one of the chief offences for which the penalty of 
 degradation is inflicted. The ceremony connected with the 
 removal of his arms and ensigns from the stall he occupied 
 in St. George's Chapel is thus described by Ashmole, and 
 in illustration of the ancient forms connected with such a 
 proceeding, it is here introduced. Garter was sent to 
 demand the badges of his knighthood. He then took 
 down his achievements in the royal chapel. First, he 
 " read aloud the instrument of degradation ; after which 
 one of the heralds, who was placed ready on a ladder set 
 to the back of the convict knight's stall, at the words 
 ' expelled and put from among the arms,' took his crest, 
 and violently cast it down into the choir, after that his 
 banner and sword; and, when the publication w^as read out, 
 all the officers of arms spurned the achievements out of the
 
 THE TUDORS. 67 
 
 choir into the body of the church — first the sword, then 
 the banner, and last of all the crest — so out of the west 
 door, thence to the bridge, and over the ditch." 
 
 During the reign of Henry VIII. the Order of the Garter 
 seems to have flourished in all its splendour. The taste of 
 the monarch could not fail to delight in its gorgeous 
 pageants. He directed his attention to the statutes of the 
 order, and in the fourteenth year of his reign introduced 
 some alterations, which are described and discussed by 
 Ashmole and Austis with as much profound attention as if 
 they were laws of the empire upon which the fortunes 
 and lives of millions depended. In connexion with this 
 very important reformation, an account is preserved of a 
 magnificent cavalcade of the sovereign and knights to 
 Windsor on the eve of the grand feast. 
 
 " The king entered Windsor with his great horses — that 
 is to say, nine coursers — with nine children of honour upon 
 them, and the master of the king's horses upon another 
 great courser's back following them, having and leading the 
 king's horse of estate in his hand — that is to say, a rich 
 courser with a rich saddle, and trapped and garnished — 
 following the king, and so entered the castle. 
 
 " At the castle gate the ministers of the college received 
 the king with procession ; and the king and knights of the 
 order, at the church door, took their mantles and entered 
 the choir, and stood before their stalls till the sovereign 
 had oifered and returned to his stall ; then every knight 
 offered according to his degree, as by statute is ordained, and 
 entered their stalls ; which was a long ceremony, or ever 
 they had all offered, because of the great number of knights 
 that were then present, which were nineteen in number 
 beside the sovereign. The offering done — putting off their 
 mantles at the church door- — all rode before the king from 
 the college unto the quadrate of the castle, and so conveyed 
 
 f2
 
 68 CASTLE. 
 
 Ms higliness to his lodgings. The king had attendant on 
 him all the officers at arms, wearing their coats of arms, 
 and all his trumpeters which blew the entry of the king all 
 the time of the said entry." 
 
 Leaving this flourish of trumpets, which may serve as no 
 inappropriate introduction of the distinguished character 
 now to be noticed, we will call attention for a moment to 
 Cardinal Wolsey, in connexion with that elegant chapel 
 which was given him by Henry, and which has ever since 
 been designated by his name. At the time of which we 
 have just been speaking, Wolsey was enjoying the zenith 
 of his master's favour : rising from an obscure origin, he 
 had mounted above the rank of nobles to be second in the 
 kingdom ; and only on the throne was Henry greater than 
 he. Having received from the monarch the princely dona- 
 tion of the tomb -house attached to the royal chapel, Wolsey 
 intended that it should be a fit mausoleum for his remains. 
 We should expect that the man who raised the splendid 
 palace of Hampton, and who lived in a state of pomp 
 which crowned heads might envy, would prepare for him- 
 seK some proud memorial to cover his ashes when removed 
 from the scenes of his ambitious life. History testifies 
 that this was the case. Lord Bacon states that the monu- 
 ment of Wolsey was far to exceed that of Henry VII. at 
 Westminster. It was of white and black marble, vsdth 
 eight brazen columns around it, and four others in the 
 shape of candlesticks. It was the work of Benedetto, a 
 Florentine artist, who began it in 1524, and in the course 
 of five years received 4250 ducats for Ms labours, beside 
 £380 13s. expended upon the gilding, wMch by that time 
 was only half completed. The work was never finished. 
 The fall of the cardinal interrupted its progress, and 
 it long stood a splendid ruin, emblematical of its founder. 
 On Wolsey's removal to York, he sent instructions to
 
 THE TIJDORS. 69 
 
 Cromwell to procure for him his image, with such part 
 of the tomb as it might please the king to grant him, 
 in order that he might dispose of it in the chapel for his 
 burial, which, he adds, " is likely, by reason of my heavi- 
 ness, to be shortly." * Some portion of the tomb remained 
 in the chapel till the year 1646, when it was sold by order 
 of parliament, under the description of defaced brass, for 
 £600, and the money given to Colonel Venn, at that time 
 governor of Windsor Castle ; but the sarcophagus of black 
 marble, under which the cardinal intended to slumber, was 
 preserved ; and after lying neglected for many years, was 
 at length appropriated as a covering for Nelson's tomb in 
 St. Paul's Cathedral ; so that one of England's greatest 
 heroes now rests under the identical slab intended for 
 England's proudest churchman. 
 
 This interesting story of Wolsey's Chapel connects 
 Windsor both with his prosperity and fall — his pride and 
 humiliation. As we stand and look upon the hoary 
 edifice, visions of the past flit before us, and we seem to 
 see the cardinal in gold and velvet, seated on his mule, 
 riclily caparisoned, slowly riding up to the castle from the 
 new gateway of his master, followed by an endless train of 
 attendants, and pausing to look at his own chapel, and to 
 inspect the works ; dreaming, no doubt, that the sun of 
 his glory would never set, and that the splendours of his 
 life would linger around his tomb : — and then, anon the 
 scene changes, and we see him at Leicester broken down 
 with misfortune and despair, — 
 
 " Lodged in the abbey ; where the reverend abbot. 
 With all his convent, honourably received him : 
 To whom he gave these words : — ' O father abbot. 
 An old man, broken with the storms of state. 
 Is come to lay his weary hemes among ye : 
 Give him a little earth for charity.'" 
 
 * Fiddes' " Life of Wolsey."
 
 70 CASTLE. 
 
 The fall of Wolsey is connected with the rise of one 
 whose name has excited the interest, and whose ultimate 
 fate has commanded the pity, of successive generations — 
 we allude to Anna Boleyn. There, under that old gateway 
 which bears his name, 'tis said that Henry came to meet 
 her when she entered the castle under the sunshine of his 
 favour and his love ; and there, too, in the old presence- 
 chamber, attired, as we are told, in velvet and ermine, she 
 was created a peeress of the realm, and had the coronet of 
 a marchioness placed on her brow as a prelude to her 
 elevation to the queenly throne whence Catherine, the 
 faithful wife of the tyrant, had been hurled. 
 
 Another of Henry's victims is connected with Windsor. 
 The gallant Earl of Surrey spent many of his early days at 
 the castle, with its " large green court," as he tells us in a 
 poem written in the round tower when a prisoner there for 
 eating meat in Lent. This touching lament over bygone 
 joys, composed on the spot, and the verses in celebration of 
 his love of the fair Geraldine, one of the beauties of the 
 court, have shed over Windsor Castle a gleam of poetic 
 beauty, mingling with the light which the name and poetry 
 of James of Scotland have left shining there, but, as it 
 must be acknowledged, far less pure. For this love of his 
 for Geraldine was either purely fictitious, or, what was 
 worse, a passion for a girl of thirteen (the age of Lady 
 Elizabeth Fitzgerald at the time he wrote his poem), 
 cherished, too, several years after his own marriage. Still 
 it is but just to speak of Surrey as a poet in terms of praise. 
 He was one of the first to gather flowers from the soil of 
 Italian literature, and transplant them into England — to 
 mould the English language into the form of blank verse — 
 and to impart to it something of modern elegance.* The 
 
 * " Introduction to Literature of Europe," vol. i. p. 588.
 
 THE TUDORS. 71 
 
 following verses, in wliicli he gives an animated description 
 
 of Windsor Castle and its associations, afford a specimen of 
 
 his poetical talents : — 
 
 " So cruel prison, how coulde betyde, alas ! 
 
 As pronde Windsor ; where T, in lust and joy. 
 
 With a kinge's sonne my chiklishe yeres did passe, 
 
 In greater feast than Priam's sonnes of Troye. 
 
 " Where eche swete place returnes a taste full sower. 
 
 The large grene courtes where we were wont to hove ;* 
 With eyes cast up into the mayden's tower. 
 And easie sighs, such as men draw in love. 
 
 " The statelie seates, the ladies bright of hewe. 
 The daunees short, long tales of great delight ; 
 With wordes and lookes, that tygers could but rewe. 
 Where eche of us did pleade the other's right. 
 
 " The palme-play,t where, dispoyled for the game,+ 
 With dazed yies, oft we by gleams of love 
 Have mist the ball, and got sight of our dame. 
 To bate her eyes which kept the leads above. 
 
 " The gravel ground, with sieves tied on the helme. 
 
 On fomyng horse, with swordes and frendly hartes; 
 With cheare§ as though one should another whelme, 
 Where we have fought and chased oft with dartes. 
 
 " The secret groves, which oft we made resounde. 
 Of pleasant playnt, and of our ladies' praise ; 
 Recording ofte what grace eche one had founde, 
 What hope of speede, what drede of long delayes. 
 
 . "The wilde forest, the clothed holtes|| with grene, 
 
 With raynes avayled,^ and swift ybreathed horse ; 
 With crie of houndes, and merry blasts betwene, 
 Where we did chase the fearful harte of force. 
 
 "The wide vales** eke, that harbourd us eche night. 
 Wherewith, alas, reviveth in my breast 
 The swete accord ! Such slepes as yet delight, — 
 The pleasant dreames, the quiet bed of rest. 
 
 * To loiter. t Game at balls. 
 
 J Rendered unfit or unable to play. 
 
 § Looks. II Thick woods. If Loosened reins. ** Walls.
 
 72 CASTLE, 
 
 " Tlie secret thoughts Imparted with such tmst, 
 The wanton talke, the divers change of play ; 
 The friendship sworne, eche promise kept so just, 
 Wherewith we past the winter night away. 
 
 " And with this thonght the hloud forsakes tlie face. 
 The tears berayne my cheeks of deadly hewe; 
 The which as sone as sobbing sighs, alas, 
 Upsupped have, thus I my plaint renewe. 
 
 " Oh ! place of blisse, renewer of my woes ! 
 Give me accompt, where is my noble fere,* 
 Whom in thy walles thou dost eche night enclose 
 To others leefe, but unto me most dere ? 
 
 " Eccho, alas, that doth my sorrow rew, 
 
 Returnes thereto a hollow sound of playute ; 
 Thus I alone, where all my freedom grew. 
 In prison pine with bondage and restrainte : 
 
 " And with remembrance of the greater griefe. 
 To banish th' lesse, I rind my chief reliefe."f 
 
 The days of Henry were now numbered. He left the 
 world to appear before a more equitable tribunal than his 
 own, about a week after the execution of the accomplished 
 and ill-fated Surrey. 
 
 The magnificent funeral of the departed monarch, and 
 the splendid tomb he intended to have had erected over his 
 remains, require some notice. The most minute details 
 relative to both of them have been preserved. " After 
 lying in state at Whitehall, the king's body," says an old 
 historian, " set forwards towards Windsor in a stately 
 chariot, his effigies lying upon the coffin, with the true im- 
 perial crown on the head, and under it a night-cap of black 
 satin, set full of precious stones ; and apparelled with robes 
 of crimson velvet, furred with minever, powdered with 
 ermine, the collar of the Garter, with the order of St. 
 
 * Companion, 
 t "Songs and Sonnettes of Heni-y, Earle of Surrey," 1557.
 
 THE TUDORS. T«3 
 
 George, about tlie neck ; a crimson satin doublet embroi- 
 dered with gold, two bracelets of gold about the wrists, set 
 with stones and pearls, a fair armoury sword by his side, 
 the sceptre in the right hand, the ball in the left, a pair of 
 scarlet hose, crimson velvet shoes, gloves on the hands, and 
 several diamond rings on the fingers ; drawn by eight great 
 horses, trapped with black, adorned with escutcheons, and 
 a shafi"edon on their heads, on each of which rode a child 
 of honour carrying a bannerol of the king's arms." They 
 reached Sion that night, and there, according to a MS. in 
 the Sloane Collection, quoted by Miss Strickland, the 
 leaden coffin being shaken by the carriage, the pavement of 
 the place was wetted by the monarch's blood, and in the 
 morning a dog was seen licking it up, in fulfilment, some 
 thought, of a certain friar's prediction, who compared Henry 
 to Ahab, and threatened him with a similar fate to that of 
 the king of Israel.* However that might be, it is certain 
 that the convent at Sion, where the corpse was lodged, had 
 been the prison-house of Catherine Howard ; and that the 
 day of the funeral tarrying there was the day following the 
 fifth anniversary of her execution. After reposing there, 
 " the next morning about six o'clock, after the third sound 
 of the trumpets, the whole company (the Marquis of Dorset 
 
 * Fuller, in his own quaint style, thus notices the ahove rumour, 
 in connexion with others which prevailed after Henry's death : — " As 
 for the rejiort of Sanders, that King Heni-y, perceiving the pangs of 
 approaching death, called for a great howl of white wine, and 
 drinking it off, should say to the company, * We have lost all ;' it is 
 enough to say, it is the report of Sanders. As loud a lie is it which 
 he affirmeth, that the last words heard from his mouth, were ' the 
 monks, the monks,' and so gave up the ghost. This may go hand in 
 hand with what another Catholic relates, that a black dog (lie might 
 as truly have said a blue one) licked up his blood ; whilst the stench 
 of his corpse could be charmed with no embalming, though indeed 
 there was no other noisomeness than what necessarily attendeth on 
 any dead body of equal corpulency." — Fuller's " Church History," 
 vol. ii. p. 132.
 
 7i CASTLE. 
 
 being chief mourner) proceeded for Windsor, and brouglit 
 the corpse to the Castle College gate, about one of the 
 clock ; from which place to the west door of the church a 
 large way was railed on both sides, and hung round with 
 black cloth and escutcheons ; the church and choir being 
 likewise hung round with black. The Bishops of Win- 
 chester, London, and Ely, in their pontificals, with the sub- 
 dean of the king's chapel, and the singing men of the same, 
 and the Dean of Windsor, with the canons and the whole 
 choir, received the corpse at the aforesaid place ; whence, 
 " after censing and such like ceremonies, it was carried into 
 the church, the singing men of the King's Chapel on the 
 right hand, and they of Windsor on the left, preceding it. 
 Thus the efiigy was first conveyed into the choir by divers 
 knights and gentlemen ; and then the cofiin by sixteen 
 yeomen with black staves in their hands, was brought into 
 a hearse, made in the midst of the choir, under which was 
 provided a goodly vault to bury the corpse in, over which 
 was laid a grate, whereon stood the said hearse with the 
 coffin and picture." The hearse consisted of thirteen pillars, 
 and weighed 4000 lbs., having about it twelve banners of 
 descent. 
 
 After remaining in the chapel all night, on the next day, 
 about four o'clock, began the communion of the Trinity ; 
 when " after an off'ering of gold by the chief mourner, of 
 the Knights of the Garter to St. George, and of the king's 
 hatchments, bannerols and banners, and other trophies, 
 as also of the king's horse richly trapped, came four gentle- 
 men ushers, and took away the pall of cloth of tissue (the 
 picture being conveyed away before by six knights into the 
 vestry) ; after which, sixteen strong yeomen of the guard 
 took the coffin, and with five strong linen towels, which 
 they had for their fees, let it into the vault (near unto the 
 body of Qdeen Jane Seymour, his third wife), the grate
 
 THE TUDORS. /O 
 
 being first taken away ; then the Lord Chamberlain, the 
 Lord Great Master, Mr. Treasurer, Mr. Comptroller, and 
 the Sergeant Porter breaking their white staves upon their 
 heads in three parts, as did likewise all the gentlemen 
 ushers, threw them into the grave, when Garter, assisted 
 by the Bishops of Canterbury and Durham, declared the 
 state and the name of the most godly prince their master. 
 King Edward VI. Thus the funeral ending, the trumpet 
 sounded in the rood-loft, and the company departed."* 
 
 In Henry's will he commanded that his body should be 
 interred in the choir of Windsor, midway between the state 
 and the high altar, and that there should be made as soon 
 as convenient — if it were not done in his lifetime — an 
 honourable tomb for his bones to rest in, which he describes 
 as " well onward and almost made therefor already," with a 
 fair grate about it. This tomb Speed describes in his his- 
 tory, with a minuteness of detail that occupies a closely 
 printed folio page. It was to be twenty feet broad and 
 twenty-eight feet high, with pillars of oriental stone ; tlie 
 capitals and bases copper gilt. Figures of the king and the 
 queen were to be placed on black marble slabs ; images of 
 the prophets, the apostles and evangelists, John the Baptist, 
 and St. George, were to be erected five feet in height ; and 
 numbers of angels and children, none of them less than 
 two feet and a half high, were to adorn this transcendant 
 piece of monumental architecture. The mystery of the 
 " Life of Christ " was to be sculptured ; epitaphs for the 
 king and the queen were to be introduced ; and ornaments 
 of various kinds, enamelled and gilt, were to be scattered 
 around. The number of statues was to be six hundred and 
 thirty-four, with forty-four " histories," or bas-reliefs ; the 
 whole to be surmounted by a statue of the king on horse- 
 
 * " Genealogical History of the Kings of England," p. 464.
 
 76 CASTLE. 
 
 back. This costly plan was never executed, and its details 
 remain on the pages of the old historian, a momxment of 
 the monarch's pride. 
 
 The remains of Henry VIII. were deposited in the same 
 vault which contained the body of his queen, Jane Sey- 
 mour ; she died a few days after the birth of Prince 
 Edward, at Hampton Court, on the 13th of October, 1537, 
 and was thence removed to Windsor, and interred in St. 
 George's Chapel. In the same chapel there rest the re- 
 mains of another distinguished individual connected with 
 Henry, and related to him by marriage : we refer to Charles 
 Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. He was reuaarkable for that 
 personal gracefulness, and that skill in the tilt and tournay, 
 which were likely to commend him to the notice of Henry. 
 Brandon had been brought up with the prince, had been 
 favoured with his friendship, — and in consequence was 
 raised from a private station to the honours of the dukedom 
 of Suffolk. He gained the affections of Henry's sister, the 
 Princess Mary, one of the most beautiful women of her 
 age. This lady, however, was first married to Louis XII. 
 of France, but after his death, which happened about 
 three months after the marriage, Charles Brandon sought 
 her hand, and she became his wife, a distinction to which 
 no other subject would have dared to aspire. Henry 
 settled the succession of the crown in remainder upon the 
 house of Suffolk ; and hence, upon the death of Edward 
 VI., Lady Jane Grey, grand-daughter of the duke by the 
 Queen Dowager of France, was exalted, for a few brief 
 days, to the English throne. The Duke of Suffolk died in 
 the year 1545, and was buried at the royal expense; but 
 nothing of grandeur remains at the present time to mark 
 his tomb. 
 
 The reign of Edward has little connexion with Windsor, 
 except that Ashmole, the historian of the Garter, deeply
 
 THE TUDORS. 77 
 
 laments tlic gloomy period in its annals wliicli Ms reign 
 presents, as one of the common calamities of his age, 
 "wherein most ceremonies," he says, "solemn or splendid, 
 came under the suspicion of being superstitious, if not 
 idolatrous." It appears that the youthful monarch or his 
 advisers wished greatly to abridge the ceremonials of the 
 institution, and to reform what he considered preposterous 
 ecclesiastical rites ; " whereby," says Ashmole, " the solem- 
 nity, state, and magnificence of the grand festival was 
 very much eclipsed."* 
 
 We read of one transient visit paid by Edward to the 
 halls of his fathers. The Protector Somerset, entangled 
 with difficulties and on the eve of his fall, fled with him, 
 in the dead of night, from Hampton Court to Windsor, 
 
 * The foUovving extract from the Hugget MSS. shows that some 
 of the property belonging to St. George's College was, during this 
 reign, appropriated by the dean and canons to their own private 
 uses : — 
 
 "An. Eeg. vi. Ed. VI. 
 
 " The answer of Owen Oglethorpe, canon, to the commissioners 
 ai)pointed by the king for inquiring after the sale of college plate, 
 copes, &c. 
 
 " That, in passing backwards and forwards through Windsor, he 
 did often sign acts of chapter, which the dean and canons told him 
 were just and right ; that he had for his share as much as sold for 
 £25, but that he lost most of the money, and that because he did 
 imagine it to have been unjustly gotten." 
 
 An account follows showing that property had been sold to the 
 amount of £1529 4*. 
 
 It is added — " They sold the palls of the herses of Kings Henry 
 VII. and VIII., and Edward IV., the organ and pipes, the plates of 
 copper upon the graves. King Edward III.'s cap of maintenance, the 
 sword and girdle of pearl and stone, the Duke of SuHblk's sword, &c." 
 
 The parties who thus sequestered the property alleged that they 
 were put to certain expenses for repairs, &c.,- but Mr. Hugget treats 
 this as a mere excuse, and adds, " Henry VI T. left by his will to the 
 college, a great image of St. George, of gold, poising two hundred 
 and sixty ounces, garnished with rubies, jiearls, sapphires, and other 
 stones ; perhaps this was sold also." — Hugget MSS., Sloane Collec- 
 tion, vol. ii. p. 122.
 
 78 CASTLE. 
 
 when tlie young monarch was suffering from a cough. 
 " There was haste and scurry, armour clanking, servants 
 rushing to and fro, the flashing of lights, and the tramp of 
 horses." The court reached Windsor Castle before day 
 dawn on an autumn morning. The king's chest suffered 
 from the wild, easeless ride. The castle was unprovided, 
 but the council sent "waggons with supplies of food 
 and furniture." Hence the Protector sent his letters to 
 the council, from whom he had separated himself, " full 
 of erasures, corrections, and after-thoughts," indicative of 
 the distraction of his mind, but stating that if any two 
 of them would come to Windsor, he should submit to any 
 terms which, after discussion, should be agreed upon. It 
 was here that he removed the Yeomen of the Guard; and 
 manned the castle with his own servants in royal uniform. 
 Hither, after further communication and the replacement 
 of the yeomen, the lords of the council came down, and 
 were received by Edward, after which the Protector Somer- 
 set was sent to the Tower.* 
 
 Mary and her husband Philip, immediately after their 
 marriage, came to Windsor, where Philip was made a Knight 
 of the Garter. On entering the town at the lower end of 
 Pescod-street, they were met by the mayor of Windsor and 
 his brethren. They then proceeded to the chapel, and 
 Philip received his investiture within the west door ; where 
 was prepared a form adorned with carpet and cushions. 
 " The queen having received the mantle of the order, with 
 a reverential kiss from the Earls of Derby and Pembroke 
 (to whom it had been presented by the registrar of the 
 order), put it upon the king, assisted by the said earls ; 
 the Earls of Arundel and Pembroke, receiving the collar 
 of the order from Garter, presented it to the queen (with 
 
 * Proude's " History of England," vol. v. p. 235.
 
 THE TUDORS. 79 
 
 the like ceremony as was the mantle), who put it about the 
 king's neck. 
 
 " Then all the knights-companions put on their mantles 
 within the chapel door, and proceeded into the choir, and 
 stood before their stalls, according to ancient order. Then 
 the queen went into her stall, taking the king by the hand, 
 and setting him in the same stall with her, and after a little 
 space, they both descended and proceeded up to the high 
 altar, the queen keeping the right hand, and there offered. 
 After which they returned to their stall, where they reposed 
 themselves while all the knights-companions present did 
 offer according to their degree, and had taken their stalls 
 according to their ancient custom. Then was ' Te Deum ' 
 and ' De Profundis' sung, which being finished, they came 
 all down from their stalls, and proceeded to the chapter- 
 house door, where the king and all the knights-companions 
 put off their mantles : and immediately going out of the 
 chapel, they took their horses at the chapel-door, and pro- 
 ceeded in order up to the castle, where they reposed them- 
 selves that night." 
 
 It is worth noticing that when the flames of the Marian 
 persecution were about to be kindled, three of the illustrious 
 martyrs which it sacrificed — Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer 
 — were conveyed from the Tower of London to the Castle 
 of Windsor, on their way to Oxford. 
 
 In the reign of Mary, the houses of the military knights, 
 in the south side of the lower ward, assumed their pre- 
 sent form, being completed in three years at a cost of 
 £2747 7s. CcZ. ; the square tower, and some portions of 
 the structure to the east, were previously standing. The 
 alterations were made with materials brought from other 
 buildings ; some of the stone came from Reading Abbey, 
 and lead and " old apparails for chimnies" from Suffolk- 
 place. At the same time, a reservoir was formed in the
 
 80 CASTLE. 
 
 upper court of the castle, where water was brought from a 
 great distance, and thence conveyed by pipes over all the 
 building. It was surmounted by a magnificent fountain, 
 consisting of a canopy on columns in the Gothic style, 
 decorated with heraldic ornaments, and a dragon discharging 
 water into a basin beneath. A considerable sum was 
 expended on this, of which a minute account is preserved 
 among the Ashmolean MSS. 
 
 It was mentioned that in the reign of Edward VI. 
 certain alterations were made in the laws of the order, 
 tending somewhat to abridge its splendour : these new 
 regulations, however, were annulled in the reign of Mary, 
 who ordered them " to be speedily expiinged out of the 
 book of statutes, and forthwith defaced, lest any memory 
 of them should remain to posterity." 
 
 But we must leave the times of Mary, and pass on to 
 notice Windsor during the reign of her sister. One of the 
 first acts of Elizabeth was to re-establish the founda- 
 tion of the alms-knights, agreeably to the wishes of her 
 father, as specified in his will. The number was reduced 
 to thirteen ; the sum of £600 was set apart for their 
 maintenance ; and certain rules and orders were drawn up, 
 which were to be enforced by the dean and canons. " The 
 annual allowance," observes Pote, " to each of these alms- 
 knights, upon the establishment of Queen Elizabeth, is 
 £18 5s., to be paid by the Dean of Windsor, beside 
 £3 6s. 8d. to every one of them for a gown or surcoat of 
 red cloth, and a mantle of blue or purple cloth, on the left 
 sleeve whereof is embroidered the arms of St. George, in a 
 plain scutcheon."* 
 
 The queen made several alterations and improvements in 
 
 * " History of Windsor," p. 97. — The costume was altered in the 
 reign of his late majesty William IV.; the knights now wear a 
 military uniform.
 
 THE TUDORS. 81 
 
 and about the castle. The north terrace was raised by her 
 command, and we certainly must feel that she laid posterity 
 under some obligations to her munificence and taste, for the 
 construction of this fine walk, commanding one of the most 
 strikins and beautiful views which the country affords. It 
 would appear that a terrace of some sort, though not to the 
 same extent, existed previously, as we find it mentioned as 
 being out of repair in the year ] 572, which could scarcely 
 have been the case if it had been constructed subsequently to 
 Elizabeth's accession in 1558. Be this as it may, it is 
 quite certain that about the year 1576, works were in 
 progress for the construction of the present terrace. It 
 was carried out beyond the castle wall, facing the scarp 
 of the hill, upon cantalivers of timber, protected by a 
 wooden rail;* It further appears, from an account written 
 some time afterwards, and which will be introduced in 
 the next chapter, that the terrace was made with arches 
 and buttresses of stone, with timber laid, for a fence, breast- 
 high. 
 
 Paul HentZner, who visited the castle in the end of the 
 sixteenth century, describes it as "a walk of incredible 
 beauty, three hundred and eighty paces in length, set 
 round on every side with supporters of wood, which sustain 
 a balcony, from which the nobility and persons of distinc- 
 tion can take the place of seeing hunting and hawking, in 
 a lawn of sufficient space. For the fields and meadows, 
 clad with a variety of plants and flowers, swell gradually 
 into hills of perpetual verdure up to the castle, and at the 
 bottom stretch out in an extended plain that strikes the 
 beholder with delight."t 
 
 A little before the time that the terrace was made, the 
 building adjoining the Norman gateway was altered to its 
 
 * Introduction to " Illustrations of Windsor Castle." 
 t " Journey into England, in 1598."
 
 82 CASTLE. 
 
 present appearance, and a few years later (in tlie year 
 1570), a new banqueting liouse was commenced in the 
 eastern part of the terrace, described as an octagon building, 
 with a cupola, and surrounded with windows, twenty-two 
 feet in diameter. At the same period,, the new gallery 
 (now the library), was erected, connecting the north tower 
 of the Norman gateway with Henry VII.'s building. It 
 was lighted by three fine windows on the south side, and 
 there was a descent from it to the north terrace. The noble 
 carved stone chimney-piece and the moulded work on the 
 ceiling still remain. 
 
 Here we may as well avail ourselves of the opportunity 
 of glancing at some of the curiosities which were shown to 
 visitors in the days of Elizabeth. Let Paul Hentzner, 
 the foreigner, who was at Windsor in 1598, be our guide 
 through the apartments : — 
 
 " There are worthy of notice here, two bathing-rooms, 
 ceiled and wainscoted with looking-glass ; the chamber in 
 which Henry VI. was born ; Queen Elizabeth's bed-chamber, 
 where is a table of red marble with white streaks ; a 
 gallery, everywhere ornamented with emblems and figures ; 
 a chamber in which are the royal beds of Henry VII. and 
 Ms queen ; of Henry VIII., and of Anna Bullen ; and of 
 Edward VI. ; all of them eleven feet square, and covered 
 with quilts shining with gold and silver ; Queen Elizabeth's 
 bed, with curious coverings of embroidery, but not quite so 
 long or large as the others ; a piece of tapestry, in which 
 is represented Clovis, King of France, with an angel pre- 
 senting to him the Jleur de lis, to be borne in his arms ; 
 for before this time the kings of France bore three toads in 
 their shield, instead of which they afterwards placed three 
 Jieurs de lis on a blue shield. This antique tapestry is said 
 to have been taken from a king of France, while the 
 English were masters there. We were shown here, among
 
 THE TUDORS. 83 
 
 otlier tilings, tlie horn of a unicorn, of above eight spans and 
 a half in length, valued at above £10,000 ; the bird of 
 paradise, three spans long, three fingers broad, having a 
 blue bill of the length of half an inch, the upper part of 
 its head yellow, the nether part of a * * * colour ; 
 a little lower, from either side of its throat, stick out some 
 reddish feathers, as well as from its back and the rest of 
 its body ; its wings, of a yellow colour, are twice as long as 
 the bird itself ; from its back grow out, lengthways, two 
 fibres, or nerves, bigger at their ends, but like a pretty 
 strong thread, of a leaden colour, inclining to black, with 
 which, as it has no feet, it is said to fasten itself to trees 
 when it wants to rest, A cushion most curiously wrought 
 by Queen Elizabeth's own hands." 
 
 People at that period, it appears, believed in unicorns 
 and birds without feet ; absurdities, it is true, not quite so 
 great as some which were received in an earlier age, when, 
 for instance, a cocoa-nut was kept among the curiosities of a 
 monastery, and shown by the brethren as a veritable grifiin's 
 egg. But whatever might be the curiosities preserved in the 
 castle, little attention seems to have been paid to domestic 
 convenience and comfort. Eepeated complaints are made 
 of the castle being out of repair; the Garter Tower, 
 Winchester Tower, the Keep, and Tennis court, were all re- 
 ported to be in bad condition. Nearly £700 was spent "to 
 keep out the choughes and piggins that do much hurt the 
 castle." There is, in the report of the works for the year 1580, 
 a statement, " that the maids of honour desired to have their 
 chambers ceiled, and the partition that is of boards to be 
 made higher, for that the servants looked over." And 
 about the same time, it is said that certain young noblemen 
 and gentlemen were guilty of similar indecorous behaviour, 
 being fond of peeping over these boards, to the great 
 annoyance of the ladies when at their toilet, whereat her 
 
 q2
 
 84 CASTLE. 
 
 majesty was highly displeased, and severely reproved them. 
 From other parts of the report, it seems that the chamber 
 for the squires of the body was " ruinous and cold," and 
 required to be "ceded overhead and boarded underfoot;" 
 and that some part of the castle roof was so much out of 
 repair, that the rain beat in. Even the royal bed-chamber 
 was " evil favoured, and in great decay." Her majesty, 
 too, complained of the dinner being cold when brought on 
 the table ; in explanation of which, it was stated that the 
 bakehouse was so far from the castle* that it was impossible 
 the provision could be placed hot on the royal board. 
 What a change in all such matters since then ! How 
 would the ancient cooks have been astonished and entranced 
 at the sight of the present magnificent kitchen in the castle, 
 and all the various conveniences for culinary preparations ! 
 But it will be expected that something should be said 
 respecting the illustrious maiden queen, in connexion with 
 the castle which she so often honoured with her presence. 
 "About the middle of September," says Mchols, in his 
 " History of the Progresses of Queen Elizabeth," "she came 
 to Windsor, and was there every hour in expectation of the 
 King of Sweden coming, being very shortly looked for at 
 Westminster, where certain works were in hand, and the 
 workmen wrought day and night to finish them against his 
 reception. His business was to court the queen for his 
 wife ; but he came not himself, being advised to the con- 
 trary ; yet his brother the duke did, and was a passionate 
 advocate for his brother with the queen."t This Swedish 
 king who sued for the hand of Elizabeth was Eric, a san- 
 guinary tyrant, and the degenerate offspring of the brave 
 and noble Gustavus Vasa. It was a happy thing for her 
 and the country that she escaped this alliance; but there 
 
 * The bakehouse was in Pescod-street. 
 t Nichols, vol. i. p. 56.
 
 THE TUDORS. 85 
 
 was a very strong and natural feeling on the part of her 
 subjects in favour of her entering on some matrimonial 
 union, as the means of preventing the evils of an unsettled 
 succession, which at that time were peculiarly formidable. 
 The imperious temper of the queen, and her love of ex- 
 clusive authority, no doubt influenced her in her repeated 
 refusals of marriage. " I will have here but one mistress," 
 exclaimed the haughty dame, " and no master." " Madam," 
 said Melville, " you need not tell me that — I know your 
 stately stomach ; you cannot suffer a commander; you think 
 if you were married, you would be but Queen of England, 
 and now you are king and queen both." 
 
 From the numerous details we have of the habits and 
 pursuits of Elizabeth, her court and people, we can easily 
 fill up in our minds the picture of Windsor Castle in the 
 sixteenth century. We are told that she was fond of the 
 chase, often coursing through the Forest in pursuit of the 
 deer ; and that when she came in at the death, and the 
 dogs were whipped off their prey, the huntsman would 
 hand her majesty the knife, to cut the animal's throat. 
 Nor were the amusements of the bear-garden wanting, and 
 Elizabeth and her ladies might be seen watching from the 
 windows the writhing of the hoodwinked bear while 
 whipped by six or seven men in a circle. Bull-baiting and 
 cock-fighting, and horses performing with apes on their 
 backs, were also considered spectacles of interest. But it is 
 just to exhibit her under another aspect, Elizabeth was a 
 student, and is said to have diligently pursued her classical 
 studies in the castle. We are told that she understood 
 Greek better than the canons of Windsor, and was certainly 
 a much greater pedant than her successor James I. In her 
 cabinet she often dictated verses to her private secretary, or 
 engaged in literary conversation, and received the brilliant 
 flattery of her accomplished favourite, the Earl of Leicester.
 
 86 CASTLE. 
 
 The terrace was a favourite walk with her majesty, and 
 there she might be seen most days, sometimes accompanied 
 by a bevy of ladies and courtiers — ruifs, hoops, and em- 
 broidered petticoats, intermixed with satin doublets, bright- 
 coloured hose, velvet cloaks, and gracefully plumed caps ; 
 at other times with a select few — Cecil, Leicester, Wal- 
 singham, Essex, engaged in earnest conversation on state 
 afiairs, or indulging in courtly wit — and not unfrequently 
 alone, with her golden-bound prayer-book suspended to her 
 girdle, her thoughts absorbed in the cares of empire, or 
 engrossed with other and softer subjects which, notwith- 
 standing all her maidenly resolves, often agitated her 
 bosom. 
 
 r
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE STUAKTS. 
 
 ^^^ HERE are preserved in the British Museum 
 'W^) two interesting MSS. illustrative of Windsor 
 \ in the early part of the seventeenth cen- 
 ^ tury. One of these is a short paper in a 
 volume of the Harleian MSS., and de- 
 scribed in the Catalogue as written by John Stowe. But it 
 would seem improbable that he wrote the paper, from the 
 circumstance that in another MS. in the same volume, 
 apparently in the same handwriting, a reference is made to 
 him in the third person. But be the writer who he may, 
 the paper contains a quaint and amusing description of the 
 castle and the park. 
 
 He observes, that the ascent to the castle "upon the 
 north side is by a hundred and twenty steps, as is to be 
 seen by the canons' stairs, from their orchard, and the stairs 
 in their walk upon the hill side," while the entrance on the 
 south side is by " a stately gate and bridge." After describ- 
 ing the lower wards in the castle, in which description 
 there is nothing remarkable, the writer relates the anecdote 
 respecting the kings of Scotland and France, which was 
 introduced in an early part of this work, and he then 
 proceeds to give the following account of the upper wards, 
 the terrace, and the park : — " The keep in the second ward 
 and two mighty towers, with other buildings and walls,
 
 88 ' CASTLE. 
 
 were named to be at the expense of the Scottisli king 
 (Winchester Tower excepted, which is in the same ward, 
 being made no doubt by the Bishop of Winchester as prelate 
 of the Garter), which keep being of ... . steps in height, 
 and standing upon a round hill formed by hand, is notwith- 
 standing so slope and easy to ascend, that a man may easily 
 ride up to the top thereof, like St. Mark's steeple in Venice, 
 and the compass thereof is one hundred and ninety paces. 
 
 " And the higher ward was made by the French king's 
 ransom, which ward indeed is the beauty and majesty of 
 the whole castle, as wherein all the prince's lodgings and 
 other offices, with the houses of officers, are contained, being 
 almost four-square — that is, one hundred and forty-six paces 
 in length, and one hundred and ninety-seven in breadth ; in 
 the midst whereof, lest so large a space should be without 
 ornament, is a goodly great conduit, brought thither by 
 pipes under the earth above four miles ; on the east and 
 south parts whereof are the noblemen's lodgings and houses 
 of office, and on the west part the tennis-court and keep 
 aforesaid, overlooking all the castle as the chief fort thereof; 
 from which also, when the weather is clear, may easily be 
 descried Paul's steeple ; on the north part are the prince's 
 halls, chambers, wardrobes, and galleries, with his shower- 
 baths and banquetiug-houses, and mainly that great hall 
 where St. George's feast is kept and celebrated, being in 
 length seventy-eight paces and in breadth twenty, with his 
 private chapel, which is of no less beauty than fine work- 
 manship; upon the north side and outer part of which 
 lodgings also, between the same and the brow or fall of the 
 hill, which is very steep and pitchy, is an excellent walk (or 
 baye) running all along the said buildings on the side of the 
 castle, borne up and sustained by arches and buttresses of 
 stone and timber laid breast-high, which is in length three 
 hundred and sixty paces, and in breadth seven, of such an
 
 THE STUARTS. 89 
 
 excellent grace to tlie beholders and passers-by, being open 
 to the sight even afar off, that the pleasure, stateliness, 
 beauty, and use thereof seemeth to contend one with the 
 other which shall have the superiority. In the goodly 
 bottom under the which walk lieth a parcel of the park 
 plain, as equal as it is possible, and continually green, with 
 certain ponds therein, where the prince useth to see out of 
 his windows the deer hunted with hounds, and in the end 
 forced to take the said ponds, hunting as it were at one 
 time both on laud and water, and yet not stirring out of his 
 chamber. At the end of this walk is a bridge, and dry 
 ditch under the same as parcel of the castle ditch, whereby 
 the said park is severed from the aforesaid walk and castle, 
 which park containeth all the rest of the hill that the castle 
 standeth upon, more than half a mile in length, shoring down 
 very slope on the east and south parts, but steep and abrupt 
 on the north side, with certain walks and downfalls, where- 
 unto joiueth the lawn or coursing-place, running all the 
 length of the park, and all the hill serving as a continual 
 standing to behold and judge of the course with ease ; which 
 lawn or pleasant bottom being a most delicate grass and 
 fair meadow, lying along the side of the hill {like man and 
 wife together) of a marvellous plain, direct, and equal level, 
 seemeth no less praiseworthy in respect of the lowliness, 
 than the stately hill in its elevation and haughty rising. 
 
 " The prospect east, west, north, and south is singular, 
 but from the castle every way it is (sur)passing. The name 
 whereof (not without cause) is called Windsor ; whether it 
 came, as some affirm, of the ferry over the river, the pas- 
 sengers using (in calling for a boat) to bid them wind to 
 shore, because the boat then, as now, went with a rope and 
 a pole, though not in the same place where it is now, but 
 where the bridge is ; or whether it took its name of the 
 quality of the place, which, standing high and open to the
 
 90 CASTLE. 
 
 weather, is called Windsor, because the wind is sore and 
 the air very subtle and piercing there, as the inhabitants 
 find it, which etymology, divining with myself of the nature 
 of the place itself, I added another also thereto, at my first 
 coming thither, of this effect : — 
 
 " ' The wind is sore in High Windsor, whereof it may take name. 
 And wind, for winding, may import ascending to the same; 
 As e'en the hawk is said to sore that lieth on high ahove : 
 All which etymologies one the truth I guess doth prove,' " 
 
 The other MS. relating to "Windsor in the early part of 
 the seventeenth century, is Norden's survey,* 
 
 The bird's-eye view which he gives of the castle is the 
 earliest complete pictorial representation which we possess 
 of the royal edifice. It is an odd, quaint-looking affair, 
 but in extent and outline very much resembles the building 
 and precincts as we see them now. There is " the keepe," 
 The " pry vie lodgings " correspond with the present State 
 apartments, " The lodgings for the household " are on the 
 south side, " The tennys courte " is within the wall round 
 the keep, near to where the fountain now stands. Queen 
 Mary's fountain is seen in the midst of the quadrangle. 
 There are several little red-roofed houses hard by " the 
 lieutenant's lodging," now the Ivy or Store Tower, from 
 which to the Dean's house there runs a wall, with a gate- 
 way separating the keep from the lower ward. The 
 " chappeU of the Garter " is fully portrayed, with " the 
 
 * It bears date 1604, and commences with the following dedica- 
 tion : — 
 
 " To the Most Mighty and Magnificent Ptince James, by Divine 
 Grace, Kinge of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, and of all the 
 Isles and Seas adjacent ; sole Emperor; principal maintainer of the 
 most true Christian religion; your Miijesties loyal poor subject, John 
 Norden, most humbli exhibiteth this his imposed labours of the 
 description of your Majesties Castle and Honor of Windesore, and the 
 principal particulars belonging to the same."
 
 THE STUARTS. 91 
 
 poor knights' lodgings" opposite. "The petite canons' 
 lodgings" are to the west — now the horse- shoe cloisters. 
 The three old towers crown the west wall ; and 
 Henry VIII.'s gateway is named " the gate coming out of 
 the towne." Around them is field, garden plot, orchard, 
 and park, with strange, hideous-looking animals dotted 
 about, intended to represent deer. Along the north side 
 the terrace is distinct enough, terminating at the east end 
 in a projection over two arches marked underneath " The 
 Tarras bridge." 
 
 In Norden's survey we have a minute account of the 
 number of parks included in the royal demesnes, — their re- 
 spective extent, the length of the paling, the names of 
 the keepers, and the number of the deer. He describes 
 the Little Park as measuring three miles and three- 
 eighths, and containing about two hundred and eighty acres 
 of good ground. It was stocked with fallow deer, to the 
 amount of two hundred and forty, and with sixty-eight 
 antlers and thirty bucks. The Great Park, he states, mea- 
 sured ten miles and a quarter, and contained three thou- 
 sand six hundred and fifty acres. The walks, he observes, 
 " not having separation, the deer so interchase, that the 
 particular number in each walk can never hardly be distin- 
 guished ; but the whole number within the park are by 
 the woodman supposed to be one thousand eight hundred 
 deer, whereof about five hundred are bucks." 
 
 Thus the diligent surveyor goes through all the parks, 
 which, according to his calculation, covered the countiy 
 round to a great extent, embracing a circumference 
 of seventy-seven miles, and reaching on one side as far 
 as Guildford, and as far as Henley on the other. Some 
 notes are inserted in the survey, illustrative of the aspect of 
 the country at that time. Of Wokingham Park, he says 
 some part " is barren and full of bogs," and the other part
 
 92 CASTLE. 
 
 is " fat and fertile." In reference to Byfleete, Surrey, he 
 remarks, that the " hooping bird, vulgarlie held ominous, 
 much frequenteth this park." " Langley Park is divided 
 into two parts by a new paling. The upper ground is full 
 of bogs, unprofitable and impassable — the lower ground 
 reduced to a better use for the game, and more delightful 
 to hunt in, by reason of the fair artificial lawns, lately 
 made and levelled, with many convenient and pleasant 
 standings." With regard to all the parks, the surveyor 
 complains, " that there is contention between every neigh- 
 bour and keeper for the most part, for usurpation and in- 
 truding into another's walks, for not one of them truly 
 knoweth his own bounds ; which controversy will hardly 
 be justly determined until the verderers of the forest, and 
 the regarders of every walk, aided by the ancient inhabi- 
 tants, do perambulate, view, and enter the same." 
 
 These are trifling matters, but their antiquity gives them 
 a certain interest. In looking over that old MS., one can- 
 not but think how changed is the appearance of Windsor 
 and its environs since Norden made his survey. Not a 
 house, perhaps, remains in the town that then was standing. 
 The castle has completely changed its aspect, and much of 
 the wide forest has since been brought into cultivation, and 
 peaceful farms and villages are smiling where then were 
 sheep and deer walks, or wastes, " barren and full of bogs." 
 Still, however, there are objects in those parks that connect 
 us with the times when Norden paced and measured them. 
 Oaks still thrive there which flourished in their beauty in 
 his day, and perhaps formed a shade to cover him while 
 accomplishing his survey, A few of these trees, it may 
 be, have flourished from a period anterior to the Conquest, 
 and fell into their soft receptacle when some skipping 
 deer, hunted by Saxon princes, with " pointed hoof dibbled 
 the glebe."
 
 THE STUARTS. 93 
 
 t 
 
 James I. occasionally resided at Windsor, and no doubt 
 often amused liimself with liis favourite diversion of 
 hunting in the noble forests described by ISTorden. Sir 
 Dudley Carlton, in 1603, describes the arrival of the 
 new king at Windsor, He brought a "mervilous great 
 court," and adds, " there was some squaring at first between 
 our English and Scotch lords for lodging, and such other 
 petty quarrels." Lords Southampton and Grey, too, had a 
 terrible quarrel, when the queen bade them remember 
 where they were, and soon after sent them to their lodgings 
 under guard. Little worth noticing occurred during James' 
 reign, in reference to Windsor. A stray incident which 
 time has left us, relating to that period, is a curious piece 
 of litigation between the monarch and the Dean and canons. 
 In December, 1603, a part of the castle wall near the royal 
 chapel was blown down, and a dispute arose as to who should 
 repair it. The crown contended that since the part of the 
 castle where the breach had been made was given by 
 Edward III. to the college of St. George — since they pos- 
 sessed revenues to maintain it in repair, and had opened 
 windows in the walls, and made drains, which occasioned 
 the breach, they were bound to bear the expense of repairing 
 it. On the part of the Dean and Canons it was contended, 
 that the wall was much more ancient than the foundation 
 of the college ; that it was higher than the houses adjoining ; 
 that it was built for the defence of the castle ; that they 
 had no property in it ; that the charter of Edward had 
 freed them from the charges of repairing the castle ; that 
 the wall had fallen in, not through any fault of theirs, but 
 through the lapse of years ; and that if they were now 
 forced to repair it, a precedent would be set which would 
 involve them in expenses for repairs at a future time, be- 
 yond their power to defray. The cause being heard, at 
 their request, before the Barons of the Exchequer, on the
 
 94 CASTLE. 
 
 21st of February, 1606, more than two years after tlie wall 
 had been broken down, it was decided in favour of the 
 college. The king was to repair the breach, and the lights 
 and casements in the walls, which had been there before, 
 were stiU to be retained by the Dean and Canons, but they 
 were to repair them at their own expense. 
 
 James I. seems to have emulated his predecessors on the , 
 English throne in the zeal he eviaced for the interests of 
 the Order of the Garter. Commissioners were appointed 
 by the monarch to revise the laws of the institution, and to 
 bring them, as nearly as possible, to what they were in the 
 times of the founder. The persons commissioned seem, 
 however, to have paid little attention to the affair, for a 
 few years afterwards another commission was issued for the 
 same purpose, with more extended powers ; and at length, 
 according to Ashmole, who gives a minute account of the 
 whole business, "they presented to the sovereign certain 
 articles subscribed with their hands, which, for the honour 
 of the order, they thought requisite to be duly observed." 
 In the reign of earlier sovereigns it had been the custom 
 for the knights elect to proceed from London to Windsor 
 in grand procession, in order to be installed. They took 
 up their lodging in the Strand, in Salisbury-court, in 
 Holborn, or within the City ; and thence rode on horseback 
 to Windsor, accompanied by a large party of friends and 
 attendants. It was a dazzling sight, in those days, to see 
 the cavalcade starting from the City residence of a knight ; 
 and vast were the throngs which gathered in the streets, to 
 see the train of horsemen, with their gorgeous apparel and 
 plumes of feathers, passing along on their way to Windsor. 
 But to such excesses of grandeur were the knights elect 
 sometimes carried by their ambition, that James I. put 
 limits to the extent of the processions, and enacted, " that 
 every of the knights-companions should have fifty persons
 
 THE STUAETS. 95 
 
 to attend liim unto the annual solemnities of tlie order, and 
 no more." 
 
 A full account of the installation of Prince Henry, in 
 1G03, is preserved, as well as the visit of the King of 
 Denmark in 1606, who, on receiving the order, was intro- 
 duced to the goodly gentlemen that had served under Queen 
 Elizabeth, " being in the robes of purple and scarlet, with 
 the Garter and St. George's Cross upon them." With this 
 at the beginning of the reign, it is interesting to couple 
 what occurred at the close. The king kept the feast of 
 St. George at Windsor in 1623, "when there was no great 
 show. The knights and procession went not out their 
 ordinary circuit, by reason the King was fain to be carried 
 in a chair, not for any grief or infirmity more than the 
 weakness of his legs, for otherwise they say he looks as 
 well and as fresh as he did many a day." 
 
 One glance more at King Jamie, Matthew Day, an 
 antiquary of Windsor, tells us that, in 1624, his majesty 
 was hunting in Mote Park, when the mayor presented him 
 with a petition on the behalf of the vicar, that, on account of 
 the smallness of the living and the size of the cure, there 
 being a hundred communicants under the vicar's charge, 
 the king would annex a canonry to the vicarage. James 
 would do nothing of the kind, but only took occasion to 
 vent his spleen against the town, complaining of the poor, who, 
 he said, stole wood out of the parks and forests. The words 
 which the king spake, says Mr, Day, were as foUoweth : 
 " Am I any iU neighbour unto you 1 Do I do you any 
 hurt 1 Doth my coming be any hindrance to you 1 Why, 
 then, do you vex me by permitting and suffering your poor 
 to cut down and carry away my wood out of my parks and 
 grounds, and to sell the same." This does not bear much 
 on the question of the poor vicar's need and desert of 
 assistance, but it certainly reminds us of the admirable
 
 96 CASTLE. 
 
 delineation of James's character by Sir Walter Scott in the 
 "Fortunes of Nigel." All the mayor could get was an 
 order to whip the wood-stealers, and those who bought the 
 stolen property. 
 
 During the reign of James there were two persons who 
 held the deanery of Windsor, and were therefore connected 
 with the Order of the Garter, who ought not to be passed 
 over in silence. The first of these was Giles Tomson, one 
 of the parties employed upon the authorised version of the 
 Bible. He was connected with the Oxford company, to 
 whom was entrusted the translation of the Gospels, the Acts 
 of the Apostles, and the Revelation. Anthony a Wood 
 speaks of his high reputation, both as a scholar and a 
 preacher ; and his epitaph, in Bray's Chapel, where he lies 
 interred, bears ample testimony to his learning, prudence, 
 and piety. He was ten years dean of Windsor, and was 
 then elevated to the see of Gloucester, a dignity which he 
 enjoyed but a very short time, for he died within a year 
 after his elevation. The other individual who claims our 
 notice, was Marc Antonio de Dominis, a far different cha- 
 racter. He had been archbishop of Spalatro ; but on coming 
 over to England, he published a famous book, entitled 
 " De Eepublica Ecclesiastica," in which he appeared as a 
 decided enemy of the Church of Rome, and concluded 
 that the Pope had no sviperiority over other bishops. James 
 rewarded him with the deanery of Windsor, and the master- 
 ship of the Savoy, to which was added the living of West 
 Ilsley, in Berkshire. " Though the publication of his book 
 was a crime never to be forgiven, he was weak enough to 
 give credit to a letter, sent him by the procurement of 
 Gondomar, which not only promised him pardon, but prefer- 
 ment, if he would renounce his new religion. He returned 
 to Italy, relapsed to the Church of Rome, and was presently 
 after imprisoned by the Inquisition. Grief and hard treat-
 
 THE STUARTS. 97 
 
 ment soon put an end to bis life, in tlie year 1 625, and the 
 sixty-fourth of his age. He was the first that accounted 
 for the phenomenon of the rainbow, in his book, ' De Radiis 
 Visus et Lucis.' We are much indebted to him for Father 
 Paul's excellent History of the Council of Trent, the manu- 
 script of which he procured for Archbishop Abbot." * Mr. 
 Hallam doubts whether he strictly belonged to the Church 
 of England, remarking, that preferments were bestowed 
 irregularly in that age. He further observes, that after the 
 death of Antonio de Dominis, the " imputations of heresy 
 against him so much increased, that his body was dug up 
 and burned. Neither party has been ambitious to claim 
 this vain and insincere, though clever prelate." t 
 
 Pursuing our history, we arrive at the melancholy reign 
 of Charles I. In the year 1635, he effected some conside- 
 rable alterations in the castle. Elizabeth's banqueting 
 house was pulled down, the east end of the terrace was 
 enclosed by a wall and gate, and the magnificent fountain, 
 erected by Queen Mary, was demolished. Another ban- 
 queting house was planned, and another fountain designed, 
 whereon were to be placed "the statues of Hercules 
 worrying Antaeus, as if by squeezing of him the water 
 came out of his moutii;" but neither of these projects 
 seem to have been carried into effect. Two years later a 
 pyramid, or lantern, was placed on the front of the castle, 
 and a clock was provided by David Ramsey, that illustrious 
 clockmaker whom Scott has immortalised in his " Fortunes 
 of Nigel." The clock was removed from the old tower in 
 the late improvements: the bell bore the date of 1636, 
 with the inscription — " God save our King Charles, God 
 save my Lord the King," and the royal arms, decorated 
 with the rose and thistle. About the same time, it ap^jears, 
 
 * Granger's " Biographical History," vol. i. p. 359. 
 f Hallam's " Introduction," vol. iii. p. 71-
 
 98 CASTLE, 
 
 the royal chapel was far from being kept in good order ; 
 for complaints were made by the dean, of persons using the 
 royal closet as a thoroughfare to the leads, between the 
 chapel and the tomb house, and picking out the stained glass 
 from the east window, and also of the intrusion of improper 
 visitors into the knights' stalls : to remedy which his majesty 
 commanded that doors and locks should be provided, both 
 for the entrance to the leads, and the stalls in the choir. 
 
 Charles I. spent much of his time at Windsor Castle, and, 
 in the early part of his reign, frequently held his court 
 within its walls. His attention seems to have been early 
 directed to the affairs of the Order of the Garter. " He 
 designed and endeavoured," says Ashmole, " the most com- 
 plete and absolute reformation of any of his predecessors ; " 
 and after relating the steps taken to effect his purpose, in 
 the appointment of certain commissioners, the enthusiastic 
 herald breaks out into the following lamentation : — " Now, 
 who would suppose that, after so noble an intention of the 
 sovereign, and his earnest solicitude to issue forth a second 
 commission, his hearty recommending and exciting their 
 diligence for a speedy dispatch, and, lastly, Ms expecting 
 an account of their transactions the next feast, these 
 honourable persons, companions of the order, should need 
 a spur to accomplish so laudable a design : but it was so." 
 Nothing seems to have been done in the affair ; indeed, all 
 parties, then, had more important matters to attend to ; and 
 the monarch's care for his favourite order was soon absorbed 
 in the deeper anxiety which he felt for the security of his 
 crown, and the safety of his life. 
 
 We now reach a crisis in English history, in the passing 
 effects of which Windsor sustained an ample share. That 
 mighty struggle between the supporters of two opposing 
 systems of political principles, — a struggle which convulsed 
 the empire for so many years, — appears with such pro-
 
 THE STUARTS. 99 
 
 minence in our history, and is fraught with incidents and 
 lessons so interesting, though awful, — so instructive, though 
 terrific, — that, to the end of time, it will attract the atten- 
 tion of political philosophers, aiding their speculations, and 
 esijecially teaching them practical lessons. 
 
 It has been the fashion, with almost all writers on the 
 antiquities of Windsor, to allude, in terms of strong indig- 
 nation, to the character of the Puritans, who took the 
 Parliamentary side in that unhappy contention. They are 
 represented as base, hypocritical, factious, and contemptible. 
 It would be out of place to treat of their politics in a work 
 like this ; but it is not improper to say, that if they were 
 enthusiasts, there was a sublimity in their enthusiasm, such 
 as rarely characterizes the deeds of mortals ; and Macaulay, 
 who certainly was not prejudiced in favour of Puritanism, 
 discriminatingly observes — " We perceive the absurdities of 
 their manners, we dislike the gloom of their habits ; we 
 acknowledge that the tone of their minds was often injured, 
 by straining after things too high for mortal reach ; and we 
 know that, in spite of their hatred of popery, they too often 
 fell into the vices of that bad system — intolerance and 
 extravagant austerity ; that they had their anchorites and 
 their crusaders, their Dunstans and their De Montforts, 
 their Dominies and their Escobars ; — yet, when all circum- 
 stances are taken into consideration, we do not hesitate to 
 pronounce them a brave and honest body." * 
 
 We are willing also to do justice to the Cavaliers. We 
 admit that they were not heartless, dangling courtiers ; not 
 mere machines for rlestruction, dressed up in uniforms, de- 
 fending without love, and destroying without hatred ; that 
 they felt a strong sentiment of individual independence ; that 
 they were misled by no merely selfish or sordid motives; that 
 
 * "Edinburgh lievievv," vol. xlii. Article on jMiltou, by Lord 
 Macaulay. 
 
 h2
 
 100 CASTLE. 
 
 compassion and romantic honour, tlie prejudices of child- 
 hood, and the venerable names of history, threw over them 
 a potent spell ; that they fought for the old banner which 
 had waved in so many battles over the heads of their 
 fathers, and for the altars at which they had received their 
 brides ; that, with the vices of the Kound Table, they had 
 many of its virtues ; that they had more of polite learning 
 than the Puritans ; and that their manners were more en- 
 gaging, their tastes more elegant, often their tempers more 
 amiable, and sometimes their households more cheerful. It 
 may be added, both Puritan and Cavalier were Englulimen 
 — Englishmen to their heart's core : they, for the most part, 
 loved their country, though one party must have been mis- 
 taken in the means employed for its welfare ; and they 
 exhibited, the former in its severer, the latter in its gajer 
 mood, that character of deep, enduring, disinterested patri- 
 otism, which has for ages past been nursed in the bosoms 
 of the sons of Britain. To the history of the mighty 
 struggle of the seventeenth century, Englishmen of every 
 political creed may turn with national pride, to mark the 
 superiority of character displayed by both parties over our 
 Gallic neighbours in their revolution at the close of the 
 last century. Indeed, the civil wars of England present 
 perfectly sunny scenes, compared with the "red flame 
 picture " of the Reign of Terror. 
 
 A curious pamphlet, bearing date October 20th, 1642, 
 presenting the following title, " Exceeding true and joyful 
 News from Windsor Castle, declaring how several Troops 
 of Dragoons have taken Possession of the said Castle for 
 the King and Parliament," introduces us at once to some 
 historical recollections connected with Windsor during the 
 Civil Wars. The pamphlet exhibits a specimen of the 
 kind of publication which then occupied the place of 
 modern newspapers, in the communication of political
 
 THE STUARTS. 101 
 
 intelligence. It evidently proceeded from the Parliamen- 
 tary party. The king and the Cavaliers, it tells us, 
 " intended to draw to Windsor, and to take possession of 
 the castle — that being a place of greatest strength in this 
 part of the kingdom, by reason of the height and strength, 
 the country lying under it so that the castle can command 
 it round about. Could they have obtained this castle, 
 they would there have fortified themselves till such time as 
 they could gather strength ; which having obtained, they 
 then intended (as is generally thought) to have marched 
 against London, that being their only aim ; but God, 
 which sees the secrets of all hearts, hath brought their 
 practices to light, and made them apparent to the eyes 
 of the world : their intentions were discovered to the 
 High Court of Parliament, who, by God's assistance and 
 direction, have taken the most speedy and effectual course 
 to prevent so great a mischief. For, by the appointment 
 of the Parliament, several well-affected gentlemen, and 
 valiant, religious commanders, are gone into Essex, Middle- 
 sex, Bucks, Berks, Surrey, Hampshire, and other adjoining 
 counties, to raise several troops of dragooners and volun- 
 teers ; some of which are arrived already at Windsor, and 
 have taken possession of the castle for the use of his 
 Majesty and Parliament ; others are in march towards 
 Windsor, where, being arrived, they intend to fortify them- 
 selves, and to make outworks ; so that the Cavaliers have 
 lost their labour. The counties are very ready to go on 
 this service, and stand generally for the Parliament, because 
 they see that the Cavaliers plunder all the places they 
 come at, taking and seizing horses and all things which are 
 portable ; and if any one resist, they presently burn their 
 houses, to the utter ruin and destruction of all those who 
 have dependence thereon." 
 
 The castle was taken by the Parliamentary army on the
 
 ] 02 CASTLE. 
 
 20tli of October, Three days afterwards, Captain Fogg, 
 with a Parliamentary warrant, took possession of the royal 
 chapel. The beautiful edifice is said to have sustained 
 considerable injury from the violence of the soldiers ; a 
 circumstance resulting partly, no doubt, from that misguided 
 zeal and want of taste which too generally distinguished 
 the Parliamentary army, and for which no other excuse can 
 be pleaded than the very slender one, that such excesses 
 are but too commonly the result of victorious war. 
 
 Christopher Wren, the father of the famous architect, 
 was at that time Dean of Windsor, and exerted himself in 
 recovering as many of the records of the chapel as he could 
 procure. " He had the good fortune," says Granger, " to 
 redeem the three registers distinguished by the names of 
 the Black, Blue, and Red, which were carefully preserved 
 by him till his death. They were afterwards committed 
 to the custody of his son, who, soon after the Restoration, 
 delivered them to Dr. Bruno Ryves, Dean of Windsor." * 
 
 The castle remained in the hands of the Parliament ; 
 and on the 13th of May, 1643, an order was issued by the 
 House of Commons for the payment of the Windsor 
 garrison, consisting of a regiment of foot and a troop of 
 horse, under the command of Colonel Venn ; the payments 
 to be made out of the moneys which should be levied " in 
 the county of Berks, upon the ordinances for the weekly 
 assessments." + 
 
 * " Biographical History," vol. ii. p. 166. 
 f The following passage occurs in the Huggett MSS. relative 
 to the ejection of the clean and canons from their residence at 
 Wmdsor: — "Anno 1643, May 24. The lords in parliament's 
 answer to the dean, canons, petty caimons, &c. (upon tbeir petition 
 to them to continue their places in the college), — they have not 
 thought it meet that they should enjoy their dwelling-houses ; but 
 that they may take away their books and utensils, and enjoy the 
 same at their several habitations elsewhere." — Huggett MS. vol. ii. 
 p. 163.
 
 THE STUARTS. 103 
 
 Among tlie domestics wlio were devotedly attached to tlie 
 unhappy Charles was a person named Dowcett, an inhabitant 
 of Windsor. He was intrusted with the conveyance of 
 various communications to his master's friends; and the 
 following notes, which relate to this circumstance, and which 
 were written by Charles during his imprisonment, will in- 
 troduce the reader to the monarch's privacy, and show the 
 ingenious modes which he adopted for obtaining information. 
 With regard to these notes Dowcett states — " This is all the 
 letters which I could save of his late majestic, for I was forced 
 to burn a matter of twenty when I was prisonner att Caris- 
 brooke Castle,"* 
 
 "A TRUE COPY OF HIS LATE MAJESTY'S LETTERS TO 
 
 DOWCETT. 
 
 " I thanke you for your causions, and be confident that I 
 will be as carcfull as you cane be ; for your discouery will 
 preiudice me as much as you ; nor will I needlesly employ 
 you in this kynde : as now, this is most necessary that you 
 send it soon awaye to him who sent you that which you gave 
 me this morning. Keepe your wafers untill I call for them, 
 for yet I doe not want." — January loth, 1647. 
 
 II. 
 
 " This is chiefly to show you how T cane keepe corespon- 
 dency with you : and withal I desyre to know when you 
 cane send a letter of myne to London : but especially when 
 your wife goes. Also I desire you to deliuer this enclosed 
 to Mary with your owne hands, and you may safely send 
 
 * The MS. from which these letters are printed is in the hand- 
 writing of James Jennings, of Windsor, a friend of Dowcett, who 
 allowed him to copy them. He was carpenter to Charles IL, and 
 died in 1739, at the advanced age of one hundred and four years.
 
 104 CASTLE. 
 
 me an answer the same way that this comes to you. 
 
 Hereafter know me by M , your selfe by F , and 
 
 Mary by B ." 
 
 III. 
 
 " That which you gaue me with this paper informed me 
 that the same party sent you a former letter for me by one 
 of my owne messengers ; his name, as I take it, is Greeg. 
 Werfore, if you haue it not allready, inquire after it, for I 
 know by this last that I have not yet gott it ; this way I 
 
 meant to F A . I shall not trouble you a good 
 
 whyle ; but I would fain haue you once a week conuey a 
 letter for me to my wife ; therefore expect one from me on 
 Munday morning. You must not take it iU that I looke 
 sowerly upon you in publick; but, by the grace of God, you 
 will neuer repent the seruices you daily doe me." 
 
 IV. 
 
 " I thanke you for your cautions, and doubt not of my 
 carefullness. I shall obserue your days, and not trouble 
 you oftener, except upon very urgent occasion. I hope the 
 tyme will come that you shall thanke me for more than 
 looking well upon you ; but who was she that brought me 
 the first letter att Hornby 1 That which you last giue, was 
 it that I looked for? In a word, lett not cautiousness begett 
 feare, and be confident of me. — Wednesday, January 19th, 
 1647." 
 
 V. 
 
 "F , — Deliuer the biger of thease two nnto your 
 
 wyfe ; it is for France. I neede say no more; you knowe 
 to whome : and giue the other to young Worsley, and desjTe 
 him to send it to him from whom hee had that packett 
 which hee sent to me by you. Lett your wyfe assure all 
 my friends that, by the grace of God, I will neither be 
 cheated nor frighted from my grounds."
 
 THE STUARTS. 105 
 
 VI. 
 
 [To Dowcett's Wife.] 
 
 " I know not your hand, but I finde by your sence that 
 you are one of my good friends, and that you judge rightly 
 of these people in whose power I now am, who yet haue 
 made noe adresses to me ; but be confident that now I 
 knowe them to well to be any more deceaued by them. 
 However, I hartily thanke yovi for your aduerticement. 
 Desiring to know who you are, for, seriously, I cannot guese 
 .... and I hope you neither will mistrust my discretion 
 nor secresie : wherefore I expect that you will not lett me 
 be long ignorant to whom I owe the thankes of this tymely 
 warning and good aduyce. Besides, I would by this safe 
 way aske you some questions, if I knew by which of my 
 friends ye were trusted. M. — I haue burnt your letter. 
 February 27th, 1647." 
 
 VII. 
 
 [To F .] 
 
 " F , I haue spared you as long as I could, for that 
 
 from B , which I had from you upon INIunday last, most 
 
 necessarily requyring an answer ; and now I absolutely 
 promise you not to trouble you any more in this kynde, 
 uules your selfe, giuing me the occasion, shall thinke it fitt, 
 
 untill D shall come ; nor doe I urge an answere to 
 
 this, but by sygnes : — that is to say, your right hand bare, 
 for the receipt of this; then, if the last packett you had 
 from me (which, indeed, was of importance and haste) went 
 a waye upon Munday, lett fall your hankercher; if since 
 (for I am confident it is gone), let fall one of your gloues : 
 
 besides, when you haue giuen this packett to B , tell me 
 
 newes of fresh sparagos from London ; and if shoe tells you 
 that shee belicues slice will be able to observe my directions, 
 then tell me newes of artichockes. And now know that I
 
 106 CASTLE. 
 
 am not ignorant neither of the paynes nor hazard that you 
 daily undergoe for my seruice, and particularly in receiuing 
 of thiese papers ; assuring you that, by the grace of God, I 
 shall soe think of you for them, as, if I prosper, you shall 
 esteeme all thiese paynes and hazards well bestowed." 
 
 VIII. 
 
 " I could haue despatched this soe soone yesterday as to 
 have giuen you the sygne yesternight att supper ; but I 
 would not presse upon you too soone, because of the good 
 seruice you did me on Munday last, by the quick receiuing 
 of my important dispach ; but now I shall not blame you, 
 though you hazard not to fetche this, until I be gone to 
 Bowles : which is at that howre, euery day as I conceaue 
 you may come in hiether without much danger : I say this 
 only to assist you with my obseruations, and not to impose 
 any command upon you." 
 
 IX. 
 
 " Servant, — You now by experience that my condition is 
 much wors than you thought it would haue been, but yet it 
 is not so ill as I expect it will be. However, all that I desyre 
 of you for the present is, that ye will seek to setle some way 
 of intelligence betweene you and me, and that ye would 
 send me a chifer, to the end I might write freely to you. 
 So farewell. — Saterday, February 28th." 
 
 Whatever we may think of Charles, there is something 
 in these little notes which strikes a chord of sympathy in 
 the heart, and calls forth a sigh over the unhappy captive. 
 The ingenious contrivances adopted to convey and obtain 
 intelligence were very natural ; and his looking sourly 
 upon his servant in public should receive a lenient judg- 
 ment. Confidential letters of this kind bring us very near
 
 THE STUARTS. 107 
 
 the parties between whom they passed, and one feels as if 
 at the monarch's elbow, while reading these documents. 
 There he is with his peaked beard, and his pensive counte- 
 nance, looking with a sly, suspicious air about him as he 
 holds his pen, fearful of detection. As to Dowcett, one 
 admires the fidelity of the old servant, and his love of his 
 master, his value for his smile, his exposure to danger for 
 his sake, his careful preservation of these few letters, when 
 he was forced to burn so many in Carisbroke Castle. 
 There is true nobility in the conduct of such a man cleaving 
 close to fallen sovereignty, instead of yielding to the tide 
 of popular feeling, and leaving his master to shift for him- 
 self. He was worth a thousand silken courtiers, who sport 
 and flutter before the radiance of the throne. He was no 
 hireling, no parasite, but, under the habit of a servant, 
 carried the heart of a friend, a character rather rare in 
 this world, and, when found, worthy of all love and 
 reverence. In the calendar of documents in the State 
 Paper Office we find the following, which evidently refers 
 to this trusty royalist. 
 
 " Abraham Dowcett. — For confirmation of the grant of 
 paddock walk, Windsor, made him by the late king, whom 
 he served abroad under the Earl of Holland, and on his 
 return as page of the bed-chamber. Waited on his majesty 
 at Newcastle and in Holdenby ; there, at hazard of his 
 life, supplied him with pen and ink, when the Commis- 
 sioners debarred him from them, and conveyed letters 
 between him and the queen, and other secret intelligence. 
 In May, 1648, did his utmost, by bribing the soldiers, to 
 promote his majesty's escape from the Isle of Wight, but 
 was discovered, imprisoned, his estate forfeited, and he ac- 
 cused of high treason, but he escaped to Holland." The grant 
 of Charles I. is annexed, and order is given for its confir- 
 mation, and for the place of page of the bed-chamber which
 
 108 CASTLE. 
 
 he held under the late king.* In connexion with this is 
 " a petition from Thomas Symonds, page of the presence 
 to Queen Anne and the queen-mother, for the keepership 
 of the great park of Windsor, as granted him by the 
 late king, who used to come to his lodge while squirrel 
 hunting." 
 
 Another document connected with Windsor at this period, 
 is a tract bearing the following awful title, " Terrible and 
 bloody news from Windsor, since the bringing in of the 
 King's Majesty by the army, and a dangerous fight on 
 Saturday last, between the Parliamentary forces and the 
 Koyaiists ; who, by a strange design and unheard of strata- 
 gem, would have rescued the king from the power of the 
 army." It illustrates the violence of parties at that unhappy 
 period, and is a curious specimen of the sort of newspapers 
 then in circulation. The date is Windsor, December 24, 
 1648, and we are informed that — On Thursday night 
 last, his majesty arrived, being guarded by Colonel 
 Harrison and ten troops of horse. Upon their coming, a 
 great concourse of people greeted the king, crying " God 
 bless your majesty, and send you long to reign." He was 
 conducted to the castle, and the royalists began to drink 
 and carouse iu honour of their prince, but — to use some of 
 the absurd language of the paper — with an eagle's eye being 
 discerned, they were soon taken off from that ceremonial 
 and court-like action, for notice thereof being given to 
 the captain of the guard, musqueteers were sent to disperse 
 them ; — the royalists stood in a posture of defence, where- 
 upon the soldiery forced a passage, wounded some, killed 
 three, and secured the rest, who were committed to safe 
 custody. 
 
 In connexion with the account of the arrival of Charles 
 
 * Calendar (Domestic), 1660, 1661, p. 241.
 
 THE STUARTS. 109 
 
 from the Isle of Wight, given in this tract (the contents of 
 which, by the way, do not exactly harmonise with the 
 fearful title which it bears), we may relate the subjoined 
 interesting anecdote of the monarch and Colonel Harrison. 
 On their way, the party slept at Farnham, and started 
 the next day for Windsor. They were to pass Bagshot, 
 where lived Lord Newburgh, a friend of Charles. The 
 royalist, aware that he would come that road, had arranged 
 that the king should stop and take refreshment, and, under 
 the pretence of his horse being lame, should be provided 
 with a fleet steed from Lord Newburgh's stud, on which he 
 might escape through the intricacies of the forest, where in 
 happier days he had followed the chase. When Charles 
 came to Bagshot, he complained that his horse did not 
 carry him easily, and expressed a wish to stop and dine at 
 Bagshot Lodge ; Harrison at first was unwilling to consent, 
 knowing that Newburgh was a royalist, but at length yielded 
 to the monarch's wishes. But poor Charles was not to 
 escape out of the hands of his enemies. The horse pro- 
 vided for him by Lord Newburgh had received a violent 
 injury ; the plan was thus defeated ; and, in the mean- 
 time, Charles having complained so much of his horse, 
 Harrison provided him with a better one. Thus the king 
 was brought a prisoner to his own castle, and while immured 
 within its walls, he was treated with little of the respect 
 due to his rank. That monarch in captivity, within his 
 own beautiful castle, once the scene of domestic enjoyment, 
 guarded by sentinels pacing under the very gateway at 
 the end of the terrace which he had himself built, is a 
 truly mournful and touching spectacle ; and even those 
 who may feel disposed to condemn him as a mistaken and 
 despotic monarch, may surely spare him their pity as a 
 sufiering man. Sad, but few, were the days that passed 
 over him while a prisoner in the castle. On the 19 th of
 
 110 CASTLE. 
 
 January, he was removed to St. James's Palace, whence, on 
 the memorable morning of the 30th, he was conducted to 
 Whitehall, there to close on the scaffold his melancholy 
 career.* Conducted from Windsor a prisoner, he was 
 brought back a dishonoured corpse. Amongst accounts of 
 his interment, a copy of an old MS., given in the forty- 
 second volume of the " Gentleman's Magazine," relates 
 some incidents not generally known. " Wednesday, the 7th 
 of February, 1648, the corpse being brought to Windsor Castle 
 in a hearse, by Mr. Murray, the king's coachman, accom- 
 panied with the Dukes of Richmond and Lennox, the Marquis 
 of Hartford, the Earl of Lindsay, the Earl of Southampton, 
 and Bishop Juxon, and being placed in the dean's hall, the 
 aforesaid lords sent for a plumber to open the coffin [and 
 lead]. Thus being fully satisfied it was the king, his head 
 was sewed to his body. They gave orders to the plumber 
 to cast a piece of lead some two feet long, with this inscrip- 
 tion — ' This is King Charles I., 1648,' and solder the lead 
 across the roof of the coffin. This being done, the coffin 
 was nailed up, and remained two days in the hall, being 
 darkened with a velvet pall, and two lighted tapers upon 
 the coffin. After which time the corpse was carried by two 
 soldiers of the garrison into the chapel, the lords above- 
 named bearing the pall ; Bishop Juxon and the governor 
 of the castle, whose name was Whitcot, and the officers of 
 
 * Particular mention is made by Ashmole of the garter which 
 Charles wore on the day of his execution. — " It had the letters of the 
 motto composed likewise of diamonds, which amounted tothenumher 
 of four hundred and twelve. It came to the hands of Captain Preston 
 (one of the usurper's captains), from whom the trustees for the sale 
 of the king's goods received it, and sold it to Ireton (sometime Lord 
 Mayor of London), for £205. But after the Kestoration, the king's 
 attorney-general proceeding upon an action of trover and conversion, 
 verdict was given for the king against him for £205, and £10 costs 
 of suit." — " History of the Order of the Garter," 8vo. p. 157.
 
 THE STUARTS. Ill 
 
 the garrison, with others, following the corpse ; which 
 corpse, with the velvet pall, was placed upon two trussels, 
 in a vault in the middle of the choir, by King Henry VIII. 
 and Queen Jane. The governor commanded some of his 
 officers to see the workmen close up the vault. The gover- 
 nor would not suffer the bishop to bury the king after the 
 Church of England manner, neither would the lords allow 
 of his way. There was, therefore, nothing read at his 
 grave, though the bishop's lips were observed to move. 
 They were all full of tears and sorrow. The soldiers had 
 twelvepence a-piece for carrying the corpse to the grave." 
 
 Fuller, in his " Church History," gives a long account of 
 the circumstances connected with the selection of a grave 
 for the royal corpse. He says that a grave was dug on the 
 south side of the communion table, in St. George's chapel ; 
 but that the Duke of Eichmond, who was commissioned 
 by the Parliament to superintend the funeral, with a charge 
 that it should not exceed £500 in expense, and the other 
 lords already mentioned, on coming to Windsor, resolved 
 that he should not be interred there, but in a vault, as 
 became his dignity, if the chapel afforded one. After 
 seeking one in Wolsey's chapel, then used as a magazine, 
 where they found all was solid earth, they tried the choir, 
 to see whether a hollow sound would be produced, indicative 
 of the existence of a vault, and were at last directed, by 
 one of the aged poor knights, to a vault which was situated 
 in the middle of the choir. On entering it, they found it 
 not more than five feet high, and very dark ; in the midst 
 of which they dimly discerned a large coffin, and a far less 
 one on the left side of it. These, for various reasons stated, 
 they concluded to belong to Henry VIII. and Jane Seymour. 
 The lead coffin which enclosed the body of Henry VIII. 
 being very thin, was casually broken, and some yellow 
 matter, like powder of gold, taken out : this was quite
 
 1 1 2 CASTLE. 
 
 scentless, and was probably tlie gum employed in embalm- 
 ing ; it was put back again, and the coffin closed up. 
 Herbert, in the interesting description of the royal funeral, 
 as given by Wood, in his " AthenaB Oxonienses," is less 
 circumstantial on these points, but adds a touching incident, 
 not elsewhere recorded. " When the hour of interment 
 arrived, the king's body, having been brought from his 
 bed-chamber,* was conveyed, with a slow and solemn pace, 
 to the chapel ; when first brought out, the sky was serene 
 and clear, but presently it began to snow, and the snow fell 
 so fast, that by the time the corpse had reached the west 
 end of the chapel, the black pall was all white ;" — a cir- 
 cumstance which this honest royalist interprets as an emblem 
 of his sovereign's innocence, and which, apart from such 
 interpretation, forms an affecting incident at the close of 
 the fatal tragedy. That humble procession, so different 
 from the pompous one which conveyed Henry VIII. to his 
 grave, pacing along the courts of the castle in the snow- 
 storm till the pall was whitened, would form a subject not 
 unworthy of the artist's pencil ; nor, one would think, could 
 the republican, any more than the royalist, suppress a sigh, 
 on looking at that melancholy spectacle of fallen and dis- 
 honoured majesty. 
 
 After such minute accounts of Charles's funeral, it seems 
 strange indeed that any doubt should have been entertained 
 respecting his being actually interred in St. George's 
 Chapel ; yet such doubts were entertained. Some idle tale 
 was told after the Restoration, to the efiect that the body 
 had been disinterred by the republicans, and buried at 
 Tyburn ; but the chief authority on which any doubt could 
 rest, was the statement of Lord Clarendon, that search was 
 
 * This differs from the account in the MS. before quoted, where 
 the body is said to have been placed in the dean's hall. Most likely 
 Herbert is correct.
 
 TPIE STUARTS. 113 
 
 made for the royal remains, in order to their being re- 
 interred witli honour ; but, after much fruitless examina- 
 tion in the choir of the chapel to find the vault, the 
 task was given up as impracticable. This is certainly 
 one of the most extraordinary accounts ever heard. If 
 the distinguished persons employed by Charles II. 
 to discover the place of his father's sepulchre found any 
 difficulty in doing so, they were the only persons who ever 
 did. Fuller published his " Church History" in 1655, 
 many years before the searcli was made, and gave 
 a particular account of Charles's grave. Herbert's nar- 
 rative could easily have been consulted ; and no doubt 
 there were persons about the castle fully aware of the spot 
 where the king was interred. Ashmole, in his " History 
 of the Order of the Garter," published 1672, accurately 
 describes it ; Evelyn, in his " Diary," does the same ;* and, 
 from a MS. in the dean and canons' library, it appears, 
 that in 1G86 the coffin of King Charles I. was found, lying 
 on wooden tressels on the south side of Henry VIII. 's 
 vault, in a fresh and sound state, covered with a velvet 
 pall, and with a plate on the coffin, inscribed " King 
 Charles." A mystery rests over the transaction, unless 
 it be supposed that the alleged impossibility of discovering 
 the grave was merely a pretext to enable the son to spend, 
 in a way more to his own satisfaction, the money voted 
 
 * " 1654, 8th June. — My wife and I set out in a coach and four 
 horses, in our way to visit relations of hers in Wiltshire and other 
 parts. We dined at Windsor, and saw the castle and the chapel of 
 St. George, where they have laid our hlessed martyr. King Charles, 
 in the rault jvst before the altar. The church and worhnianship in 
 stone is admirable. The castle itself is large in circumference, but 
 the rooms melancholy and of ancient magnificence. The keep or 
 mount has, besides its incomparable prospect, a profound well ; and 
 the terrace towards Eton, with the })ark, meandering Thames, and 
 sweet meadows, yield one of the most delightful prospects." — 
 Evelyn's " Memoirs," vol. i. p. 267.
 
 ] ] 4! CASTLE, 
 
 by the Parliament for funeral rites in honour of his 
 father. 
 
 But though so complete were the proofs that Charles 
 was buried in St. George's Chapel, doubts still lingered in 
 some minds : these were finally dissipated by the discovery 
 of the coffin in 1813, and the examination of the remains 
 by Sir Henry Halford. He published, as is well known, 
 an interesting account of the appearance of the corpse, of 
 which we have received confirmation from an aged re- 
 lative, who saw it immediately after the examination had 
 taken place. The oval face, the pointed beard, and the 
 remains of the features, were sufficient to identify them as 
 the original of Vandyke's fine pictures of the monarch ; 
 and the evident severance of the vertebrae of the neck by 
 some sharp instrument, completed the evidence of its being 
 the corpse of the unhappy Charles.* 
 
 During the Commonwealtb, some of Charles's faithful 
 cavaliers were imprisoned in the castle, and occupied the 
 rooms over the Norman gateway ; and, perhaps, from their 
 prison window saw the mournful procession of the monarch's 
 funeral in that memorable snow-storm. One of them, Sir 
 Edmund Fortescue, has left an inscription on the wall, 
 dated so early as 1642, and therefore must have been taken 
 prisoner in one of the first battles between Charles and the 
 Parliament ; and some others, who seem to have been taken 
 prisoners in South Wales, after the victorious battle of St. 
 
 * I find that in the journals of the House of Lords there is the 
 following entry. " Monday, July 23rd : — Mr. Rushworth was called 
 in, and the Speaker, by directions of the House, asked him what he 
 knew of a meeting at the ' Bear,' on the bridge foot, Windsor, or 
 any other place, concerning the contrivance of the king's death. 
 Mr. Rushworth said that scout-master Watson told him that some 
 officers of the Army at Windsor did speak about trying of the king, 
 and were of opinion that if the Army did desire the same of Parlia- 
 ment, that the Parliament would not deny it."
 
 THE STUARTS. 115 
 
 Fagons, and who forfeited their estates, and probably- 
 lingered here in captivity till released by death or the 
 restoration of Charles II., have also left the memorials of 
 their imprisonment carved on the vralls, and dated 1648. 
 
 Among the distinguished persons who suffered in the 
 service of Charles was the Marquis of Worcester, who is 
 buried in St. George's Chapel. At the time of his valorous 
 defence of his royal master's cause he was eighty years of 
 age, but displayed all the ardour of a youthful volunteer. 
 He is described as being equally distinguished by courage 
 and wit, and is said to have retained both to the close of 
 life. It appears, too, that his eccentricity was as great as 
 either, for Granger relates,* that he was remarkable for the 
 singularity of wearing a frieze coat, in which he was always 
 dressed when he went to court. He died in custody of the 
 officers of the black rod, being a prisoner of the Par- 
 liament, in December, 1647, in the eighty-fourth year of 
 his age. 
 
 We have glimpses of Cromwell at Windsor. " We did 
 meet at Windsor Castle," says Adjutant-General Allen, 
 ''about the beginning of 1648. There we spentoneday together 
 in prayer, inquiring into the causes of that sad dispensation 
 (the advancing of the Scotch army), coming to no further re- 
 sult that day but that it was still our duty to seek. And on 
 the morrow we met again in the morning, when many 
 spake from the Word, and prayed ; and the then Lieut. - 
 General Cromwell did press earnestly on those present a 
 thorough consideration of our actions as an army, and of 
 our ways particularly as private Christians." 
 
 During the Commonwealth, Windsor Castle was in the 
 possession of Oliver Cromwell. The Parliament determined 
 upon selling it, to replenish the resources for national pur- 
 
 # « 
 
 Biographical History of England," vol. ii. p. 120.
 
 116 CASTLE. 
 
 poses,* but the measure was never carried into effect, and 
 the protector often made the venerable structure the place 
 of his residence. We connect it with his name, and 
 remember that here did his vigorous mind often revolve 
 those plans of policy which, whatever may be thought of 
 the Commonwealth, raised England to a point of great- 
 ness in the estimation of foreign nations, which com- 
 manded their respect ; and here did he display, as a 
 husband, a father, and a man, those domestic virtues which 
 his bitterest enemies cannot deny that he possessed, and 
 which fully placed him on a level, as to private character, 
 with the monarch whose throne he occupied. Perhaps, too, 
 here sometimes occurred the circumstance of his visiting 
 twice a-day the apartments of his venerable mother, who 
 lived with him, to give her ocular demonstration that her 
 son " Noll," whom she loved and was proud of, was still 
 alive ; for the old lady was in constant fear for him, and 
 thought every pistol that was discharged was aimed at him. 
 Though he made no improvements nor additions to the 
 castle, it is but justice, says Mr. Poynter, to believe that he 
 prevented all spoliation of the royal property after it came 
 into his possession. " He certainly kept together the 
 endowments of the college, and the landed estates were 
 improved in value during his administration. He instituted 
 a regular establishment for the service of the chapel, and 
 attached it to the foundation of the poor knights, which he 
 maintained, and issued an ordinance of twelve articles for 
 its regulation." f 
 
 * •' Saturday, November 27. — The house sat again, and concluded 
 that sale be made of Hampton Court House and Park, Greenwich 
 House and Park, Windsor and Hyde Park, for supply of the navy." 
 — Proceedings in Parliament from Thursday the 25th of November, 
 to Thursday the 2nd of December, 1652, — "King's Pamphlets," 
 vol. 549 ; British Museum. 
 
 t Introduction to " Illustrations of Windsor Castle."
 
 THE STUARTS. 117 
 
 It may be observed that the houses of the military- 
 knights, called Crane's Buildings, were erected during the 
 Commonwealth, by Sir Francis Crane, to whom Sir I eter 
 le Maire, his brother-in-law, had bequeathed the sum of 
 £1700, in trust, to be disposed of in a charitable manner, 
 according to his discretion. 
 
 By an ordinance, dated the 5th of April, 1655, Lord 
 Commissioner Whitelock, and many others, including the 
 mayor and aldermen of Windsor, were appointed trustees 
 and governors of the almshouses of Windsor Castle, to rule 
 and govern them, according to the statutes found among 
 the statutes of the late dean and canons of Windsor. They 
 were to appoint the knights, with the recommendation, 
 approbation, or consent of the Lord Protector. Sir Francis 
 Crane's establishment was subjected to the same regu- 
 lations.* 
 
 The restoration opens a new era in the history of the 
 castle. The following extract from a MS. by Matthew 
 Day, an inhabitant of Windsor, gives a lively idea of the 
 ceremony of the proclamation : — " King Charles II. was 
 proclaimed King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, 
 upon the 12th of May, 1660, at the round market house 
 in New Windsor ; at which time the troop of the county 
 horse was in the town ; and Mr. Gallant, an innkeeper, 
 
 * The following were the orders appointed bj' Oliver Cromwell 
 for St. George's Chapel : — " To the preacher, yearly, £100 ; to tho 
 weekly lecturer, £10; to four poor scholars, £80; to the poor of 
 Windsor, £100 ; to the poor knights, £10 a-piece per ann.un, out of 
 which they wore to buy a gown every two years, of four yards of 
 cloth, at 13.S. id. per yard, with beys of the same colour, at 2'ld. per 
 yard." — Huggett MSS. in the Sloane Collection. The collector of these 
 papers, who was a minor canon of Windsor, compares the value of 
 the college property in the reign of Elizabeth with its value in the 
 time of Cromwell. He shows that what was valued at £661 6*. Sd. 
 per animm, in the former period, was woi'th £4430 0*. lid. in the 
 latter. — MSS. vol. ii. p. 1G4.
 
 118 CASTLE. 
 
 being Llajor, was there attended witli his company in their 
 gowns, who had a trumpeter sounding a trumpet before 
 them ; and from thence went to Windsor Bridge, and from 
 thence went to the Castle Gate, and there with the troop 
 of horse and trumpet did likewise proclaim the king ; and 
 was desired by the oflBcers that were in the castle to come 
 into tlie castle, and there proclaim King Charles II. in 
 the castle, which was also there also proclaimed with great 
 joy."* This joy, however, must have been dashed in the 
 case of certain poor people, who, during the Commonwealth, 
 had lived in various parts of the castle, for they were of 
 course now dismissed. The ejected tenants were thrown 
 on the town, whereupon the mayor and corporation pre- 
 sented a petition to the House of Commons, who " referred 
 to the Justices of the Peace to take care of the poor women 
 and children who are commanded out of the castle of New 
 Windsor, to dispose of the said women and children accor- 
 ding to law."t 
 
 There were others removed from comfortable berths, 
 with very much more difficulty. Viscount Mordaunt, who 
 was appointed Constable of the Castle, in a letter preserved 
 among the State papers, complains that Cromwell's poor 
 knights are insolent, that they refuse commands, will not 
 remove, and have been tampering with the soldiers. He 
 wonders that any should interpose in their behalf, and begs 
 one of the vacant places for Colonel Hastings, his kinsman. 
 Other petitions for admission as poor knights at that time 
 are preserved. For example, from one John Whitton, who 
 was in arms for the late king, and his father, as Comptroller 
 of Woodstock, and had laid out on the park money which 
 should have been kept for his children : and from a Captain 
 
 * Day's Book, Asli. MSS., 1126. « Annals of Windsor," ii. 289. 
 
 t Ibid. 293.
 
 THE STUARTS. 119 
 
 E. Leyton, who had served in the late wars, and was old 
 and sickly. Among the State papers there are documents 
 relating to the Windsor poor knights, which aiford inte- 
 resting illustrations of the period. Under date, March, 
 1661, is a "Petition of Thomas Freebody, to the king, 
 for licence to follow his business at London and else- 
 where, on attendance as a poor knight of Windsor of Sir 
 Francis Cranes foundation, at Christmas, Easter, and 
 Whitsuntide. Is scarcely able to walk out of the castle, 
 so that his affairs are neglected, and his place rather a loss 
 than a benefit." Of about the same date also is a " Petition 
 of George Barbor, Thomas Freebody, and William Cwome, 
 to the king, for continuance of the places bestowed on them 
 as poor knights of Windsor, for which they have purchased 
 robes, recovered the profits, &c., but from which the Dean 
 threatens to dismiss them, as being unduly elected, and 
 married men, though his majesty has granted them a 
 dispensation, and they are on Sir Francis Crane's founda- 
 tion, which has no injunction against marriage." Along 
 with these we find a " Petition of the poor knights of 
 Windsor, to the king, for confirmation of their places at 
 the chapter of the Garter to be next held. These are 
 installed by the dean and chapter, and have been at great 
 expense in furnishing their houses since their admission." 
 
 To go beyond these struggles for getting or keeping the 
 place of poor knights, we find in the same valuable collec- 
 tion of papers, that one George Drake, an inhabitant of 
 Windsor, applied for office of secretary to the intended 
 council for trade, on the ground of his sufferings in the 
 royal cause, having been imprisoned in London, and kept 
 on " pump water and pottage," till April, 1647, when he 
 was turned out half dead and naked into Lambeth fields. 
 He states that he returned to Windsor, and engaged in ar 
 design, which was long continued, to surprise the castle
 
 120 CASTLE. 
 
 for the king, had spies in Cromwell's council, and spent 
 large sums on intelligence, and holding correspondence 
 with his majesty and his friends. 
 
 But we must conclude these extracts, which might easily 
 be multiplied, with "a petition," dated ISTovember 15, 
 1660, of thirty-eight innholders, victuallers, &c., of New 
 Windsor, to Parliament, for redress. They state that they 
 have paid their taxes for the disbanding of the army, 
 expecting to be freed from the quartering of soldiers, but 
 three hundred lately enlisted for Windsor Castle are quar- 
 tered upon them, even a dozen in a house, to whom they 
 have to lend sixpence a day, and allow fire, candle, dressing 
 of food, and lodging, so that they have few or no spare 
 rooms, and the incumbrance will be their ruin. In con- 
 nexion with this we may remark that the resumption of 
 crown rights after the Commonwealth must have entailed 
 much individual hardship, of which we have here an ex- 
 ample :— " Edward Scotton and three others apply for relief, 
 inasmuch as being purchasers of land in Windsor Great 
 Park, upon the improvement of which they have spent large 
 sums, the corn, hay, grass, and wood now growing on the 
 same land are claimed for his majesty." 
 
 Viscount Mordaunt, on taking possession of his new 
 office as constable, must have found the building in a state 
 of strange confusion, for there still exists amongst the State 
 papers, under date of March 25, 1662, a warrant to Lord 
 Chamberlain Manchester, that so long as the apartments 
 belonging rightfully to John Viscount Mordaunt, as Con- 
 stable of Windsor Castle, are taken up for preservation of 
 the magazines, a kitchen, buttery cellar, dining-room, and 
 four chambers, at the east end of the castle, be repaired, 
 and set apart for him, his attendance being absolutely 
 necessary as often as the king repairs there.* 
 
 * These illustrations are gleaned from the " Calendar of Domestic
 
 THE STUARTS. 121 
 
 The Order of the Garter was restored upon Charles' 
 accession to the throne. Chapters indeed had been held 
 abroad during the Commonwealth, and knights had been 
 elected ; and the day after the royal landing at Dover, 
 there was a chapter at Canterbury, when General Monk 
 and Admiral Montague were declared companions. A 
 grand feast was celebrated at Windsor in 1662, when, 
 according to Ashmole, " the knights-elect were constrained 
 to receive their investiture below in the choir, yet directly 
 under their proper stalls, because of the great concourse of 
 people which at that time had flocked to Windsor (greedy 
 to behold the glory of that solemnity which for many years 
 had been intermitted), and rudely forced not only into and 
 filled the lower row of stalls, but taken up almost the whole 
 choir." He also adds the interesting information that for 
 this occasion there was an anthem then composed and sung 
 to the music of an organ placed in an organ loft, and "this 
 was the first time that instrumental music was introduced 
 into the said chapel." 
 
 In the " Diary " of Pepys, the celebrated secretary of the 
 Admiralty in the reigns of Charles II. and James II., and 
 president of the Royal Society, there are numerous allu- 
 sions to Windsor. This singular j^erson, who with such 
 exquisite naivete, relates the current rumours of the court, 
 and the most trifling incidents in his own personal and 
 domestic history, down to the wearing of a new coat, and 
 the proceedings of his maid-servants, dwells at considerable 
 length upon his visits to Windsor and the neighbourhood. 
 The following extract, relating to an early part of the 
 reign of Charles II., details in a characteristic and amusing 
 style the incidents of one of Pepys' journeys to Windsor, 
 
 State Papers, 1660—1661, and IGGl— 1662;" edited by Mrs. 
 Green.
 
 122 CASTLE. 
 
 and a minute account of a visit lie paid to St. George's 
 Chapel and Eton College. The reader wall excuse the 
 characteristic diffuseness of the worthy gossip, and allow 
 him to tell his stories in his own way : — 
 
 "February 26th, 1666.— Called up about five in the 
 morning, and my Lord up, and took leave, a little after six, 
 very kindly of me and the whole company. So took 
 coach and to Windsor, to the Garter, and thither sent for 
 Dr. Childe, who come to us, and carried us to St. George's 
 Chapel, and there placed us among the knights' stalls 
 (and pretty the observation, that no man, but a woman, 
 may sit in a knight's place, where any brass-plates are 
 set) ; and hither come cushions to us, and a young singing- 
 boy, to bring us a copy of the anthem to be sung. And 
 here, for our sakes, had this anthem and the great service 
 sung extraordinary, only to entertain us. It is a noble 
 place, indeed, and a good quire of voices. Great bowing 
 by all the people, the poor knights in particular, to the 
 altar. After prayers, we to see the plate of the chapel, and 
 the robes of knights, and a man to show us the banners of 
 the several knights in being, which hang up over the stalls. 
 And so to other discourse, very pretty, about the order. 
 Was shown where the late king is buried, and King Henry 
 VIII., and my Lady Seymour. This being done, to the 
 king's house, and to observe the neatness and contrivance 
 of the house and gates ; it is the most romantique castle 
 that is in the world. But, Lord ! the prospect that is in 
 the balcone in the queene's lodgings, and the terrace and 
 walk, are strange things to consider, being the best in the 
 world, sure ; and so, giving a great deal of money to this 
 and that man and woman, we to our tavern, and there 
 dined, the doctor with us ; and so took coach and away 
 to Eton, the doctor with me. At Eton I left my wife in 
 the coach, and he and I to the college, and there find all
 
 THE STUARTS. 12.3 
 
 miglity fine. The school good, and the custom pretty of 
 boys cutting their names in the shuts of the window wlien 
 they go to Cambridge, by which many a one hath lived to 
 see himself a provost and fellowe, that hath his name in the 
 window standing. To the hall, and there find the boys' 
 verses, 'De Peste,' it being their custom to make verses 
 at Shrove-tide. I read several, and very good they were ; 
 better, I think, than ever 1 made when I was a boy, and 
 in rolls, as long, and longer than the whole hall, by much. 
 Here is a picture of Venice hung up, and a monument 
 made of Sir H. Wotton's giving it to the College. Thence 
 to the porter's, in the absence of the butler, and did drink 
 of the college beer, which is very good ; and went into 
 the back fields to see the scholars play. And so to 
 the chapel, and there saw, among other things. Sir H. 
 Wotton's stone, with this epitaph : — 
 
 ' Hie jacet primus hujus sententise Author : 
 Disputaudl pruritus fit ecclesiae scabies.' 
 
 But, unfortunately, the word 'Author' was wrong writ, 
 and now so basely altered that it disgraces the stone." 
 
 Upon the restoration of Charles II., Windsor Castle 
 became his summer residence. He eff"ected those exten- 
 sive alterations which totally changed the character of the 
 building, and gave it the appearance it retained till the 
 reign of George IV. The precise period when these altera- 
 tions were made cannot now be ascertained, as the papers 
 relating to them are missing ; but from the following passage, 
 in the "Diary" of Evelyn, it would appear to have been 
 about the year 1670 : — 
 
 " Augu.st 28th, 1670. — Windsor was now going to be 
 repaired, being exceeding ragged and ruinous. Prince 
 Piupert, the constable, had begun to trim up the keep, or 
 high round tower, and handsomely adorned his hall with
 
 124; CASTLE. 
 
 furniture of arms, whicli was very singular, by so disposing 
 the pikes, muskets, pistols, bandoliers, holsters, drums, 
 back, breast, and head pieces, as was very extraordinary. 
 Thus those huge steep stairs, ascending to it, had the 
 walls invested with this martial furniture, all new and 
 bright, so disposing the bandoliers, holsters, and drums, as 
 to represent festoons, and that without any confusion, 
 trophy-like. From the hall we went into his bedchamber, 
 and ample rooms hung with tapestry, curious and effemi- 
 nate pictures, extremely different from the other, which 
 presented nothing but war and horror." He adds : — "The 
 king passed most of his time in hunting the stag, and 
 walking in the park, which he was now planting with rows 
 of trees."* 
 
 Charles II., having been entertained for some time, during 
 his exile, at the splendid court of Louis XIV., had imbibed 
 a thorough taste for that gorgeous magnificence in building 
 and decoration, which distinguished the palace of the Grand 
 Monarque; and, therefore, on his return to the castle of his 
 fathers, he determined to re-fashion and adoni it according 
 to the models which had inspired his admiration. Sir 
 Christopher Wren was appointed to superintend the altera- 
 tions, and, under the hand of that famous architect, the 
 fine old Gothic structure of Edward III. was transmuted 
 into an incongruous imitation of the palatial architecture 
 of the Continent. As regarded the exterior of the edifice, 
 its appearance was rendered exceedingly mean and untaste- 
 ful. A new building was added in the middle of the north 
 side, called the Star Building, from its exhibiting a large 
 star in front ; and this, together with the whole of the 
 external walls, extending from it to the Devil's Tower, on 
 the south side, was made to present a mere flat surface of 
 
 * c 
 
 ' Memoirs," vol. i. p. 409.
 
 THE STUARTS. 125 
 
 stone-work, with towers pared down to an insipid outline, 
 and mean circular-lieaded windows, some of which exhibited 
 a strange attempt at composition, being divided across the 
 middle by a balustrade. It has been well remarked, that 
 because the architect could not Italianise the whole castle, 
 and would not Gothicise his own building, he devised the 
 unhappy expedient of obliterating all architectural style 
 whatever. The interior, it must be acknowledged, was far 
 different, though out of all keeping with that indelible 
 character of a fortress which belonged to the castle. A 
 suite of seventeen rooms on the principal floor, with a grand 
 staircase of dimensions and proportions truly palatial, 
 extended round the north vdng, from the building erected 
 by Henry VII. to the tower at the corner of the quadrangle, 
 called King John's Tower.* The ceilings, by Verrio, of 
 which a few remain, were among their characteristic orna- 
 ments, t 
 
 Among the alterations made in the reign of Charles II. 
 we may particularly notice the new facing of the north 
 terrace with stone, the extension of the walk round the 
 
 * Introduction to " Illustrations of Windsor Castle." 
 f " Antonio Verrio, a Neapolitan, was an artist of more invention 
 tlian taste, and of greater expedition than correctness. His pompous 
 staircases and his ceilings are popularly esteemed the greatest 
 ornaments of our villas and palaces. He excelled in painting marble 
 steps and columns, which he took care to introduce on every 
 occasion." — Granger's " Biographical History," vol. iv. p. 114. 
 
 "There is a curious anecdote of this artist related by Lord 
 Orford, namely, that while Verrio was employed at Windsor, he 
 quarrelled with Mrs. Marriott, the housekeeper (whose portrait is 
 now at Hampton Court), and borrowed her ugly fiice for one of the 
 furies, in order to gratify his personal pique. To flatter the court, 
 he represented Lord Shaftesbui-y among the demons of fiiction, 
 distributing libels. There is a study for a proposed ceiling by 
 Verrio, in which he introduced Sir Godfrey Kneller, Mr. May, 
 surveyor of the works, and himself, in long periwigs, as spectators 
 of our Saviour healing the sick. The sketch is at Hampton Court." 
 — Mr. Jesse's " Summer's Day at Windsor," p. 120.
 
 126 CASTLE. 
 
 east and soutli sides of the castle, and the construction of 
 an engine for supplying the royal establishment with water. 
 The following curious account of the latter is found in 
 the "London Gazette," of the 4th of August, 1681 : — 
 "Windsor, July 30th. — This evening the King, Queen, 
 and Prince of Orange, being attended by divers foreign 
 ambassadors, and other persons of eminent quality, and not 
 a few of the English nobility, together with a numerous 
 train of near one thousand persons, returning from the 
 park, Sir Samuel Morland, with the strength of eight men, 
 forced the water (mingled Avith a vessel of red wine, to 
 make it more visible), in a continual stream, at the rate of 
 above sixty barrels an hour, from the engine below at the 
 park-pale, up to the top of the castle, and from thence into 
 the air, above sixty foot high, to the great admiration of 
 their majesties, and all the beholders, as well foreigners 
 as others ; who unanimously concluded, that this was the 
 boldest and most extraordinary experiment that has ever 
 been performed by water in any part of the world. On 
 Monday morning the King and the Prince of Orange saw 
 the said engine (wrought only by two men), force the water 
 from below, through the leaden pipe, in a full stream, 
 above the top of the castle." 
 
 Evelyn's " Diary" gives glimpses of Windsor at different 
 periods of Charles' reign, just before and after these altera- 
 tions took place. He was at Windsor in 1670, when he 
 tells us that the castle was "ragged and ruinous," but 
 " going to be repaired." Ptupert had begun to trim up the 
 keep, and handsomely adorn the hall with "furniture of 
 arms, which was very singular, by so disposing the pikes, 
 muskets, pistols, bandoleers, holsters, drums, back, breast, 
 and head pieces, as was very extraordinary." " From the 
 halls," adds the visitor, " we went into liis bedchamber, and 
 ample rooms hung with tapestry, curious and effeminate
 
 THE STUARTS. 127 
 
 pictures, so extremely diiferent from the otlier, wliicli 
 presented nothing but war and horror." The same worthy 
 chronicler of passing events tells us in August, 1674, that 
 in one of the meadows at the foot of the long terrace below 
 the castle, works were thrown up to show the king a repre- 
 sentation of the city of Maestricht, newly taken from the 
 French. There was a mimic siege performed for the 
 entertainment of his majesty, approaches made, trenches 
 opened, batteries raised, counterscarp and ravelin taken 
 after a stout defence. " In short," says Evelyn, " all the 
 circumstances of a formal siege to appearance, and what is 
 most strange, all without disorder or ill accident, to the 
 ■great satisfaction of a thousand spectators." Part of the 
 exhibition was at night. And he " went with Mr. Pepys 
 back to London, where they arrived about three in the 
 morning." 
 
 He paid Windsor a visit soon after the alterations 
 and improvements had been made, and he shows the 
 high admiration in which Verrio's productions were held 
 by the connoisseurs of the day: — "May 16th, 1683. 
 — I went to Windsor, dining by the way at Chiswick. 
 That which was new at Windsor since I was last there, 
 and was surprising to me, was that incomparable fresco 
 painting in St. George's Hall, representing the legend of 
 St. George, and triumph of the Black Prince, and his re- 
 ception by Edward HI., the roof not totally finished ; then 
 the Resurrection, in the chapel, where the figure of the 
 Ascen.sion is, in my opinion, comparable to any paintings 
 of the Roman masters : the Last Supper, over the altar. 
 I liked the contrivance of the unseen organ, behind the 
 altar ; nor less, the stupendous, and beyond all description, 
 the incomparable carving of our Gibbons, who is, without 
 controversy, the greatest master, both for invention and 
 rareness of work, that the world ever had in any age, nor
 
 12S CASTLE. 
 
 doubt I at all tliat he will prove as great a master in the 
 statuary art. Verrio's invention is admirable, his ordnance 
 full and flowing, antique and heroical ; his figures move ; 
 and, if the walls hold (which is the only doubt, by reason 
 of the salts, which in time, and in this moist climate, pre- 
 judice), the work will preserve his name to ages. There 
 was now the terrace brought almost round the old castle ; 
 the grass made clean, even, and curiously turfed ; the 
 avenues to the new park, and other walks, planted with 
 elms and limes ; and a pretty canal, and receptacle for 
 fowl : not less observable and famous is the throwing so 
 huge a quantity of excellent water to the enormous height 
 of the castle, for the use of the whole house, being an ex- 
 traordinary invention, by Sir Samuel Morland." 
 
 The castle, completely transformed by the gay monarch, 
 and furnished with the luxurious grandeur of French and 
 Italian taste, was the favourite residence of Charles, and 
 the scene of many a revel. A theatre was fitted up within 
 its walls, and accommodated to the use of the French come- 
 dians ; and there, and in the ball-rooms, and other apart- 
 ments, the dissolute monarch, surrounded by his courtiers 
 and courtezans, exhibited those spectacles of licentiousness 
 and dissipation, which every virtuous historian has con- 
 demned, and over which we must, in the present volume, 
 draw a veil. 
 
 There is an anecdote told of Charles, in connection with 
 Windsor, which shows, that though he was so depraved, 
 there were those around him who were disposed to go to 
 lengths of wickedness, from the thought of which even he 
 recoiled. The queen of Charles is well known to have 
 been neglected and despised by her husband. He longed 
 for her death or removal, and the infamous Buckingham 
 proposed a plan for gratifying his master. The king and 
 his consort were accustomed to divert themselves by run-
 
 THE STUARTS. 129 
 
 ning about the streets of Windsor, disguised in masks, and 
 entering the houses of the inhabitants, whom they dis- 
 turbed by their wild and unprincely extravagances. Buck- 
 ingham suggested that, on one of these occasions, her 
 majesty should be seized and sent off to some colonial 
 plantation, and that a report should be spread to the effect 
 that she had deserted her husband, on which ground a 
 divorce mio'ht be obtained. Charles was not, after all, so 
 heartless as to assent to this barbarous plan, and declared 
 that it would be a wicked thing to make a poor lady so 
 miserable, only because she was his wife, and had no 
 
 family. 
 
 A man, however, who could run masked about the 
 streets, and play tricks with his subjects, was utterly 
 unfitted for the throne ; and just was the reproof once con- 
 veyed to him by Killigrew, who, dressing himself in a 
 pilgrim's habit, accosted the monarch, telling him that he 
 hated himself and the world, and asking his royal permis- 
 sion for a visit to the lower regions. " For what are you 
 going?" asked Charles. "May it please your majesty," 
 said he, " I am going to speak to the devil to send Oliver 
 Cromwell to take care of the English government, as I have 
 observed with regret, that his successor is always employed 
 on other business."'* The admonition was pertinent, while 
 the terms in which it was conveyed, present a specimen of 
 
 * Sir Thomas Killigrew was page of honour to Charles I., and 
 gentleman of the hed-chamber to Charles II. Granger refers to a 
 portrait of him dressed like a pilgrim, with these verses inscribed : — 
 
 " You see my face, and if you'd know my mind, 
 'Tis this, I hate myself and all mankind." 
 
 The portrait seems to allude to the anecdote given above. There is 
 a picture of Killigrew in the Vandyke Gallery, in Windsor Castle, 
 painted by that admirable master. 
 
 K
 
 130 CASTLE. 
 
 that habit of profane allusion to the most awful subjects 
 which so generally prevailed among the wits of Charles's 
 court. 
 
 The name of the beautiful Eleanor Gwyn, one of 
 the chief favourites of Charles II., is especially asso- 
 ciated with Windsor. The licentious monarch provided 
 her a residence near the castle, situated on the spot now 
 called the Queen's Mews. The house was styled Burford 
 House, and the only letter she is known to have written is 
 dated from it ; there, accompanied by some of the 
 kindred spirits whom he cherished in his court, Charles 
 spent many an hour in the society of this ex-orange girl 
 and actress, charmed by her beauty, and captivated by her 
 vivacity and wit. 
 
 During the reign of Charles II., the royal chapel had 
 remained in a neglected state, but early in the reign of his 
 successor, it was repaired and restored by Dr. Childe, 
 the organist. The following extract relative to this re- 
 paration is taken from a MS. in the dean and chapter's 
 library : — 
 
 "February 7th, A.D. 1686 and 1687.— This day the 
 area of the choir of St. George's Chapel began to be paved 
 with black and white marble, at the sole cost and charges 
 of WUliam Childe, doctor in musick, and organist of the 
 chapel. At the breaking-up of the old pavement, we had 
 the curiosity to look into the vault in which King Henry 
 VIII. and his queen, the Lady Jane Seymour, are interred. 
 This vault lyeth in the middle of the choir ; and if you 
 stand on the lower haut pas, going up to the high altar, 
 and account three of the stalls of the Knights of the Garter, 
 and then place yourself in the middle of the choir, oppo- 
 site to that stall, you shall stand exactly on the head of the 
 vault, which is about eight or nine feet square, encompassed 
 on aU sides vsdth brick-work, and a brick arch turned over
 
 THE STUARTS. 131 
 
 the top of it ; it is about seven or eight feet deep, neither 
 is there any passage by steps or otherwise, as some do con- 
 jecture. On the north side lieth the body of the Lady 
 Jane Seymour, and next to her the body of King Henry 
 VIII., both of them lying in coffins of lead, and standing 
 on wooden tressels ; these coffins, especially the queen's, 
 are much broken and decayed, the lead being turned of a 
 yellowish colour.* On the south side of the vault lieth the 
 body of King Charles I., in a coffin of lead, and on wooden 
 tressels, as the others : this coffin is very fresh and sound, 
 it is covered with a purple coloured velvet pall, and on the 
 middle of his coffin, over his breast, is fixed a plate, on 
 which, in capital letters, embossed, are written, KING 
 CHARLES." 
 
 Upon the death of King Charles IL, his brother and suc- 
 cessor on the throne carried on and completed the alterations 
 in the castle, which were already so far advanced. Indeed 
 little remained to be done beyond finishing the decorations 
 of the ceilings, which was soon accomplished by the pencil 
 of Verrio. He was also employed by James to paint the 
 roof of Wolsey's Chapel in his usual allegorical style. It 
 exhibited James in the robes of the Garter, seated on an 
 arch, treading down a hydra ; while ]\Iars was introduced 
 crushing Faction, Fury, and Rebellion. Juno and Peace 
 were represented placing a crown on the monarch's head, 
 attended by Plenty, who unfolded a scroll inscribed "Con- 
 cordia fratrum." Jupiter was placed on the right hand 
 with a group of figures, one of which held a crosier to re- 
 present the church ; and Mercury was placed on the left, in 
 the act of relating the glory of the monarch. Fame, too, 
 was there, holding in one hand a medallion of Charles I., 
 
 * The statements here with regard to the height of the vault 
 and the appearance of the cofSii are not correct. 
 
 k2
 
 132 CASTLE. 
 
 and in the other a medallion of Charles II., a scroll being 
 exhibited over the head of the former, bearing the motto 
 "Calamitas puhlica:'' To say nothing of the miserable taste 
 that is displayed in the introduction of this style of paint- 
 ing into a Gothic edifice, and in the monstrous combination 
 of mythological and Christian emblems in such a place, we 
 cannot but characterize as exceedingly contemptible the in- 
 genuity with which the fawning artist endeavoured to glorify 
 his royal masters. 
 
 The object of the monarch in thus adorning the chapel 
 was that it might be employed for the purposes of Popish 
 worship, to which he was so notoriously attached.* ^Mass 
 was celebrated there, but the proceeding was so unpopular 
 that the Protestant inhabitants assembled around the place, 
 and expressed their intolerant indignation by demolishing 
 the windows and otherwise injuring the edifice. The cir- 
 cumstance reminds us of a similar incident in the life of 
 James's ancestress. Queen Mary of Scotland, who, when she 
 attempted to celebrate mass in her chapel of Holyrood House, 
 was assailed by a mob, which the lords were unable to 
 appease without great difficulty.! 
 
 Another circumstance occurred at Windsor in July, 1687, 
 
 * Evelyn repeatedly mentions the celebration of mass at 
 Windsor : — 
 
 "Sept. 6tb, 1685. — Went to hear a Frenchman who preached 
 before the king and queen in that splendid chapel next St. George's 
 Hall. Their majesties going to mass, I withdrew to consider the 
 stupendous painting of the hall. 
 
 "July 11th, 1686. — Doctor Megot, Dean of Winchester, preached 
 before the household in St. George's Chapel at Windsor, the late 
 king's glorious chapel now seized on by the mass priests." — 
 "Memoirs," vol. ii. p. 569. 
 
 t Randolph wrote to Cecil, September 12th, 1561 :— " Her mass 
 is terrible in all men's eyes. The Erie of Cassilis said unto myself 
 that he wolde never here any moe. I know not yet what mischief 
 it may works."
 
 THE STUAETS. 133 
 
 in connexion with the attempts of James II, to restore the 
 dominion of the Papal Church in England. This was the 
 public reception of the Pope's nuncio. D'Adda, who sus- 
 tained that office, had hitherto been recognised simply as a 
 private nobleman and layman of the Court of Rome* But 
 now the king resolved that he should be publicly received 
 in his papal character, and prepared for such public recep- 
 tion by first securing his consecration by three Romish 
 bishops in the Chapel Royal at St. James's, as Archbishop 
 of Amasia. On the same evening the king and the queen 
 received him, habited in his archiepiscopal vestments, when 
 they humbly sought and accepted on their knees his sacer- 
 dotal benediction. The Spanish ambassador, who has then 
 present, warned James of the consequences that were likely 
 to ensue from his thus allowing himself to be priest- ridden, 
 when the infatuated monarch asked, "Is it not the 
 usage in Spain that kings consult their confessors T "Yes, 
 sire," he replied ; " and hence it is that our affairs go so 
 badly." 
 
 The public reception of D'Adda, as papal nuncio, was 
 fixed to take place at Wind.sor on the 3rd of July ; and the 
 Duke of Somerset received orders to be in attendance on 
 the occasion to introduce the dignitary. He begged to be 
 excused on the ground that compliance would bring him 
 within the statute of treason. " Do you not know," said 
 James, " that I am above the law T " Your majesty may 
 be," replied the duke, " but I am not." For this he was 
 dismissed from court. 
 
 On the day appointed the nuncio publicly entered Wind- 
 sor in great pomp and state, and was received at the castle 
 by the Popish monarch with all marks of reverence — a scene 
 altogether such as had not been witnessed in England for 
 a hundred and fifty years. " Great multitudes," says 
 Macaulay, " flocked to the little town. The visitors were
 
 134 CASTLE. 
 
 SO numerous tKat there was neither food nor lodging for 
 them, and many persons of quality sat the whole day in 
 their carriages waiting for the exhibition. At length, late 
 in the afternoon, the knight-marshal's men appeared on 
 horseback ; then came a long train of running footmen, and 
 then in a royal coach was seen Adda, robed in purple, with 
 a brilliant cross on his breast. He was followed by the 
 equipages of the principal courtiers and ministers of state. 
 In his train the crowd recognised with disgust the arms 
 and liveries of Crewe, Bishop of Durham, and of Cartwright, 
 Bishop of Chester." 
 
 Windsor soon afterwards became the scene of far different 
 movements. The unconstitutional proceedings of James 
 having led to the invitation of William, Prince of Orange, 
 to come over to England preparatory to the crisis of the 
 Revolution, the latter, after having remained for a short 
 time at Henley, removed with his court to Windsor, where 
 those councils were held which terminated in his accession 
 to the English throne. 
 
 Whitehall, where the lords in the confidence of James 
 assembled, and Windsor, which was the head-quarters of 
 William and his council, became now the great central 
 points around which were clustered the sympathies, the 
 hopes, and the interests of the two parties into which the 
 nation was divided. Were the old walls of the castle en- 
 dowed with memory and speech, what revelations could they 
 make respecting the anxious hours of debate which were 
 spent there at that memorable period ! We fancy that we 
 can see the council sitting round the board in deep delibe- 
 ration ; that we can witness the stir occasioned throughout 
 the place by the arrival of messengers bearing tidings 
 respecting the movements of James, or conveying despatches 
 of importance to the prince; and that we can detect the 
 alternating feelings of hope and fear depicted in the
 
 THE STUARTS. 135 
 
 countenances of the wliole party, as the various intelli- 
 gence is announced in relation to the stirring affairs of the 
 time. 
 
 It was at Windsor Castle that the blow was struck which 
 removed the king. The following message was there pre- 
 pared, and immediately despatched to Whitehall, to be 
 delivered to the foolish monarch : — 
 
 "We desire you, the Lord Marquis of Halifax, the Earl 
 of Shrewsbury, and the Lord Delamere, to tell the King, 
 that it is thought convenient, for the greater quiet of the 
 city, and for the greater safety of his person, that he do 
 remove to Ham ; where he shall be attended by his 
 guards, who shall be ready to preserve him from any dis- 
 turbance. 
 
 "W., Pkince of Orange. 
 
 "Given at Windsor, the 17th of December, 1688." 
 
 On receiving this, James quitted Whitehall and repaired 
 to Rochester, whence he soon after removed to France. 
 The issue is familiar to every reader. James lost the 
 throne — William ascended it. 
 
 Though the male Stuarts were driven for ever from the 
 British throne, there are abundant mementoes of the family 
 in their ancient abode. One of these — an equestrian statue 
 of Charles II., placed on the west side of the quadrangle — is 
 too conspicuous to be vinobserved. The statue itself has 
 been severely criticised, but the pedestal on which it stands 
 has justly called forth the deepest admiration. It is of 
 white marble, and, under the skilful hand of Grinling 
 GiVjbons, has been wrought into the most exquisite imita- 
 tions of fruits, fish, and implements of shipping. This fine 
 monument of art was raised, as the following inscription,
 
 136 CASTLE. 
 
 upon it testifies, at the expense of Tobias Eustat, a faithful 
 servant of Charles II. :* — 
 
 CAEOIO SECTINDO. 
 
 EEOrM OPTIMO. 
 
 DOMINO SrO CLEMENTISSIMO 
 
 TOBIAS ErSTAT 
 
 HANC EFFIGIEM HUMILIME, 
 
 DEDIT ET DEDICATIT, 
 
 ANNO DOMINI MDCLXXX. 
 
 Tobias Eustat, who has thus identified his name with 
 Windsor Castle, belonged to that estimable class of cha- 
 racters who, by the frugality of their personal habits, are 
 enabled to perform acts of princely generosity. Though he 
 held no higher situation than that of keeper of the palace 
 of Hampton Court and yeoman of the robes, and possessed 
 by no means a large fortune, it is stated that he gave away 
 no less than £10,735 in benefactions before his death.t He 
 contributed largely toward the erection of public edifices, 
 particularly Saint Paul's Cathedral. Taking a deep interest 
 in the prosperity of the Universities, he gave £1000 to the 
 augmentation of thirteen fellowships at St. John's College at 
 Oxford, and founded eight scholarships at Jesus College in 
 Cambridge, for the orphans of poor clergymen. The bless- 
 ing of Providence seems to have rested on this generous- 
 hearted man, thus marking him out as a worthy example, 
 for it is said in his epitaph that "he found the more he 
 bestowed upon churches, hospitals, universities, and colleges, 
 
 * The bronze statue of Charles II. in the middle of the court of 
 Chelsea Hospital was also raised at his expense. 
 
 t Granger's "Biographical History," vol. iii. p. 416. It is a 
 mystery how he could come by so much money, for his salary during 
 forty years was only £40 per annum : it was afterwards doubled. 
 His epitaph says — " the greatest part of his estate he gathered by 
 God's bkssing, the king's favour, and his industry."
 
 THE STUARTS. 137 
 
 and upon poor widows of orthodox ministers, the more lie 
 liad at the year's end ; neither was he unmindful of his kin- 
 dred and relations, in making them provisions out of what 
 remained."* Evelyn speaks of him as a "very simple, 
 ignorant, honest, and loyal creature ;" but surely a man who 
 had so large a heart, and whose life was distinguished by 
 such munificent deeds deserves a higher eulogium. 
 
 * " Collectanea Cantabrigiensia," p. 145. 
 
 9
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 WILLIAM AND ANNE. 
 
 jILLIAM III. was only an occasional resident 
 at Windsor. Durina; his reim lie was too 
 mucli occupied in the pursuits of war and 
 in the affairs of state to allow of his enjoy- 
 ing the tranquil retreats of the castle and 
 its parks ; yet he made some improvements in both, and 
 projected others. He planted the Long Walk in the Home 
 Park, by the path to Datchet, and built the boundary 
 wall which formerly encompassed that part of the park ; and 
 in the introduction to the " Illustrations of Windsor Castle," 
 there is an account of certain plans, which were at that time 
 drawn by Sir Christopher Wren, for an alteration of the palace 
 and the gardens. Among the few existing relics which 
 belong to Windsor Castle in connexion with William III. 
 is a paper, found among the records of that period, grant- 
 ing permission to a poor woman named Elizabeth Edwards 
 to erect a shed in the gateway of the lower ward, that she 
 might there pursue her avocation as a sempstress, since, as 
 it is stated in the Earl Marshal's warrant, " by reason of 
 great debt her husband had withdrawn, and herself had been 
 deprived of her dwelling in Windsor, and having many 
 children, she was willing, by her trade as sempstress and 
 otherwise, to get maintenance for herself and children, that 
 they might not be chargeable to the parish." The royal
 
 WILLIAM AND AXNE. 139 
 
 permission granted for this purpose is a trifling yet pleasing 
 incident ; and amidst the wars and intrigues of William's 
 reign, we gratefully turn to look at this honest sempstress, 
 plying her avocation beneath the arch of the old gateway, 
 under the special protection of the stern and warlike 
 naonarch. The record of such little acts of kindness pos- 
 sesses a charm in the estimation of benevolent minds, the 
 beauty of which will not be lost, even amidst the most 
 splendid and imposing array of historical associations. 
 
 Queen Anne resided in a house on the Castle-hill during 
 the reign of William III., and was often at Windsor Castle 
 after her accession to the throne, and in her reign the great 
 staircase was painted by Sir James Thornhill, and the 
 double steps made in the centre of the east terrace. She 
 laid out £40,000 in repairs, and planned a garden shown 
 in Collier's map, but never completed. In 1707, she 
 planted " the Queen's Walk." In 1710, the carriage-road 
 was made through the Long Walk. 
 
 No reader of English history can fail to associate with the 
 reign of Anne the name of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, 
 whose history is also linked to the locality of Windsor by 
 several interesting incidents. There, in her palmy days, she 
 gave examples of the marvellous influence which she had 
 acquired over her royal mistress, an influence which it has 
 been well remarked, was the same as the sorcery which Leo- 
 nora Galligai avowed to her judges over Mary de Medicis — 
 " the power of a strong upon a weak mind." She was ap- 
 pointed by the queen ranger of Windsor Park, an appointment 
 which sJie greatly valued, and had a residence there appro- 
 priated for her use, to which she was much attached. The 
 lodge of the park, she remarks, was a very agreeable resi- 
 dence ; and " Anne had remembered, in the days of their 
 friendship, that the duchess, in riding by it, had often 
 wished for such a place." The castle was the scene of many
 
 140 CASTLE. 
 
 a visit from " Queen Sarah," as she was popularly called, 
 till her influence was undermined by the intrigues of the 
 famous Mrs. Masham, that singular personage in English 
 history. Tradition reports, that it was while the duchess 
 was sitting at tea with the queen, in a little room, now 
 part of the library, whose windows overlook the north 
 terrace, the tidings of the victory of Blenheim were 
 brought to the castle. The note containing the intelligence, 
 written by the duke upon a leaf torn from his memorandum- 
 book, and addressed to his lady, is preserved among the 
 archives of Blenheim. " I have not time," says the great 
 general, " to say more, but to beg you will give my duty to 
 the queen, and let her know that her army has had a 
 glorious victory. M. Tallard and two other generals are in 
 my coach, and I am following the rest. The bearer, my 
 aide-de-camp, will give her an account of what has passed. 
 I shall do it, in a day or two, by another, more at large." 
 A memorial of the victory of Blenheim is still preserved 
 in the guard chamber of the castle, where the attention of 
 the visitor is particularly directed to the ancient standard of 
 France, suspended over the bust of the hero ;— the stan- 
 dard is annually presented to the sovereign by the heir of 
 his titles and domains, as the tenure on which he holds 
 the magnificent estate at Woodstock. 
 
 After the retirement of the Duchess of Marlborough 
 from court, and especially after the death of her husband, 
 she spent a considerable portion of her time at the lodge in 
 Windsor Park. Though she resigned the rest of her offices, 
 she retained that of ranger, and therefore continued possessor 
 of her favourite residence. It was while she was residino' 
 at Windsor that the hand of the illustrious duchess was 
 solicited by Charles, Duke of Somerset. He was generally 
 called the proud duke, being a man of most arrogant pre- 
 tensions, and carrying his pride so far as to punish one of
 
 WILLIAM AND ANNE. 141 
 
 his daugliters, by cutting off £20,000 from her fortune, for 
 daring to sit down in his presence, a liberty which he never 
 allowed his children to take. But great as might be his 
 pretensions, they had no weight with the lady whose 
 alliance he sought, and who gave him that memorable 
 answer : " I deem a second marriage unsuitable to my age ; 
 but were I addressed by the emperor of the world, I 
 would not permit him to succeed to that heart which has 
 been devoted to John, Duke of Marlborough." This un- 
 dying attachment to her departed lord was a fine trait in 
 her character, and shines with beautiful lustre amidst the 
 assemblage of talents and eccentricities which distinguished 
 her famous name. Of all affections, the love which sur- 
 vives the tomb, and only lives on memory, is the purest 
 and the brightest that can exist in the human bosom. 
 
 Other anecdotes of the Duchess of Marlborough, in con- 
 nexion with Windsor, present her under a less amiable 
 aspect, and illustrate the love of power and the imperious 
 temper, which were so characteristic of this noble dame. 
 She had a great dislike to Walpole, whom she continually 
 annoyed by applications relating to repairs in the park ; 
 but to the Duke of St. Albans, who was governor of 
 Windsor Castle, and warden of the forest, she had a still 
 greater aversion. " The duchess was outrageous when she 
 saw the Duke of St. Albans coming into the park with 
 coaches and chaises whenever he pleased, under pretence 
 of supervising the fortifications, a term which she thought 
 very ridiculous, unless he meant by it the ditch around the 
 castle. No one, except the royal family or the ranger, had 
 ever been allowed, during her experience of fifty years, 
 such a liberty before. But that was not all the oftcnce. 
 The duchess in addressing her complaints to Pelham Holies, 
 Duke of Newcastle, who had married her grand-daughter, 
 Lady Harriet Godolphin, assured his gi-ace that the Duke
 
 142 CASTLE. 
 
 of St. Albans had, to use a military phrase, ' besieged her 
 in both parks, and been willing to forage in them at j^lea- 
 sure.' Having got the better of him in some points, he 
 had pursued her to the little park, and her only resource 
 was to address her relative, then secretary of state, to 
 intercede with the queen, that the intrusive warden might 
 not be permitted to have a key. Which of the belligerent 
 powers prevailed does not appear." * 
 
 Some little time after this, she was greatly annoyed at a 
 matrimonial alliance formed by her grandson Charles, who 
 succeeded to the dukedom of Marlborough. He married 
 Lady Trevor, whom the duchess greatly disliked. She there- 
 fore banished them both from Windsor Lodge, and, to vent 
 her spleen upon the unfortunate young lady, who, she said, 
 had stripped the house and garden of all she could take, 
 set up eight figures on the premises, to personate the eight 
 Misses Trevor, cousins of the new duchess, representing 
 them in a puppet-show, tearing up the shrubs, while the 
 latter was portrayed carrying away a hencoop under her 
 arm.t 
 
 Energetic and ambitious to the last, she contrived to 
 arrange, not long before her death, a matrimonial alliance 
 between her relative. Lady Diana Spencer, and Frederic, 
 Prince of Wales, who were to be married at her lodge in 
 Windsor Park ; but the match was broken off through the 
 interference of Walpole, who felt a pleasure in thwarting 
 her plans. The mighty Sarah's spirit was often chafed, 
 in her latter days, by such annoyances, and by the re- 
 peated contentions in which she was engaged in relation 
 
 * Mrs. Thomson's " Life of the Duchess of Marlborough," vol. ii. 
 p. 395. 
 
 f Mrs. Thomson relates this story on the authority of Walpole, 
 but deems its truth somewhat questionable. — "Memoirs," vol. ii. 
 p. 404.
 
 WILLIAM AND ANNE. 143 
 
 to her office and claims as ranger of Windsor Park. 
 The peacefulness of the surrounding scene, with all its 
 beauty, could not tranquillize her tempestuous soul ; nor 
 could her abundant wealth remove the infirmities of age 
 and disease which oppressed her frame. Her biographer 
 describes her at Windsor, as — " Wrapped up in flannels, and 
 carried about like a child, or wheeled up and down her 
 rooms in a chair." 
 
 r
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 HOUSE OF HANOVER. 
 
 ^^-5^# HE first two sovereigns of the House of 
 M'l& W^Wl Hanover resided at Hampton Court and 
 
 # 
 
 Kensington; and we have scanty notice 
 ^^ of their even visiting Windsor. The con- 
 stables who resided at the castle in suc- 
 cession were the Duke of Kent, Lord Cobham, the Earl 
 of Carlisle, the Duke of St. Albans, and the Earl of 
 Cardigan. Strange to say, "Apartments to let" might 
 have been written over the royal gates, for we are told by 
 Pote, in his '' History of Windsor," that many gentlemen 
 and families of estate constantly resided either in the town 
 or in the lodgings in the castle during the absence of the 
 royal family. 
 
 Marshal Belleisle was the last state prisoner confined in 
 the Round Tower, which seems to have been in a very dila- 
 pidated condition. In 1730, the roof was in danger of falling 
 in ; the next year the stairs were so ruinous as to be almost 
 entirely useless. Matters continued getting worse, and in 
 ] 752 the great stones were falling from the curtain of the 
 Round Tower, threatening to vmdermine the parapet wall. 
 The sylvan beauties, however, of the royal domain continued 
 as attractive as ever ; and the little park is described by Pote, 
 in 1749, " as most delightful for the many shady walks, es- 
 pecially that Queen Elizabeth's Walk, which on the summer
 
 HOUSE OF HANOVER. 145 
 
 evenings is cliiefly frequented by the best company." Nor 
 is there an entire absence of chivalric splendour in the 
 Chapel of St. George during the dull reigns of that Saint's 
 namesakes; for in 1730 there was an installation, the king 
 being present — the sword of state carried before him — 
 procession formed in the aisle — trumpets sounding all the 
 way to the stair foot that led to the royal presence chamber. 
 It may be mentioned in contrast with this relic of an old 
 age, that an odd difficulty occurred in connexion with certain 
 circumstances indicative of a new era. America was grow- 
 ing in prosperity, and certain tribute was paid to the Crown 
 by the Penns of Pennsylvania. It consisted of two Indian 
 arrows and two bearskins. The former had been sent every 
 Easter, but the skins were a new expression of homage 
 which puzzled John Olivier at Windsor Castle, who wrote 
 to know of the Governor, Lord Cardigan, what he was 
 to do with them, because they were undressed. 
 
 George III. was attached to Windsor, and made it his 
 abode ; but as the castle was unsuited for his family, he 
 determined to erect a detached building in the precincts, in 
 which he might live with them in retirement, as a country 
 gentleman, rather than as King of England. Accordingly, 
 the Lodge, which stood opposite the south terrace, 
 was completed in 1782, at a cost of £44,000. The history 
 of George III. at Windsor was one of domestic quietude, 
 until it was disturbed by quarrels with his son, and finally 
 broken up by his own sad affliction. Often were the king 
 and queen, the princes and princesses, seen walking in 
 procession up and down the terraces, the people making 
 way for them as they passed. The urbanity and condescen- 
 sion of the monarch endeared him to the inhabitants of 
 Windsor, and the younger branches of his family, imitating 
 him in this respect, gained no small popularity. They 
 would notice the children, even stop to kiss some pretty 
 
 L
 
 146 CASTLE. 
 
 baby, and on grand festivals at Frogmore, entertain the 
 respectable tradespeople witli an illumination, a banquet, 
 and a dance. The king was familiar and kind towards bis 
 workpeople and servants, and would occasionally treat 
 them to a little humour. We have heard several instances 
 of this, but especially one. There was a porter or messenger 
 who was apt to be very loud in repeating the responses at 
 family worship in the chapel, which the king punctually 
 attended. One day, after having made himself heard, this 
 worthy missed his hat. Seeing him disconcerted, the king 
 asked, "Eh, eh! what's the matter? what's the matter ?" 
 " I have lost my hat, please your majesty." " Eh, eh ! 
 you prayed well, but you didn't watch, you didn't watch," 
 was the witty rejoinder. The well-known pages of Madame 
 D'Arblay give graphic pictures of royal life at Windsor, in 
 George III.'s reign ; and it is very touching to read the 
 account of his removal after his first attack in 1788 ; 
 when, as he walked to his carriage, the passage was lined 
 by the royal household, eager to see him once more ; and 
 all Windsor collected round the rails to witness his depar- 
 ture. All was joy on his return in 1789, when he entered 
 the castle on horseback, attended by a large party of 
 gentlemen. Everybody came out to meet him. The next 
 day being Sunday, the king " renewed his public service 
 at church, by taking the sacrament at eight o'clock." Then 
 came renewed aberration, and scenes reminding one of his 
 royal predecessor at Windsor, Henry VI. Blindness 
 ensued ; and, shut out from the world, he was carefully 
 watched and tended in the Queen's Lodge, which now 
 gathered round it a melancholy interest, as the retreat of 
 a king who had endured so sad a dethronement. 
 
 The College for Naval Knights, connected with the 
 castle, and situated at the foot of the terrace, near the 
 South-Western Railway, was erected in the reign of George III.
 
 HOUSE OF HANOVER. 147 
 
 The founder was Samuel Travers, Surveyor-General under 
 William III., who, by his will dated the IGth July, 1724, 
 bequeathed property for the support of some gentlemen, 
 lieutenants of the English navy, " to be added to the 
 eighteen poor knights of Windsor." The estates of Mr. 
 Travers were thrown into Chancery, and it was not till the 
 beginning of the present century that his benevolent pro- 
 ject was accomplished ; when, by letters patent, the college 
 was incorporated, soon after which the present structure 
 was erected. The knights are forbidden to marry ; they 
 have a common hall, with separate apartments ; and are 
 required to attend divine service in St. George's Chapel. 
 Lieutenant Holman, the celebrated blind traveller, who 
 died a few years since, was a member of the College, and 
 was enabled to indulge his spirit of enterprise by special 
 permission of the trustees. 
 
 The reign of George IV. will ever be celebrated in con- 
 nection with Windsor, for the rebuilding of the castle. 
 Extensive repairs and restorations had been executed 
 during the reign of his father in St. George's Chapel ; and 
 the design of Charles I. to construct a royal sepulchre 
 under the tomb house at the east end, had also been carried 
 out, the superstructure being appropriated as a chapter 
 house for the Knights of the Garter. But the grand work 
 of rebuilding the domus regis did not begin till 1824 
 when a royal commission was appointed to execute the 
 magnificent designs of Sir Jeifry Wyatville. The first 
 stone was laid by George IV., on the 12th of August, 1824. 
 The principal part of the works was completed in six years; 
 but the entire execution of the plan, including the erection 
 of the royal stables, was not finished till 1838, after the 
 accession of our present gracious sovereign. The entire 
 cost has amounted to between £800,000 and .£900,000. 
 
 L 2
 
 TOWN. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 MEDIEVAL WINDSOR. 
 
 HE first glimpse we have of the history of 
 Windsor apart from the castle, is in the 
 notice of a church, dedicated to John the 
 Baptist, which was granted in 1189 to 
 the Abbey of Waltham ; originally it was 
 a chapelry of Clewer. 
 
 By a charter of Edward I., granted in 1276, Windsor 
 was constituted a borough, and appointed the county town 
 of Berkshire. But so many inconveniences arose from its 
 situation at one corner of the county, that the removal of 
 the assizes to Reading was soon felt to be desirable. A 
 petition to this effect was presented to the king in the year 
 1314, but Edward II., then occupying the throne, in the 
 first instance gave a decided negative to the request, declar- 
 ing that he would have the county gaol in no other 
 castle than his own ; an indication of the lingering spirit 
 of feudalism in the royal breast. The original charter 
 conceded, for the monarch and his heirs, that New Windsor 
 should be a free borough ; and that the worthy men of 
 the town, and their heirs and successors, should be free
 
 150 TOWN. 
 
 burgesses, should have a merchants' guild, and enjoy all 
 the liberties and customs granted to other boroughs. Tlie 
 original burgesses were evidently the inhabitants of the 
 town, those who had settled dwellings and paid scot and 
 lot. Strangers — occasional residents — were not burgesses ; 
 and since birth, apprenticeship, and marriage, were modes 
 of ascertaining stated residence, they generally constituted 
 a title to borough freedom. 
 
 All the stated inhabitants formed the community, corpo- 
 ration, or guild of merchants. No notice of a corporation, 
 consisting of mayor, bailiffs, and burgesses, distinct from 
 the bulk of the town, is to be found in any charter of 
 Windsor, prior to the reign of James I. Then we find the 
 appointment of the separate body. The original mayor, or 
 bailiff, was, no doubt, like other mayors of that time, 
 chosen by the whole body of the burgesses, or inhabitants. 
 The old Anglo-Saxon boroughs appear to have been free 
 institutions ; but on the Norman invasion they lost their 
 primitive character, and the Norman bailiff, appointed by 
 the king, succeeded the Saxon boroughreeve elected by the 
 people. But the towns at length, impatient under the 
 yoke, panted for municipal liberty, and sighed after their 
 old institutions, offering to transmit to the royal exchequer 
 larger sums than the bailiff could obtain, if they made the 
 collection themselves, thus purchasing by a bribe the 
 privilege of self-regulation. The primary aim of the first 
 monarchs who granted charters was not the welfare of the 
 borough, but the increase of the revenue. The liberties of 
 the people, for the most part, flowed not from the spon- 
 taneous fountain of the royal bounty, nor were they even 
 won by the valour of barons and soldiers, but were pur- 
 chased by merchants, who paid their wealth into the 
 exhausted coffers of the monarch, as the price of their 
 privileges and rights.
 
 MEDIAEVAL WINDSOR, 151 
 
 We find Windsor, in tlie thirtieth year of Edward I., 
 returning two burgesses to parliament. Who the electors 
 were in this and similar boroughs at that period, is a 
 question of some obscurity, and has been frequently agi- 
 tated. That a few of the inhabitants only exercised the 
 franchise, may be readily granted ; but that they alone 
 possessed the right is scarcely to be admitted. It is 
 evident from the first charter of Windsor, that the whole 
 body of the inhabitants formed the corporation of the town ; 
 and the consent of the whole community is expressly 
 stated in the election returns from many of the ancient 
 boroughs. The power of returning members to parlia- 
 ment in those times, it is well known, was deemed in some 
 cases ratht r a burden than a benefit, and towns were very 
 often glad to shake it off as an incumbrance. In the list 
 of returns from Windsor, none are inserted from the seventh 
 of Edward II. to the twenty-fifth of Henry VI., a space 
 of one hundred and thirty-three years. It is probable that 
 during that period no returns took place, and the inhabi- 
 tants perhaps considered themselves as thereby favoured 
 with a most desirable exemption. 
 
 A Windsor election then, was far different from what it 
 is now. No humble addresses were sent round to the 
 electors by the aspirants after parliamentary honours. There 
 was no indefatigable canvassing by the candidate, attended 
 by a party of his friends and supporters. The returning 
 oflicor of that day dreaded to receive a writ, from tlie diffi- 
 culty there was in executing it. Slowly did a few of Jrs 
 neighbours obey the summons to meet around the market- 
 cross. Anxiously did each man watch the countenances of 
 the rest, and if one saw the eyes of his fellow-townsmen 
 turn on him, with a glance indicating that he was to be 
 put in nomination, it was as when the lot fell on Jonah to 
 be thrown into the sea. Main force had sometimes to be
 
 152 • TOWN. 
 
 exerted to keep " the man of their choice," " the gentleman 
 whom they had placed in the proud position of one of their 
 representatives," from rushing in haste out of the assembly 
 to give them chase like a stag hunted by a pack of hounds. 
 In some cases he would elude their pursuit, and either a 
 new member was elected, or the disconcerted sheriff had to 
 make a return of his inability to execute the writ. This 
 indisposition of some of our ancestors to avail themselves of 
 the elective franchise, or to serve in parliament, has been 
 represented as if it proceeded from their confidence in the 
 wisdom and justice of their superiors, and an unwillingness 
 to take part themselves in the legislation of affairs. But 
 the fact seems to be, that as parliaments in those early 
 times possessed but little of a legislative character, and 
 were summoned chiefly for the purpose of levying taxes, 
 the people shrunk from a parliamentary election as from a 
 prelude to a pecuniary burden, not considering how impor- 
 tant it was that they should hold the strings of their own 
 purse. But though some towns might be indifferent to the 
 exercise of the elective franchise for members of parliament, 
 they seem to have valued highly the privilege of municipal 
 self-government, and to have esteemed their charters as 
 extremely precious.* 
 
 The bridge that unites Windsor to Eton is noticed in 
 early documents, whence it appears that the right of pon- 
 tage or levying tolls was granted soon after the institution 
 of the borough ; not only people passing over had to pay, 
 but the boats passing under, too. The watermen some- 
 times complained of the erection. It was broken down by 
 
 * It was stated in the " Windsor Express," January 7th, 1854, 
 " that the town clerk took occasion to observe that when the 
 corporation seal had been conveyed to the British Museum for the 
 purpose of an impression being taken from it, that it hiid been 
 discovered it was the original seal of Edward III., whose likeness,' 
 with that of Queen Philippa, it bore."
 
 MEDIEVAL WINDSOR, 153 
 
 the Duke of Ireland, in 1387. Bridgekeepers are named, 
 and it seems that the College of Eton had a right to pass 
 toll free. 
 
 We find that though no parliamentary return was made 
 from the 7th of Edward II. to the 25th of Henry VI. ; 
 after that period, the towns-people regularly availed them- 
 selves of their electoral privileges. A fresh breeze of the 
 spirit of political liberty would appear to have fanned the 
 bosoms of the inhabitants, and to have awakened them to 
 the exercise of their dormant rights. " It were a strange 
 misrepresentation of history," says Mr. Hallam, " to assert 
 that the constitution had attained anything like a perfect 
 state in the fifteenth century ; but I know not whether 
 there are any essential privileges of our countrymen, any 
 fundamental securities against arbitrary power, so far as 
 they depended on positive institution, which may not be 
 traced to the time when the house of Plantagenet fiUed the 
 throne." 
 
 During the fourteenth century Windsor must have pos- 
 sessed but a small population, for so late as the year 1555 
 it did not contain more than a thousand inhabitants, and it 
 is fair to conclude that from the beginning it went on 
 gradually increasing, as it was not exposed to those com- 
 mercial fluctuations which materially afiected the popula- 
 tion of many towns in the middle ages. Some idea of its 
 general state and appearance may be formed from the 
 accounts we have of the domestic structures, the mercantile 
 pursuits, and the social habits of the people of that period. 
 Besides the castellated mansion of the prince and the noble, 
 there were in different parts of the country manorial 
 residences, and in commercial cities the dwellings of rich 
 merchants were of a superior description; but neither of 
 these were likely to be found in Windsor. Houses of a 
 better class in the country, even farmhouses, had a large
 
 154 TOWN. 
 
 cliamber or hall ; and it is curious to read in a roll among 
 the queen's remembrancer's records at Carlton Ride, how- 
 Master William sold to one William de Combe, one of the 
 king's cooks, a hall with two chambers annexed, a granary 
 with a gateway built over it, a stable and two barns, in the 
 manor of New Windsor. But the dwellings in the town 
 were no doubt chiefly, if not entirely, of the humble class, 
 consisting of cottages of a single room, without division of 
 stories, and a few shops, which were then little better than 
 stalls or sheds, scattered here and there beside the road 
 which led to the entrance of the castle. No public build- 
 ing for civic purposes existed, except a plain market-cross, 
 which was erected in the year 1380, to which we shall here- 
 after have occasion to refer. Cottages were then built of 
 clay or timber, and in some cases of wood as to their frame- 
 work, showing all the main piers in the walls, but filled up 
 with stone or mortar, intersected by horizontal or diagonal 
 beams grooved into the princij^al timbers. A chimney 
 sometimes crowned the summit of these houses, but in 
 many of them only an aperture was left in the roof for the 
 escape of the smoke. A glazed window was a great luxury, 
 and most dwellings received the light of day through open- 
 ings of lattice-work. These notices of the domestic archi- 
 tecture of the fourteenth century will assist the reader to 
 form an idea of the appearance of Windsor at that time; 
 and if he will call to mind the style of costume which then 
 prevailed — the long coats, with hoods, worn by the men of 
 the middle rank ; the dresses of rich material and magni- 
 ficent embroidery, with sleeves terminating at the elbow in 
 long streamers, and the shoes of monstrous length, with 
 pointed toes, worn by fashionable gentlemen ; and the 
 gowns thrown over a kirtle, worn by the ladies — he may 
 easily imagine himself walking on a bright summer's 
 morning on the banks of the Thames, strolling into the
 
 MEDIEVAL WINDSOR. 155 
 
 royal little town, and meeting many a group of artizans, 
 tradesmen, and courtiers, as lie winds his way up to the 
 drawbridge and gate at the entrance of Edward's castle. 
 
 It may here be noticed, that scarcely any communication 
 existed at that time between Windsor and London. The 
 roads were so bad that Eleanor, the queen of Edward I., 
 used to journey from the one place to the other by water, 
 as she was not a good horsewoman, and the roads were 
 impassable by the cumbrous vehicles in which even royalty 
 was then accustomed to travel. 
 
 The architectural appearance of the town in the fifteenth 
 century differed but little from what it had been during the 
 previous one. Some indications of advancing taste might, 
 however, be found in the ornamental woodwork of the over- 
 hanging gables of the houses, and perchance in some oriel 
 windows here and there adorning the better kind of 
 residences. The town was by no means thickly populated, 
 and the dwellings of the inhabitants were in many instances 
 no doubt separated from each other by neat little gardens, 
 blooming with roses and fragrant with honeysuckles. The 
 furniture and domestic habits, even of the most influential per- 
 sons in the place, were of a simple order. " The gentry of that 
 period drank but little wine, had no foreign luxuries, rarely 
 kept male servants, except for husbandry, and seldom tra- 
 velled beyond the county in which they resided. We have 
 reached in this age so high a pitch of luxury, that we can 
 hardly believe or comprehend the frugality of ancient times, 
 and have in general formed mistaken notions as to the habits 
 of expenditure which then prevailed. Sir John Fortescue 
 speaks of ' five pounds a year as a fair living for a yeoman' — 
 a class of whom he is not at all inclined to diminish the 
 importance."* The dresses, however, which were worn in 
 
 * Hallam.
 
 156 TOWN. 
 
 the fifteenth century were not in keeping with the simplicity 
 of domestic conveniences and habits ; for however plain our 
 ancestors might be in their arrangements at home, they made 
 a decidedly dashing appearance when they came abroad. 
 The long-toed shoes were, during the period of which we 
 speak, longer than ever, till in the vagaries of fashion they 
 changed their form and expanded vastly in breadth ; where- 
 upon parliament in its legislative wisdom restricted the 
 breadth of a man's shoe to six inches. The tippets of the 
 hoods reached to the ground ; high caps with feathers were 
 also worn, and low robes trimmed with fur, in some cases 
 having sleeves, in others simply arm-holes, were deemed 
 exceedingly graceful. The ladies were fond of lofty head- 
 dresses adorned with horns, and robes not unlike the riding- 
 habits of the present day, with trains, which, in walking, 
 were thrown over the arm.* Many a gentleman and many 
 a dame, thus attired in the costume of the age — a Justice 
 Shallow and a Mrs. Ford, for instance — are seen by the eye 
 of fancy enlivening the picture of the Windsor of that day, 
 walking along the streets or sitting under the shadow of a 
 noble elm on a summer's afternoon. 
 
 The earliest existing Windsor charity was a grant, in 
 1501, of four tenements and gardens in Shere-street, for 
 eight poor persons to dwell in, according to the intention 
 of William Paynall, then deceased. And about the same 
 time numerous instances occur of obits in the parish church. 
 Eecords of sums occur in parish accounts paid for lights in 
 the parish church, " our lady lyght," light of the Holy 
 Trinity, St. Thomas', St. Stephens', the rood light, and 
 many others, all probably extinguished by Edward VI. "A 
 
 * A gown was a costly article. In the privy purse expenses of 
 Elizabeth of York, wife of Henry VII., when a workman's wages 
 were sixpence a day, we find 15^ yards of black damask, for a gown, 
 charged 7*. per yard. — " Paston Letters," vol. i. p. 1.
 
 MEDLEVAL WINDSOR. ] 57 
 
 paire of organs," and clialies, and altar-clotli^, and coverings 
 of the rood, and towels, and curtains, and rings, appear in 
 the church inventory. And 47s. 10c?. is noted as re- 
 maining in the box for the " alms-houses" abovementioned, 
 situated in Sheet-street. The corporation accounts show 
 payments for numerous purposes, including ''repairs of the 
 bridge," " making a cucking stool," " writing all the year," 
 and "upping the swans." A number of similar illustra- 
 tions are supplied in the " Annals of Windsor." 
 
 During the rebellion of 1536 in the north of England, 
 an unhappy butcher residing near Windsor somewhat sym- 
 pathised with the insurgents, and prevailed upon a priest 
 whom he knew to espouse their cause and preach in their 
 favour. So said report. In proof of the butchers treason, 
 it was alleged that when he was serving his customers with 
 mutton, and some economical gentleman or dame beat him 
 down in price, he would say, " Nay, I had rather the good 
 fellows of the north had it, and a score more of the best I 
 have, than I would so sell it." That was enough ; the 
 priest and butcher were accused, " while the king was lying 
 at Windsor," and having confessed to the crime, were 
 adjudged to death ; the priest being hanged on a tree at 
 the foot of Windsor bridge, and the butcher on a new pair 
 of gallows erected before the castle-gate.* 
 
 * A record appears in the Borough accounts for " nayles for the 
 galowes," and for watching " them that were hanged two nights." 
 
 ^ 
 
 9
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 MARTYRS IN THE REIGN OF HENRY VIII. 
 
 ISTOPiY tells US of some different characters 
 in Windsor, from those mentioned in the 
 foregoing chapter, who fell victims to 
 Henry's ecclesiastical tyranny. Their story 
 is worthy of remembrance so long as there 
 are human hearts to execrate the spirit of persecution, and 
 to sympathise with sufferers for conscience sake. 
 
 It was in the year 1544 that Robert Testwood was added 
 to the choir of the Royal Chapel ; he was a man who, in 
 addition to his musical talents, seems to have possessed no 
 small share of vivacity and wit. His professional qualifi- 
 cations and his conversational powers appear to have re- 
 commended him to the high favour of the dean and canons, 
 at whose tables he was often entertained. But circum- 
 stances soon occurred which brought Testwood into no 
 small trouble. He had imbibed some of the principles of 
 the Lutheran Reformation, at that time deemed by the 
 heads of the church in England extremely heretical, and 
 in the course of his conversation with the clergy, he ven- 
 tured to express his views. Having declared his opinion 
 in favour of the ecclesiastical supremacy of the king, just 
 before it was established by act of Parliament, and while 
 the authority of Rome was still deemed paramount by the 
 canons of Windsor, he exposed himself to the censure of
 
 MAKTYRS IN THE REIGN OF HENRY VIII. 159 
 
 the cliurcli, if not sometliing worse ; but before tliey could 
 complain of him to the dean, who happened then to be 
 absent, the act of supremacy was passed, and when they 
 thought to bring Testwood into difficulty, to their no small 
 surprise the dean announced to them the decision of Parlia- 
 ment, and commanded that the Pope's pardons, which hung 
 about the chapel, should be brought to him into the chapter, 
 when he threw them into the fire and burnt them before 
 their faces. " Whereat," says honest John Foxe, " the 
 canons were all stricken in a dump." But Testwood did 
 not again thus escape ; nor were his offences in the eyes 
 of the clergy always so trivial. Windsor was at that time 
 the resort of pilgrims ; multitudes from the most distant 
 part of England Hocked to the shrine of the "good King 
 Henry," to ofter their gifts of candles and waxen images, 
 and repeat their prayers to the saintly monarch. Along 
 the southern aisle of the choir they might be seen crowding 
 together to enjoy the privilege of kissing his holy spur, and 
 having his sacred hat, that cure for the headache, placed 
 upon their brows. Behind the high altar, also, there stood 
 an alabaster figure of the Virgin, which was another point 
 of attraction, and was surrounded by large groups of wor- 
 shippers, who devoutly touched and kissed the holy image. 
 It happened one afternoon as Testwood was walking 
 through the church, seeing the people round Henry's shrine, 
 that his spirit was stirred within him, and he could not 
 refrain from expostulating with such misguided devotees ; 
 some of whom were so convinced by his arguments and 
 appeals, that they promised they would return on these 
 pilgrimages no more. Animated by his success with them, 
 he approached the party round the Virgin, when, in the 
 warmth of his zeal, he lifted up his key and broke off" the 
 nose of the image. This created no small excitement, and 
 a lawyer in the town, of the name of Simons, picked up
 
 1 60 TOWN. 
 
 the broken nose, put it in his pocket, saying, significantly, 
 " That shall be a dear nose to Testwood some day." 
 
 " Now," says Foxe, " many were offended with Testwood, 
 — the canons for speaking against their profit ; the wax- 
 sellers, for hindering their market ; and Simons, for the 
 image's nose ; and more than that, there were men of the 
 canons who threatened to kill him." Still Testwood was 
 little intimidated ; for soon after, on a relic Sunday, when 
 every man appeared with a relic in his hand, this chorister 
 had none. " Take this," said the sexton, and gave him 
 Becket's rochet, but the chorister refused to take it ; again 
 came a verger with St. George's dagger, and would fain 
 have put it into Testwood's hands, but again he declined to 
 accept any relic. Testwood then went up to one of the 
 canons, who was arrayed in a golden cope, and pointing to 
 a certain Mr. Hake, waggishly remarked, " Now if he had 
 his horse and St. Martin's cloak, and Mr. John Shorn's 
 boots, with King Henry's spurs and his hat, he might ride 
 where he would." Nor did Testwood stop here. At that 
 time a paper was put up at the door of the choir, extolling 
 the merits of the Virgin. Just before the commencement 
 of service one day, as the dean was going in, and crossing 
 himself with holy water, this incorrigible chorister passed 
 by, and tore down the paper. " Testwood," said the dean, 
 calling him to his stall, " how dare you be so bold as to 
 pull down that paper?" "Master," said the undaunted 
 Testwood, " how could you suffer such a paper to be put 
 up 1 be not offended with what I have done, for I shall 
 stand to it." 
 
 On another occasion, when a hymn to the Virgin was 
 sung by one of the choir, this indomitable opponent of the 
 worship of the saints rather indecorously expressed his 
 disapprobation, by introducing in the counter verse the 
 opposite of what had just been repeated. All this could
 
 MARTYES IN THE REIGN OF HENRY VIII. 3 61 
 
 not fail to rouse the indignation of his ecclesiastical supe- 
 riors, whose vengeance, as we shall soon see, fell in a fiery 
 shower on his devoted head. There were others in Windsor 
 who sympathised with Testwood in his antipapal notions 
 and feelings. The churchwarden of the parish was of this 
 class, and he loudly complained of idle tales about the 
 Virgin which the vicar told in his sermons. A preaching 
 priest, named Anthony Pearson, was another of these early 
 Protestants ; and so was Marbeck, the organist of the 
 Royal Chapel, and the composer of the solemn and vene- 
 rable notes for responses, still in use in our cathedrals. 
 The Book of Common Prayer noted by him still 
 exists, printed in 1550, by Richard Grafton, the king's 
 printer. He was also the first man who made a Concor- 
 dance of the English Bible. Of the latter undertaking 
 he gave an account to the Bishop of Salisbury, by whom 
 he was examined on the charge of heresy. Foxe thus re- 
 cords it in his "Acts and Monuments" : — 
 
 " When Thomas Matthew's Bible came first out in print, 
 I was much desirous to have one of them ; and being a 
 poor man, not able to buy one of them, determined with 
 myself to borrow one amongst my friends, and to write it 
 forth. And when I had written out the five books of 
 Moses, in fair great paper, and was entered on the book of 
 Joshua, my friend. Master Turner, chanced to steal upon 
 me unawares, and seeing me writing out the Bible, asked 
 me what I meant thereby ; and when I told him the cause, 
 ' Tush,' said he, ' thou goest about a vain and tedious labour ; 
 but this were a profitable work for thee, to set out a Con- 
 cordance in English.' ' A Concordance,' said I, ' what is 
 that V Then he told me it was a book to find out any 
 word in the whole Bible by the letter ; and that there was 
 such an one in Latin already. Then I told him 1 had no 
 learning to go about such a thing. 'Enough,' said he, ' for 
 
 M
 
 162 TOWN. 
 
 that matter, for it requireth not so muclx learning as dili- 
 gence ; and seeing thou art so painful a man, and one that 
 cannot be unoccupied, it were a good exercise for thee.' 
 And this, my lord, is all the instruction that ever I had, 
 before or after, of any man."* 
 
 Poor John Marbeck may be regarded as the first to lead 
 the way in a humble but useful walk of English Biblical 
 literature ; and his diligence in the study of the sacred 
 volume presents a beautiful instance of the avidity with 
 which the common people, at the time of the Reformation, 
 availed themselves of the means of scriptural instruction. 
 
 The above-mentioned persons, and some others whom 
 Foxe names, were the fathers of Protestantism in the town 
 of Windsor ; and Testwood, Pearson, Filmer, and Marbeck 
 were, in the year 1544, all committed to the town gaol to 
 take their trial under the act of six articles, or " whip with 
 six strings," as it was called, and bloody strings they were. 
 St. Anne's day was fixed for their trial, and because a sufficient 
 number of Papists in the town could not be found willing 
 to fill up the jury, the farmers occupying the dean and 
 canons' property were summoned to attend. The accused 
 were all found guilty, and condemned to the stake ; but 
 Marbeck was afterwards pardoned. " All night long," says 
 the martyrologist, " till dead sleep took them, were they 
 calling on God for his aid and strength, and praying for 
 their persecutors, which of blind zeal and ignorance had 
 done they wist not what, that God of his merciful goodness 
 would forgive them, and turn their hearts to the love and 
 knowledge of his blessed and holy word : yea, such 
 heavenly talk was amongst them that night, that the 
 hearers watching the prison without, whereof the sheriff him- 
 self was one, with divers gentlemen more, were constrained 
 
 * Foxe, vol. ii. p. 463.
 
 MARTYRS IN THE REIGN OF HENRY VIII. 1G3 
 
 to shed plenty of tears, as they themselves confessed."* 
 They were condemned on the Thursday, and on the follow- 
 ing Saturday were conducted from their prison through the 
 town to a field just by where Travers' College now stands ; 
 and having expressed at the stake sentiments of the utmost 
 confidence and hope, though in that quaint language which 
 was the fashion of the day, they meekly yielded to their 
 fate, and so in a car of fire ascended to the skies, " Many 
 who saw their patient suffering," says Foxe, " confessed that 
 they could have found it in their hearts to suffer with 
 them." 
 
 Their enemies, it appears, encouraged by their death, 
 prepared to give information respecting some other sus- 
 pected heretics, but in this they overshot the mark, and 
 brought down retribution on themselves. For as the kmg 
 was one day hunting in Guildford-park, he met with the 
 sheriff and Sir Humphrey Foster, and inquired how the 
 laws were executed at Windsor. They told him the tale 
 of the execution of these poor men, and said that it went 
 much against their consciences to condemn them ; when 
 Henry, with how much sincerity we do not undertake to 
 say, exclaimed, " Alas ! poor innocents !" and on his return, 
 caused Simons and one Dr. London, who were extremely 
 active in searching out heretics, to be apprehended. In 
 consequence of this, they were convicted of perjury, and 
 sentenced to ride round Windsor, Beading, and Newbury, 
 with papers on their heads, and their faces towards the 
 horses' tails. The circumstance of Henry's causing these 
 Papists to be punished for their zeal against Protestantism, 
 after he had approved of the act of six articles, is strikingly 
 illustrative of his capricious temper ; which was, in truth, 
 a two-edged sword, inflicting wounds on both parties, and 
 
 * Foxe, vol. ii. p. 467. 
 m2
 
 164 TOWN. 
 
 glutting itself in the blood of friends as well as foes. That 
 spot where the martyrs feU is holy ground, and strange it 
 is, that in aU the histories of Windsor, among all the 
 splendid associations of royalty and chivalry, and love and 
 poetry, which its name calls forth, no allusion, until very 
 recently, as far as we remember, should be made to those 
 men, who, though humble in their day, are now, we doubt 
 not, saints in heaven, with crowns more radiant than 
 the princely owners of that castle ever wore. 
 
 r
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 AGE OF ELIZABETH. 
 
 doubt, during the long and gorgeous reign 
 of Elizabeth, Windsor sometimes witnessed 
 those quaint spectacles which were the fashion 
 of the age. The readers of Sir W. Scott's 
 '' Kenilworth " will remember the numerous 
 shows that distinguished her memorable reception at the 
 Earl of Leicester's palace, and most persons will have read 
 of those progresses which the maiden queen made through 
 divers parts of the kingdom, and of the entertainments 
 given to her by her subjects, both citizens and nobles ; and 
 though, perhaps, no exhibitions equal to them graced the 
 courts and parks of Windsor, for we have no accounts of 
 any, yet, probably, revels of a somewhat similar description 
 did sometimes enliven, with gaudy glitter, the walls and 
 environs of the castle. And surely the loyal men of 
 Windsor and Eton, in those days, were not lacking in loyal 
 demonstrations any more than the men of these times ; 
 and if the queen's tradesmen did not illuminate their 
 houses, erect triumphal arches covered with dahlias, and 
 give dinners in the long walk, with the appurtenances of 
 balloons, and crowds of Eton boys running beside the royal 
 carriages, yet we may safely indulge in the idea, that on 
 some grand occasions, Windsor and Eton put forth all their 
 energies to welcome royalty : and as we see Elizabeth's
 
 'iQQ TOWN. 
 
 great state-coach rolling along, we can fancy the houses 
 decorated with tapestry, and pictures, and flowers, and 
 groups of allegorical figures, with giants and dragons here 
 and there stationed to meet her highness ; and boys and 
 girls starting forth from some grotesque kind of conceal- 
 ment to repeat their verses and present their offerings ; 
 while the firing of cannon, the beating of drums, the ringing 
 of bells, and the huzzas of the people, rend the air. The 
 propensity of the English at that time, to indulge in the 
 last of these demonstrations, is noticed by Hentzner, and 
 leaves no doubt as to the noise with which they would 
 greet her majesty's entrance into the royal town ; for, says 
 the worthy traveller, " the English are vastly fond of noises 
 that fill the ear, and it is common for a number of them, 
 that have got a glass in their heads, to get up into some 
 belfry, and ring the bells for hours together for the sake 
 of exercise." 
 
 Two relics of the loyalty of the age, the one belonging 
 to Eton College, the other to the town of Windsor, may 
 here come under our notice. The Eton Memorial, belonging 
 to the year 1563, consists of a collection of Latin speeches, 
 to the number of seventy-three, a few in prose, but most of 
 them in verse ; several of them acrostics, ingenious but 
 ridiculous; and all of them redolent of that spirit of 
 flattery which marked everything addressed to the eye or 
 ear of royalty. One boy addressed the queen as a blooming 
 rose, and the light of the world, without whom the whole 
 earth would perish : — 
 
 "0 rosa, lux mundi, sine qua terra peribit." 
 
 Another praised her beauty, wealth, and wisdom, as the 
 united gifts of Venus, Juno, and Minerva : — 
 
 " Te Juno, princeps, copiis 
 Explevit ornatissime.
 
 AGE OF ELIZABETH. 167 
 
 Sapientiam Pallas gravem 
 Reliquasque virtutes anirai 
 Clarissimas plene dedit : 
 Corpus sed erectuin Venns 
 (Ut pulcliritudinis Uea est) 
 Formam decoramque addidit."* 
 
 All the rest of the speakers followed on the same side. 
 
 But Windsor has also its memorial of loyal speech- 
 making. It is preserved in the following form : — 
 
 " An oration, conteyning an expostulation, as wel with 
 the Queens Highnesse faithful subjects, for their want of 
 due consideration of Gods blessings enjoyed by meaiis of 
 Her Majesty ; as also with the unnatural Englishe for 
 their disloyaltie and unkindnesse towards the same their 
 sovereign ; at the first pronounced upon the Queen 
 Majestys birthday (Sept. 7th, 1586), in the Guildhall of 
 the Burrowe of New Windsor, by Edward Hake, of Grays 
 lune, Gent., then Mayer of the same Burrowe ; now 
 imprinted this 17th Nov., 30th Year of the Queen 
 Highnesse most happie reigne. 
 
 "TO THE EEADEK. 
 
 " Aut quam miniiua aut quara dulcissima." 
 
 Then follows the oration, occupying sixteen closely-printed 
 pages. 
 
 The orator begins with a lamentation over the ingratitude 
 of the English people, and compares it with the tliankful- 
 ness of the ancient heathen for their social privileges. He 
 goes through the history of Marys reign, showing its 
 inglorious character, and the persecutions of the people ; 
 and then bursts forth into the warmest eulogiums on the 
 accession of Elizabeth, and points out the advantages 
 enjoyed under her administration, particularly mentioning 
 
 * NiclioUs' " Progresses of Queen Elizabeth."
 
 168 TOWN. 
 
 the preacliing of God's word, and " worldly and external 
 peace." Then he expostulates, in the most impassioned 
 style, with the disaffected part of the nation, and concludes 
 his speech in the following words : — 
 
 " Last of all, to you, my brethren and neighbours, the 
 inhabitants of this town of Windsor ; if it be an universal 
 benefit, far passing other temporal benefits, even to all the 
 people of her highness's dominions, that her majesty, in 
 the midst of these evil days, sitteth prosperously and 
 peaceably in the seat of her royal kingdom, preserving the 
 same from all annoyance, to the no less admiration than 
 high commendation thereof in all foreign countries ; again, 
 if not only the participation of so high a benefice in common 
 with others, but also to ourselves ward, an assured hope to 
 stand free from her majesty's displeasure, and in lieu 
 thereof, a settled persuasion of her princely favour towards 
 us, be now seen among us by means of her gracious presence 
 — oh, how much have we to rejoice and, in the Lord, to 
 boast ! We, I say, the inhabitants of this borough ; the 
 rather, for that while many thousands of her majesty's dear 
 subjects can only say and speak by the report of others, of 
 the prosperous health of their most natural and lo\dng 
 prince, we can say and see the same, to our unspeakable 
 comfort : while others do hear her majesty (I must say 
 most lovingly) speaking unto them by laws only, we have 
 not only the fruition of her laws, but also her most amiable 
 and royal person, at this time, as at sundry other times, 
 speaking unto us." 
 
 The long oration is followed by "A short speech of the 
 same mayor unto her majesty when he received her highness 
 at Windsor, and presented her with the mace, 10th of 
 August, 1586 ; — 'With that sincere and faithful obedience, 
 most renowned queen — not which law hath commanded, 
 but which love hath procured — we, your poor townsmen,
 
 AGE OF ELIZABETH. 169 
 
 inhabiting this your ancient borough of Windsor, do here 
 present ourselves before your liighness, offering up unto the 
 same, not only this small piece of government, which we 
 sustain and exercise under your majesty, but ourselves also, 
 and all that we have, freely, not coarctedly, joyfully, not 
 grudgingly, to be for ever at your gracious disposing ; 
 wishing, and from our hearts praying, the King of kings, 
 that your majesty may long live a queen to enjoy the same ; 
 and that we, your subjects, may never live a people to deny 
 the same.' The mayor presented her highness with a 
 petition in writing, in behalf of the said town of Windsor ; 
 and at her departure, eleven weeks after, she sent her 
 gracious thanks for this, and for the speech on the 
 birthday." 
 
 No doubt this worthy mayor of Windsor (and, to speak 
 the truth, he really was a man of eloquence and learning, 
 albeit a little pedantic) had a large meeting to hear his 
 speech — that speech, which, of all the hundred 
 speeches spoken in the old hall, has thus come floating 
 down to us on the stream of history, a solitary specimen of 
 Windsor eloquence in the olden time. No doubt he had 
 a fitting audience to listen to his effusion, and was greeted 
 with thunders of applause, as indeed he deserved ; nor 
 would it be too much to conjecture that a corporation 
 dinner followed such an exhausting effort, with other 
 entertainments characteristic of the age. And when he 
 met the queen with the mace ! We can see him with his 
 cloak and chain, and doublet and hose, with the worthy 
 bailiffs and corporation in his train ; they bow and kneel, 
 and the gilded mace is reverently presented, and her 
 majesty, standing there as we see her now in her picture, 
 looks on with wondrous condescension. They were great 
 men in their day, looked up to in the town, no doubt ; but 
 all, save Mr. Hake, are gone into oblivion.
 
 170 TOWN. 
 
 Let us now yield to the gentler influence of natural 
 scenes and objects connected with Windsor in the days of 
 Elizabeth : and first, let us go dov/n to Eton. " In the 
 precincts of Windsor," says Paul Hentzner, " on the other 
 side the Thames, both whose banks are joined by a bridge 
 of wood, is Eaton, a well-built college. As we returned to 
 our inn, we happened to meet some country people, cele- 
 brating harvest-home : their last load of corn they crown 
 with flowers, having besides an image richly dressed, by 
 which perhaps they would signify Ceres : this they keep 
 moving about, while men and women, men and maid- 
 servants, riding through the streets in the cart, shout as 
 loud as they can, till they arrive at the barn. The farmers 
 here do not bind up their corn in sheaves, as they do with 
 us, but directly as they have reaped or mowed it, put it 
 into carts, and convey it into their barns." These are 
 pleasing images of rural simplicity ; and we confess, those 
 well-loaded carts, winding along the village of Eton, then 
 of agricultural appearance, with the merry maidens and the 
 farmers' servants singing their songs of glee, and shouting 
 harvest-home, while the setting sun throws his slanting rays 
 over the college chapel towers, and the well-reaped fields 
 around it — all calm and silent, save when interrupted by 
 those joyous shouts — we confess, these sights and sounds 
 have, to our eye, ear, and heart, a beauty far transcending 
 all the pomp and pageantry of proud Bessy's court. 
 
 And now, crossing the wooden bridge, and walking 
 through Datchet-lane, and entering the park by the Thames, 
 let us cross it, and look for Heme's oak. 
 
 ' There is an old tale goes, that Heme the hunter. 
 Sometime a keeper here in Windsor Forest, 
 Doth all the winter time, at still midnight. 
 Walk round about an o;ik, with great ragg'd horns ; 
 And there he blasts the tree."
 
 AGE OF ELIZABETH. 171 
 
 Many an oak, as fine and finer than Heme's, has been cut 
 
 down and never thought of; or stands, the survivor of 
 
 storms that have beaten round it for a thousand years, and 
 
 is passed by unnoticed ; but this oak of Heme is what 
 
 Carlyle would call "a world-famous" oak. There is a 
 
 wondrous spell in genius — how it immortalises the spot on 
 
 which it lights! the objects it has embalmed with its 
 
 descriptive pen live in immortal renown ! It creates objects 
 
 which have no existence but in the imagination, and 
 
 associates them with certain spots by a power so magical, 
 
 that we strive to identify the localities which have been so 
 
 touched by the wand of genius, as if the persons and events 
 
 described had really existed there. Hence, as we walk by 
 
 the Thames, beside Windsor Park, we look for the shore 
 
 which '-'was shelvy and shallow," where "the rogues 
 
 slighted" the unfortunate knight into the river : and, 
 
 deluded in a similar way by the poetry of Scott, we search 
 
 along the romantic borders of Loch Katrine for the very 
 
 spot where — 
 
 " From underneath an aged oak, 
 That slanted from the islet rock, 
 A damsel gnider of its way, 
 A little skiff shot to the bay, 
 That round the promontory steep 
 Led its deep line in graceful sweep; 
 Eddying, in almost viewless wave, 
 The weeping willow twig to lave, 
 And kiss, with whispering sound and slow. 
 The beach of pebbles bright as snow." 
 
 Genius equally immortalises the place where it first 
 enters the world. What multitudes has it drawn round 
 the places it has thus hallowed ! Crowds go to Stratford, 
 pilgrims of all lands and ages ; and they go to see — what 1 
 A little low-ceiled room, with four whitewashed walls, 
 and an old piece of wainscot — that is all! — but Sliakspere 
 was born there ! In that humble garret-looking place, did
 
 ] 72 TOWN. 
 
 one of the greatest minds that the Divine Being ever sent 
 into the world, first look through its infant eyes upon a 
 mother's smiles and tears ; there lay that winged genius in 
 its callow down, nestling at its parent's bosom — destined to 
 sweep through the regions of thought with an eagle's pinion. 
 There he was born ; and this fact sheds a splendour over 
 the old walls more dazzling far than tapestries, mirrors, 
 pictures, golden hangings, velvet couches, and all the pride 
 and pomp of kingly palaces could ever do. Genius has a 
 kingship of its own. It needs no mantle, orb, or sceptre, — 
 it is its own regalia ; and before its inherent majesty 
 crowned heads have done and are doing homage, as the 
 walls of that house at Stratford, written over with the 
 names of princes, even now bear witness.* The spell of 
 beauty which genius casts over objects but little interesting 
 in themselves — over such things as blasted oaks and humble 
 time-worn cottages — shows how mind has the superiority 
 over matter ; how the associations of intellect can ennoble 
 the meanest forms of materialism ; how the spirit of man 
 can create, out of the perishing elements of earth, 
 undying memorials of itself, thus revealing its noble nature, 
 and giving indications of its immortality. 
 
 Mr. Charles Knight states that the real Heme's Oak 
 was cut down some fifty or sixty years ago, not by order 
 of George III., but to his deep and lasting regret ; and, in 
 support of this opinion, relates the following anecdote : — 
 About the year 1800, Mr. Nicholson, the eminent landscape 
 draughtsman, was on a visit to the Dowager Countess of 
 
 * And here it may be interesting to state, that, in the same 
 spirit in which so niiiny noble and literary pilgrims have visited 
 Stratford-on-Avon, his majesty the King of Prussia, soon after his 
 arrival at Windsor Castle to attend the baptism of the Prince of 
 Wales, sought the remains of Heme's Oiik, and ])lucked from the 
 ivy which still mantles it a leaf, which he preserved as a relic.
 
 AGE OF ELIZABETH. 173 
 
 Kingston, at Old Windsor ; and his mornings were chiefly- 
 employed in sketching, or rather making studies of the old 
 trees in the forest. This circumstance one day led the 
 conversation of some visitors at Lady Kingston's to Heme's 
 Oak. Mrs. Boufoy and her daughter, Lady Ely, were 
 present ; and they were very much with the royal family. 
 Mr. Nicholson requested Lady Ely to procure for him any 
 information that she could from the king, respecting Heme's 
 Oak, which, considering his majesty's tenacious memory 
 and familiarity with Windsor, the king could probably give 
 better than any one else. In a few days, Lady Ely 
 informed Mr. Nicholson that she had made the inquiry he 
 wished of the king ; who told her that, when he 
 (George III.) was a young man, it was represented to him 
 that there were a number of old oaks in the park, which 
 had become unsightly objects, and that it would be 
 desirable to take them down. He gave immediate direc- 
 tions that such trees as were of this description should be 
 removed ; but he was afterwards sorry that he had given 
 Buch an order inadvertently, because he found that among 
 the rest the remains of Heme's Oak had been destroyed.* 
 
 On the other hand, Mr. Jesse considers that Heme's 
 Oak is still standing in the avenue beside the path leading 
 to Datchet ; and he states that King George III. frequently 
 asserted that he had cut down an oak tree close to the pre- 
 sent one, because many persons confounded that with the 
 tree still in existence, and called it Heme's, which, he said, 
 it was not. This statement Mr. Jesse makes on the 
 authority of Mr. Davis, the king's huntsman, who has heard 
 the king frequently assert that he had cut down the sup- 
 positious Heme's Oak, and heard him say so when his mind 
 and body were in a perfectly healthy state. Mr. Jesse 
 
 * " Pictorial Shakspere," Merry Wives of Windsor
 
 174! TOWN. 
 
 further remarks, that the king placed the present tree under 
 the care of Mr. Engall, telling him that it was Heme's 
 Oak ; and that George IV. often affirmed that the true oak 
 was not cut down by his father. 
 
 There are aged persons in the town and neighbourhood 
 of Windsor who state that tradition is in favour of an oak 
 cut down ; but, as Mr. Jesse mentions, there are some 
 other persons, particularly a lady in her ninety-fourth year, 
 who report that they and their fathers always had the 
 existing oak pointed out to them as Heme's. Mr. Knight 
 observes that this oak is of small girth, and appears to 
 have suifered premature decay, and that when he first 
 knew it the trunk was not bare ; but Mr. Jesse considers 
 that the present appearance of the tree by no means indi- 
 cates that it is not of that ancient date which would carry 
 it back to the time of Heme the Hunter. The size of the 
 trunk not being so large as some other oaks, may be easily 
 accounted for by the fact that they are pollards, while this 
 is a maiden oak. 
 
 These are the chief arguments which have been adduced 
 on each side of this controversy. Great diligence has been 
 displayed in the collection of evidence, and much ingenuity 
 and taste exhibited in conducting the argument ; but the 
 point in question is by no means easy to determine. 
 Opposite traditions are the main witnesses, between whose 
 conflicting testimonies and pretensions to credibility it is 
 diflBcult to decide. We shall rest content with having 
 simply stated the case and summed up the evidence, leaving 
 it to our readers to form a jury and return a verdict. 
 
 We must now leave Heme's Oak, and look at the town 
 of Windsor in the sixteenth century. 
 
 " The Windsor of the time of Elizabeth," says Mr. C. 
 Knight,* " is presented to us as the quiet country-town, 
 * Referring to Shakspere's " Merry Wives of Windsor."
 
 AGE OF ELIZABETH. 175 
 
 sleeping under the shadow of its neighbour, the castle. 
 Amidst its gabled houses, separated by pretty gardens, 
 from which the elm, the chestnut, and the lime throw their 
 branches across the unpaved road, we find a goodly com- 
 pany, with little to do but gossip and laugh, and make 
 sport of each other's cholers and weaknesses. We see 
 ]\f aster Page ' training his fallow greyhound,' and we go 
 with Master Ford ' a-birding ;' we listen to the pribbles 
 and prabbles of Sir Hugh Evans and Justice Shallow with 
 a quiet satisfaction, for they talk as unartificial men ordi- 
 narily talk, without much wisdom, but with good temper 
 and sincerity. We find ourselves in the days of ancient 
 hospitality, when men could make their fellows welcome 
 without ostentatious display, and half a dozen neighbours 
 'could drink down all unkindness' over a hot venison 
 pasty." 
 
 Of the external appearance of the town during the fif- 
 teenth century, the period to which Shakspere's comedy 
 refers, this may be taken as a tolerably correct description ; 
 but judging from Norden's map of Windsor, made in the 
 early part of the reign of King James I., the town in the 
 time of Elizabeth must have presented a different aspect, 
 the houses being represented in that map as built close 
 together on both sides the street, leaving no space for such 
 gardens as Mr. Knight so poetically describes. A house at 
 the bottom of the Hundred Steps, destroyed in 1860, was 
 supposed by some to have been in the thoughts of Shak- 
 spere as the abode of Mrs. Page in the " Merry Wives of 
 Windsor." Tradition, too, assigned a house opposite the 
 White Hart to Mr. Ford, but all this is very chimerical. 
 There is more sense in looking after the house of " mine 
 host of the Garter." Such a hostelry existed in Shakspere's 
 time, as appears from the corporation records. It may be 
 identified by looking at Norden's map. These two inns
 
 176 TOWN. 
 
 are seen at tlie top of Thames-street, with their signs far 
 projecting into the highway. That nearest the end of 
 Peascod-street is, no doubt, the Garter Inn. It is curious 
 to find that the landlord, Richard Gallys, or Gallis, in 
 1562 was Member of Parliament for the borough. He 
 served the office of mayor three times. 
 
 It should not be forgotten, when we picture to ourselves 
 the Windsor of the sixteenth century, that the internal 
 arrangements of English houses at that time were anything 
 but comfortable. Erasmus, who visited England in the 
 reign of Henry VIIL, complains of the doors and windows 
 of the houses being badly contrived, and of the dilapidated 
 state of the walls in many instances, which being full of 
 chinks freely admitted the wind and weather. " The 
 floors," he says, " are, for the most part, of clay strewed 
 with rushes, which are often renewed, fresh layers being 
 placed over the old ones, and the whole remaining for 
 perhaps twenty years, so as to form a solid pavement, in- 
 cluding deposits of fish-bones, spittle, fragments of meat, 
 and other filth not to be mentioned." 
 
 Judging from Norden's larger map, the town of Windsor 
 consisted, in the early part of the seventeenth century, of 
 rows of straggling houses, lining Thames-street, High-street, 
 and Peascod-street. There are very few marked at the town 
 end of Sheet-street. The houses about the church and 
 behind the town-hall seem almost as numerous as at pre- 
 sent. A building on pillars, with two crosses at the top, 
 stands opposite Peascod-street ; and the stocks hard by at 
 the south end.* 
 
 * In the " Annals of Windsor" it is remarked that in neither of 
 Norden's drawings is there anything indicating the position of the 
 high cross, which probably stood at the junction of the four streets, 
 Thames-street, High-street, Peascod-street, and the Castle-hill. It 
 was erected in the reign of Kichard II., was restored by Dr. Good- 
 man, Bishop of Gloucester, in 1635, and was finally removed after
 
 AGE OF ELIZABETH. 177 
 
 the present towii-h:\ll was built. The authors distinguish between 
 Norden's building on pillars, with the two crosses at the top, and the 
 market or high cross. But why ? In Norden's larger map of Windsor, 
 the site of the building which Messrs. Tighe and Davis call the corn- 
 market is identical with their account of the site of the cross. They 
 think the cross had been destroyed before Norden's map was made ; 
 but this is impossible, as Dr. Goodman, in 1635, refers to it as " our 
 old cross in the heart of our public market-place ;" and again, as 
 " ready to fall." It must then have been in existence thirty years 
 before. I cannot believe that Norden would have left out of his plan 
 such an important public building as the high cross, near to, but dis- 
 tinct from, the edifice he represents. The land on which the cross 
 was built was leased to John Sadler for that purpose in 1380, which 
 shows the building must have been of some considerable extent ; and 
 what Dr. Goodman did to the cross was, according to the mayor's 
 letter to him at the time, only to erect " a new crucifix, where never 
 was any before, in the heart of our public market-place." The Doc- 
 tor speaks of it as something that could " in an instant be blotted 
 out and defaced." Pote describes him as causing " a statue or pic- 
 ture an ell long, of Christ hanging on a cross, to be erected in 
 colours," and on the other side " the picture of Christ rising out 
 of the sepulchre." It is plain that what Goodman did was only to 
 repair an old edifice, and to add these carvings or paintings. I can 
 find no contemporary allusion to a cross and a corn-market house as 
 distinct buildings. Items of repairs of the cross cease when we come 
 to items about repairing the corn-market ; which is easily explained 
 by recollecting that the Commonwealth's men, who abhorred crosses, 
 •would object to give that name any longer to the buildmg which had 
 borne it before. 
 
 r
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 TOWN IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY AND SINCE. 
 
 ^INDSOR shared largely in the political 
 excitements of the seventeenth century. 
 Mr. Bagshaw, of Windsor, informed the 
 House of Commons, the 14th of January, 
 1641, that as he went to Windsor the 
 night before, " he saw several troops of horse, and there 
 came a wagon laden with ammunition thither ; and that 
 he was informed there were about four hundred horse in 
 the town, and about some forty officers." Mr. Taylor, 
 member for the town, was expelled from the House in 
 May of the same year, for declaring that Lord Strafford's Bill 
 of Attainder was a judicial murder. The cross in the market 
 was demolished in 1641. "Scandalous monuments and 
 pictures" were, by order of Parliament, 1 643, to be destroyed 
 in the churches and chapels of Windsor and Eton. 
 Soldiers committed depredations in the park, killing the deer 
 and burning the pales ; and one Alexander Hayne, Gentle- 
 man Usher of the Black Rod, who had a house at Windsor, 
 complained, in 1644, of the burning of a hay-stack of 
 his, worth one hundred pounds. Windsor was fixed upon, 
 in 1 642-3, as the head-quarters of the Parliament army ; 
 and the townspeople from the beginning took the Parlia- 
 ment side of the struggle. In 1648, an ordinance was 
 presented to the House of Lords, "for appointing three
 
 TOWN IN SEVENTEENTH CENTURY AND SINCE. 179 
 
 ministers to preach at Windsor, and to have one hundred 
 pounds yearly a-piece for their maintenance." Under the 
 proper date, the parish register contains a curious record of 
 the monarch's execution in the following words, " King 
 Charles in y° Castle." The organ in the church was taken 
 down in 1650 ; and in the same year appears an item in the 
 churchwardens' accounts, illustrative of irregularities in the 
 supply of the parish pulpit — " Paid for one pint of sack 
 given to a marchant of Brisstell wch preached in the p'ish 
 church by William Myelles Mare his appointment, Sd." 
 A new hour-glass was frequently purchased ; and for 
 preservation, the church-plate was delivered over to the 
 custody of the mayor and corporation, who placed it 
 in the town-hall. No account is preserved of rejoicings 
 in Windsor at the Restoration, but on the 7th of August, 
 1660, a petition was presented to the House of Commons, 
 from the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses, on behalf of the 
 poor men and women who were " commanded out of the 
 castle." Portions of the royal edifice had been appro- 
 priated to the use of certain needy people, who were now 
 dismissed, and thrown upon the town for support. An 
 odd entry, in 1662, of 8d. paid "at town halle when the 
 commissioners were there, to purge y® corporation, as they 
 said," refers to the ejectment of certain old parliamentarians 
 from the corporation ; and at the same time a form of 
 declaration against the solemn league and covenant was 
 imposed. Glimpses of a royal visit are caught in a charge 
 of £4 7s. 6d. "for cleansing and mending the streets 
 against the king's coming in ;" and of a grand civic visitor, 
 in the item of 1 s. 3d. " for twelve quarts of Rhenish wine 
 and a sugar-loaf given to the Lord Mayor of London, and 
 paid at the Garter." 
 
 Many of the items in the town records refer to the period 
 of the civil wars, whence it appears that the jovial ways of 
 
 n2
 
 ] 80 TOWN 
 
 the Windsor corporation went on at that time just as usual, 
 suffering no interruption from the^terrors of intestine strife : 
 so little are the social habits of a people altered by national 
 calamities, and so quietly often does the stream of domestic 
 cheerfulness flow on through the obscure nooks of society, 
 while the tempest of political discord is beating with 
 violence on its lofty eminences. 
 
 There is a name of frequent occurrence in the municipal 
 accounts during the Commonwealth, and afterwards, of 
 whom tradition tells an amusing story, and who, for his 
 whimsical loyalty, deserves to be put upon the historic 
 record. It is the name of William Davis, blacksmith both 
 to the king and the corporation. He had performed 
 various works in the castle in the reign of Charles I., and 
 was afterwards patronized by Oliver Cromwell. But this 
 independent tradesman, though he continued to do the 
 castle business for the sake of the veneration which he 
 cherished for the edifice, would not touch a shilling of the 
 usurper's money in return. And, in further demonstration 
 of his attachment to the royal family and his indignation 
 at a republican interregnum, it is said that he wore a hat 
 from which the crown had been cut off, alleging as a reason 
 for so doing, that he could not think of wearing a crowned 
 hat, as there was in England in those days no crowned 
 head. Brave William Davis — a worthy royalist and a 
 self-denying worshipper of his king ! Few successors of a 
 like spirit, we apprehend, has he left behind him ; few 
 indeed whose loyalty would lead them to work for nothing, 
 and to walk the streets with a crownless hat. 
 
 A very important question was agitated during the latter 
 half of the seventeenth century, as to the parties in whom 
 was vested the right of electing members of Parliament. 
 On the one hand, it was contended to be in the corporation, 
 on the other, in the inhabitants. Sometimes returns had
 
 IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY AND SINCE. 181 
 
 been made by the mayor, bailiffs, burgesses, and inhabi- 
 tants ; at other times by the mayor, bailiffs, and burgesses 
 alone. In 1640, it had been resolved by the Long Parlia- 
 ment that all the inhabitants had votes. This broad basis of 
 electoral privilege, however, was removed by Parliament on 
 the restoration of Charles II., and upon the report of Serjeant 
 Charlton on an election petition, it was resolved " that the 
 mayor, bailiffs, and burgesses, not above thirty in number, 
 have only the right to elect." Still the inhabitants were 
 determined to contend for their right to the suffrage, and 
 at several successive elections double returns of represen- 
 tatives were made. The corporation assembled in the 
 town-hall, and there elected the men whom they wished to 
 serve them in Parliament ; and at the same time a party 
 of the inhabitants, sometimes to the number of two hun- 
 dred, assembled in the market-place, and resolved upon 
 returning to the House of Commons the men of their 
 choice.* In 1678, Parliament decided that the inhabitants 
 at large had the right of election, and that their represen- 
 tatives were duly elected ; but in 1689 the decision was 
 reversed, and the narrow basis of representation was again 
 adopted. It is interesting to remark that Sir Christopher 
 Wren was often a candidate returned by the corporation, 
 
 * In connexion with these struggles, the name of William Taylor, 
 or Tdvleur, appears, who was a popular candidate returned by the 
 townspeople in opposition to the candidate returned by the corpora- 
 tion, between him and Lord Mordaunt, the constable of the Castle, 
 there was a mortal feud. The former accused the latter with having 
 unlawfully ejected him from his residence, and falsely imprisoned 
 him, and with oftering insults to the honour of his family ; all of 
 which, with other charges, were made ground of for the impeach- 
 ment of Lord Mordaunt by the House of Commons in 1668. The 
 trial excited great interest, and is noticed both by Evelyn and 
 Pepys. The proceedings were terminated by adjournment of Parlia- 
 ment, but Lord Mordaunt was soon afterwards removed from his 
 office of constable of the Castle. In the " Annals of Windsor," vol. ii. 
 332, 349, there is a full account of the impeachment.
 
 182 TOWN 
 
 to be unseated on a petition from the inhabitants. No 
 election for several Parliaments occurred without a struede 
 between the corporation and the townspeople, till, in the 
 year 1737, it was finally resolved — "that the right of 
 electing members for the borough of New Windsor is in 
 the inhabitants paying scot and lot." 
 
 From a perusal of corporation papers and records relating 
 to the period now under review, we have been enabled to 
 catch some glimpses of the condition of the town at that 
 time, and of the character and habits of the people. The 
 following document, being a letter from Mr. Matthew Day, 
 an alderman of the town, relating to the erection of a wall 
 round the pest-house, exhibits the Windsor of the seven- 
 teenth century, and brings before us vividly the miseries of 
 the plague which had often visited the town before : — 
 
 " Mr. Matoe, — My sarvis presented unto you, and to 
 the brotheren of your sosietie ; I haveinge bine a member 
 thereof ; and onely remaine alive of those your predesessors 
 whoe are named in your charter; meake bould to put you 
 in remembrance of the frugall care they had of the improve- 
 ing of the rates and revenues of this corporation, which I doubt 
 not but that your bretheren, now sucscedinge, will indevor to 
 continew, if not to augment to the succeeding bretheren of 
 the sosiety; and what they did for the generall good of the 
 inhabitance of this towne in the buildinge and making of a 
 pest-house, the benefite thereof hath bine found to have been 
 much for the saftie of the towne, in the time of visitacions. 
 " For before there was a pest-house thay weare neces- 
 setatid to make small cottages and hutches for such as were 
 visetid, for the better saftie of the towne (in the fildes) ; 
 and notwithstanding there care in buildinge of a pest-house, 
 the want of a wall about it was found to be defective, for 
 that I have knowne some infectid have, in the anguish of
 
 IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY AND SINCE. 183 
 
 theire desese, broke out of the pest-house, and came naked 
 in to the towne, and were forced back in to the pest-house. 
 
 " Whereuppon it was conceved that of necessety a wall 
 was to be meade about the ground belonging unto the pest- 
 house, for the better securetey of those whoe weare infectid, 
 for cominge into the town, and for the comfort of those 
 visetid peopell, for taking of the ayre (without offence to 
 others). 
 
 " Uppon which consideracions the wall about the ground 
 of the pest-house was buellt, which was not done at the 
 charge of the maior and his bretheren onely, but by the 
 gift of several of the inhabitans that lived in the towne, and 
 other well-afected to the good of the towne, whose names 
 and giftes I have a perticuler. 
 
 " And if their be anie defect in the wall it wold not be 
 neclecid to be repaired, for we know not how sone it maye 
 pleasse God to send a visitacion, and in the repairing of it, 
 to imetate the cowst that your predecessors take, which I 
 doubt not but will be a good helpe for the doinge of it. 
 
 " Yours to sarve you, 
 
 "Mathew Day. 
 
 " From my house, this viiith of March, 1659." 
 
 As we read the quaint epistle, we have a fearful light 
 thrown on the "visitacions" of which he speaks; and though 
 the plague did not desolate Windsor to the same extent as 
 it desolated London, when the death-cart went its rounds, 
 and the dead were thrown from the windows to receive a 
 dishonoured burial, yet the thought of those " hutches" in 
 the fields, for the reception of the unhappy victims of 
 disease ; of the pest-house and its gloomy associations ; 
 and of the infected inmates, in the anguish of their pain, 
 rushing naked into the town, and being forced back to the 
 pest-house, fills us with horror: and while the sad epistle
 
 181- TOWN 
 
 makes us sigli over the calamities whicli befel our fathers, 
 it excites the warmest gratitude to Divine Providence, who 
 in the present day spares us these awful " visitacions." 
 
 There are other records connected with Windsor about 
 that time, which exhibit the town under a very different 
 aspect, and which show that, notwithstanding the calamities 
 of the period, the townspeople pursued their usual habits, 
 and availed themselves of all opportunities of regaling 
 themselves with the good things of this life ; for ever and 
 anon, as the eye runs down the columns in the old account 
 books of the Windsor corporation, does it light on an item 
 relative to the provision of some hospitable cheer for the 
 corporation worthies, in the pursuit of their municipal 
 vocation. Entries for quarts of sack and loaves of sugar 
 are as frequent as were, no doubt, the sips those gentlemen 
 took of the delicious beverage. When any corporation 
 business was done, it seems to have been the invariable 
 custom to crown it with refreshments at the " Garter," or 
 " White Hart," both which inns are repeatedly mentioned. 
 When Mr. Mayor and several others met about a petition 
 concerning soldiers' pay, they adjourned to the "White 
 Hart," and spent six shillings and threepence. When Mr. 
 Mayor and some of his company went to Colonel Verm, on 
 his leaving the castle, there was a bill run up for a gallon 
 of wine and four loaves of sugar ; and when Mr. Mayor and 
 Sir Richard Braham met, they could not separate without 
 having beer and tobacco. Sometimes a little more sub- 
 stantial fare was provided for these municipal worthies, and 
 "baking of venison pasties" is charged for in the town 
 account. The inferior entertainments, especially the cup of 
 sack, seem to have been of almost daily occurrence. Not 
 a bill could be paid without another being incurred with 
 "mine host of the Garter" or some other host; and after 
 two or three little bills are mentioned, we find an item like
 
 IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY AND SINCE. 185 
 
 this — " for drink at these several payments." Other enter- 
 tainments of a higher order occasionally occurred, and beef 
 and bacon, and veal and mutton, and pullets, and a hun- 
 dred other things for the table, are minutely specified and 
 charged for. Nor were these viands tossed up for the table 
 without elaborate culinary preparations, for we find charged 
 in one instance " to four women to help the cook for four- 
 teen days against the prince's coming." 
 
 The habits of tippling cherished by the corporation 
 appear to have been the fashion of the townspeople at large, 
 for no less than seventy public-houses are mentioned as 
 existing at the same time, besides several from which the 
 licences were taken away. This was a great number, con- 
 sidering the size of the town, and it shows how much such 
 places of resort must have been patronized. The taste of 
 the inhabitants for public-houses, sack, and beer no doubt 
 furnishes an explanation of the numerous entries in the 
 town books relating to the repairs of the town-hall win- 
 dows, the hasps of the market-gate, and other matters 
 which had suffered damage from violence. 
 
 Sometimes grand rejoicings took place in Windsor, the 
 charge of which was borne by the corporation. Mention is 
 made of beer, ale, and wood for a bonfire, upon the news 
 of the marriage between the Prince of Orange, afterwards 
 William III., and the Princess Mary, the daughter of 
 James II.; and it appears that the municipal dignitaries, 
 in catering for the amusement of the populace, sometimes 
 introduced bear-baiting, the favourite amusement of the 
 period — as we find among the corporation accounts "charges 
 for a rope and bear." Frequent entries also occur relating 
 to gratuities presented to the members* who represented 
 
 * Such gratuities were common at that period ; and in the case 
 of Andrew iJawell, at least, who represented Kingston-upon-HuU, 
 the custom still continued' of paying the representative.
 
 186 TOWN 
 
 the town in Parliament, and to tlie steward of the borough, 
 of which the following is a specimen : — 
 
 For three hogsheads of ale, sent one to the Earl of Hol- 
 land, one to Mr. Wyuord, and one to Mr. Cornelius 
 Holland, burgesses of the Parliament of this borough, 
 with the charge of land and water carriage . . £4 15 4 
 
 We select a few other entries as illustrative of the times : 
 
 For six quarts of sack, when the peace was proclaimed 
 
 between the Dutch and us . . . . . £0 12 
 For padlocks, keys, and mending locks, for a chain and 
 
 staple for the whipping post . . . . .050 
 
 To the crier for giving notice to keep the hogs out of the 
 
 street 020 
 
 Male pillions and straps, to go to 'sizes . . . .026 
 Paid at town-hall when the commissioners were there, to 
 
 purge the corporation, as they said . . .038 
 
 To Mr. Frith, for fetching part of the ducking stool, 
 
 which the water had carried away* . . .020 
 
 In the corporation accounts towards the close of the 
 seventeenth century there are numerous items of sums paid 
 in discharge of bills connected with the erection of the 
 town-hall. This edifice was built from a design by Sir 
 Thomas Fits, surveyor of the Cinque Ports, at an expense 
 of £2006 14s. id., and was paid for out of the corporation 
 funds, exclusive of £680 7s. 6d. which was raised by private 
 contribution. The original architect died in January, 1689, 
 
 * " The cucking stool was an engine invented for the punishment 
 of scolds and unquiet women, by ducking them in the water, after 
 having placed them in a stool or chair fixed at the end of a long 
 pole, by which they were immerged in some muddy or stinking pond. 
 Blount tells us, that some think it a corruption from ducking stool, 
 but that others derive it from choaking stool. Though of the most 
 remote antiquity, it is now, it should seem, totally disused." — 
 Brande's " Popular Antiquities," vol. ii. p. 442. 
 
 " There is an order of the corporation of Shrewsbury, 1669, that 
 a ducking stool be erected for the punishment of scolds." — " History 
 of Shrewsbury," p. 172, 4to. 1779.
 
 IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY AND SINCE, 187 
 
 and the works were completed under Sir Christopher 
 Wren. In the year 1707 the corporation, in order to evince 
 their loyalty to the reigning sovereign (who, as Pote 
 observes, constantly made Windsor her summer residence), 
 erected a niche at the north end of this building, in which 
 they placed a wooden statue of the queen, with an inscrip- 
 tion, which, though intended as an exquisite compliment to 
 her majesty, was in reality a stupid satire. 
 
 ANNO EEGNI SUI VI. 
 
 BOM. 1707. 
 
 ARTE TTTA, SCTJLPTOE, NON EST IMITABILIS ANNA; 
 
 ANNA VIS SIMILEM SCULPEEE ? SCTJLPE BEAM. 
 
 S. CHAPMAN, PE^TOBE. 
 
 In the niche at the opposite end of the hall there was 
 placed a statue of George, Prince of Denmark, attired in a 
 Roman habit, with an inscription beneath scarcely less 
 absurd than the former : — 
 
 SEEENISSIMO PEINCIPI 
 
 GEOEGIO PEINCIPI DANI^, 
 
 HEEOI OMNI SjECULO TENEEANDO. 
 
 CHEISTOPHEEUS WEEN, AEM. 
 
 POSUIT MDCCXIII. 
 
 It would seem, however, that there were some of the 
 townsmen who were sadly wanting in loyalty; for it is 
 curious to find in the hall book in the year 1706 that 
 there were members who said " the corporation was not 
 twopence the better for the queen's coming to Windsor," 
 which words, it was added, " do not agree with the grateful 
 sense the corporation hath and ever shall have of her 
 majesty's most gracious favour in affording them so much 
 of her royal presence and the benefit they receive thereby." 
 The delinquents were caUed to account and required to beg 
 the queen's pardon. 
 
 We find no incidents of any interest in the history of the
 
 1 88 TOWN 
 
 town during the eighteentli century, and it only remains 
 briefly to indicate the alterations that have taken place of 
 late years. There are here and there still remaining in 
 Windsor portions of houses which belong to the seventeenth 
 century. The Duke's Head is said to have been the house 
 of Villiers, Duke of Buckingham. Behind the shop of 
 Mr. Lester, confectioner, in High-street, there is a staircase 
 of the time of the Stuarts, if not earlier. The Free School 
 near the Church, the Bank, and a house inhabited by A. 
 Moore, Esq., close to the bridge, are said to have been de- 
 signed by Sir Christopher Wren. The last contains some 
 beautiful wood carving, attributed to Grindling Gibbons. 
 But the town has been so much altered of late that some 
 parts of it would hardly be recognised by those who have 
 not seen it for the last thirty years. Changes began to 
 take place much earlier than that. For example, the 
 borough gaol used to stand in St. Alban's-street, near the 
 Castle-hill ; but it was removed by George III., who built 
 a new one in George-street, since pulled down. It is said 
 the monarch was annoyed by the prisoners, who would look 
 at him through the bars of their cells as he came down 
 from the castle, and used to cry, " God save the king — we 
 wish your majesty would let us out." At that time, and 
 as late as the year 1824, a gateway in the Italian style, 
 called Queen Elizabeth's gate, crossed the Castle-hill by 
 St. Alban's-street, and the left as well as the right side of 
 the hill was covered with houses and shops. Near the 
 Castle gate, and within the Castle domains, were three 
 lodges — the first, called the Queen's Lodge, and erected in 
 1782, at a cost of £44,000, from plans by George III. ; the 
 second, called the Upper Lodge, an old building used by 
 Queen Anne, and by George III. in the earliest part of his 
 reign, and afterwards by some of the princesses ; and the 
 third, or Lower Lodge, once St. Alban's House, but after-
 
 IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY AND SINCE. 189 
 
 wards purchased by the king for the younger branches of 
 the royal family. The former two are destroyed, the latter 
 remains as part of the royal mews, and is the building 
 nearly opposite the riding school, occupied by some of the 
 royal servants. Buildings, until within the last few years, 
 continued to line Thames-street on the east side down to the 
 entrance to the Hundred Steps, leaving the roadway very 
 narrow. Thenewbridge was built in 1822. Victoria-street, 
 the new road by Bachelors'- acre, by which, on a now un- 
 occupied piece of ground, the royal mews stood, and 
 Clarence-crescent, with some adjoining thoroughfares, have 
 all been made within about thirty years. A road to Old 
 Windsor and Datchet used to run through Frogmore by 
 the side of the park walls, now pulled down. In lieu of the 
 old roads, enclosed now in the royal domains, the present 
 new ones were granted by the Crown. 
 
 The old parish church* was in a very dilapidated state 
 previously to its being pulled down for the erection of the 
 present edifice in 1820. It is a curious fact, stated on 
 the authority of Mr. Seeker, late town clerk of Windsor, 
 that formerly there was but one sermon on a Sunday, and 
 it was delivered alternately — morning and afternoon. 
 When there was no discourse at the parish church, the 
 people after prayers walked to St. George's Chapel, to hear 
 it there. This created great disturbance, to put an end to 
 
 * We are told in Boswell's " Life of Jolmson" (Croker's Edition), 
 vol. i., 297, that " he was sometime with Beauclerk at his house at 
 Windsor, where he was entertained with experiments in natural 
 philosophy. One Sunday, when the weather was very fine, Beauclerk 
 enticed him insensibly to saunter about all the morning. They went 
 into a churchyard, in the time of divine service, and Johnson laid 
 himself down at his ease upon one of the tombstones. ' Now, sir,' 
 said Beauclerk, 'you are like Hogarth's Idle Apprentice.'" Perhaps 
 Windsor Churchyard was the scene of this incident. It might, how- 
 ever, be Clewer, or Datchet, or Old Windsor.
 
 ] 90 TOWN". 
 
 wMcli George III. allowed £50 a-year for a sermon in the 
 church, every Sunday. The new church on the road to the 
 cavalry barracks, used as a military chapel, was built in 
 1844. The congregation of Independents now worshipping 
 in Victoria-street Chapel, opened in 1833, formerly assem- 
 bled in the small Presbyterian Church in High-street, which 
 originally was a theatre, and was appropriated to sacred 
 purposes when the present theatre was built in Thames- 
 street. The Independent congregation is the oldest body 
 of Dissenters in the town. It originated in the latter part 
 of the last century, and at first, being very small, occupied 
 a building not far from the present one, and called " the 
 Hole in the WaU." An inconvenient place of worship was 
 afterwards fitted up in Bier-lane, where the good people 
 were occasionally disturbed in divine service. The Wesleyan 
 denomination, at a much later period, built a small chapel 
 in the same Lane, on the opposite side, but removed in 1836 
 to the edifice in Peascod-street. The Baptist Chapel was 
 opened in 1839. 
 
 r
 
 PART 11. 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE.
 
 I
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE ROYAL PKECINCTS. 
 
 jE never approach Windsor by the South- 
 Western Railway, without thinking of 
 Heidelberg. The favourite castle of our 
 English monarchs — planted on a hill, its 
 terrace crowning lovely slopes of garden 
 ground and woods — calls to mind the once cherished 
 home of the Electors Palatine, which, in like manner, 
 rests in lordly magnificence on a declivity covered 
 and enlivened by masses of foliage. The battlemented 
 ridge here peeping above the tree tops, with faces looking 
 down on field, and road, and river, is very much akin to 
 that which surmounts the orchards there — where we have 
 seen English tourists rejoicing in one of the most glorious 
 of landscapes ; and have talked with them of the fortunes 
 of poor Elizabeth of Bohemia, who, as Ferdinand the 
 Elector's wife, and our first James' daughter, is a connecting 
 historical link between the two edifices. Nor are the posi- 
 tions of the towns and bridges of Windsor and Heidelberg, 
 in relation to the kingly halls and haunts — so long their 
 chief attraction — much unlike. But, as in many other 
 cases, when some few features of resemblance have struck 
 the mind on a first survey, the comparison leads to a con- 
 trast ; so, the similarity between these two places is accom- 
 panied by many points of difference. We miss at Windsor 
 the noble heights of Heidelberg, ascending behind the 
 
 o
 
 194 DESCRIPTIVE. 
 
 palace. We miss the valley. We miss tlie hanging woods 
 and vineyards. Nor is the royal borough internally at all 
 like the German university town. And then, moreover, 
 and so for ages may it be, while Heidelberg is a crumbling 
 ruin, deserted of her princes, Windsor is in the perfection 
 of its strength and beauty, its lawns ringing with the laugh 
 of merry children round their royal parents,* who there find 
 a magnificent retreat and a happy home. 
 
 Opposite the entrance to the railway station is Travers 
 College, standing near the spot where the martyrs were 
 burnt in the reign of Henry VIIT. We walk up the town 
 till we reach the gateway which bears his name. It was 
 erected in the first year of his reign, and the rose, portcullis, 
 and the fleur-de-lis still decorating the front, are memorials 
 of the Tudor origin of this stately piece of architecture. 
 Once it was used for judicial purposes, for Stow calls this 
 gate the Exchequer of the honour, where had been, and yet 
 continued, a monthly court, kept by the clerk of the castle 
 for the pleas of the forest. Here, tradition says, he came 
 out to meet Anne Boleyn, when she entered the castle in 
 the sunshine of his fickle favour, to be created, in the old 
 presence chamber, a peeress of the realm, to wear the 
 coronet of a marchioness, preparatory to putting on the 
 diadem of a queen. 
 
 The appearance of the gateway shows the recent restora- 
 tion of the masonry, and so do all the adjoining buildings. 
 On the left-hand side is the guardhouse, and at the corner 
 is the Salisbury Tower. A row of houses for the military 
 knights on the Le Maire and Crane foundations till lately 
 stood before the wall between the Salisbury and Garter 
 Towers. On this site, buildings are now being erected 
 for the use of the garrison, and the outer wall is being 
 
 * This, alas ! is now no longer so. — January, 1862.
 
 THE ROYAL PRECINCTS, 195 
 
 pierced with windows. Within the Garter-tower there has 
 just been discovered an old stone staircase, with a roof 
 of curious construction, something like complicated steps 
 reversed. The military knights occupy the buildings on 
 the right-hand side of the ward. In the midst of them is 
 the Tower where the Governor lives. The Garter-house. 
 with that symbol over the door, is now the residence of the 
 Master of the Queen's Household. In the drawing-room 
 of the latter is a cai'ved mantelpiece of the time of James I. 
 
 St. George's Chapel is built in the Perpendicular style, 
 and is one of the finest examples of it in the kingdom. 
 There are, however, still remaining a few fragments of 
 earlier date. 
 
 On walking round the exterior of the chapel at Windsor, 
 the attention is immediately arrested by the fine windows 
 in the aisles, and especially by the noble Avestern window 
 lately restored. "Like those in Henry VII. 's Chapel, 
 and King's College Chapel," (observes Mr. Britton), " it fills 
 up the whole width of the nave, and like the former is divided 
 into three large compartments, each of which is again sub- 
 divided by smaller muUions into five lights. Horizontally 
 it consists of six tiers of lights, each with a cinquefoil head, 
 and filled with ancient stained glass. Every transom has 
 internally and externally an embattled moulding. The west 
 window of Henry VII.'s Chapel contains only three transoms, 
 and that of King's Chapel only one. The latter is divided 
 into nine lights by vertical mullions." The western door- 
 way, which has nothing to recommend it, exhibits the square 
 outline and spandrel. The entrance to the cloisters at the 
 east end of the chapel, between that and the tomb-house, 
 is full of grace. " It has neither sculpture nor foliage of 
 any sort to aid its effect, but it is nevertheless singularly 
 appropriate and beautiful." As the eye passes along the 
 elegant pile, the flying buttresses, yielding their light and 
 
 o 2
 
 196 DESCRIPTIVE. 
 
 ornamental supports to the clerestory, produce a pleasing 
 effect. Yet tlie buttresses here are very plain compared 
 with some erected in the same age. This part of the edifice 
 is a striking example of the combination of utUity and orna- 
 ment, which is so important a principle in Gothic archi- 
 tecture. Of all the external features of St. George's Chapel, 
 the battlements are the most elaborately ornamented. They 
 are carried round the roof, forming an elegant mural crown, 
 and afford a choice specimen of the taste of that period. 
 Adjoining it at the east end is the royal tomb-house which 
 Cardinal Wolsey intended to be his mausoleum. The 
 history of that appropriation has been already given. It is 
 a late instance of Perpendicular architecture, retaining " its 
 propriety and elegance of design." It displays " neither any 
 admixture of other styles nor any of the extravagance of 
 German or French art of the period." Passing through 
 the beautiful gateway between the chapel and the tomb- 
 house, you enter the dean's cloister built by Edward III. 
 and lately restored. The south wall is a fragment of the 
 chapel of Henry III., and in the first arch is a curious paint- 
 ing of a crowned head — probably that of the royal builder. 
 This relic was discovered behind the plaster while the 
 restorations were going on in 1859. A projecting window 
 on the opposite side belongs to a room said by some to 
 have been occupied by Anne Boleyn. Beyond are the 
 canons' cloisters, leading to the Hundred Steps, which have 
 just been entirely rebuilt, and now bear no resemblance to 
 what they were when we began to climb them thirty years ago. 
 On the left-hand side is a passage by the porch and door- 
 way leading to the Chapter House. The rubbish by which 
 this was concealed has been lately removed, and the groined 
 roof and curious panelling are well worth examination. 
 Crossing the passage to the outside of the chapel, you have 
 a view of the northern aspect of the edifice. Some buUd-
 
 THE ROYAL PRECINCTS, 197 
 
 ings connected with tlie canons' houses opposite have been 
 recently removed, including the relics of John Denton's 
 foundation. A part of the wall of the Domus Regis is 
 thus thrown open to view, with the remains of a door 
 in the wall of the second story, perhaps an entrance 
 to one of the original royal apartments constructed by 
 Walter de Burgh in the 24th of Henry III. Some 
 brick pilasters and ornaments of the time of Inigo Jones 
 appear on a wall just by these ancient relics. Proceeding 
 westvrard we come to the Dean and Chapter's Library 
 on the right-hand side, and on the left the old Horse-shoe 
 Cloisters, so called from their being in the form of a fetter-lock, 
 one of Edward IV.'s badges. To the left is the entrance to the 
 bell tower, with the cliimes of which the inhabitants of Wind- 
 sor and the visitors there must be sufficiently familiar ; 
 seeming at the summer's noon hour to be merrily telling of 
 home joys, and of nature's pleasant gifts ; and on a winter's 
 night — floating clear and strong through the frosty air, as 
 the snow crackles under the pilgrim's foot — to be wailing 
 out the dirge of departed generations. Norden's plan, 
 drawn in James I.'s time, represents this tower with its 
 surmounting cupola very nearly in its present state, and 
 any one who Avill take the trouble to enter the tower — and 
 it is well worth the trouble — will find the lower story in 
 its pristine state, twenty-two feet in diameter, vaulted on 
 plain stone ribs, with recessed arches terminating in loop- 
 holes, and showing the walls to be no less than twelve and 
 a half feet thick. The whole is constructed with chalk, 
 faced and arched with free-stone. The numerous inscrip- 
 tions on its time-worn sides, seemingly hewed by unhappy 
 prisoners, suggest to the moralist many a lesson and reflec- 
 tion. The upper part of the tower, where the massive stone 
 walls are filled in with an enormous network of timber, form- 
 ing apartments inhabited by the keeper, is very curious.
 
 198 DESCRIPTIVE. 
 
 Passing under tlie gateway at tlie end of the cloister we 
 come again into the open ward. 
 
 Having completed the outer circuit, let us examine the 
 interior of the building. Attention is immediately attracted 
 by the roof. There is presented a triumphant display of art. 
 The scientific visitor will notice how the difficulty of the 
 flat central span resting on the four cones is met by using 
 low four-centred arch in a way " which is the perfection oi 
 this kind of vaulting, and is, perhaps, the most beautiful 
 method ever invented."* The arches springing from the 
 summits of the rows of graceful columns like the branches of 
 palm trees — the beautiful interweaving of these on the roof, 
 like the fibres of a leaf, yet all arranged in perfect forms — 
 and the lightness and elasticity of the whole, which seems as 
 if supported by magic — mark the highest excellence in the 
 construction and decoration of this essential part of an 
 edifice. The whole reminds us of Milton's description of 
 the Indian fig-tree : — 
 
 " Such as at this day to Indians known, 
 In Malahar or Dect-an spreads her arms, 
 Branching so broad and long that on the ground 
 The bending twigs take root, and daugliters grow 
 About the mother tree, a pillared shade 
 High overarched, and echoing walks between."f 
 
 " Each side of the nave consists of seven similar com- 
 partments, with corresponding piers, panelling over the 
 arches, windows, and panellings in the aisles, upper tier of 
 windows, also groining springing from the clustered columns. 
 A fascia, or frieze of half angels, extends all round the in- 
 terior of the building beneath the upper windows. An 
 elegant ornament of lozenged-shape leaves, &c., a genuine 
 mark of the Tudor style of architecture, is shown above 
 
 * Fergusson's " Handbook of Architecture," p. 83. 
 f " Paradise Lost," book ix. line 1102.
 
 THE ROYAL PRECINCTS. 199 
 
 these heads, the bodies of which are displayed as covered 
 with feathers. Each transom or horizontal mullion of the 
 windows has an embattled moulding. The two western 
 arches of the nave, between that and the aisles, are rather 
 wider than the others."* 
 
 The roof of the chapel is further ornamented with various 
 coats of arms and other devices. The arms of Edward III. 
 and IV., of Henry VI., VII., and VIII., and of several 
 noble families, may be distinctly recognised, as well as the 
 rose, portcullis, and fleur-de-lis, the badge of the last two 
 Henries. 
 
 The impression of loftiness, and hence the emotion of 
 sublimity produced, when looking at the roof, is greatly 
 aided by the vast number of details — by the multiplication 
 of parts, instead of enlargement of the scale, as in the case 
 of lofty buildings of the Grecian orders. The tracery 
 deserves careful observation. 
 
 In the aisles on each side of the choir there are beautiful 
 specimens of screen-work in front of the different chapels, 
 and other objects of interest. Ascending the northern 
 aisle on the left side is Rutland Chapel, where some of the 
 Itutland family are interred ; and on the right is Hastings 
 Chapel, in which there are grotesque paintings " of the 
 Martyrdom of Stephen. Two children of Edward IV. and 
 Queen Elizabeth Widville are buried in this aisle. Also 
 the Duchess of Saxe-Weimar, niece to Queen Adelaide. At 
 the east end is the entrance to the Chapter House, which con- 
 tains the portrait and sword of Edward III. A curious iron 
 lock, a richly worked grating, and an escutcheon on a door, 
 in iliis aisle, should be particularly noticed ; and passing 
 round at the back of the altar, another beautiful piece of 
 ironwork wiU be seen on the door leading to the tomb- 
 
 * Britton's " Antiquities," vol. iii. p. 39.
 
 200 DESCRIPTIVE. 
 
 house. In the south aisle, at its eastern end, is Lincoln 
 Chapel, once Sir John Scone's. Near to this is the 
 memorial niche of Beauchamp,* Bishop of Salisbury ; 
 opposite, a black-letter Bible is chained. In this aisle 
 Henry VI. is buried. There is on the right side a 
 chapel, dedicated to John the Baptist by John Oxen- 
 bridge, a canon of this church. It was erected in 
 1522. The screen is a beautiful piece of workmanship ; 
 but the paintings, intended to represent the history of 
 the Baptist, are extremely grotesque. Next to it is the 
 screen which belongs to Urswick Chapel, removed here 
 when that chapel received the Princess Charlotte's cenotaph. 
 The inscription, requesting prayers for the souls of King 
 Harry VIII., Christopher Urswick, and all Christian souls, 
 is an odd mixture of Latin and English. Adjoining, on the 
 same side, are four ancient paintings of Prince Edward, 
 the son of King Henry VI., Edward IV., Edward V., and 
 Henry VII. Underneath them is the monument recently 
 erected by the Queen in memory of the Duchess of 
 Gloucester, with good bas-reliefs of the " acts of mercy," by 
 Mr. Theed. Opposite is Oliver King's Chapel. The door 
 bears the following inscription : — 
 
 DE SURSU EST UT DI-S-CA. 
 
 In the blank space is introduced the carved figure of a 
 volume, chained. The sense of the whole seems to be — 
 " This book came from above, for our instruction." Oliver 
 King was secretary to Henry VI., Edward IV., Edward V., 
 and Henry VII. ; and, after being a canon of Windsor for 
 some time, was, in the year 1492, raised to the see of 
 Exeter ; and in 1495, translated to that of Bath and Wells. 
 
 * Mr. Brittou, quoting Mr. Gough, says that Beauchamp was 
 buried within his own private chapel or oratory at Sahsbury.
 
 THE ROYAL PRECINCTS. 201 
 
 He built the Abbey Churcli at Bath, the latest example of 
 a cathedral edifice in this country. He died in the year 
 1503, and is supposed, though there are some doubts on 
 the subject, to be buried in this little chapel. At the end, 
 near the south door, is Bray Chapel. 
 
 The founder of this chantry had so much to do with the 
 chapol that he deserves special notice, and we are glad to 
 introduce the following paragraphs from Mr. Britton's 
 "Architectural Antiquities" (Vol. iii. p. 33) : — 
 
 " That the Chapel of St. George, at Windsor, owes much 
 to the skill, as well as to the munificence of Sir Reginald 
 Bray, there can be no doubt. His arms, sometimes single, 
 sometimes impaling those of Huse, whom he married, 
 and his device of a flax-breaker, are in so many parts of 
 the ceiling and windows, that they could not have been 
 placed there without a more than ordinary claim to the 
 situation. 
 
 " The chapel on the south side, still called Bray's Chapel, 
 was built by him to receive his body, as appears by his will, 
 which is dated August 4, 1503, and he thereby directs that 
 his body shall be buried in the chapel on the south side of 
 the church of our Lady and St. George, in the Castle of 
 Windsor, which he had made for that intent, and also in 
 honour of Almighty God, etc. He wills that his executors, 
 after his decease, should, with his goods and the issues and 
 profits of his lands, make and perform the new works of 
 the body of the said church, and thoroughly finish them, 
 according to the form and intent of the foundation, in 
 stone-work, timber, lead, iron, and glass, and all other 
 things necessary ; that they should cause a tomb to be 
 made for him in the said chapel ; and he gave forty marks 
 a-year to the Dean and Canons to distribute thirteen pence 
 every day to thirteen poor men or women, at the door of 
 the said chapel.
 
 202 DESCRIPTIVE. 
 
 " Ho died tlie next day, and in the November following 
 his will was proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. 
 
 " No tomb was erected, but his body probably lies under 
 the stone which is placed over Dr. Waterland ; for Mr. 
 Pote, in his account of Windsor, tells us, that on opening 
 the vault for that gentleman, who died in 1740, a leaden 
 coffin of ancient form was found, which by other appear- 
 ances was judged to be that of Sir Reginald, and was, by 
 order of the Dean, immediately arched over with great 
 decency. 
 
 " From the expression in the will as to finishing this 
 church, it may fairly be inferred, not only that great works 
 had been carried on at his expense, but that he had a share 
 at least in the designing them. After seeing what he did 
 here, it may not, perhaps, be too much to conjecture that 
 he had also a share in the design of Henry VII.'s Chapel 
 at Westminster, where he assisted in laying the first stone." 
 
 In the Bray Chapel there is a tomb to the memory of 
 William Fitzwilliam, who died October 13, 1659. "This 
 tomb corresponds in design and material with that of 
 Chaucer in Westminster Abbey Church, which Gough says 
 was ' the work of Mr. Nicholas Brigham, of Caversham, 
 in Oxfordshire,' and erected by him in 1556. The design 
 and mode of workmanship show the decline — the last 
 struggle — of the Tudor style of church architecture, and is 
 therefore worthy of preservation." In the Bray Chapel 
 there is a monument to Dr. Giles Thomson, Bishop of 
 Gloucester, and one of the translators of King James's 
 Bible, besides others that we have not space to mention. 
 Indeed, we have passed over several in our rapid walk 
 round the chapel, which the visitor, of course, will see, but 
 with regard to which there is not much of artistic or anti- 
 quarian interest to observe. We may, however, perhaps 
 pause for a moment, just to say with regard to the chan-
 
 THE ROYAL PRECINCTS. 203 
 
 tries we have hastily passed, that the one bearing the Rut- 
 laud name was founded at the expense of Sir Thomas St. 
 Ledger, for the interment of the Duchess of Exeter, sister 
 of Edward IV., in 1475. In the centre is the altar tomb 
 of Lord Ross, ancestor of the Duke of Rutland. Hastings 
 Chapel was built by the wife of William Lord Hastings, 
 Chamberlain to Edward IV. Lincoln Chapel contains the 
 monument of the Earl of Lincoln, who was High Admiral 
 of England for thirty years, and died in 1584. It was 
 erected by his widow. The Oxenbridge Chantry and that 
 of Oliver King have been particularly noticed. And now it 
 only remains to walk down the aisle to the west end to 
 view the Beaufort Chapel with its tomb and statues to the 
 memory of the Earl, who died in 1526, and the elaborate 
 monument to the Dulce, who was buried here in 1G99. It 
 is here, too, that the remains of the Marquis of Worcester, 
 who died in 1646, repose. The cenotaph of the Princess 
 Charlotte, in the opposite aisle, by Wyatt, with its gilded 
 canopy — of the whole of which we leave the visitor to form 
 his own opinion — occupies the room of what was originally 
 Urs wick's Chapel. 
 
 An old iron alms-box stands by the entrance to the 
 choir. The interior is very magnificent. A few years ago, 
 the roof was richly tinted, and the oak carving carefully 
 cleaned and polished.* Some of the windows were about 
 
 * After examining the carved seats in the choir, it is anmsing to 
 turn to a letter by Horace Walpole, written to Lady Ossory, on 
 the 22nd of July, 1788 : — "You may know, perhaps, that in days of 
 yore the flaps of seats in choirs of cathedrals were decorated with 
 sculptures ; sometimes with legends ; oftener, alas, with devices at 
 best ludicrous, frequently not fit to meet the eye of modesty. Well, 
 madam, two new stalls being added in the Church of St. (Jeorge at 
 Windsor, as niches for the supernumerary knights that have been 
 added, the custom has been observed and carried on in the new flaps 
 — not to call up a blush in the check of mother church, but in the 
 true catholic spirit. One of the bas-rel'efs 1 do not know, but pro-
 
 204 DESCRIPTIVK 
 
 the same time admirably reglazed with painted glass, so as 
 to make more conspicuous the tastelessness of those painted 
 in George III.'s time, from West's designs. The heraldic 
 ornaments on the stalls of the Knights of the Garter, and 
 the overhanging banners, add to the general effect. 
 Henry VIII. and Charles I. are buried in the choir ; and 
 at the altar steps is the entrance to the royal vaults, where 
 are interred George III., George IV., William IV., Queen 
 Charlotte, and Queen Adelaide. Beside them are the Dukes 
 of York and Kent, Prince Alfred, the Princesses Amelia 
 and Augusta, and the Princess Charlotte. 
 
 Looking at St. George's Chapel in its present state, it is 
 curious to read the following letter from Mr. Francis 
 Pigott, a correspondent of the "Gentleman's Magazine." 
 It is dated the 20th of June, 1786. 
 
 " From Eton I adjourned to the Chapel of St. George 
 at Windsor. Here a new scene presented itself ; an elegant 
 and neglected Gothic chapel, perhaps the first in the world 
 for beauty and splendour, but dirty, and disregarded to 
 such a degree as to become a nuisance to the eye and a 
 reproach to the sexton, who I am told receives daily hand- 
 some donations for showing it, yet is regardless to the 
 greatest degree of shame, not so much as dusting the 
 monuments or washing the chapel. An elegant monument 
 of the Beaufort family is at this moment tumbling 
 into ruins, some of the principal figures thereon being 
 supported by common cords or ropes ; another, of the 
 Lincoln family, totally in ruins ; others of the Rutland 
 
 bably the martyrdom of St. Edmund the King ; the other is the 
 ineifectual martyrdom of George the King by Margaret Nicholson. 
 The body-coachman is standing by, to ascertain the precise moment. 
 If you had not heard of this decoration, I will not say, madam, 
 that I had no news to send you ; at least I may subscribe myself 
 your ladyship's hmnble clerke and antiquarie, H. VV." — (" Letters to 
 the Countess of Ossory," vol. ii. p. 334;.) 

 
 THE ROYAL PRECINCTS. 205 
 
 and Exeter families, alike ruinous, certainly for want of 
 a report to those noble families to whom they belong. This 
 royal chapel is, I am informed, now shut up for divers repairs 
 and ornaments, which his majesty has condescended to 
 bestow upon it, particularly the window so much talked of 
 for the east end, and the celebrated window by West. This 
 is a season, therefore, for all persons whose ancestors are 
 there interred to give their particular dii-ections for the 
 repair of these sepulchral monuments. And I flatter my- 
 self we shall see the pews, heretofore used in the sermon 
 time, and the old pulpit, removed. The pavement of this 
 royal chapel would be disgraceful to a barn ; perhaps his 
 majesty, whose monument, from his munificence, it will 
 become, may direct a new pavement to be laid down, as he 
 takes great delight in this very beautiful temple. Or if the 
 Knights Companions of the Garter were to contribute 
 thereto, and to ornament the windows in the aisles with 
 their arms, or other painted glass, it would add great 
 solemnity and magnificence to the whole."* 
 
 Leaving St. George's Chapel, we pass the deanery to 
 the left, adjoining the tomb-house. Just beyond, are the 
 castle store rooms, with the Winchester Tower rising above 
 them, and facing the north terrace. There is the inscription 
 "Hoc fecit WyhehamP Corresponding on the south side is 
 King Henry III.'s Tower. Across the space here, and 
 dividing the lower ward from the middle ward, there was 
 formerly a wall and gateway, as shown in Norden's map. 
 The buildings attached to King Henry III.'s Tower are 
 the architect's offices,t from which there runs a path 
 between walls to St. George's Gate. Proceeding to the left 
 
 * " Gentleman's Magazine," vol. Ivi. p. 449. 
 f Several curious fragments of Henry VII. buildings, dug out 
 from under Queen Elizabeth's Gallery and the Royal Chapel, are at 
 the present time ranged ou the wall near the office.
 
 206 DESCEIPTIVK 
 
 by the side of the dry moat of the Round Tower, we reach 
 the Norman gateway with its machicolations and portcullis, 
 passing under which, there is an entrance on the left, by 
 Queen Elizabeth's Gallery, to the north terrace, and on the 
 right to the covered stairway which conducts to the top of 
 the Round Tower, where, on a fine day, we are told, twelve 
 counties may be seen. Sir Jeffrey Wyatville raised the 
 Round Tower thirty feet, exclusive of the Watch Tower, 
 which was twenty-five feet more. Descending to the terrace, 
 and proceeding to the east end, a line of iron rails is found 
 dividing it from the east terrace, which, with its garden, 
 extends far beyond its original limits. Before Sir Jeffrey 
 Wyatville's additions, the terrace was confined to the 
 narrow raised walk along the east front of the castle. At 
 the end of the north terrace was a sun-dial, close to which 
 were steps leading down to the open park. The public 
 had free access to all that portion of the royal domain. 
 By Mother Dod's Hill, as it was called, there was a pleasant 
 walk to Datchet, and all the way boys trundled their 
 hoops and flew their kites at liberty. Returning along the 
 terrace, and re-entering the upper ward, we now find the 
 quadrangle or upper court carefully enclosed, and wearing 
 the appearance of a majestic solitude ; but in the days of 
 George III. it was all open for people to walk and loiter 
 wherever they pleased. Some still living can remember 
 playing at boyish sports within these royal precincts, and 
 making the old walls ring with their merry shouts and 
 cries. The equestrian statue of Charles II, then stood in 
 the middle. 
 
 Pausing here for a moment to look round, and remem- 
 bering the present palatial appearance of the castle on the 
 north terrace, it is interesting to read the following passage 
 from Mr. Poynter's Essay, prefixed to Sir Jeffrey Wyatville's 
 " Illustrations of Windsor Castle : " —
 
 THE ROYAL PRECINCTS. 207 
 
 " The only original trace of tlie architecture of the four- 
 teenth century, now to be discerned, on the exterior of the 
 upper ward, occurs in the principal gate adjoining the 
 keep, where the whole of the archway, and the niachecoulis 
 which overhangs it, display a character not to be mistaken. 
 The gateway which occupied the north-eastern angle of the 
 upper court, taken down in the late alterations, exhibited 
 similar machecoulis ; and Hollar's general view indicates 
 the same in that occupying the place of the present state 
 entrance. None of the towers appear ever to have borne 
 this striking characteristic of the castellated architecture of 
 the fourteenth century ; but the formal repetition of sqviare 
 outlines, so offensive to the eye, previously to the operations 
 of Sir Jeffrey Wyatville, was broken by lofty and picturesque 
 turrets, most of which disappeared in the alterations of the 
 seventeenth century. To the south and east, the castle 
 presented a stern aspect of defiance. The ditch extended 
 throughout those two sides, the curtain walls were blank 
 and unbroken, except by buttresses, and the only apertures 
 were the gateways and loopholes in the tower. The apart- 
 ments were of course lighted altogether from within. The 
 three small areas on the side where the buildings are 
 double, since known as Birch Court, Horn Court, and the 
 Kitchen Court, seem to indicate that the north front 
 originally bore the same character as the rest ; but of this 
 there is no representation until buildings of late date had 
 supervened." 
 
 The Grand Staircase and the Waterloo Gallery now 
 occupy the sites of these three courts. 
 
 But it is time to enter the State Apartments. Those 
 which are at present open to the public are fewer than they 
 used to be. They are situated in what was called the Star 
 Building of Charles II., and you approach them now by a 
 Gothic porch next to King John's Tower. On the narrow
 
 I 
 
 208 DESCRIPTIVE. 
 
 staircase is a portrait of Sir J. Wyatville. The first room 
 shown is the Queen's Audience Chamber, still retaining 
 its original name. The ceiling is covered with allegorical 
 paintings, by Verrio, and the walls are ornamented with 
 tapestry illustrating the history of Esther. The whole- 
 length portrait of Mary Queen of Scots is very curious. 
 There are also portraits of Frederick Henry, Prince of 
 Orange, and William II., Prince of Orange. All the frames 
 are by Gibbons. Next is the Vandyke Room, formerly the 
 old Ball Room. Here are portraits of Henry, Count de 
 Berg ; King Charles I. and his family ; Mary, Duchess 
 of Richmond ; Thomas Killigrew and Thomas Carew ; 
 Henrietta Maria, Consort of Charles I. ; Anastasia 
 Venetia, Lady Digby ; George Villiers, Duke of Bucking- 
 ham, and his brother, Lord Francis Villiers, full length, as 
 boys ; Thomas Francis of Savoy, Prince of Carignano ; 
 Henrietta Maria, Queen Consort of Charles I. ; Beatrice Con- 
 stance, Princess de Cantecroye ; Children of King Charles I. ; 
 King Charles I., front, profile, and three-quarter face ; 
 Henrietta Maria, Queen Consort of Charles I. ; Lucy, 
 Countess of Carlisle ; Sir Kenelm Digby, Knt. ; King 
 Charles II. when a boy ; Sir Anthony Vandyke ; Henri- 
 etta Maria, Queen Consort of King Charles I. ; Three 
 Children of Charles I. ; Mary, Countess of Dorset ; King 
 Charles I., on horseback, accompanied by M. de St. 
 Antoine, his Equerry, on foot ; portrait of a Gentleman, 
 unknown. 
 
 We have no space to relate anecdotes respecting the per- 
 sons represented in this unrivalled collection of Vandykes, 
 nor to give criticisms on the pictures. We would, however, 
 observe that in this room the finest and most celebrated 
 picture is the King Charles on horseback.* It is a world- 
 
 * " In Smith's Catalogue it is said that King Charles presented 
 a duplicate of this picture to Sir John Byron, of Newstead Abbey,
 
 THE ROYAL PRECINCTS. 209 
 
 known picture, a chef-d'oeuvre of the artist. Among other 
 pictures interesting and beautiful, may be mentioned Lady 
 Venetia Digby, and the half-length of Henrietta Maria, the 
 face seen in three-quarters. What can exceed in youthful 
 grace the two young Villierses and the group of the royal 
 children ? The picture of Charles and his family is very 
 beautiful. " The arrangement of this picture has all the 
 quiet elegance of Vandyke ; and in the painting, more par- 
 ticularly in the figure of the little prince, in front, we see the 
 result of his Venetian studies, in the warm depth of the 
 tone, and the mellow touch ; the hands are, as usual, very 
 fine. It is hardly possible, remembering the sorrows and 
 the troublous times which afterwards burst on this devoted 
 family, to look without an emotion of pitying complacency 
 on this representation of domestic happiness, security, 
 and royal dignity, set forth in all the enchanting illusion 
 of art." 
 
 The Queen's State Dka wing-Room, which still goes by 
 the old name, though more frequently called the ZuccarcUi 
 Room, from paintings by that master, contains, beside the 
 Meeting of Isaac and Rebecca, the Finding of Moses, and 
 seven Landscapes, by that artist, portraits of Heniy, Duke 
 of Gloucester, the three Georges, and Frederick, Prince of 
 Wales. These landscapes are fair examples of Zuccarelli's 
 style, "of which the gi-eat and unredeemable fault is 
 insipidity." 
 
 The State Ante-Room, formerly the State Bedroom, and, 
 earlier still, the King's Public Dining-room, retains Verrio's 
 ceiling, and some good carvings by Gibbons. The 
 
 wliicli is now in possession of Lady Warren, of Stapleford ; and that 
 another duplicate, or copy, is in possession of the Earl of Warwick. 
 There exist, in different collections in England and on the Continent, 
 thirty-six portraits of King Chai-les by the hand of Van Dyck." — 
 Mrs. Jamesok.
 
 210 DESCRIPTIVE. 
 
 stained glass portrait of King George III. is conspicuous 
 enough. The Grand Staircase, with Chantrey's colossal 
 statue of George IV., conducts to the grand vestibule, 
 furnished with trophies and armour, and a curious 
 clock. 
 
 The Waterloo Chamber contains portraits of the 
 following great men of Europe during our wars with 
 Napoleon : — Amand Emanuel Sophie Septimanie Duplessis, 
 Due de Richelieu, President of the French Council, and 
 Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1815 to 1822 ; General 
 OverofF, one of the Russian Adjutants-General ; H. R. H. 
 Adolphus Frederick, Duke of Cambridge ; the Right. Hon. 
 Robert Banks Jenkinson, second Earl of Liverpool, K.G., 
 Prime Minister from 1812 to 1827; King William IV. 
 (by Sir David Wilkie) ; King George III. (by Sir William 
 Beechey) ; King George IV. ; the Right Hon. Robert 
 Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, K.G., Secretary of State for 
 Foreign Affairs from 1812 to 1822 ; H. R. H. Frederick, 
 Duke of York, K.G. ; Karl Wilhelm, Baron von Humboldt, 
 Prussian Minister of State and Plenipotentiary at the 
 Congress of Vienna ; the Right Hon. George Canning, 
 Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in 1807, and 
 again in 1822, Prime Minister in 1827 on the death of 
 Lord Liverpool ; the Right Hon. Henry Bathurst, third 
 Earl Bathurst, K.G., Secretary of State for the Colonies 
 in 1815 ; Ernst Friedrich Herbert, Count Munster, Pleni- 
 potentiary from Hanover at the Congress of Vienna ; Ercole 
 Consalvi, Cardinal, Plenipotentiary from Pope Pius VIL 
 at the Congress of Vienna ; Karl August, Prince of 
 Hardenberg, State Chancellor of Prussia ; Frederick 
 William III., King of Prussia ; Francis I., Emperor of 
 Austria ; Alexander L, Emperor of Russia ; Charles 
 Robert, Count Nesselrode, Russian Secretary of State for 
 Foreign Affairs, and Minister at the Congresses of Vienna,
 
 THE ROYAL PRECINCTS. 211 
 
 Aix-la-Cliapelle, and Verona ; Pius VII. [Gregory Barnabas 
 Lewis Chiaramonte], elected ]\Iarcli 14tli, 1800 ; John, 
 Count of Capo d'Istrias, Russian Secretary of State for 
 Foreign Affairs, and Plenipotentiary at tlie Congress of 
 Vienna ; Clemens Wenzel Nepomuk Lotliar, Prince of 
 Metternich-Winneburg, Duke of Portella, Austrian Chan- 
 cellor of State fi-om 1813 to 1848 ; Rowland, Viscount 
 Hill, G.C.B. (by //. W. rickersgill, 7?.yl.)— his Lordship 
 commanded a Division of the British Army at the Battle of 
 Waterloo ; Charles X., King of France ; Karl Philip, 
 Prince of Schwartzenberg — he commanded the Allied 
 Forces at the memorable battle of Leipzig, Oct. IS, 1813; 
 Karl Ludwig, Archduke of Austria, second son of the 
 Emperor Leopold II., and brother of Francis I., Emperor 
 of Austria, General Field-Marshal of Austria ; Lieut.-Gen. 
 Sir Thomas Picton, G.C.B., (by Sir Martin Archer Shee, 
 P.R.A.) — commanded the fifth division of the British 
 army at the Battle of Waterloo, where he was killed ; 
 Louis Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Angouleme, son of 
 Charles X., King of France ; William Frederick, Duke of 
 Brunswick-Oels (copied by — Corden from a miniature) — 
 the Duke was killed at Quatre Bras, June 16, 1815 ; 
 H. R. H. Leopold George Christian Frederick, Prince of 
 Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, K.G., now King of the Belgians; 
 General the Right Hon. Sir James Kemp, G.C.B., G.C.H. 
 (by H. W. Pickersgill, R.A.) — commanded the fifth division 
 at Waterloo, after the death of Sir Thomas Picton ; Count 
 PlatoflF, Hetman of the Cossacks ; Arthur, Duke of 
 Wellington, K.G. ; Gebhard Leberecht von Blucher, Prince 
 of Wahlstadt ; Charles, Count Alten, G.C.B., and G.C.H. 
 (by Reichmann) — commanded the third division of the 
 British army at the Battle of Waterloo ; Henry William 
 Paget, Marquis of Anglesey, K.G., G.C.B., &c. (by Sir 
 Martin Archer Shee, P.R.A.) — commanded the cavalry at 
 
 p2
 
 21 2 DESCRIPTIVE. 
 
 tlie Battle of Waterloo ; Lieut.-General Count Czernitsclieff, 
 one of the Adjutants-General to the Emperor of Russia 
 during the campaigns of 1813, 1814, and 1815; William 
 Frederick George Lewis, Prince of Orange — commanded 
 the Netherlands Troops at the Battle of Waterloo, and 
 was severely wounded in that terrific conflict. He became 
 King of the Netherlands on his fiither's abdication, October 
 7th, 1840. 
 
 After examining this collection of portraits,* of which 
 those not otherwise described are by Sir Thomas Lawrence, 
 most visitors will confirm the judgment of the artist, who 
 considered himself most successful with the Pope and 
 Consalvi. " If what I have done here in the portraits of 
 the Pope and Cardinal be compared only with my own 
 works, I have had complete success." The picture which 
 ought to be best is one of the very worst — the portrait of 
 Wellington. 
 
 Next is the Presence Chamber, ornamented in the style 
 of the period of Louis XIV. On the walls are specimens 
 of Gobelins tapestry, representing the story of Jason and 
 Medea. The west side of tlie room contains " The Marriage 
 of Jason and Creusa," " The Combat of the Soldiers born 
 of the dragon's teeth," and " The flight of Medea to 
 Athens, after having murdered her two sons ;" the east 
 
 * Mrs. Jameson says, " I think it unnecessary to say anything of 
 the portraits in the Waterloo Chamber; the attention of the spec- 
 tator will probably be directed by his individual associations and 
 predilections ; but without doubt the best picture is the portrait of 
 Pius VII., and the worst that of the Duke of Wellington. Tlie por- 
 trait of Prince Schwartzenberg, and several others, are in a bad state 
 from the eifects of a bad chill, which has rendered them partially in- 
 visible. In this room an opera-glass will be found useful ; some of 
 the pictures are hung much too high ; and of one or two it may be 
 said, that if they were hung out of sight entirely it would be no 
 great loss : neither as pictures nor as personages do they figure 
 advantageously here."
 
 THE ROYAL PRECINCTS, 213 
 
 side, " Jason pledging his faitL. to Medea," " Creusa con- 
 sumed by the Fatal Robe," and " Jason carrying off the 
 Golden Fleece." The room also contains a Malachite 
 Vase, presented to the Queen by Nicholas, Emperor of 
 Russia ; and two Granite Vases, presented to King 
 William IV. by Frederick William III., King of Prussia. 
 
 The present St. George's Hall comprises not only 
 the " St. George's Hall" as left by King Charles II. after 
 his reparation and restoration of the Castle, but also 
 the Private Royal Chapel ; which latter, however, becoming 
 comparatively useless and to a great extent dismantled, 
 after the erection of the Grand Staircase by King 
 George III. in 1800, was entirely removed by Sir Jeffrey 
 Wyatville, and with the space thus gained the pre- 
 sent apartment was formed. Its ceiling is decorated with 
 the arms of the knights of the order, from the institution to 
 the present time ; and its walls exhibit the portraits of the 
 Sovereigns of the Order, from James I. to George IV. At 
 the east end is placed the Sovereign's Throne, behind which, 
 on twenty-four separate shields, are emblazoned the arms 
 of each Sovereign of the Order, from Edward III. to King 
 William IV. The names of the several knights are painted 
 between the panels of the windows on the south side of 
 the Hall, to each of which is affixed a number correspond- 
 ing to that attached to the arms on the ceiling, commencing 
 with those of Edward III. and the Black Prince, over the 
 gallery at the east end. 
 
 The Guard Chamber adjoins St. George's Hall. Some 
 whole-length figures are clad in the armour of the per- 
 sonages whose names are written on the brackets uj^on 
 which they are respectively placed.* These consist of suits 
 of armour, once belonging to a Duke of Brunswick, 1530 j 
 
 * The accuracy of the statements is more than doubtful.
 
 214 DESCRIPTIVE. 
 
 Lord Howard, 1588 ; Earl of Essex, 1596 ; Henry, Prince 
 of Wales [eldest son of King James I.], 1612; Charles, 
 Prince of Wales [Charles I.], 1620 ; and Prince Kupert, 
 1635. At the south end is a portion of the foremast of 
 the ViCTOKY, Lord Nelson's flag-ship at the battle of 
 Trafalgar, completely perforated by a cannon-ball. Nelson's 
 bust, by Sir Francis Chantrey, is placed on the top of it. 
 
 Close to these are two field-pieces selected from the 
 captured Sikh artillery by Viscount Hardinge. 
 
 Next, there are, or were, two small pieces of brass 
 ordnance, apparently of French manufacture, formerly be- 
 longing to Tippoo Saib, Sultaun of Mysore, and taken at 
 the capture of Seringapatam. Both are mounted on 
 mahogany carriages of English manufacture. 
 
 Here are also the busts of John Churchill, Duke of 
 Marlborough, copied from Rysbrach by Sevier; and 
 Arthur Wellesley, Ddke of Wellington, by Chantrey; 
 with the small banners presented on the anniversaries of 
 the battles of Blenheim and Waterloo, as the tenures on 
 which their estates voted by Parliament are held. 
 
 Over the fire-place is the shield said to have been pre- 
 sented by Francis I., King of France, to our Henry VIII. 
 on " The Field of the Cloth of Gold." The following 
 is a translation of the inscription : — 
 
 " This circliiig border though but small itself, contains 
 within its circuit vast ambition ; — ambition which over- 
 turns Kingdoms and lays low Empires. It abolished from 
 amongst men the life and glory of Pompey, and raised on 
 high the empire of Csesar. The mild clemency of Caesar 
 is extolled to the skies, but to Pompey it was at length 
 destructive. The ring and severed head of Pompey draws 
 tears from Csesar, whence it was clearly seen, how upright 
 he was. Then the garment sprinkled with gore during 
 the sacrifice, prophetic of evil, certified that such would be
 
 THE ROYAL PRECINCTS. 215 
 
 his fote. If you should therefore contemplate the power 
 of ambition, you would not discover an evil more per- 
 nicious."* 
 
 Two other relics here may be noticed. A chair made 
 from an oak-beam, taken from ''Alloway's auld haunted 
 kirk," a little, obscure, roofless ruin in Ayrshire, described 
 in Burns' tale of " Tam o' Shanter." 
 
 The other chair is made from an elm-tree which grew on 
 the battle-field of Waterloo. In the upper portion of the 
 back, over a carved representation of the village and church 
 of Waterloo is a Latin inscription by the late Marquis 
 Wellesley. It reads thus in English : — 
 
 THIS CHAIB, 
 
 CAKTED FROM THE WELLINGTON ELM 
 
 WHICH STOOD NEAR THE CENTRE 
 
 OF THE BRITISH LINES 
 
 ON THE FIELD OF WATERLOO, 
 
 IS HUMBLY PRESENTED TO 
 
 HIS MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY 
 
 GEORGE THE FOURTH. 
 
 From the Guard Chamber the visitor enters the Queen's 
 Presence Chamber. The ceiling is by Verrio. The walls 
 of this room are decorated with Gobelins tapestry, represent- 
 ing other portions of the history of Esther and Mordecai, in 
 continuation of those mentioned before. 
 
 Over the doorways are portraits of two princesses of the 
 House of Brunswick, each surrounded by Gibbons' carving. 
 
 Over the chimney-piece, which is sculptured by Bacon, 
 is a portrait of Henrietta Maria, Duchess of Orleans, by 
 Mignard. 
 
 The children are her two daughters, Maria Louisa and 
 Anna Maria. The first was married to Charles II., King 
 
 * Here, as well as in a few particulars we have described, we avail 
 ourselves of the authorized Guide to the State Apartments.
 
 216 DESCRIPTIVE. 
 
 of Spain, and the second to Victor Amadeus II., Duke of 
 Savoy and King of Sardinia. 
 
 Until recently, the Queen's Closet, the King's Closet, the 
 Council Room, the King's Drawing-room or the Hubens 
 Room, and the Throne Room, were shown to the public. In 
 the Queen's Closet is an admirable portrait of Thomas 
 Howard, Duke of Norfolk, by Holbein ; and there too 
 hangs the celebrated picture of " The Misers," by Quentin 
 !Matsys. The King's Closet, amongst other paintings, has a 
 Head, by Parmigiano, the Woman of Samaria, by Guer- 
 cino, a St. Catherine, by Domenichino, and a Man with a 
 Gardener's Knife, attributed to Andrea del Sarto. The 
 pictures in the Rubens Room are of unequal merit, and 
 some were not wholly painted by that artist. Philip II. of 
 Spain is bad ; the Battle of Nordlingen, poor ; perhaps St. 
 !Martin dividing his Cloak with the Beggar, a noble com- 
 position, has some colouring in it from the pencil of 
 Vandyke. There are two landscapes. Summer and Winter, 
 very charming. 
 
 The Council Room is adorned with pictures by A. Caracci, 
 Correggio, Rembrandt, Holbein, and Sir Joshua Reynolds. 
 The Throne Room, used for the installation of Knights of 
 the Garter, contains a picture of the First Installation, by 
 West, and portraits of the last three sovereigns. The 
 vestibule to the Throne Room has five pictures by West — 
 Edward III. at the Battle of Cressy, the Black Prince 
 receiving the King of France, Philippa at Neville's Cross, 
 Edward entertaining his Prisoners at Calais, and Philippa 
 pleading for the Citizens. 
 
 We have noticed the successive names and uses of some 
 of the State Apartments. Those who are permitted to see 
 the beautiful library, which is in the part of the building 
 erected by Elizabeth and Henry VII., will be interested in 
 learning the curious changes which have taken place in that
 
 THE ROYAL PRECINCTS. 21 7 
 
 portion of the royal edifice. We enter King Charles's room, 
 which runs across the building north and south. This used to 
 be the queen's bedchamber. Proceeding to the continuation 
 of the library in what is now termed Henry VII. 's room, we 
 find ourselves where formerly was an ante-room, containing 
 Sir Peter Lely's beauties of Charles's court, and where, next 
 to it, stood the queen's dressing-room. Then ascending the 
 steps, we come to what was Elizabeth's picture gallery, 
 with the beautiful old mantelpiece of her reign. 
 
 The royal library, which thus occupies the rooms known 
 as Charles II.'s and Henry VII. 's, with the Blenheim tower 
 (in which is the room where Anne was drinking tea 
 when the news reached her of the victory of Blenheim) ; 
 and the Elizabeth gallery, contains about forty thousand 
 volumes, the greater number of which are old and valuable 
 works on history, geography, topography, &c., with those 
 of the Greek, Latin, French, and other classical writers, 
 and early printed books. Amongst the latter are a splendid 
 copy of the famous Mentz Psalter, and a unique Caxton, 
 on vellum. Charles I.'s Shakspeare is another of the trea- 
 sures of this collection. 
 
 In connexion with the library, on a lower story of the 
 Star buildings, is the collection of prints and drawings, 
 which is one of the richest and most extensive in the 
 country. The engravings consist of portraits, historical 
 events, <kc., and prints after all the great masters. Few 
 collections of Hollar's engravings, Hogartli's works, and 
 engravings after Sir Joshua Reynolds, can compare with 
 those which are found here. And there are ilhistrated 
 copies of Lord Clarendon's works, Grammont's Memoirs, 
 Coxe's Marlbororough, &c., with a noble assemblage of 
 Galleries, &c, (fee, and works on the fine arts. There is also a 
 very large collection of caricatures from the sixteenth cen- 
 tury down to the present time. The drawings are cou-
 
 218 DESCRIPTIVE. 
 
 tained in about two hundred volumes, and comprise some 
 fine drawings by Kaphael, a still greater number by- 
 Michael Angelo, a very numerous and most interesting 
 series by Leonardo da Vinci, with others by Albert Durer, 
 Canaletti, the Caracci, Carlo Maratti, Claude, Correggio, 
 Domenichino, Guido, Holbein, Poussin, &c. &c., Kirby, 
 the Sandbys, Bruce the Abyssinian traveller, &c. &c. 
 There are here also the " Sobieski Missal," which is an 
 exceedingly fine specimen of mediaeval illumination and 
 miniaturist work, and several splendidly decorated Oriental 
 MSS. The collection of miniatures contains some of the 
 finest examples of the works of Holbein, Hilliard, the 
 Olivers, Hoskins, Cooper, Janet, &c. &c. Besides these, 
 there are the great collections of State papers known as the 
 "Stuart" and the "Cumberland Papers," and a vast assem- 
 blage of maps and plans illustrative of the military history 
 of the last century before the French Ptevolution. 
 
 The armoury, arranged a few years ago by His Eoyal 
 Highness the Prince Consort, is situated in the gallery be- 
 tween the Cornwall and Brunswick Towers. Besides curious 
 weapons of various kinds — including eastern scimitars and 
 other jewelled swords — the far-famed Tippoo Saib's tiger 
 head, and the peacock with its tail of diamonds, are here 
 preserved, as well as the ball which killed Nelson at 
 Trafalgar. On the basement floor of the Prince of Wales' 
 Tower, is the Plate Boom, remarkable for costly table services 
 and works of art — such as Flaxman's shield of Achilles, 
 and a nautilus shell, set by Cellini. We might mention 
 a number of other beautiful ornaments, but we have no 
 room for description, and it is idle to give a mere cata- 
 logue. There are very few antiquities in the collection, 
 owing to the circumstance of the royal plate having been 
 melted down in the civil wars of Charles I. There is an 
 ancient cup, reported to belong to him, and another said
 
 THE ROYAL PRECINCTS. 219 
 
 to have been Henry VIII. 's. Nell Gwynne's bellows are / 
 also preserved here. 
 
 In the Pages' Vestibule, on the upper floor, are several 
 charming paintings by Canaletti and Zuccarelli, and two or 
 three by the two artists jointly, or by Visentini and Zuc- 
 carelli ; one by Marco Ricci ; and a portrait of James II. 
 when young, by Dobson. The life-size statue of Penelope, 
 by Wyatt, also deserves attention. 
 
 But it is in the Grand Corridor, which runs along the 
 cast and south sides of the upper ward of the castle, and 
 is 520 feet in length, that the most rich and varied 
 assemblage of works of art is collected. In spite of the 
 badly-arranged light, and the lowness of the ceiling, the 
 effect, when viewed from either end, or from the entrance 
 to the Queen's private staircase, whence it is extended in 
 both directions, is remarkably grand. Some of the finest 
 portraits ever painted by Lawrence catch the eye amongst 
 the first : Lord Eldon, Lord Thurlow, Pitt, the Marquis 
 Wellesley, the Duke of Devonshire, the Princess Charlotte 
 (a replica of the figure in the large picture of Queen Caro- 
 line, now in the Princess Royal's room), Dona Maria (the 
 late Queen of Portugal), Canning, Sir Walter Scott, and 
 Alderman Curtis. There is also a good copy of Reynolds' 
 portrait of the beautiful Duchess of Devonshire, by him. 
 Of Reynolds' own works, there are portraits of the Princess 
 of Gloucester, Lord Erskine, the Duke of Cumberland 
 (the CuUoden Duke), the Earl of Eglinton, and Garrick as 
 Kitely, and a strangely quiet historical scene — the Marriage 
 of George III. Hoppner is well represented by his portraits 
 of the late Archbishops of Canterbury and York — Manners 
 Sutton, and Dr. Markham ; Admiral Keith, and the Duke 
 of Kent. Landseer's " First of May, 1851," which shows 
 the Duke of Wellington offering a birthday present to his 
 little namesake, Prince Arthur, in the presence of the
 
 220 DESCRIPTIVE. 
 
 Queen and the Prince Consort, is here also. Of Gains- 
 borougli, there is only the picture of the Duke and Duchess 
 of Cumberland with Lady Luttrell ; but in the Queen's 
 Audience room there are some most exquisite portraits of 
 George III.'s family, by him. The Viscountess Mel- 
 bourne, by Cosway, approaches Reynolds in gracefulness. 
 Kneller's George I. has little interest compared with the 
 two portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough. 
 A pleasing little picture by Nollekens, of Frederick Prince 
 of Wales and his sisters, is here ; and Hayter's portrait of 
 the Queen in her coronation robes ; and Sir David Wilkie's 
 last work, a portrait of the late Sultan Abdul Medjid. 
 Zoffany's two great groups, the Royal Academy, and the 
 Academy at Florence, are of especial interest. Of the 
 same class, but of higher historical importance, are the 
 Ball at the Plague, by H. Janssens ; Queen Victoria's First 
 CouncU, by Wilkie ; the Coronation Communion of the 
 Queen, by Leslie ; the Marriage of the Queen, by G. Hayter ; 
 the Christening of the Princess Royal, by Leslie ; and the 
 Reception of Louis Philippe at Windsor, by Winterhalter. 
 Loutherbourg's two pieces of the Review and Sham Fight 
 at Warley Camp must not be overlooked ; nor Hogarth's 
 most characteristic scene in the Mall. And careful students 
 of art will particularly observe the picture of Federigo, 
 Duke of Urbino, with his Sons, by Melozzo da Forli. 
 
 But the greater number of pictures are by Canaletti, 
 whose works may be studied here with the greatest advan- 
 tage. His finest views of Rome, Venice, and London, are 
 to be seen here. And with them a goodly number of the 
 best examples of Zuccarelli's graceful but fanciful land- 
 scapes with figures. 
 
 The long array of busts, of the present and late Royal 
 Families, with almost all the famous statesmen, warriors, 
 and men of art, science, and letters of recent times, by dis-
 
 THE ROYAL PRECINCTS. 221 
 
 tinguished sculptors, forms a very striking feature in the 
 Corridor. Nor do the bronzes, some of them life-size 
 busts, of Henry IV. and La Eeine Margot, Charles I,, 
 Charles V., Philip II., and the Duke of Alva ; others, fine 
 and early copies of the antique statuary of Italy ; the 
 clocks, one of which is surmounted by a coffer of engraved 
 crystal, and stands on a large miisical box ; the cabinets, 
 jjarticularly the huge cabinet of richly-carved ebony, which 
 once belonged to Cardinal Wolsey ; and a finely ornamented 
 jewel-case with enamel portraits of the Queen and the 
 Prince Consort, by Gruner, less assist in filling the eye, 
 and producing upon visitors the impression of grandeur 
 truly royal. 
 
 Through the glass doors leading to the Queen's private 
 staircase, may be seen a statue of Edward VI., of life size, 
 under an elegant canopy. The young king stands in an easy 
 attitude, intently engaged in reading a book, which he holds 
 in his left hand, while he appears to mark some passage, 
 which has riveted his attention, with the sceptre which he 
 holds in his right. On the page are to be seen the words, 
 "Now Josiah." It was executed by the Baron de Triqueti, 
 and placed here by the Prince Consort, as a means of keeping 
 the pure fame of this best example of England's sovereigns 
 before the royal children, from their earliest years. 
 
 The other Private Apartments which are open to visitors 
 (by special orders from the Lord Chamberlain), are the 
 White Drawing-room, where are portraits of the Queen, 
 the Prince Consort, and the Prince of Wales when a child, 
 by Winterhalter ; and one of Queen Charlotte, with 
 George IV. when an infant, by Cotes. Here also is a small 
 table, which is a beautiful specimen of Florentine work. 
 
 The Green Drawing-room contains the magnificent collec- 
 tion of Sevres porcelain, arranged in cabinets, which is of 
 fabulous worth ; and a huge but elegant porcelain vase of
 
 222 DESCRIPTIVE. 
 
 Eussian manufacture. Fine bronzes, after antique Italian 
 statuary, are placed on tlie cabinets. Here also are Law- 
 rence's portraits of the Princess Sophia and the Duchess of 
 Gloucester. And on each side of the fireplace are bronze 
 satyrs, holding their infant satyrs near the fire for 
 warmth. 
 
 In the Crimson Drawing-room are portraits of the Duke 
 of Kent and of the Duchess, by Winterhalter ; a fine vase 
 of Russian malachite ; and several curiously inlaid cabinets. 
 
 And in the Dining-room is the celebrated punch-bowl or 
 wine-cooler, of silver gilt, designed by Flaxman, the foot of 
 which is fashioned into a succession of marine caverns, 
 whilst the upper part is wreathed round with vines, amidst 
 which infant Bacchuses gather clusters of grapes. The 
 ladle is made in the shape of a Trochus shell. 
 
 Pictures and works of art, of every kind, and of con- 
 spicuous excellence, are also distributed in rich profusion 
 through all the strictly private rooms of the Royal Family, 
 the Royal Household, and visitors. 
 
 Before leaving the interior of the castle, it wUl be an 
 interesting illustration of the extent of the edifice, and the 
 variety of its provisions, to give the following particulars, 
 supplied to us on authority : — There are seventeen State 
 apartments ; forty-eight rooms, comprising the kitchen — 
 which is very spacious, and well worth a visit — with pastry, 
 confectionery, vegetable, and other store-rooms; seventy- 
 nine bedrooms ; sixty-five sitting-rooms ; and rooms con- 
 taining 231 beds for servants. The length of passages 
 is about 1700 yards; and there are fourteen furnaces in 
 diiferent parts of the building, connected with the heating 
 apparatus. 
 
 The following is a list of the towers of the castle : — 
 Round Tower, Winchester Tower, Powder Tower, Norman 
 Tower, Blenheim Tower, King George IV.'s Tower, Entrance
 
 THE ROYAL PRECINCTS. 223 
 
 Tower to State Apartments, Cornwall Tower, Brunswick 
 Tower, Prince of Wales' Tower, Chester Tower, Clarence 
 Tower, Victoria Tower, South Turret or Augusta Tower, 
 York Tower, Lancaster Tower, Edward III.'s or the Devil 
 Tower, King John's Tower, and Henry III.'s Tower. There 
 are two towers at the north-east angle of the quadrangle 
 which are named in Sir J. Wyatville's plan the Kitchen 
 Gateway Towers, but this entrance is now converted into 
 the Visitors' Entrance. 
 
 The outer towers include the Governor of the Military 
 Knights' Tower, Henry VIII. 's Gateway Towers, Salisbury 
 Tower, Garter Tower, and the Curfew or Bell Tower. There 
 are thi-ee towers occupied by the canons, which have no 
 names. 
 
 Leaving the castle for the parks, it is to be remembered 
 these have undergone extensive alterations of late years. 
 Much of the Home Park, containing 500 acres, was till 
 lately open to the public, but was then less beautiful than 
 at present. New walks and drives have been tastefully 
 planned ; and the Kennel, where there is a fine collection 
 of choice breeds of dogs ; the Dairy, which is a gem 
 of architecture and elaborate decoration ; the Aviary, 
 stocked with domestic and foreign fowls ; and the Model 
 Farm, with its extensive buildings, and admirable arrange- 
 ment for the live stock, are all additions more or less 
 recent, which now add much to the interest of a walk 
 over this part of the royal domain. Even the Slopes are 
 comparatively modern. The charming little cottage which 
 bears Queen Adelaide's name, shows it is not very long since 
 it was erected ; and all over this spot, once called Mother 
 Dod's Hill, people still living, as was said before, played 
 in their boyhood with kite and ball. Frogmore grounds, 
 attached to the house in which her Boyal Highness the 
 Duchess of Kent breathed her last, has secluded walks
 
 224) DESCRIPTIVE. 
 
 by the side of a lake and amidst the shades of a wood, 
 which none who are familiar with them would willingly 
 forget. A mausoleum contains the remains of the illus- 
 trious Duchess ; it is to receive a statue of the deceased 
 lady by Mr. Theed. Beyond, towards Old Windsor, are the 
 royal gardens, with immense conservatories. Going round 
 by the new public road towards the Great Park, the visitor 
 sees on his right hand the buildings of Shaw Farm. Coming 
 in upon the Long Walk in this direction, a fine view is 
 obtained of the castle. The trees which form the queen's ride 
 were planted in the reign of Charles II. and William III. ; 
 about the same time the carriage road was made ; it runs for 
 two miles and three-quarters, with the York and Lancaster 
 Towers of the castle at one end, and Snow Hill, surmounted 
 by a colossal statue of George III., at the other. The un- 
 dulations of the road produce a pleasant effect ; and when 
 the further end by the statue is reached, a view is obtained of 
 a kind which has nothing equal to it in the world. The 
 road which there crosses the end of the Long Walk at right 
 angles, abounds in both directions with charming views, 
 and a ramble down into the green glades under the glorious 
 old trees will be found full of delicious pleasure. Not far 
 off lie Cumberland Lodge, once the residence of the 
 CuUoden Conqueror, the royal lodge, now a small relic 
 of the once famous cottage of George IV., and the Flemish 
 Farm, a group of rustic buildings in red brick. Out into 
 the forest by Blacknest Gate one finds green alleys and pre- 
 serves, where hares and pheasants ever and anon cross your 
 path ; and in exploring the neighbourhood as far as St. 
 Leonard's, noble trees and glimpses of fine views will well 
 repay the wanderer. In the south-easterly direction is 
 Virginia Water. The Lake, Chinese temple, Hermitage, 
 Belvidere, rviins, and Cascade, we can merely mention. 
 
 i
 
 THE ROYAL PRECINCTS. 225 
 
 NOTE, 
 
 Respedinrj the Royal Paris, compiled from papers in the Office of 
 Woods and Forests, and communicated by a Gentleman in, that 
 Department. 
 
 DrKiNa the Commonwealth, the whole of the landed property of 
 the Crown and of the Prince of Wales, as well as considerahle parts 
 of the possessions of the bishops and ecclesiastical corporations, were 
 sold by trustees appointed by the Parliament, to raise money for the 
 payment of the soldiers who had been employed against the royal 
 authority. The sales were chiefly made to persons having an hiterest 
 in the lands as lessees or grante<'s for unexpired terms, and at very 
 moderate rates of purchase. On tlie Restoration, the House of Lords, 
 on the 16th of July, 1G60, ordered— " That the King's Majesty shall 
 be, and he is hereby restored to the possession of all his manors, &c., 
 notwithstanding any sales, alienations, or dispositions made by any 
 pretended authority whatsoever." 
 
 The authority of the House of Lords for making this order, 
 or how it could be enforced, does not appear. The resumption 
 was, however, acquiesced in by the purchasers under the Common- 
 wealth, though many cases of concealment were connived at in 
 favour of persons of influence, or who had contributed to the King's 
 return. Among these, the officers employed in the army of the 
 North, under General Monk, were secured in their possessions by 
 a special declaration from the King ; and the estates held by them 
 were either confirmed, or full equivalents paid for those which were 
 deemed necessary to be restored to the Crown. 
 
 Tlie royal residences of Windsor, Hampton Court, and some others, 
 had been reserved out of the powers of sale originally granted to the 
 trustees by the Commonwealth Parliament ; but at a later period 
 the pecuniary difticulties of the Government, and the clamours of the 
 soldiers for their arrears of pay, led to a very general allotment of 
 both the Great and Little Parks at Windsor among the disbanded 
 officers and soldiers as tenants at will, until their claims could be 
 otherwise adjusted. The timber had been previously felled and sold, 
 and the allottees forthwith proceeded to make their occupations as 
 profitable as possible, by breaking up the virgin soil, and converting 
 the park into tillage lands, dotting the expanse with such mean 
 
 Q
 
 226 DESCRIPTIVE. 
 
 cottages and farm buildings as tlie slender means of such unthrifty 
 tenants enabled them to erect. The marks of cultivation in ridge 
 and furrow, so generally traceable throughout the Park, are probably 
 to be referred to this period of waste. The scene which the 
 royal domain must have presented at this period could not but have 
 been deeply offensive to the great bulk of the community, who had 
 gained nothing by the overthrow of the royal authority, and by the 
 establishment in its place of an all-pervading ecclesiastical tyranny. 
 
 Immediately after the Restoration, the attention of the King was 
 directed to these allotments ; and early in the month of August, 
 1660, orders were issued, giving the several occupiers permission to 
 remove their growing crops, but requiring them to quit possession 
 forthwith. For the most part they obeyed these orders. A few- 
 refractory spirits remained till the following year ; but the feeling 
 of the neighbourhood was against them : their presence was deeply 
 offensive to the royalist nobility and gentry, and no voice was 
 raised for their protection. By the autumn of 1661 they had all 
 removed, without giving occasion either for tumult or for legal 
 proceedings. 
 
 It is probable, however, that the wasting cultivation for corn 
 crops during this period proved very injurious to the subsequent 
 productive power of the land. There are no indications of any 
 suitab'.e arrangement in laying the surface again down into grass. 
 The subsequent spontaneously produced herbage was of the most un- 
 profitable character, and much of it may still be rated as nearly 
 worthless vegetation. 
 
 Some three or four of the officers who had been employed in the 
 Lord Carlisle's regiment, and who produced certificates of good ser- 
 vice from his Excellency the Lord General Monk, now Duke of 
 Albemarle, were allowed to remain in possession of the allotments on 
 which they had been placed by " the State." These allotments, which 
 were then estimated at from 8s. to 12s. per acre, were on the sites 
 now occupied by the Flemish and Norfolk Farms ; but after remain- 
 ing in the occupation of these favoured individuals for a few years, 
 the tenancies were determined, and the whole of the Park reverted 
 to the royal possession. 
 
 Some of these " officers" who were reported as having been in 
 arms throughout the war, and against his late Majesty, but who 
 nevertheless appealed to the royal clemency for compensation for 
 their tillage and improvements, and for some reasonable term of 
 years in their fiirms, were rebuked with no measured severity ; and 
 while possession was being taken of their holdings, they were in- 
 formed that their malignity entitled them to punishment rather 
 than to the favour of the sovereign. 
 
 In the meantime, however, a property of this extent and value 
 could not escape the greedy vigilance of the court of the returned 
 King, and a lease of the whole Park, then described as " disparked.
 
 THE ROYAL PRECINCTS. 227 
 
 inclosed, ploughed up, and turned into husbandry, with several 
 houses erected there, so that it cannot be re-imparked without much 
 cost and charges," and reputed to contain 3410 acres, was solicited 
 by Secretary Nicholas, who desired to have it for a term of 
 thirty-one years, without rent, in consideration of his long and 
 eminent services — subject, however, to a power of reassumption by 
 the King if he should be disposed to restore the Park, and again 
 to make Windsor his place of residence. Such barefaced pillage 
 was resisted by his Majesty. The lease was not granted. Secretary 
 Nicholas was displaced, and the property having been fully resumed, 
 measures were taken for the restoration of the Castle, and for a re- 
 planting of the Park, giving it in the main the features which it now 
 presents. 
 
 9 
 
 Q 2
 
 CHAPTEE II. 
 
 THE NEIGHBOURHOOD. 
 
 HE town of Windsor, as distinguislied from 
 the castle, has in it scarcely anything worthy 
 iv^^g^ of a stranger's notice. The hall, which was 
 ^ begun by Sir Thomas Fits and completed by 
 Sir Christopher Wren, was a few years ago 
 restored. It is a little curious that the columns in the 
 midst of the railed-in market underneath do not touch the 
 building they seem to support. And, it is said, they were 
 put up by Sir Christopher to content the corporation, who 
 thought they were necessary ; but so put up as not to yield 
 the least support. The churches and chapels in Windsor 
 have no great beauty. 
 
 No space can be devoted to the history of Eton. 
 Early notices of the town are very scanty, and only such 
 as antiquaries would care to collect. The mention of 
 a couple of mills in Domesday Book, a charter for a 
 market, grants of tolls, commissions of inclosure, and 
 such dry material we must leave. The college is the one 
 object of picturesque beauty, and it alone gathers round it 
 historical associations of value. On a summer's noon, as 
 seen from the north terrace of Windsor Castle, rising above 
 the trees, bathed in golden sunshine, it is one of those 
 graceful forms of architecture which fixes itself at once in
 
 THE NEIGHBOURHOOD. 229 
 
 the imagination. Nor will the lines of Gray, however 
 hackneyed, fail to give pensive jileasure as they recur to the 
 memory : — 
 
 " Ye distant spires, ye antique towers 
 
 That crown the watery glade. 
 Where grateful science still adores 
 
 Her Henry's holy shade. 
 And ye that from the stately brow 
 Of Windsor's heights, the expanse below, 
 
 Of grove, of lawn, of mead survey. 
 Whose turf, whose shade, whose flowers among. 
 Wanders the hoary Thames along 
 
 Its silver winding way. 
 
 " Ah, happy hills ! ah, pleasing shade ! 
 
 Ah, fields beloved in vain ! 
 Where once my careless childhood stray'd, 
 
 A stranger yet to pain ! 
 I feel the gales that from ye blow 
 A momentary bliss bestow. 
 
 As waving fresh their gladsome wing. 
 My weary soul they seem to soothe, 
 And redolent of joy and youth, 
 
 To breathe a second spring." 
 
 And no one who has rambled round the courts of Eton 
 College, ascended the queer old staircase to the long 
 sleeping-room, and peeped into that granary-like apartment 
 with its rows of beds, now done away with, and visited 
 the chapel, and wandered in the cloisters, or loitered in the 
 playing-fields, will be likely soon to lose the impressions 
 thus derived of one of the grandest old schools in England. 
 Should he now approach the time-stained gateway out of 
 school-hours, and see troops of fine-looking boys of every 
 age and size rushing out to play ; should he watch them 
 running round the trees, or leaning on the walls, buying 
 cakes and oranges of those well-known vendors of small 
 luxuries, who eagerly await the hour when school-work is 
 suspended ; should he follow them in the green fields, amidst
 
 230 DESCRIPTIVE. 
 
 oaks and elms, to see tliem wielding the bat and Liurling the 
 ball ; or, should he walk on to the bridge and see them rush- 
 ing into their boats, and handling their oars with all the 
 vigour, and feathering them with all the grace, of practised 
 boatmen ; if he has a heart that sympathizes with the 
 energetic joyfulness of boyhood, he will feel no small 
 amount of pleasure at the sight of so many happy faces ; 
 and if he has the feelings of an Englishman, he will be 
 gladdened to think that these robust and genial youngsters 
 — so full of daring, so ready for endurance, and so workful 
 in their pleasures — are to be amongst the soldiers and 
 sailors and statesmen of the next generation. 
 
 Eton has within its walls a curious kind of album. 
 Many and many a boy who has afterwards become an 
 illustrious man, has cut his name upon the forms and 
 benches, or scratched it on the plaster. As we have stood 
 and looked on them, deciphering the oddly marked cha- 
 racters, shades of the departed, some very grand and 
 august, have passed before us, and we have felt that we do 
 not envy people whose sensibilities are unawakened by 
 mementoes of the mighty dead ; who have no ears to hear, 
 and no language in which to speak to them ; who are un- 
 touched by the joy or the sadness, the peace or the strife, 
 the work or the warfare, the achievements or the failures 
 of those who have crossed before us over the broad fields 
 of human life, and left behind them the deep footprints of 
 their path. Not a few of those Eton boys, in notching 
 their names with a sharp knife on a plank of wood, were 
 mechanically rehearsing — albeit with little consciousness of 
 doing so — the deeper moral impressions they were to make 
 in after days upon a nation's mind. Strange emotions 
 have boys felt when, as old men, they have revisited the 
 school and playing-fields ; and we have heard that Wel- 
 lington regarded their youthful games as the discipline
 
 THE NEIGHBOURHOOD. 231 
 
 which prepared him and others for their manhood, and 
 that he used to say of Eton, " That's where Waterloo was 
 won." His words referred generally to the training of 
 the EugUsh nobility and gentry, from whom the ojjicers 
 came. 
 
 Eton Montem has now become matter of history ; we 
 have seen it more than once, and of all gay scenes connected 
 with our youth, that was certainly amongst the gayest. How 
 the bright sunshine used to usher in the day ! In what 
 bravery of velvet and silk and broadcloth and gold lace did 
 the oppidans come out ! How very, very smart were the 
 uniforms of captain and marshal ! How smart, too, the 
 whole host of the young undistinguished — obliged to be 
 satisfied with blue jackets and white trousers ! How calm, 
 but determined, the demand for salt by the gay bag-bearers, 
 who stationed themselves by the toll-gate on Windsor bridge, 
 where we remember seeing them stop the carriage of King 
 William and Queen Adelaide, to receive the accustomed 
 tribute ! How grand the procession Avas all around the 
 quadrangle, and then through the gateway, up the Slough 
 road to Salt Hill, where the graceful waving of the flag, 
 amidst shouts of applause, concluded the ceremony. And 
 then came the unceremonious proceedings in Botham's 
 Gardens, and finally the walks up and down the play-fields 
 in the evening, with somewhat damaged attire on the part 
 of the chief heroes — now happier than ever in the smiles 
 of fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters. 
 
 We shall go into no critical inquiry about the origin of 
 Montem, however teiupted to do so ; but in the sentences 
 which are to follow touching Eton College and town, with 
 a forbearc'tuce most virtuous in an archieologist, confine our- 
 selves to the poetical and the picturesque, Of course we 
 think of Sir Henry Wotton, the provost of Eton and the 
 friend of Isaac Walton, who has embalmed the worthy in
 
 232 DESCRIPTIVE. 
 
 his matchless " Lives."* There they are sitting in the 
 library, looking into old black-letter books, or, after an 
 abstemious repast, having a quaint and quiet chat about 
 angling or higher themes, as on a summer evening they 
 look out of the window on the green field and the noble 
 trees. And early on a spring morning, there they go, 
 attired in angler's gear, with rods and lines, and landing- 
 nets and worm-cans, and all the other appurtenances of the 
 gentle craft, to the river-side down to Black Pots, where 
 they fish and listen to the birds and wisely and lovingly 
 talk together. 
 
 Eton College was founded by the pious munificence of 
 Henry VI. The charter of foundation is dated 1441, and 
 the school is designated " the Kynge's College, of our Lady 
 by Etone, besyde Wyndesore." We shall not weary the 
 reader with extracts from the documents, nor from the 
 builder's accounts, with entries about sand and chalk, flints 
 and bushels of oyster-shells, timber and stone ; nor describe 
 how the work went on, how provost and fellows were 
 chosen, and how they met and worshipped in the building 
 befoi'e it was finished, and how alms-houses were built, and 
 the boys were at length gathered ; but we cannot resist the 
 temptation to insert the following little bit out of an old 
 MS. : " When King Henry met some of the students in 
 Windsor Castle, whither they sometimes used to go to 
 visit the king's servants, whom they knew, on ascertaining 
 who they were, he admonished them to follow the path of 
 
 * Tn the Windsor Parish Register, under date 1636, we find, 
 " Bapt. William, son of Mr, Isaac Walton, and Rachel his wife." 
 Walton married Rachel Ford in 1626, and had three children, two 
 of them boys, who both died. Biographers say they were born in 
 the angler's house. Chancery-lane, a few doors from Fleet-street. 
 It is plain from this entry that one was born in Windsor, where it 
 would seem at the time Walton was a resident, perhaps that he 
 might he near Sir Henry and angle in the pleasant river Thames.
 
 THE NEIGHBOURHOOD. 233 
 
 virtue, and besides liis words, would give thein money to 
 win over tlieir good will, saying to them, ' Be good boys, 
 be gentle and docile, and servants of the Lord.' " 
 
 There is the walk to Datchet, carried across the lower 
 Home Park through a noble avenue, haunted by memories 
 of the fat knight, who, in the muddy ditch at Datchet 
 Mead, was shot out of the basket " hissing hot," into the 
 water, " where, with a kind of alacrity in sinking, he had 
 been drowned, but that the shore was shelvy and shallow." 
 And there are green lanes from Datcbet to Upton, passing 
 by a fairy-looking cottage with a goodly lawn and a pool 
 of water, and drooping willows in front. And there is 
 Upton Churcli, once ruinous but now restored, with its ivy- 
 clad steeple, which vies with Stoke in its claim to the allu- 
 sion by Gray of the " ivy-mantled tower, where the owl 
 does unto the moon complain." Crossing by what is now 
 Upton Park, we pause by an old-fashioned straggling brick 
 house, above which the famous telescope, aspiring to the 
 heavens, used to indicate the abode of the great astronomer 
 Herschell. And going somewhat a-field on the other side 
 Slough, one may ride to Stoke church-yard, and think of 
 Gray and his mother. Close by there is the mansion of 
 Mr. Granville Penn, with a piece of the tree under which 
 his ancestor, the Quaker founder of Pennsylvania, formed 
 his treaty with the Indians. The estate has now passed 
 into the hands of Mr. Labouchere. Farther on, you 
 reach Burnhara Common and Beeches, one of the noblest 
 collections of trees in England, where Burke used to medi- 
 tate, and which Gray thus describes : — " I have at the 
 distance of half a mile, through a green lane, a forest (the 
 vulgar call it a common), all my own ; at least as good as 
 so, for I spy no living thing in it but myself. It is a chaos 
 of mountains and precipices ; mountains, it is true, that do 
 not ascend much above the clouds, nor are the declivities
 
 234 DESCRIPTIVE. 
 
 quite so amazing as Dover Cliff ; but just sucli hills a8 
 people who love their necks as well as I do may venture to 
 climb, and crags that give the eye as much pleasure as if 
 they were more dangerous. Both vale and hill are covered 
 with most venerable beeches, and other very reverend 
 vegetables, that, like most other ancient people, are always 
 dreaming out their old stories to the winds ; 
 
 *' * And as they bow their hoary tops, relate 
 
 In murmuring sounds the dark decrees of fate ; 
 
 While visions, as poetic eyes avow, 
 
 Cling to each leaf, and swarm on every bough.* 
 
 " At the foot of one of these I squats me, {il penseroso), 
 and there I grow to the trunk for a whole morning ; the 
 timorous hare and sportive squirrel gambol around me, like 
 Adam in Paradise before he had an Eve ; but I think he 
 did not use to read ' Virgil,' as I commonly do there." 
 
 Stoke Pogis is worthy of being visited for its own rural 
 beauty, as well as for its memorials of Gray. The pictu- 
 resque church, with its "ivy-mantled tower," and the 
 churchyard, with its " yew-trees' shade," its " rugged elms," 
 and the quiet tombs, beneath which " the rude forefathers 
 of the hamlet sleep." remain much as they were when the 
 poet wrote the Elegy. The "shapeless sculptures" are 
 there, upon which his eyes may have rested, and many a 
 holy text is still itrewn around, 
 
 " To teach the rustic moralist to die."* 
 
 On a slight eminence, commanding a fine view of 
 Windsor and Eton, a monument was erected in 1799, in 
 memory of " the great lyric and elegiac poet," the inscrip- 
 tion bearing that "he died in 1771, and lies unnoticed in 
 
 * The Author has here made use of some passages in a paper 
 contributed by him some time ago to " The Leisure Hour."
 
 THE NEIGHBOURHOOD. 235 
 
 the cliurcliyard adjoining, under the tombstone on which 
 
 he piously and affectionately recorded the interment of his 
 
 aunt and lamented mother." In that tomb " sleep the 
 
 remains of Dorothy Gray, widow, the careful, tender mother 
 
 of many children, one of whom alone had the misfortune 
 
 to survive her." A more recent inscription under the 
 
 adjoining window runs thus : — " Opposite to this stone, in 
 
 the same tomb upon which he has so feelingly recorded his 
 
 grief at the loss of a beloved parent, are deposited the 
 
 remains of the author of the Elegy." 
 f 
 
 " Hark, how the sacred calm that breathes around, 
 Bids every fierce, tumultuous passion cease ; 
 In still small accents whispering from tlie ground, 
 A griitef ul earnest of eternal peace ! " 
 
 NOTE ON THE SALLYPORT NEAR THE 
 YORK TOWER. 
 
 In an early part of the book notice is taken of a subterranean 
 passage lately discovered. 1 beg to subjoin a fuller account of 
 it, furnished by my friend, Mr. Turnbull, clerk of the works at 
 Windsor Castle. 
 
 " This passage is below the basement floor of the castle, a little to 
 the east of the York Tower, and extends from about twelve feet of 
 the front wall of the corridor towards the south, and terminates in 
 what was anciently the castle ditch. 
 
 " The length of the passage as it now exists is one hundred feet. 
 There is about twenty feet of this passage which has rubble walls 
 with stone-pointed arch, and two semicircular doorways with splayi d 
 and moulded arches, one of which has still the iron hooks for the 
 door; the remainder of the passage is cut through the solid chalk 
 rock; the width is about five feet, and height from six to eight feet, 
 and the floor of the passage is twenty-two feet below the ground 
 level of the Quadrangle."
 
 INDEX. 
 
 PAGS 
 
 Adelaide, second wife of Henry 1 5 
 
 Queeu of William IV 231 
 
 Anne, Queen, at Windsor 139 
 
 wooden statue of 1°' 
 
 Anne Boleyn 70, 194, 196 
 
 Antiquities of Windsor 1 
 
 plea for their preservation 44 
 
 Armour, suit of 1" 
 
 Arthur, King 2 
 
 Ashmole, the Historian of the Garter during the reign of 
 
 Edward VI 76 
 
 Astrological studies — horoscope of Edward III. ..... 17 
 
 Astrology — skill of Henry V. in that science 45 
 
 Banquet in St. George's Hall 33 
 
 Banquet in the fifteenth century described 50 
 
 Baronial residences 23 
 
 Barons 13 
 
 Bear, White, kept in Tower of London 11 
 
 Beauchamp, Kichard, Bishop of Salisbury 51, 54 
 
 Beaufort, Joanna, niece of Eichaid II 40 
 
 Bedford, John, Duke of 45 
 
 ♦'Black Book," or Register of the Garter 2,44 
 
 Blenheim, Victory of 140 
 
 Eramber, Lord of, and his wife . 7 
 
 Brandon, Charles, Duke of Suffolk 76 
 
 Bray, Sir Reginald, architect of St. George's Chapel . . 52, 201 
 
 Burdon, William, the painter 24 
 
 Burford House, residence of Eleanor Gwyn 130 
 
 Carlton's, Sir Dudley, description of James I. at Windsor . 93 
 
 Castle : 
 
 Additions of Henry III • ■ 9 
 
 Appearance of, in the reigns of the Norman Sovereigns . 14 
 
 Appearance of, in the time of Edward III 22 
 
 Hunting seat of William the Conqueror 4 
 
 Investiture of, by the Barons 8 
 
 Old Castle taken down 18 
 
 Rebuilt in the reign of Edward III 17 
 
 Rebuilding of, by George IV 147 
 
 Residence of William the Conqueror 3 
 
 Taken by the Parliamentary Army 101 
 
 Apartments, Private 221 
 
 Apartments, State 208 
 
 Apartments, number of 222 
 
 Armoury 218
 
 INDEX. 237 
 
 Castle — continued. page 
 
 Bakehouse, formerly in Pescod-street 84 
 
 Banquetiiig-house ; new one in 1576 82 
 
 Buildings, Star 62 
 
 Busts 214—220 
 
 Chapels : 
 
 Bray's ^ 201 
 
 Edward the Confessor's 6 
 
 Edward IV.'s 51 
 
 George's, St 62, 195 
 
 Henry I.'s 5 
 
 Henry III.'s 9 
 
 Henry VII.'s 195 
 
 John the Baptist's 200 
 
 King's College 195 
 
 Lincoln 203 
 
 Wolsey's, reflections upon 69 
 
 TJrswick 200 
 
 Cloisters 196, 197 
 
 Corridor, Grand 219 
 
 Courts 83, 207 
 
 Fountain, Queen Mary's 90 
 
 Galleries : 
 
 Elizabeth 62 
 
 Waterloo 207 
 
 Gates : 
 
 Queen Elizabeth's 188 
 
 St. George's 205 
 
 Gateway, Norman 206 
 
 of Henry VIII 65 
 
 Houses : 
 
 New Commons 63 
 
 Garter 195 
 
 Chapter 199 
 
 Kitchen 222 
 
 Library, Dean and Chapter's 197 
 
 Lodges 188 
 
 Objects of interest : 
 
 Armour, suits of 213 
 
 Armsof Edward IIL, IV., &c 199 
 
 Bronzes 221 
 
 Cabinets — Cardinal Wolsey's ib. 
 
 Chairs, curious 215 
 
 Clocks 221 
 
 Ornaments, heraldic 204 
 
 Screen- work, beautiful specimens of 199 
 
 Shield, presented by Francis I. to Henry VIII. , . 214 
 
 Sword of Edward III 199 
 
 Porcelain Sbvres, magnificent Collection .... 221 
 
 Tapestry, Gobelin 212, 215 
 
 Throne, Sovereign's 213 
 
 Vases, Malachite and Granite ib.
 
 238 INDEX. 
 
 Caatle — continued. tlqv 
 
 Offices, Architect's , . 205 
 
 Paintings, by Vandyke, "West, Zuccarelli, (fee. . . 209, 216 
 Portraits, by Canaletti, Gainsborough, Lawrence, &c. 
 
 208, 210, 216, 219, 220 
 Prints and Drawings in connexion with the Librjiry . .217 
 
 Parks, extent of, in the seventeenth century .... 91 
 
 Home 223 
 
 Koad, Carriage, through Long Walk 139 
 
 Sallyport, near the York Tower 235 
 
 Staircase, Great, painted by Sir Jamea Thornhill . . . 139 
 
 of the time of the Stuarts 188 
 
 Store-Rooms , . . , 206 
 
 Statues : 
 
 Anne, Queen 187 
 
 Charles II., equestrian of 206 
 
 Edward VI 221 
 
 George IV 210 
 
 Terrace, North, raised by Elizabeth ....... 81 
 
 Towers 223 
 
 Walks 138, 139—144 
 
 Cavaliers imprisoned in Castle 114 
 
 Cellini, Benvenuto 65 
 
 Chair, of gieat antiquity 24 
 
 Charles I., alterations he made in Castle 97 
 
 anecdote of the monarch and Colonel Harrison . 109 
 
 arrival of his Majesty as a prisoner at Windsor , 108 
 
 execution, curious account of, in Parish Register . 179 
 
 ' interment of the King 110 
 
 letters to Dowcett, his faithful servant .... 103 
 
 Charles, Marquis of Worcester, his loyalty and eccentricity . 116 
 
 Charles II 24 
 
 alterations of Castle by him 123 
 
 anecdote of the King and Duke of Buckingham . 129 
 
 Chaucer, Alice, Dowager Duchess of Suffolk 47 
 
 Chaucer, Geoffrey, the poet . , 26 
 
 Chivalry, Spirit of 27 
 
 Concordance, first, of English Bible 161 
 
 Court, first held 5 
 
 fashions and furniture of, during reign of Edward IV. 56 
 
 Crewe, Bisliop of Durham 134 
 
 Crisis in English History 98 
 
 Cromwell, his meetings for prayer at Windsor 115 
 
 D'Aeblai, Madame 146 
 
 David, King of Scotland 6 
 
 Davis, William, the noble Blacksmith 180 
 
 Demonstrations, loyal, at Windsor and Eton during reign of 
 
 Elizabeth 165 
 
 Denton, John, the kind-hearted Canon 64 
 
 Dinner, complaint of, by Queen Elizabeth 84 
 
 Duke of Albany, Kegent of Scotland 40
 
 INDEX. 239 
 
 Pi.OB 
 
 Durham, Bishop of, in 1095 5 
 
 Eagle and eaglets, Story of 7 
 
 Edmund de la Pole, imprisonment of 62 
 
 Edward the Confessor 3 
 
 Edward I., educated at Windsor 13 
 
 ■ anecdote of 16 
 
 Edward II ib. 
 
 III., christening of ib. 
 
 ~ curious tale of 17 
 
 Edward IV., accession of 46 
 
 death and burial of 58 
 
 his coffin opened in 1789 ib. 
 
 Edward, Duke of Buckingham, condemned for treason . . 66 
 
 Edward VI., proclaimed by Garter 75 
 
 Visit to Windsor in dead of night 77 
 
 Eleanor, wife of Edward 1 15 
 
 journeys from London to Windsor 155 
 
 Elizabeth of Bohemia 193 
 
 Elizabeth, Queen, amusements at Windsor 85 
 
 imperious temper of ib. 
 
 Engine for supplying water to Castle, curioua account of . . 126 
 
 Eric, King of Sweden, a suitor for the hand of Queen Elizabeth 84 
 
 Eton College 122 
 
 '■ founded by Henry VI 232 
 
 • Gray's lines on 229 
 
 Eton Memorial of 1563 described 166 
 
 Eton Montem, description of 231 
 
 Evelyn, extracts from his Diary 123 
 
 glim])ses of Windsor before and after alterations of 
 
 Charles II 126 
 
 Ferdinand the Elector 193 
 
 Fire in the Castle, 1295 16 
 
 Fire-tax and the Londoners in 1386 38 
 
 Fits, Sir Thomas, Surveyor of the Cinque Ports 186 
 
 Fitzgerald, Lady Elizabeth 70 
 
 Fitzwilliam, William, tomb of 202 
 
 Fortescue, Sir Edmund 114 
 
 Foundations 194, 196 
 
 Fuller, the Historian, on rumours concerning death of Henry 
 
 VIII 73 
 
 Gallys, Richard, Landlord of Garter Inn, and M.P. for 
 
 Borough , 176 
 
 Garter, Order of the 27 
 
 ■ Alterations in laws of, by Edward VI 77 
 
 Costume of the Order 30 
 
 . Feasts described 32, 49, 95, 121 
 
 Glory of the ( >rder restored by Mary 80 
 
 Installation of Prince Henry in 1603 95 
 
 Institution, date of 31
 
 240 INDEX. 
 
 fAGS 
 
 Garter, Knights, apartments for 147 
 
 Ladies at feasts of the Oriler 34 
 
 Order restored upon Charles's accession 121 
 
 Origin of the Custom of decorating Ladies .... 35 
 
 symbol of the Order 28 
 
 Pageants, description of 67 
 
 Patron saints of the Order 29 
 
 Processions of the earher reigns 94 
 
 Zeal of James I. for the Order ib. 
 
 Genius, its creative power 171 
 
 George IIL, his attachment to Windsor 145 
 
 anecdote of King and the Messenger .... 146 
 
 attacks of Insanity and final retreat in Queen's 
 
 Lodge ib. 
 
 George, Prince of Denmark, statue of 187 
 
 Gibbons, his incomparable carving 127, 188 
 
 Grafton, Ricliard, King's printer, accused of heresy, 1550. . 161 
 
 Gray, the Poet, monument to 234 
 
 Grey, Lady Jane 76 
 
 Hake, Edward, Mayor of Windsor 167 
 
 Hanover, House of 144 
 
 Henry 1 5 
 
 Henry II 6 
 
 Henry III • • • ^ 
 
 Henry IV., plot to assassinate him and his sons 39 
 
 Henry v., the hero of Agincourt 44 
 
 Henry VL 42 
 
 insanity of ...... 46 
 
 violent death of in the Tower ib. 
 
 removal of the body to Windsor in reign of 
 
 Richard III 47 
 
 Henry VII. and Elizabeth 52 
 
 Henry VIII. and Wolsey • • • _ 68 
 
 . amusements of, at Windsor 6S 
 
 death and magnificent funeral 72 
 
 Henry V. the Emperor 5 
 
 Hentzner, Paul, his rural description of Eton in Elizabeth's 
 
 reign 170 
 
 . his description of curiosities of Castle .... 82 
 
 Heme's Oak, arguments respecting . . 172 
 
 Herschell, the Great Astronomer, abode of 233 
 
 Holman, Lieutenant, the blind traveller 147 
 
 Hospital, Leper 13 
 
 Houses for Dean and Canons, erected by Edward III. ... 26 
 
 . English, discomforts of, in sixteenth century . . . 176 
 
 Howard, Catherine, her prison house 73 
 
 Hugh de Pudsey, Bishop of Durham 7 
 
 Irving, Washington 43 
 
 Islip, Archbishop of Canterbury 32
 
 INDEX. 241 
 
 PAGB 
 
 James I. of Scotland, imprisonment of 39 
 
 iove of, for the Laily Jane 40 
 
 residence of the King occasionally at Windsor . . 93 
 
 James II., celebrating mass in Wolsey's Chai)el . . . . 132 
 
 public reception of d'Adda, the Papal Nuncio . . 133 
 
 warned by the Spanish Ambassador ib. 
 
 Joan, Queen 31 
 
 John the Baptist, church dedicated to 149 
 
 John, King of I'Vance, a prisoner at Windsor 32 
 
 Jousts of foreign knights at Windsor 28 
 
 in honour of Queen, 1384 31 
 
 Julius II 48 
 
 KiLLiGREW, Sir Thomas, his just reproof to the King . . . 129 
 
 King, Oliver, Secretary to Henry VI. 200 
 
 Knight, Mr. Charles, description of Windsor, in time of Elizabeth 174 
 Knights : 
 
 Alms Knights 54, 55, 80 
 
 Holy Sepulchre 27 
 
 Military 31, 79 
 
 Naval, college erected for, in the reign of George III. . 146 
 
 Eound Table 27 
 
 St. John the Baptist ib. 
 
 St. Lazarus ib. 
 
 Leicester, Earl of 165 
 
 Lodgings let in the Castle 144 
 
 London, Dr., punishment of 163 
 
 Longchamp, Bishop of Ely 7 
 
 Louis of Bruges, Lord of Grauthuse 56 
 
 Louis XIV., splendid Court of 124 
 
 Magna Gharta Island . 8 
 
 Mantelpiece of time of James 1 195 
 
 Marbeck, organist of Royal Chapel 161 
 
 Mark Antonio de Dominis 96 
 
 ^Margaret, Queen of Henry II 47 
 
 Marlborough, Sarah, Duchess of, beautiful reply to Charles, 
 
 Duke of Somerset 140 
 
 secret of her influence 139 
 
 Martyrs in reign of Henry VIII 158 
 
 Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer conveyed to the Castle 79 
 
 Mary, Princess, beautiful sister of Henry VIII 76 
 
 Mary, Queen of Scotland, attempting to celebrate mass . . 132 
 
 Masham, Mrs 140 
 
 Matilda, Princess 6 
 
 Maude, Empress 6 
 
 Monument for Henry VI 48 
 
 Mordaunt, Lord, impeachment of, in 1688 . .... 181 
 
 Neville's Cross, battle of ... 31
 
 242 INDEX. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Nichol's description of Queen Elizabeth at Windsor ... 84 
 
 Nicholson, the eminent landscape draughtsman 172 
 
 Norden's map of Windsor 175 
 
 Norman architectural fragments 6, 25 
 
 Northumberland, Earl of 5 
 
 Olivier, John, perplexed with the tribute of bearskins . . 145 
 
 Pamphlet, curious, of 1642 • . . . . 100 
 
 Passage, modem, underground 26 
 
 Pearson, Anthony, one of the early Protestants 161 
 
 Penn, Mr. Granville, mansion of 233 
 
 Penns of Pennsylvania, their tribute to British Crown . . , 145 
 
 Pepys' Diary, amusing extract of journey to Windsor . . . 121 
 
 Philip the Fair, anecdote of 61 
 
 Philip, husband of Mary, made a knight 78 
 
 Philippa, Queen 31 
 
 dying words of 34 
 
 Poor, entertainment of 11 
 
 Protestantism, fathers of, in Windsor 162 
 
 Puritans 99 
 
 Rainbow, phenomenon of, first accounted for 97 
 
 Ralph, Archbishop of Canterbury 5 
 
 Ramsay, David, the illustrious clockmaker 97 
 
 RebeUion of 1536 in the North of England 157 
 
 Restoration, Charles II., proclaimed at New Windsor . . 117 
 
 Richard 1 7 28 
 
 Richard II 34 
 
 parting from Queen Isabella 37 
 
 Roderic O'Connor, King of Connaught 7 
 
 Roger, Bishop of Salisbury 5 
 
 Roman bricks 1 
 
 road, remarkable specimen of H, 
 
 Round Table, King Arthur's 28 
 
 Royal Touch, anecdote of 3 
 
 Runnymede S 
 
 Rustat, Tobias, a faithful servant of Charles II 136 
 
 fellowships and scholarships founded by him . ib. 
 
 Rutland, Earl of • 39 
 
 Salisbury, Countess of 28 
 
 Earl of 33 
 
 Sallyport of the time of Edward III 26 
 
 Saxe Weimar, Duchess of I99 
 
 Saxon Kings, Palace of 2 
 
 Urns 3 
 
 Sepulchre, Royal, fi-om the design of Charles 1 147 
 
 Seymour, Jane, death and burial of 76 
 
 Shorne, John, shrine of, in Lincoln Chapel 54 
 
 Sigismund, Emperor of Germany, created a Knight of the Garter 44
 
 INDEX. 243 
 
 FAOB 
 
 Simon de Sudbury, Address of, to the King 38 
 
 Somerset, Duke of, and James II 133 
 
 Protector, sent to the Tower 78 
 
 Stephen, King 6 
 
 Storm in 1251 14 
 
 Stow, John, his relation of the removal of the body of 
 
 Henry VT. to Windsor 48 
 
 Subterranean passage 12, 25 
 
 Surrey, Earl of — verses when a prisoner at Windsor ... 71 
 
 Testwood, Eobert, breaking the Image of the Virgin . . . 159 
 
 Thomson, Dr. Giles, Monument to 202 
 
 Throne — painted and gilt H 
 
 Tournament in Edward I.'s reign 15 
 
 heldonthefeastof St. George, 1358 .... 32 
 
 Tomson, Giles, Dean of Windsor 96 
 
 Tower of London, Queen's escape from 13 
 
 Town of Windsor, prior to the Conquest 3 
 
 Trial of Testwood, Pearson, Filmer, and Marbeck in 1544 . 162 
 
 Urswick, Dr. Christopher, associate of Sir Keginald Bray . 53 
 
 Verkio, a Neapolitan artist at Windsor, anecdote of . . . 125 
 
 Vespers, description of 50 
 
 Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, house of 188 
 
 Vineyard appended to Eoyal Palace 7 
 
 Virgin, Image of 10 
 
 Walter de Burgh 9, 197 
 
 Walton, Sir Isaac, notice of family in parish register . . . 232 
 
 Wardrobe of Castle — beds described 65 
 
 Wellington, at Eton 230 
 
 Westminster, Gift of Windsor to the Monks of 3 
 
 Whitelock, Lord Commissioner 117 
 
 Whitsuntide, Festivities of 4 
 
 Widville, Queen Elizabeth 199 
 
 William the Conqueror 3 
 
 William of Malmesbury 3 
 
 William Rufus 5 
 
 William of Scotland 6 
 
 William of Wykeham, facetious reply of 18, 22 
 
 William, Prince of Orange — invitation to England .... 134 
 
 William III. and Princess Mary — rejoicings at their marriage 185 
 
 Windows — stained glass H 
 
 Windsor — why so called 89 
 
 changes in appearance 92 
 
 proposal to sell it by the Parliament. 115 
 
 Town of 149 
 
 architecture, domestic 154 
 
 borough, when constituted 149 
 
 burgesses returned to Parliament in time of Edward I. 151
 
 244 INDEX. 
 
 Windsor — continued. p^qe 
 
 Chapels in the town ' . . . , 189, 190 
 
 Church, Old Parish 189 
 
 Churchyard — anecdote of Dr. Johnson ib. 
 
 Charity, earliest existing 156 
 
 Communication with London 155 
 
 Corporation of 150 
 
 Accounts of 186 
 
 Contest of Corporation and inhabitants ..... 180 
 
 Hospitable cheer of 184 
 
 Seal of 152 
 
 Costumes of the people 154 
 
 Cross, High, site of 176 
 
 Cucking-stool 186 
 
 Election, described 151 
 
 Frugality of the people 155 
 
 Gaol, borough 188 
 
 prisoners annoying George III ib. 
 
 Hall, Town, expenses of 186 
 
 Houses, public, large number of ........ 185 
 
 Inhabitants, number of, in 1555 ........ 153 
 
 Inns : Garter, White Hart ........ 176, 184 
 
 Market, columns of, by Sir Christopher Wren .... 228 
 
 Mediaeval Windsor 149 
 
 Member for the town expelled from the House .... 178 
 
 gratuities paid to 185 
 
 Memorial, Windsor — oration and speech of the Mayor . 168 
 
 Neighbourhood of 228—235 
 
 Pest-house — letter respecting 182 
 
 Pilgrims to King Henry's Shrine 159 
 
 Political excitements of 1641 178 
 
 liberty, revival of 153 
 
 Returns to Parliament 151 
 
 Wolsey, Cardinal — mausoleum he designed for himself ... 68 
 
 Woodstock — tenure on which estate is held 140 
 
 Woodville, Elizabeth, wife of Edward IV 56 
 
 misfortunes and death of 59 
 
 Wprkmen fressed for rebuilding the Castle 18 
 
 wages of 20 
 
 Wotton, Sir Henry, Provost of Eton 231 
 
 Wren, Christopher, father of the famous architect .... 124 
 
 Sir Christopher, the architect 124, 181, 187 
 
 Wyatville, Sir Jeffrey de 25, 62 
 
 York and Lancaster, Houses of 46 
 
 THE END.
 
 •/. ^x)
 
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