THE CASTLE
The authentic history of Windsor
Castle cannot be carried back
beyond the 11th century. The
romantic legends told by Froissart of King Arthur
and his knights of the Round Table at Windsor lack
the foundation of prosaic record, but are interesting
as representing the traditions as to the early history of
Windsor which were current in the 14th and 15th
centuries. (fn. 1)
During the Saxon period, when Edward the
Confessor held his court at his hall at Old Windsor, (fn. 2)
the site of the later castle formed part of Clewer and
was probably forest. On the eve of the Norman
Conquest Edward the Confessor had granted Windsor
with 20 hides of land in the neighbourhood to the
monastery of St. Peter at Westminster, (fn. 3) but in the
first year of the new reign King William regained
Windsor, giving Westminster in exchange certain
lands in Battersea. (fn. 4)
The work at the castle was advanced enough for its
use as a royal residence before the end of the 11th
century, and about 1095 a prisoner of importance,
the Earl of Northumbria, was confined there. (fn. 5) In
1100 William Fitz Walter, who afterwards took the
surname of Windsor, the son of the first constable of
the castle, was appointed as constable by the Empress
Maud. All this seems to make it possible, if not
probable, that the sovereigns were residing in the
new castle, not in the old palace, on the occasions
when their presence at Windsor is mentioned. In
1095 William Rufus kept Whitsuntide at Windsor,
where there was a meeting of the Witan (fn. 6) and the
king and his court were there for Christmas of the
same year. (fn. 7) In 1097 accident brought the king
and court to Windsor for Easter. William, sailing
from Normandy, had intended to keep Easter at
Winchester, but was driven by bad weather to land
at Arundel, whence he proceeded to Windsor, holding a great council there soon afterwards. (fn. 8)
Henry I was at Windsor in September 1101, (fn. 9)
at Christmas 1104–5 (fn. 10) and Easter 1107. (fn. 11) In the
latter of these years he probably began to erect the
new buildings which were undertaken about this
time. Three years later it would appear that the
buildings were sufficiently advanced for the king to
keep his court here. (fn. 12) Henceforward, when Windsor is mentioned as a royal residence, Windsor Castle
alone is indicated. Henry kept Christmas at Windsor
in 1113–14 (fn. 13) and held a council here in April 1114. (fn. 14)
On 24 January 1120–1 the marriage of King Henry
with his second wife Adeliza of Louvain took place at
Windsor, the ceremony being performed by the
Archbishop of Canterbury, who to the Bishop of
Salisbury's claim that Windsor Castle was in his
diocese successfully opposed the theory that the king
and queen were his parishioners wherever they might
be. (fn. 15)
The first of the long series of visits paid by foreign
sovereigns to the castle took place at Christmas
1126–7, when David, King of Scotland, came here
as Henry's guest. King David swore allegiance to the
Empress Maud as the king's heir, (fn. 16) and the same
oath was taken by the English prelates and nobles. (fn. 17)
Henry visited Windsor for the last time at Christmas
1133, the year before his death, and the chronicler
reports that the king lay ill for some time at the
castle. (fn. 18)
Little is known of the castle during the wars between
Stephen and the Empress Maud, but it seems to have
been held for the king. (fn. 19) By the treaty of Wallingford (1153) a compromise was arrived at, Stephen
recognized Henry as his heir, and the mount (mota) of
Windsor and the Tower of London were delivered to
Richard de Lucy to be held by him in trust for
Henry. (fn. 20) Richard de Lucy remained constable till
his death in 1179.
Though Winchester, Westminster and Woodstock
were his chief residences, Henry II in the course of
his ceaseless journeys about his kingdom visited
Windsor fairly often. He was here at Easter in
1166 when William the Lion, formerly Earl of
Northumberland, came to do homage, (fn. 21) and in 1170
when he entertained King William of Scotland and
his brother Henry. (fn. 22) In 1175 a great council was
held here, and ambassadors from the King of Connaught were received, (fn. 23) and the following Christmas
King Henry was again at Windsor. (fn. 24) Another great
council at Windsor took place in the spring of 1179. (fn. 25)
The king was there at Christmas 1184–5, and in the
following March, when he knighted his son John. (fn. 26)
This was his last visit.
There is no record that Richard I ever resided at
Windsor, and during his absence in the East the castle
was often the subject of contention between the
king's adherents and those of his brother John. In
1193 John rose in rebellion and seized Windsor. (fn. 27)
The Archbishop of Rouen, the constable, led the
barons in an attempt to recapture it, and after a
prolonged siege it was surrendered, John retiring to
France. (fn. 28) The castle was then put into the hands of
Queen Eleanor in trust for King Richard. (fn. 29) This
settlement continued until the end of the reign.
Windsor Castle was closely associated with many
of the incidents of John's stormy reign. He seems
to have visited the castle more often than any of his
predecessors. (fn. 30) He was at Windsor in March and
April 1200, in April, (fn. 31) July and October (fn. 32) in
the following year, and again in January, April, May,
July and November 1205. (fn. 33) There are records of
the provisions and wine brought by boat to the castle
for the king's use, and a book called the Romance of the
History of England was also sent there by the king's
orders. (fn. 34) In 1206 King John was at Windsor in
March and May, he was there in April and October
of 1207, (fn. 35) and at the following Christmas, when he
presented robes to his knights. (fn. 36) The next year
John only visited Windsor once, in July. In 1209
he was there in March, October and at Christmas
time, when, in view of his rumoured excommunication, he entertained the whole body of nobles,
endeavouring, according to the chronicler, 'to work
evil to all who ab ented themselves from him.' (fn. 37) He
was at Windsor again in the February and October
of the following year. (fn. 38)
It is about this time that we come to the dark
story of the alleged starvation of Maud de Braose and
her son William, captured in Ireland in 1210. The
chroniclers give very conflicting accounts of the whole
affair, (fn. 39) and it is not possible to decide whether
Windsor Castle or Corfe Castle was the scene of the
tragedy. On the whole it seems probable that the
murder took place at Corfe, not Windsor. (fn. 40)
Great preparations were made on the occasion of
the king's visit at Christmas 1213. (fn. 41) In 1214 the
king was only once at Windsor—in October—but in
the following year he was there in March, April and
May, during almost the whole of June and in
December. (fn. 42) It was in this year that the troubles in
the kingdom came to a head. On 9 March the king
retired to Windsor from the capital, which was soon
afterwards occupied by the barons. In April he
moved west to crush a rebellion, returning at the end
of May. It was in the month of June that the king
began the negotiation with his rebellious barons
which ended on 15 June in the signing of the
Magna Carta at Runnimede. (fn. 43) Hostilities, however,
soon broke out again; the barons abjured their
allegiance and sought help from France. Windsor
Castle was strongly garrisoned by the king, who visited
it in April 1216. (fn. 44) Just after he left the castle he
issued Letters Patent, appointing one of his unpopular
foreign favourites, Engelard de Cygony, as constable
of Windsor Castle and keeper of the forest. (fn. 45) This
was in direct contravention of the Great Charter, the
fiftieth clause of which had mentioned Cygony
among the foreigners to whom no office was to be
given.
The invasion of England by Louis of France on
21 May 1216 was followed by the siege of Windsor
Castle, which was held for the king by Fawkes de
Breauté, a Norman adventurer, and one of the chief
of John's evil counsellors, who filled the castle with a
strong garrison of foreign mercenaries. The army of
the barons was led by the Count of Nevers; siege
engines were brought close up to the castle and the
defences were fiercely attacked. Engelard de Cygony,
the constable, was a skilful military commander and
strove to drive the enemy further from the walls.
The siege seems to have lasted from June to September, when it was raised, and on the death of the
king in October it was still in the hands of his
adherents. (fn. 46)
The constables, in this disturbed time, had very
wide powers and ruled with a strong hand. They
were often appointed as farmers of the whole
bailiwick of Windsor; thus their sway extended far
and wide and the neighbouring manors groaned under
their exactions and depredations. (fn. 47)
The reign of Henry III was an important one for
the history of the castle. In the first and last years
of the reign it played a part in the disturbances
between the king and the barons, and in the intervening
period there was great activity in building operations.
In 1216 the castle was held by Fawkes de Breauté
for the young king and the Regent, William Earl of
Pembroke, against Louis of France, the war ending
in the peace signed at Lambeth on 11 September
1217. There are many records of Henry's visits to
Windsor, the first of which seems to have been in
1229, when he stayed three weeks. After the king's
marriage (in 1236) his children lived at Windsor,
and his son Edward was brought up there under the
care of Hugh Giffard. (fn. 48) When about a year old the
prince was visited at Windsor by Thomas of Savoy,
Count of Flanders; the queen's uncle, Peter of Savoy,
also visited Windsor in 1242. (fn. 49) Walter de Dya was
appointed in 1240 as joint governor to the prince,
his duties being at the same time defined. (fn. 50) The
number of horses kept in the castle was regarded as a
source of danger to the prince's health, and in 1241
the king ordered that no horse should be allowed to
remain within the walls during the months of August
and September, and that as soon as rainy weather
moved. (fn. 51) The other children of the king also lived
at Windsor, (fn. 52) as well as many of the king's wards.
To celebrate the feast of St. Edward in 1242, the
king ordered that the great hall of the castle should
be filled with poor old men and the small hall with
poor children and that all should be sufficiently fed. (fn. 53)
The king was at Windsor before going abroad in
1242, (fn. 54) and on his return from the disastrous war in
France, in the following year he held a council at Windsor
on the morrow of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. (fn. 55)
The powers for negotiating a treaty with France in
1257 were issued by the king from Windsor. (fn. 56) In
1256 during the king's absence the queen entertained
her daughter the Queen of Scotland and her husband
Alexander III of Scotland at Windsor. While there
the Queen of Scotland gave birth to a daughter, Margaret, afterwards Queen of Norway. In 1257 the
queen lay ill at the castle with pleurisy. Ambassadors
were dispatched from Windsor to Louis of France on
the conclusion of the peace in 1259. (fn. 57) Later in the
year the king assembled a great council of nobles at
Windsor, while the rebel barons met at St. Albans. (fn. 58)
In March 1261 the king was at Windsor and later
in the year the castle was the scene of an important
conference between the king and his barons. (fn. 59) Two
years later the barons broke into open rebellion, and
the young Edward, hastening from London, and carrying with him his wife, Eleanor of Castile, the queen's
jewels and a large sum of money, threw himself into
Windsor Castle, which he garrisoned with a large body
of Flemish troops, whose depredations in the countryside are set down by the chroniclers. (fn. 60) By the
terms of the arrangement arrived at before the end of
the year 1262 Windsor and the other royal castles
should have been surrendered to the barons. The
prince tried to keep the castle. Large sums were
spent on munitions of war, (fn. 61) but it was besieged by
Simon de Montfort and had to be surrendered on
26 July 1263, the prince's foreign garrison being
dismissed. (fn. 62) In October the king was again at
Windsor, summoning his supporters to meet him
there, and in November the prince again garrisoned
the castle. (fn. 63) Before January 1263–4 the royal forces
had been withdrawn from Windsor, (fn. 64) and by the
king's defeat in the battle of Lewes the chief power in
England passed to Simon de Montfort. King Henry
was virtually though not nominally his prisoner.
Eleanor the wife of Edward, to whom the king had
given the custody of the castle in June, (fn. 65) was ordered
to leave Windsor, with the king's sister Joan, wife of
William de Valence. (fn. 66) Simon de Montfort's son
and others of his adherents who had been imprisoned
there were released. (fn. 67) In November 1264 the captive
king was at Windsor, when he was forced to write a
letter to the queen forbidding her to raise money for
his cause by selling or pledging any of his French
fiefs, (fn. 68) but in the following year the tide turned.
The battle of Evesham, 3 August 1265, restored the
king to liberty and authority, and in September
1265 he was at Windsor at the head of a powerful
force, (fn. 69) with which he intended to punish the city of
London for the support that it had given to his foes. (fn. 70)
The City sent delegates to express its submission,
who had to wait outside the castle from 1 o'clock
until the evening, when they were admitted, being
confined for the night in a tower 'where they had
small cheer and worse lodging.' (fn. 71) Only thirty-one
of the citizens were allowed to return to London;
nine of them, including the mayor, remained as
prisoners. Four were released in January 1265–6, (fn. 72)
the other five remained in the castle until 1269,
when they bought their ransom from Edward. (fn. 73) In
1285 other citizens of London were imprisoned at
Windsor by the king. (fn. 74) During these later years of
the reign of Henry III Eleanor, the prince's wife,
resided constantly at the castle, and many of her
children were born there. (fn. 75) In May 1266 the
notorious outlaw, Adam Gurdon, was brought as a
prisoner to the castle by Edward. Windsor was
once more the head quarters of the royal army at
the time of the Earl of Gloucester's rebellion in
1267. (fn. 76)
During the reign of Edward I Windsor was the
permanent home of the royal children during their
early years. (fn. 77) The king's mother, Queen Eleanor,
also spent much of her time there. Edward did not
return to England until August 1274, and his first
visit to Windsor took place in the autumn of that
year, but a coronation feast was held at the castle at
Easter in 1274–5, for which great preparations were
made. (fn. 78) On 9 July 1278 the castle was the scene of
a splendid tournament in Windsor Park, in which
thirty-eight knights, many of whom were Crusaders,
took part. The accounts for the purchase of arms
and accoutrements on this occasion have already been
printed. (fn. 79) The armour of the knights was very magnificent, the bridles of their horses being adorned with
little bells and the saddles richly embroidered.
A visit from Edmund Earl of Cornwall to the
castle being proposed in 1282, the constable was
ordered 'to be attentive to him till further order.' (fn. 80)
In January 1281 the ambassadors of Llewellyn Prince
of Wales were received at the castle by the constable
on their way to London. (fn. 81) Queen Eleanor was at the
castle in the month following. (fn. 82) Alphonzo, the
king's eldest son, died at Windsor in 1284. (fn. 83) Thirty
pounds' worth of provisions (fn. 84) were taken into the
tioned by Stow as having done much damage to the
castle in 1295 does not seem to be elsewhere
recorded. (fn. 85)
The queen spent the winter of 1299–1300 at
Windsor, the king being at Berwick. (fn. 86) In February
following the king arrived and a royal offering to the
cross of 'Gneyth,' which was then in the chapel of
the castle, is recorded. (fn. 87) This cross, which is here
mentioned for the first time, was reputed to be a piece
of the true cross, and had been given to the king when
in Wales by certain Welsh princes. During the reign
of Edward I it was taken by the king on all his progresses; in the reign of his son it was kept in the
Tower of London. Edward III gave it to the chapel
at Windsor, where it afterwards remained the most
venerated of the relics preserved there. Various royal
offerings made to the cross are on record. It was probably the 'very cross' on which Philip of Castile
swore to the treaty of 1506 in the reign of Henry VII.
In January of the same year (1299–1300) Edward
the prince was at Windsor with the queen, and the
Wardrobe Accounts contain references to payments
made for the transport of the prince's household, his
knights and clerk by water from Windsor to London. (fn. 88)
Edward's second queen, Margaret, spent some time
at Windsor, and accounts of her expenditure there
between 20 November 1299 and 12 April following
have been preserved. (fn. 89)
Edward II kept Christmas at Windsor in 1308,
1309, 1312 and 1314. (fn. 90) On 13 November 1312
his eldest son, afterwards Edward III, was born in the
castle, being christened in the chapel of St. Edward. (fn. 91)
The prince, who spent his infancy here, (fn. 92) was often
afterwards known as Edward of Windsor. In April
1317 King Edward was at Windsor hunting in the
forest and transacting business relating to Ireland. (fn. 93)
He was here again in the following February. (fn. 94) In
1324 when here he received the Great Seal surrendered by the chancellor and handed it to his successor.
In 1323 there was an inquiry into a plot to seize
Windsor Castle, the Tower of London, and other
royal castles on the part of Roger Mortimer of
Wigmore. (fn. 95) Two years later John de Lisle was
imprisoned at Windsor. (fn. 96) The king's last visit
seems to have been in July 1326, when Letters
Patent were issued from the manor-house in Windsor
Park. (fn. 97)
The reign of Edward III was a very important
period in the history of the castle. In this reign the
order of the Garter (fn. 98) and the college of St. George
were founded, and there was a great activity in building, which added two wards to the castle. The castle
was apparently the favourite residence of the king,
and he seems to have been constantly there even
during the building operations which covered so many
years. (fn. 99) Queen Philippa was there in November
1331. (fn. 100) During the king's absence in 1338 the castle
was garrisoned with ten men-at-arms and twenty
archers. (fn. 101) The wages of this force were still unpaid
after nearly a year's service. (fn. 102)
In January 1343–4 and in the spring of the following year Windsor was the scene of elaborate tournaments and rejoicings in connexion with the assembly
of the Knights of the Round Table established by
the king in imitation of the Arthurian legends. (fn. 103)
The assembly began with a feast in the great hall to
all the ladies present, while the Prince of Wales and
the lords and knights were entertained in a tent.
For three days the king and nineteen other knights
held the lists against all comers. On Thursday the
king made a great supper at which he began his
Round Table and enrolled such lords and knights as
he wished to be of it when it should be held again,
which was to be on the feast of Pentecost next after.
He also proposed to have a building in which the
Round Table could be held. (fn. 104) He held another
Round Table at Windsor in 1345.
In October 1346 Edward returned in triumph
from France, and a series of tournaments were held
at Windsor and elsewhere. (fn. 105) The date of the foundation of the Order of the Garter seems to have
been 24 June 1348. (fn. 106)
In May 1348 the queen gave birth to her fourth
son, William, at the castle. David King of Scots,
who had been taken prisoner at Neville's Cross in
1346, was present at the festivities which followed
and remained a prisoner in the castle for eleven years,
becoming English in sentiment and falling entirely
under the king's influence. (fn. 107) John, King of France,
with his son Philip, who had been taken at the battle
of Poitiers, were also prisoners at Windsor, and according to a chronicler the two kings, when riding with
King Edward in Windsor Park in 1366–7, pointed
out a better site for the castle than the one it occupied
'as being on higher ground, and more open to see
and to be seen afar off.' The king approved their
sayings, adding pleasantly that it should be so, and
that he would bring his castle thither; that is to say,
enlarge it so far with two other wards, 'the charge
whereof should be borne with their two ransoms, as
after it came to pass.' (fn. 108) In November 1357 David
King of Scots was ransomed, but the King of France
remained for some years longer at Windsor with his
son and many of the nobles of his court. He was
allowed a great deal of liberty, and hunted and hawked
in Windsor Park. (fn. 109) In his honour the feast of
St. George was celebrated at Windsor in 1358 with
unusual magnificence. (fn. 110) The tournaments attracted
many visitors, among whom were the King and Queen
of Scotland. (fn. 111) Shortly after John King of France
was discovered to be communicating privately with
France, and he was removed from Windsor to closer
confinement at Hertford.
The marriage of Edward the Black Prince with
his cousin Joan Countess of Kent took place at
Windsor on 10 October 1361. (fn. 112) Among other
events were the marriage of the king's eldest daughter
Isabella in 1365 and the death of Queen Philippa
15 August 1369. Froissart gives a touching account
of the passing of 'the good Queen of England, that
so many good deeds had done in her time,' and of
her parting words to the king. (fn. 113) In the following
year, 1370–1, the Black Prince, broken in health,
returned to England and was received by the king
at Windsor. (fn. 114) In 1371 and 1372 the king was in
residence at the castle keeping the feasts of St. George
with great pomp and remaining there for many
months. (fn. 115) He was again at Windsor on 23 April
1374. (fn. 116)
William of Wykeham, who had been appointed
surveyor of the works in October 1356, held that
office until 1358, (fn. 117) when he was appointed chief
warden and surveyor of several royal castles as well as
that of Windsor (fn. 118) (a new surveyor of the works
being appointed to hold office under him). He held
office until 1362, and seems to have guided and controlled the course of the work to a very large extent.
There are several traditions connecting him with
different parts of the building, including the wellknown story of his explanation of the inscription
'Hoc fecit Wykeham' as meaning that the work
made Wykeham. (fn. 119) It certainly brought him honours
and preferment.
Richard II visited Windsor in the August following
his accession. (fn. 120) He kept Christmas of 1378 at
Windsor, and in the same year held a council
there. (fn. 121) In 1380 the marriage of the king's half-sister Lady Maud Courtenay with Waleran Count
of St. Pol was celebrated at Windsor. (fn. 122) The news
of the revolt led by Wat Tyler in 1381 found
Richard at Windsor. He left hastily for the capital,
where he took up his quarters in the Tower and
played a prominent part in dispersing the rebels.
After his marriage to Anne of Bohemia, which
took place at Westminster on 14 January 1382, the
king, we are told, 'carried the queen to Windsor, where
he kept an open and noble house.' A great council
at which the invasion of France by the king in person
was discussed, but abandoned, was held at Windsor
later in the year. (fn. 123) In 1387 the king was at Windsor
for some days on his way from Wales to London,
where he returned to deal with the disaffection
rumoured in the capital. On St. George's Day in
the same year a deputation of citizens from London,
York and other cities came to the king at Windsor by
the advice of the Duke of Gloucester to remonstrate
with the king on the misdeeds of his unpopular
advisers, their spokesman being Simon de Sudbury, a
citizen of London. They were received by the king
in the lower hall in the older part of the castle.
In October 1386 Michael de la Pole Earl of
Suffolk was impeached and imprisoned at Windsor
Castle, but he was released by Richard as soon as
Parliament was dissolved. (fn. 124)
The next time Richard was at Windsor seems to
have been in 1387, when, after the defeat of his
adherents, his uncles persuaded him to return to the
capital. As a result of a later quarrel with the city of
London two of its mayors were put out of office by
the king's orders and lodged in his castle of Windsor.
A deputation of citizens had to come there and be
examined by the king's council, and finally they
offered the submission of the City, which was restored
to favour at the price of £10,000, 'collected of the
Commons in great bitterness of mind.' (fn. 125)
Windsor was appointed for the holding of the
Court of Chivalry to decide the famous quarrel
between Henry of Lancaster, afterwards Henry IV,
and the Duke of Norfolk. (fn. 126) The king was seated on
a platform in the courtyard of the castle, surrounded
by prelates and nobles, and, having tried to reconcile
them in vain, ordered that the quarrel should be
fought out at Coventry on 16 September following. (fn. 127)
Froissart gives a gloomy account of the last tournament held by Richard at Windsor, on St. George's
Day 1399, on the eve of his departure for Ireland.
Though the tournament had been proclaimed throughout the realm, the king's unpopularity led to its
being very poorly attended. The king's parting
with his young and beautiful queen Isabella is described
with some pathos in the pages of a contemporary
chronicler. (fn. 128) In July 1399 Henry of Lancaster
landed, and Richard, deserted by his army, submitted
on 19 August. (fn. 129) During the reign of Henry IV the
young Earl of March, heir presumptive to Richard,
was imprisoned in the castle with one of his brothers. (fn. 130)
Henry IV kept the Christmas of 1399 at Windsor.
A tournament announced for Twelfth Night was the
occasion chosen by Richard's supporters, led by the
Earls of Kent, Huntingdon and Salisbury, for an
attempt to assassinate the king and his sons. The
guised as mummers, but their plan was betrayed and
on the arrival of the Mayor of London the king
hastily left the castle and set out for London, where
he arrived late that night, Sunday, 4 January. (fn. 131) On
the following morning the rebellious earls entered
Windsor Castle unopposed with about 500 horse,
hoping to find the king there. They searched the
royal apartments, and even the houses of the canons,
on the chance that he might be in hiding somewhere
in the castle, and, not finding him, retired before the
advancing royal army to Chichester, where the leaders
were captured and beheaded. (fn. 132)
A strange story is told of another attempt on the
king's life at Windsor in September 1400, an instrument called a 'caltrappe, an iron with three branches
so sharp that whenever the king had turned him it
should slay him,' being concealed in his bed supposedly
by a member of Queen Isabella's household. (fn. 133) In
February 1405 there was yet another plot. Constance Countess of Gloucester obtained access to the
imprisoned Earl of March and his brother by the use
of false keys, released them and took them with her to
Wales in the hope of placing them in the hands of
Owen Glendower. The countess and the princes,
however, were pursued and captured. The smith
who made the false keys lost first his hands and then
his head. (fn. 134)
In 1404 Windsor was mentioned in a petition by
the House of Commons to the king among the
castles that were ruinous and in great need of repair,
the case of Windsor being specially grave owing to
the fact that the money assigned for its repair had
been granted by the king to private individuals. (fn. 135)
In the spring of 1406, after keeping the feast of
St. George at Windsor, the king was taken ill with
sciatica. (fn. 136) He wrote from his manor in Windsor
Park (fn. 137) to the council, telling them he had hurt his
leg, and in addition had had a sudden attack of ague,
which prevented his riding. He hoped, however, to
reach London by water in the course of a few days. (fn. 138)
The king's illness was more serious than he at first
thought, and it incapacitated him for most of the
summer. During the remaining years of the reign
Henry was rarely at Windsor, preferring his favourite
palace of Eltham. Large numbers of prisoners were
confined in the castle at this period, including many
Scotch and Welsh captives. (fn. 139)
On the accession of Henry V the Earl of March
was released from his long captivity at Windsor. (fn. 140) In
August of the same year James the eldest son of the
King of Scots (afterwards James IV of Scotland), who
had been confined in the Tower of London for several
years, was brought as a prisoner to Windsor, where
he remained in honourable captivity for eleven
years. (fn. 141) The king allowed him £500 a year for his
expenses, and he was present at Westminster as a
guest at the queen's coronation in 1421. In the
same year he was knighted at Windsor. (fn. 142) James's
poem, 'The King's Quair,' tells the story of his love
for Joan Beaufort, daughter of the Earl of Somerset,
who later became Queen of Scotland. He is said to
have seen her first from his room in the Maiden's or
Devil's tower. The poem contains a description of
the 'gardyn fair with hawthorn hegis knet,' which lay
underneath the walls.
The French princes—the Dukes of Bourbon and
Orleans—and other nobles taken at the battle of
Agincourt were brought to the castle as prisoners in
1415. In the following year the king entertained at
Windsor Sigismund, King of the Romans, who was
chosen as a companion of the Garter. A contemporary chronicler gives an account of the banquets at
the castle and of the elaborate dishes placed before
the king and emperor. The latter had brought
with him a relic said to have been the heart of
St. George, which was preserved at Windsor until the
Reformation. (fn. 143) The 'great multitude of people,
strangers and others,' entertained by the king on this
occasion was so overwhelming that he wrote before-hand to the Dean and Chapter of Windsor asking
that their 'logyns and mansions' should be prepared
for the reception of his guests. (fn. 144)
On 6 December 1421 Queen Katherine, who had
been residing at Windsor during the king's absence in
France, gave birth to a son who afterwards became
Henry VI. Influenced by the prophecy that 'Henry
born at Windsor shall long reign and all lose,' the
king is said to have suggested that the queen's confinement should not take place there. (fn. 145) The queen stayed
at Windsor until May 1422, when she left England
for France, the infant prince remaining in the castle
under the care of his uncle the Duke of Bedford.
An inventory of the king's property taken on his
death, in the following year, contains a minute description of the tapestries and silver plate then in the
castle. (fn. 146) The latter included silver dishes, covered
cups, basins, ewers, spice-plates, saucers, salt-cellars,
and so on, many of the pieces being engraved with
the king's arms. (fn. 147)
Henry VI, who was only nine months old at his
accession, remained at Windsor until 13 November
1423, when he was taken to London by the queen
for the opening of Parliament. (fn. 148) There is a tradition
that the baby king, who with the queen had lodged
at Staines on Saturday night, refused to travel on a
Sunday—he 'schriked and cryed and sprang and
wold nought be caryed forthere, wherefore he was
borne ageyne into the inne, and there he bood the
Soneday al day.' On the Monday he gave his
royal consent to travel, and was borne out to his
mother's litter, 'being thanne gladde and merye
chered.' (fn. 149) The long imprisonment of James of
Scotland at Windsor ended at this time.
At a council held in May 1428 the castles of
Windsor and Berkhampstead were assigned as summer
residences for the young king, Wallingford and Hertford being named for the winter. (fn. 150) The Earl of
Warwick was given the post of the king's 'master'
or tutor, his appointment containing the following
provision: 'We give him full power authority licence
and directions reasonably to chastise us from time to
time according to his discretion.' (fn. 151) It was arranged
that the king's wards should be brought up at court
about his person, so that Windsor became an 'academy
for the young nobility.' (fn. 152) A notice of certain French
players and dancers performing before the king on
St. George's Day is interesting. (fn. 153) In 1430 the king
was absent in France, where he was crowned, and for
many years no event of importance took place at
Windsor. (fn. 154)
During the illness which began in 1453 (fn. 155) the king
resided at Windsor. His son Edward, then three
months old, was brought to him there in January
1453–4, but the king was unable to recognize him.
The lords 'departed thens without any answere or
countenance savyng only that ones he loked on the
prince and caste doune his eyene ayen wtout any
more.' (fn. 156) Three physicians and two surgeons were
authorized to administer powerful drugs to the king,
but without success, (fn. 157) and in March the Duke of
York was elected as protector. (fn. 158) In June of the
same year the king was being attended at Windsor
by Gilbert Keymer, Dean of Salisbury, 'an expert,
notable, and proved man in the craft of medicine.' (fn. 159)
About Christmas time he recovered, recognizing the
queen and the Prince of Wales. (fn. 160)
During the Wars of the Roses almost the whole of
Berkshire was loyal to the House of Lancaster, (fn. 161) and
the castle remained throughout in the king's hands,
being visited by him occasionally. By March 1461
Edward IV was proclaimed king, and Henry's reign
was at an end, Windsor becoming the new king's
residence. The restoration of 1470 was brief, and
on 21 May 1471 Henry VI was murdered. (fn. 162)
Among the prisoners kept in the castle in the reign
of Henry VI were several people accused of witchcraft
and sorcery, the best known of them being Margery
Jourdemain, the witch of Eye, who, though released
soon after her first imprisonment in 1431, was later
charged with being concerned in the sorceries of the
Duchess of Devonshire, and was burnt in 1441. (fn. 163)
Other prisoners were Welsh rebels, Fleet Street
brawlers and the men concerned in Jack Cade's rebellion. (fn. 164) Those imprisoned by order of the castle
court were lodged in the 'Colehouse' in the lower
ward. The dean and chapter confined their prisoners
in St. George's chapel. (fn. 165)
Edward IV was often at Windsor, (fn. 166) and there are
many notices of his hunting in the park and forest.
In 1473 King Edward was hunting there with the
Archbishop of York, who a few days later was
ordered to return to Windsor, accused of having been
concerned in the Earl of Oxford's conspiracy, and
imprisoned in the castle, whence he was sent to
Calais. The next state prisoner was Queen Margaret
the wife of Henry VI, who was afterwards transferred to
Wallingford. The visit of Louis de Bruges, Governor
of Holland, who had entertained Edward IV in exile,
in September 1472, was attended with much ceremonial. (fn. 167) Rooms were prepared for him 'on the
further side of the quadrant' hung with rich tapestry
and furnished with 'Beddes of astate.' In the evening
the guests visited the queen's chamber where the king
danced with his seven-year old daughter Elizabeth,
afterwards the wife of Henry VII. The governor
heard mass in the royal chapel and afterwards received
as a gift from the king a gold cup adorned with pearls
and with a piece of unicorn's horn, which was said to
be a protection against poison. Later he went hunting in the Little Park, riding the king's own horse,
which Edward presented to him. They dined in
the royal lodge and hunted again in the afternoon,
slaying half-a-dozen bucks which they coursed with
greyhounds and buckhounds. In the evening the
king showed his guest his garden and 'Vineyard of
Pleasour,' and the day ended with a great banquet
in the queen's chamber, which was evidently the
largest room then existing in the castle. The elaborate furnishing of the guests' beds, with their coverlets of cloth of gold furred with ermine, testers of
shining cloth of gold and curtains of white sarcenet,
their baths, in which they remained 'as longe as was
there Pleasour,' and their final meal of 'grene gynger,
divers Cyryppes, Comfyttes and Ipocras,' are all
minutely described. (fn. 168) A full account of the celebration of the feast of St. George in 1476 has been
given by Stow. (fn. 169)
The king's last visit to Windsor seems to have
been in August 1480. (fn. 170) He died on 9 April 1483,
leaving directions in his will that his body should be
buried in St. George's Chapel 'lowe in the grounde
and upon the same a stone to be laied and wrought
with the figure of Dethe.' The effigy on his tomb
was to be of silver or at least copper gilded, and
places for twelve persons to sit or kneel were to be
provided near the tomb. The monument was made
before the king's death, but was apparently never
completed, and it remained without an inscription.
A gorgeous coat of mail, adorned with gold, pearls
and rubies, which had belonged to the dead king,
hung above his tomb until the chapel was plundered
by the Cromwellian soldiers. An account of the
king's funeral, which took place at Windsor on 14
April 1483, has already been printed several times. (fn. 171)
Appointments to the usual minor offices are found
at this time. (fn. 172)
William Lord Hastings, who was executed by order
of Richard Duke of Gloucester, was buried at Windsor
in June 1483, and the chapel of St. Stephen, often
called the Hastings Chapel, was built to his memory
by his widow and son.
The appointment of a virger to carry the rod before
the king on the feast of St. George is the only other
notice of the brief reign of Edward V that has been
found. (fn. 173)
During the first disturbed years of his reign
Henry VII was very little at Windsor, and in later
life he preferred his palace of Sheen, later re-named
Richmond. There are contemporary accounts of the
splendid way in which Henry VII kept the feast of
St. George at Windsor in 1488. (fn. 174) The king was at
the castle again at Whitsuntide and in November of
the same year. Ambassadors from Portugal were
entertained there in 1489 and a treaty of peace
was signed there in August. (fn. 175) Elizabeth widow of
Edward IV was buried at Windsor in 1492 with
much less than the usual pomp and ceremony, at
eleven o'clock at night. Her body was brought to
Windsor by water, and was taken through the Little
Park to the castle without any tolling of bells. Two
days later three of her daughters came to take part in
services, the queen, who was indisposed, being absent. (fn. 176)
The narrative by Richmond Herald of the visit
of Philip and Juana of Castile to Windsor in 1506
gives a word picture of the interior of the castle. (fn. 177)
The story shows the two kings—Henry had gone to
meet his guest—alighting at the 'first gate' of the
castle and passing through the 'Neder Gallery'
towards the hall, where a magnificent array of plate
was on view, then up the stairs and through the upper
gallery to the king's great chamber. They passed
through three bedchambers in the king's New Tower,
to a fourth which was hung with rich cloth of gold
bordered with crimson velvet, where the King of
Castile was lodged. Among the other rooms mentioned
are the king's 'Secrete Chamber,' his dining chamber,
and an inner chamber opening from it where the
royal ladies sat, the closets in which both kings heard
mass in private, and a room for playing tennis with a
gallery for spectators. The narrative gives details
of the amusements provided by Henry for his guest,
hunting in the park, masques, dancing, tennis-playing,
and 'baiting a horse with a bear,' and of the elaborate
courtesies exchanged by the two kings. The visit
included the installation of the King of Castile as a
knight of the Garter with great splendour.
In 1510 Henry VIII paid his first visit to the
castle which is associated with many of the chief
events of the reign. (fn. 178) We hear of the king 'exercising himself daily in shooting, singing, dancing,
wrestling, casting of the bar, playing at the recorders,
flute, virginals, in setting of songs and making of
ballards; he did set two full masses, every of them
with five parts, which were sung oftentimes in his
chapels.' (fn. 179) The young king and his brilliant court
were often at the castle in the early years of the
reign. (fn. 180) Thomas Heneage wrote of him thus to
Wolsey: 'His Grace, euery after noone, when the
wether ys any thyng feyer, dooth ride ffurthe on
hawking or walkyth in the Parke, and cummyth not
inne ageyne till yt be late in the evenying.' (fn. 181) The
king sent many gifts of stags from Windsor to his
friends, and when he was in residence at other palaces
vension was sent to him from here. (fn. 182)
In 1517 the king was here much longer than usual
to avoid the sickness which was raging in London. (fn. 183)
He was at the castle from January to Easter in the
following year, (fn. 184) and received the Venetian ambassador in June 1519. (fn. 185)
The feasts of St. George were kept with great
splendour. The crowd of nobles and courtiers who
rode with the king to Windsor in May 1519 was so
great that each nobleman was restricted to a certain
number of horses according to his rank, 'in consideration of a scarcyte and straitnes of Lodgings as well as
in avoyding and eschewing of the corrupt air,' a duke
being limited to sixty horses for himself and his train,
a marquess to fifty and so according to their rank. (fn. 186)
In 1522 the Emperor Charles V visited the king
and was entertained at Windsor. After two days'
hunting in the park, on Sunday night there was a
'disguising' in the great hall of the castle followed
by a masque. The emperor as a knight of the Garter
attended services in St. George's. (fn. 187) The Treaty of
Windsor (19 June 1522) signed on the occasion, (fn. 188) providing that the emperor should marry the Princess
Mary, was later repudiated by Charles. (fn. 189)
It was at Windsor that Henry received as a present
from the new Pope Clement VII 'a tree forged of
fine gold and wrought with branches, leaves and
flowers resembling Roses … in the uppermost Rose
was a faire Sapphire … of the bigness of an acorn,'
which was given into the keeping of the master of
the jewel house.
Henry Duke of Richmond, the king's illegitimate
son, spent much of his time at Windsor, and the
poems of his friend the Earl of Surrey contain many
allusions to the time they had spent together at
'proud Windsor' and 'the large green courts' where
they had lingered 'with eyes cast up into the
Maidens' Tower.' (fn. 190) Richmond was installed a knight
of the Garter in June 1525. (fn. 191) A visit of French ambassadors to Windsor took place early in 1528. They
went, by Henry's desire, to hunt in the park there,
'which place with the order thereof they much
commended,' and were entertained at dinner in the
lodge. (fn. 192) Francis I of France was installed by proxy
on 28 January 1527–8.
Henry was often at Windsor in the following years, (fn. 193)
and the chronicler Hall reports that Henry left Queen
Katherine at Windsor on 14 July 1531 without
saying good-bye to her, and that after this day 'the
king and she never saw together.' Though it has
been shown that the date given by Hall is inexact,
it is clear that the separation between the king and
queen took place about this time. (fn. 194) Anne Boleyn
had accompanied the king when he left Windsor on
17 July, and in August the queen was ordered to
leave the castle. (fn. 195) Anne Boleyn was created Marchioness
of Pembroke in 'the chamber of Salutation which
they commonly call the Presence' (fn. 196) at Windsor on
1 September in the following year, in the presence of
the French ambassador and a great train of nobles.
Henry and Anne were at Windsor in July and
August 1533, during an outbreak of the sweating
sickness. They left at the end of August, going by
water to Westminster, the court on the last Sunday
of the visit being entertained at dinner by the Dean
of St. George's Chapel. (fn. 197) In 1535 the king was at
Windsor in June and July, going thence on a progress
to the West, (fn. 198) and in October he was there again
when the King of Scotland was installed by proxy a
knight of the Garter. (fn. 199) In September 1535 the adjournment of Parliament to Windsor was rumoured. (fn. 200)
At the time of the Pilgrimage of Grace, in 1536,
the king was at Windsor, and ordnance and ammunition were sent to the castle by his orders. (fn. 201) A Windsor
butcher who showed sympathy with the rebels was
hanged on a new gallows set up at the end of the
drawbridge across the castle ditch, just before the gate
of the castle. Henry stayed at Windsor till December,
but went to Greenwich for Christmas. (fn. 202)
In September 1537 the plague appeared in the
castle; one of the vicars choral fell sick and was sent
off to Bray. (fn. 203)
In November Queen Jane Seymour was buried at
Windsor in the quire of St. George's Chapel. The
funeral train, consisting of most of the great nobles of
the court and their attendants, with the Princess
Mary as chief mourner, and 200 poor men wearing
the late queen's badge, entered Windsor on the
evening of Monday 12 November. The mayor and
brethren, with lighted torches, met the procession at
the bridge foot, and the dean and chapter met it at
the outer gate of the castle. (fn. 204) The burial took place
on the following day; the usual effigy was borne
above the coffin, dressed in robes of state with a
golden crown on its head, a sceptre in its right hand,
the fingers covered with jewelled rings. (fn. 205) The Princess
Mary stayed with the king at Windsor until the New
Year. (fn. 206)
Embassies from Bavaria, Saxony and Cleves visited
Henry in the autumn of 1539. (fn. 207) On 24 September
the treaty relating to the king's marriage with Anne
of Cleves was signed at the castle. (fn. 208)
In August of the following year the king was at
Windsor with his new queen Catherine Howard, and
he seems to have stayed there until November, many
Privy Council meetings being held in the castle. (fn. 209)
A man who had 'spoken unfitting words of the
queen's grace' and a page who spoke traitorous words
against the king's majesty were imprisoned in the
castle at this time. (fn. 210) During the latter part of this
visit an outbreak of plague in London seems to have
affected Windsor to some extent.
In August 1542 the ambassador of the King of
Scots was with Henry at Windsor, meeting with an
ill reception, a place of confinement being prepared
for him in one of the towers, on the pretext that he
had only come to spy. (fn. 211)
From September to November 1545 the king was
at Windsor, and the Privy Council met there many
times.
In September the king ordered that Parliament
should meet at Windsor on 23 November, but on
6 October he changed his mind and directed that it
should meet at Westminster as usual. (fn. 212)
At the king's death the body was brought from
London to Windsor on 16 February 1547, the
funeral train being four miles long. (fn. 213) The royal tomb,
the model for which is described in detail by Speed, (fn. 214)
was never finished.
Inventories of 'the stuff of the Wardrobe of Beds'
at Windsor in 1539 and 1543 survive. (fn. 215)
In 1540 a number of manors were annexed to the
lordship of Windsor Castle by Henry VIII: the
manors of Langley Marish and Wyrardisbury in
Buckinghamshire and Cookham and Bray in Berkshire, which had been held by Queen Jane Seymour;
the manors of Taplow and Upton, with the parsonage
of Upton, which had belonged to the monastery of
Merton; the manor of Datchet in Buckinghamshire
which had belonged to the nunnery of St. Helen's,
London; and the manors of Holmer and Burnham,
which had belonged to the monastery of Burnham. (fn. 216)
During his short reign Edward VI spent little time
at Windsor, his visits taking place in the summer. (fn. 217)
Somerset's misgovernment and his usurpation of
supreme power led to remonstrances from the other
members of the council who had been named as
executors in the late king's will and appointed joint
guardians of the young king. Anticipating attack,
the Protector suddenly moved the young king from
Hampton Court to Windsor on the night of Sunday,
6 October 1549. The Protector's next actions gave
grave ground for suspicion. He threw into the castle
a strong force of his own supporters, sent letters to
the leaders of the army which was suppressing the
Devonshire rising urging them to come to Windsor,
and to the Lord Mayor of London asking for a force
of 1,000 men. Further, the king's guards were removed from attendance, the Protector surrounded
himself with his own guards, all fully armed, and
proclamations were issued in the king's name ordering his subjects to rise and 'defend the Crown.' (fn. 218)
There was a rumour that Somerset meant to take the
king out of England. (fn. 219) The situation was critical,
but the lords acted promptly. The provisions necessary for the king's presence, neglected by Somerset
in his sudden move, were sent to the castle by order
of the council, and a force of yeomen of the guard
were dispatched to serve the king. (fn. 220) Sir Philip Hoby
was sent to Windsor to ask for an audience, which
the king granted him and 'most gentlie heard all he
had to say.' After hearing Hoby's report the council
wrote strongly remonstrating on the state of affairs at
the castle: 'It appearith very straunge unto us and a
grete wonder to all true subjects that you will either
assent or suffer his Majesties most royall persone to
remaine in the garde of the Duke of Somersett's men,
sequestred from his olde sworne servants. It seemith
straunge that in his Majesties owne Howse strangers
should be armed with his Majestie's owne armour,
and be nearest abowte his Highnes persone.' (fn. 221) As
a result, on 10 October 1549 the Protector was
ordered from the king's presence, while guards were
placed in attendance.
Edward was again at Windsor in the course of a
royal progress in July 1550. (fn. 222) His last visit seems
to have been in September 1552; he died on 6 July
following at Greenwich. (fn. 223)
Little is heard of Windsor during the reign of
Mary, who spent most of her time at Greenwich. (fn. 224)
In April 1554 Cranmer, Ridley and Latimer were
brought to the castle on their way from the Tower
to a disputation at Oxford. (fn. 225) In May the Princess
Elizabeth, escorted by Sir Henry Bedingfield, came
through Windsor on her way from the Tower to
Woodstock, but instead of being given apartments
in the castle was lodged in the Dean of Windsor's
house, 'a place,' says Holinshed, 'more meet indeed
for a priest than a princess.'
After Mary's marriage with Philip of Spain at
Winchester on 25 July 1554, the king and queen
visited Windsor, arriving there on 3 August. Philip
was installed a knight of the Garter on Sunday
5 August, being invested with the mantle and collar
of the order by the queen. (fn. 226)
The date of Elizabeth's first visit to Windsor after
her accession is uncertain. Among the guests received
at the castle from his brother, the King of Sweden,
who was a suitor for the queen's hand. The queen
was at Windsor for a short time in August 1560. (fn. 227)
In September 1563, when the queen was at
Windsor, (fn. 228) there was an outbreak of plague in the
capital, and the queen was advised to stay at the
castle until the beginning of November. Elizabeth
remained at Windsor for the rest of the winter,
spending much of her time in study under Roger
Ascham, who eulogized her diligence. 'I believe,'
he said, 'that beside her perfect readiness in Latin,
Italian, French and Spanish, she readeth here now at
Windsore more Greek every day than some Prebendarie of this church doth read Latin in a whole
weeke.' (fn. 229) The Earl of Leicester could give another
account of the queen's occupations at Windsor—hunting in the forest 'having great sport' and killing
a 'great and fatt Stagge' with her own hand, which
Dudley sent by the queen's order to the Archbishop
of Canterbury, parboiled for its better preservation,
'because the wether was woght and the Dere somewhat chafed.' (fn. 230)
The treaty with France was solemnly published in
Windsor on 22 April 1564, 'in the Quene's Majesties
presence going to the church, having with her Majesty
the French Ambassador so as nothying wanted to shew
contentation.' (fn. 231) On the following day Charles IX
of France was chosen as a member of the order
of the Garter, being installed by proxy in January
1565–6. (fn. 232)
The queen was often at Windsor in the autumn,
but the celebrations of the feast of St. George in the
spring were discontinued after 1567, (fn. 233) when by a
change in the statutes of the order of the Garter it
was ordained that the feast might for the future be
celebrated wherever the sovereign might happen to
be. (fn. 234) The Earl of Northumberland was degraded
from the order of the Garter after his rebellion in
1569, (fn. 235) the knight's achievements being taken down
from above his stall in the chapel and thrown out
into the castle ditch. (fn. 236) Elizabeth spent the autumn
of 1570 at Windsor. According to Strype her
'learned studies' continued, and she spent hours every
day in private reading Greek and studying divinity
and philosophy. (fn. 237) Plays were several times presented before the queen by the children of Windsor. (fn. 238)
In the autumn of 1572 the queen was at Windsor,
suffering from an illness which seemed to be a form of
small-pox, (fn. 239) and she was at the castle in the summer
or autumn of the following years. (fn. 240) During an outbreak of plague in London in the autumn of 1577
the queen spent a long time at Windsor, (fn. 241) being
persuaded to remain there by her advisers, who
reported that 'it much misliketh the queen not to go
somewhere to have change of air.' (fn. 242) She amused
herself by interviews with Dr. Dee, an astrologer who
lived at Mortlake and several times rode over to
Windsor by the queen's command. (fn. 243) Ambassadors
from the emperor and from Don John of Austria were
at the castle at the beginning of this visit. (fn. 244)
Plague broke out in Windsor in September 1582,
but the queen came there in the December following. (fn. 245) During the trial of Mary Queen of Scots in
1586 Elizabeth was at Windsor, where she was in
residence from August to November. (fn. 246) A visit from
the Viscount of Turenne was the chief incident of
the year 1590; 'he had access,' we are told, 'to
the queen, in her gallery—divers Lords and Ladies
being by.' (fn. 247) Elizabeth was at the castle in September and October of this year. (fn. 248) In 1592 the queen
celebrated her coronation day by a 'great triumph' at
Windsor with a 'course of the Field and Tourney.' (fn. 249)
The queen spent the following summer and autumn
at Windsor, when owing to the prevalence of plague
in London no one from the capital was allowed to
come to Windsor, and remained until after Christmas, though she nearly left the castle in a panic in
November owing to a page dying of plague in the
keep. (fn. 250) Elizabeth had been occupying herself by
translating the De Consolatione of Boethius, which she
began on 10 October and finished on 8 November,
working an hour and a half a day and doing the whole
in twenty six hours. (fn. 251)
Elizabeth's careful lord treasurer, anxious to
diminish 'the access of a great multitude' to Windsor,
drew up a memorandum of the officers of the household, the lords and ladies and their attendants who
had lodgings in the castle, and the number of persons
lodged in the town who were not attending in the
household. (fn. 252)
In May 1601 Robert Lord Burghley and the Earl
of Derby were installed by the queen as knights of the
Garter. (fn. 253) Elizabeth's last visit to Windsor seems to
have been in the autumn of the following year, (fn. 254) when
she made a progress to Windsor and Reading.
During the rebellion of 1569 ordnance, ammunition
and other warlike provisions were sent to the castle. (fn. 255)
The armoury was viewed and set in order in 1584 and
1587, (fn. 256) and in the Armada year armour and ammunition were sent from Windsor to the Tower. (fn. 257) Among
the prisoners were Papist recusants found in possession
of Popish books and 'lewd trash.' (fn. 258)
The account of a visit by one Paul Hentzer to
Windsor in 1598, which was translated by Walpole,
gives interesting particulars of the interior of the
castle, and contains descriptions of the two bathrooms
ceiled and wainscoted with looking-glass, of the room
in which Henry VI was born, of a room containing
the beds of Henry VII, Elizabeth of York, Henry VIII,
Anne Boleyn and Edward VI, 'all of them eleven feet
square and covered with quilts shining with gold and
silver.' In addition he mentions some French tapestry, a cushion 'curiously wrought by Queen Elizabeth,' and 'the horn of a unicorn, of above eight
spans and a half in length, valued at about £10,000,'
which was among the treasures of the castle. (fn. 259)
King James with his liking for 'chasinge away
idlenes by violent exercise and early rysinge' resided
constantly at the castle, (fn. 260) where he hunted several days
a week in the park, which was well stocked with both
deer and wild boars. (fn. 261) His first visit seems to have
taken place in June 1603, a few months after his
accession, his last in September 1624, six months
before his death. (fn. 262)
The first court at Windsor in July 1603 was
marked by some 'squaring between our English and
Scottish lords, for lodging and other petty quarrels,'
and by a dispute between Lord Southampton and
Lord Grey in the queen's presence, which went so
far that the lords were sent to their lodgings under
guard. (fn. 263) Prince Henry was admitted to the order
of the Garter at this time, winning golden opinions
for his 'quicke wittie answers and princely carriage.'
The court ladies appearing on this occasion are described as 'being all of them most sumptuous in apparel
and exceeding rich and glorious in jewels like the
wearers,' (fn. 264) but in general there seems to have been
some diminution in the splendour and extravagance
of the Garter feasts during this reign. In 1619 the
king issued an order forbidding any knight of the
Garter from having more than fifty attendants,
whereas in the preceding reign each knight had a
multitude of attendants, all of them in their chains
of gold. 'I do believe,' says one observer, 'that I
have seen at some times very near ten thousand chains
of gold stirring.' (fn. 265)
Many foreign ambassadors were received by James
at Windsor, and masques and plays were given for
their entertainment. There is a notice of the performance of Ben Jonson's masque The Metamorphosed
Gipsies in July 1621. (fn. 266) In 1606 the queen's brother,
Christian IV of Denmark, visited the king at Windsor,
being installed a knight of the Garter. During a
visit in September 1618, when the Archbishop of
Spalato was his guest, a Frenchman forced his way
into the king's presence, and was arrested as a
suspicious character. (fn. 267) The French Ambassador was
received in audience at Windsor in September 1619,
and hunted with the king in the park, starting at
seven o'clock in the morning. (fn. 268) In August 1622,
when the Spanish Ambassador was being entertained
at the castle, we are told that Prince Charles and the
Duke of Buckingham swam every evening in the
Thames near Eton, but 'so attended with choice
company and a boat or two that there could be no
danger.' (fn. 269) In the following year the king was at
Windsor suffering from gout, but going hunting
nevertheless. He used a strange remedy for his
gouty feet; it was his habit 'to bathe them in every
buck's and stag's belly in the place where he kills
them.' (fn. 270) In July 1624 the French Ambassador was
entertained at the castle, and the last reference to the
king at Windsor is characteristic. He wrote making
an appointment to meet the Duke of Buckingham to
hunt in Windsor Park with 'Kate and Sue'—the
Duchess of Buckingham and the Countess of Denbigh—'with thaire bowes.' (fn. 271) James died on 5 March
following.
Charles I seems to have been in residence at Windsor every year in the late summer and autumn. (fn. 272)
During the king's first visit after his accession the
plague broke out in several houses in the town, and
the king left for Hampton Court. In December he
was back at the castle for the installation of certain
new knights of the Garter. (fn. 273)
In 1625 £400 was set aside for the armoury of
the castle. This had been an annual allowance
since 1608. (fn. 274) In 1631 a commission was appointed
to examine into the frauds and abuses of the castle
officers. It was reported that the revenues of the
castle were insufficient owing to 'the contention
of officers therein who load themselves with employments and consume the revenues in delays.' A receiver
was appointed for three years to put things right. (fn. 275)
In 1638 Prince Charles was installed as a knight
of the Garter. (fn. 276)
The fountain set up by Mary was taken down in
1635, (fn. 277) and it was designed that a new one should
be put up bearing 'statues of Hercules worrying of
Antaeus as if by squeezing of him ye water comes
out of his mouth,' but the design was not carried
out. (fn. 278) A clock was put up in the tower in 1636, the
bell of which bore the inscription 'God save our
King Charles, God save my Lord the King.' (fn. 279)
With the beginning of the Civil War period
Windsor Castle became again, perhaps for the last
time in its history, of great importance as a stronghold. On 12 January 1641–2, after the failure
of his attempt to seize the five members, King
Charles withdrew first to Hampton Court and
then to Windsor, where he might be 'more secure
from any popular attempt' than he could be in the
rebellious capital. (fn. 280) On 14 January the Commons
heard with disquietude that the king was concentrating troops at Windsor. Parliament remonstrated
against this, 'it causeth much wonder at this time, a
Parliament sitting, that such forces should be levied
and all at Peace,' and the Commons ordered that
measures should be taken for the defence of the City.
Some sudden movement on the king's side was evidently
feared, but the king remained quietly at Windsor,
receiving messages and deputations from Parliament
until the middle of February, when both the king
and queen left the castle, Charles proceeding to
Hampton Court and thence to York and Henrietta
Maria to Holland. (fn. 281)
The position of Windsor, 'a place of greatest
strength in this part of the kingdom, by reason of the
heighth and strength, the country lying under it so
that the castle can command it round about,' made
the possession of it a matter of the first importance,
and on 28 October 1642 it was occupied without
resistance by Parliamentary troops under Colonel
Venn, who was later one of the regicides. (fn. 282) The
pillage of St. George's chapel followed. (fn. 283)
An unsuccessful attack was made on the castle by
Prince Rupert on 14 November; his troops, finding
they made no impression on 'stone walls, rocks and
inaccessible places,' desired to go where they might
do the cause better service. (fn. 284) In November proposals
were made for a settlement, and the king asked that the
troops should be withdrawn from the castle of Windsor, where he proposed to take up his residence and
negotiate with Parliament, (fn. 285) but Parliament was unwilling to relinquish control of 'so considerable a
place … whilst there was only hope of a peace.' (fn. 286)
Windsor was the head quarters of the Parliamentary
forces under the Earl of Essex in the following winter,
the rest of Berkshire being in the king's hands. (fn. 287) The
troops destroyed 500 head of deer in the park, burnt
the park palings and did much wanton damage. (fn. 288)
Fifty-five Royalist prisoners were brought to Windsor
in January 1642–3, when it was reported that the
castle was in need of repair, not being 'so well fitted
for the safe keeping of them as is requisite, the quality
of the persons considered.' (fn. 289) The unhappy prisoners
were without beds until they were given permission
to provide them at their own expense. (fn. 290) When
hostilities were resumed (fn. 291) in April 1643, Essex with
an army of 16,000 foot and more than 3,000 horse
and an excellent siege train (fn. 292) supplied from the
Tower and other Parliamentary arsenals, marched
from Windsor to the siege of Reading.
In June 1643 the Windsor Castle plate was sent
north for the pay of the Parliamentary army. (fn. 293)
There are many notices of military stores and arms
being sent to the castle, (fn. 294) but owing to the chronic
money difficulty the House of Commons passed a
resolution in April 1644 that the garrison should be
disbanded with a month's pay, marching out with
two drakes, but leaving the rest of the artillery in the
castle. (fn. 295) The City of London petitioned against this,
and the garrison remained, but things grew so bad that
Venn began organizing searches for the property of
delinquents in Berkshire which might be confiscated. (fn. 296)
In April, June and July 1644 the Windsor garrison did
some service in the field. (fn. 297) In October the House resolved
that the garrison should be reduced to 200 soldiers,
in addition to officers, the cost of which was to be
£88 9s. 8d. weekly. (fn. 298) The next difficulty was a
mutiny of the garrison which took place in November. (fn. 299) The governor was threatened with violence,
and the House resolved that speedy measures were to
be taken for the safety of the castle, 'the House being
very sensible of the present and imminent danger that
place lies in.' (fn. 300) About the same time the governor,
Venn, was employed convoying ammunition in rowing
boats up the river to Reading. (fn. 301) In January 1644–5
a troop of horse was quartered near the castle for the
service of the garrison, (fn. 302) and the governor was ordered
to augment the garrison by taking in soldiers, 'not
raw countrymen.' It was provided in March that
£150 a week out of the Excise should be assigned
for the pay of the Windsor garrison. (fn. 303)
In the spring of this year royal Windsor became
the scene of the making of the New Model Army,
which was to bring defeat to the king. Fairfax
superintended the training of the troops in the Great
Park (fn. 304) where he was visited by Oliver Cromwell,
and in April twenty-one regiments of disciplined
troops, displaying the royal colours, left Windsor for
the west. (fn. 305) The force that remained behind was
augmented, and the town of Windsor was strongly
garrisoned, (fn. 306) a company of Middlesex foot being sent
there in November for its better security. (fn. 307)
In June 1645 Venn was replaced as governor of
the castle by Colonel Whitchcott, and in November
and December a rumour that an attack by the king
was imminent led to the reinforcement of the garrison. (fn. 308) The pay of the garrison being as usual in
arrears, Parliament in March of the following year
ordered the brass statue of St. George on horseback,
set up in the reign of Henry VIII, to be sold 'to
the best advantage of the State,' together with other
brass images, which, if they might be used in any
'superstitious manner,' were to be defaced before
being sold. The proceeds of this spoliation were
handed over to the governor for the garrison. At
the same time a collar of SS., a George and a
garter found in the castle were confiscated and a
search was made for a sum of £2,500 which was
said to be 'hidden underground in some private
place in or about Windsor Castle.' (fn. 309)
The fortifications undertaken at Windsor Castle
were stopped in February 1646–7, and the House
divided on the question of reducing the garrison,
which, however, was maintained at its old level. (fn. 310)
On 1 July 1647 King Charles was brought as a
prisoner to the castle, but he only remained there
two days, moving to Lord Craven's house at Caversham
on 3 July. (fn. 311)
In the winter of 1647 Windsor was the head
quarters of the Parliamentary army, and the castle
was the scene of some important meetings between
Cromwell and Ireton and other 'inspired persons.' (fn. 312)
The general council of the army assembled in the
town hall of Windsor on 25 November. There was
an important meeting on 5 December, when attempts
were made to put an end to the dissensions among
the Parliamentary leaders. (fn. 313) The order of Parliament for the disbanding of the army was discussed,
and a conference between Cromwell and other
officers and Parliamentary commissioners followed on
9 December. A little later the army council met in
the castle, (fn. 314) and there were many 'exhortations to
unity and affinity,' followed next day by a solemn
fast. There was a 'sweet harmony among the
officers, and Cromwell, Ireton and others prayed
very fervently and pathetically.' (fn. 315) At a three days'
prayer meeting held later in the castle the army
council decided that those 'cursed carnal conferences' with the king were at the root of their
difficulties, and that it was their duty 'to call that
man of blood, Charles Stuart, to an account for the
blood he had shed and the mischief he had done
against the Lord's cause.' (fn. 316)
In May 1647 Fairfax and a large army left
Windsor for the north. (fn. 317) It was ordered that £1,500
from the Berkshire sequestrations should be paid to
the governor, but its execution was delayed for two
years. (fn. 318) Whitchcott complained in July 1648 that
the castle was 'full of want and full of danger'; he
feared more from the discontented soldiers within
than from the enemy outside, and pressed again for
a grant of money. (fn. 319) To increase the governor's
difficulties the prisoners captured by Cromwell in
Scotland were sent south to join the Royalist prisoners
already in the castle, (fn. 320) and later in the same year 'four
barges full of Scotch prisoners' were sent down the
river from Windsor to Gravesend to be transported
to America, where they were sold as slaves. (fn. 321)
On 23 December King Charles was brought from
Hurst Castle to Windsor, guarded by Colonel
Harrison and ten troops of horse. (fn. 322) It was reported
that the king was 'indifferent cheerful,' and on his
arrival many of his subjects went out to see him pass
at the bottom of Sheet Street, and 'upon his Majesty's
passing by, a great echo arose from the voyce of the
people crying God bless your Majesty and send you
long to reign.' (fn. 323)
The House of Commons ordered that the governor
should be allowed £15 a day for the expenses of the
king and his attendants, with another £5 for fire and
candles for the guard. The 'malignants' among his
attendants were to be dismissed by the governor. (fn. 324)
No one was allowed to see the king without permission from Cromwell or the Speaker of the House of
Commons, and it was ordered that his attendants
should no longer kneel. 'Since the king came to
Windsor,' it was reported, 'he shews little alteration
of courage or gesture.' (fn. 325) On Friday, 19 January, the
king was removed from Windsor to St. James's
Palace. (fn. 326)
On the night of the king's execution the Duke of
Hamilton and Lord Loughborough escaped from the
castle; but Hamilton was captured in Southwark,
and was executed on 9 March. Parliament ordered
that the king's body should be buried at Windsor
'in a decent manner, provided that the whole expense
should not exceed £500,' (fn. 327) and on 7 February the
body was brought to Windsor, where it lay that
night in the king's bedchamber. On the following day
it was taken into St. George's Hall. The Marquess
of Hertford, the Earls of Southampton and Lindsey,
and Juxon, Bishop of London, with great difficulty
chose a place for the interment in St. George's chapel,
as the spoliation of the church and destruction of its
furniture had made 'such a dismal mutation over the
whole that they knew not where they were.' (fn. 328) At
last a vault was found in the middle of the quire
where Henry VIII and Jane Seymour had been buried.
On 9 February the coffin was brought across from
the great hall to the chapel, the black velvet pall
being whitened by thickly falling snow. The king's
body was laid to rest 'in silence and sorrow,' the
governor having refused to allow the bishop to use
the service from the Book of Common Prayer. (fn. 329)
The coffin was inscribed 'King Charles, 1648.' (fn. 330)
A conspiracy by the Levellers, who hoped to
surprise the castle, was discovered in September
1649, (fn. 331) and a little later the pipes conveying water
to the castle were maliciously cut, the offenders being
sent to Reading Gaol. (fn. 332) A mile of piping was later
taken up, some of the lead being used on the repair
of the castle and some sent to London to bring
water from Hyde Park to Whitehall. (fn. 333)
In June 1649 the House of Commons had passed
a resolution that Windsor Castle should not be sold,
but should be 'kept for the public use of the
Commonwealth,' (fn. 334) but in November 1652 a resolution authorized the sale of various royal castle for
ready money. Windsor very narrowly escaped this
fate, being exempted from the Bill embodying this
resolution by a majority of one vote only. (fn. 335) Two
years later Windsor Castle was included among the
royal palaces to be kept unsold for the Protector's use.
Evelyn, who visited the castle at this time, writes
of it thus: 'The castle itself is large in circumference,
but the rooms melancholy, and of ancient magnificence.
The keep or mount hath besides its incomparable
prospect a very profound well, and the terrace towards
Eaton with the park, meandering Thames, and sweet
meadows, yield one of the most delightful prospects.' (fn. 336) In December 1651 many of the hangings
were removed from the castle; they were described
as 'five pieces of hanging of Triumphs, 6 pieces of
David, Nathan, Abigail, and Solomon, 7 of siege of
Jerusalem, 5 of Astyages and Goddesses.' (fn. 337) Three
years later the hangings that remained were sent to
adorn 'the Speaker's room adjoining the Parliament
House.' (fn. 338) Some years earlier a jewel worth £6,000
was found in the castle and sold by order of the
Parliament. (fn. 339)
Oliver Cromwell visited Windsor in 1657, just
after he had been confirmed in the title of Lord
Protector. (fn. 340) After his death, in September 1658,
nothing is heard of the castle for some time except
the usual complaints by the governor about arrears
of pay. There were rumours that Richard Cromwell
meant to secure himself at Windsor, and other
rumours of 'attempts by the enemy.' (fn. 341) In December
1659 Colonel Whitchcott surrendered the castle to a
troop of volunteer horse, who demanded its surrender
for the use of the Parliament. (fn. 342) The Commons
endorsed this action, though the constable, Whitelocke,
seems to have feared that the surrender of the castle
might be an inopportune proof, on the eve of the
Restoration, of his zeal for a 'free Commonwealth.' (fn. 343)
On 12 May 1660 the mayor and aldermen, who
had proclaimed King Charles II at the market-house
at Windsor Bridge, and then at the gates of the
castle, were 'desired by the officers that were in ye
castle to come into the castle and there to proclame
King Charles the Second in the castle, wch was also
ther allso proclaimed with great Joye.' (fn. 344)
Among the Royalist prisoners in the castle during
the Commonwealth were the Duke of Buckingham,
the Earls of Lauderdale, Crawford, Lindsey, Kelly
and Rothes, Lord Sinclair, and many officers of the
king. But in 1651 the rumour of 'a design among the
prisoners' caused the removal of many of them to distant castles, Warwick, Ludlow, Arundel, and elsewhere. (fn. 345) There were many less distinguished prisoners,
such as a man arrested by the governor for drinking the
health of Charles Stuart by the name of Charles II,
and a number of Scotch prisoners, 'suspected priests,'
men who distributed seditious papers, and others. (fn. 346)
The restoration of Windsor Castle to its former
state and dignity as a royal palace followed immediately on the king's return. (fn. 347) It involved the expulsion from the castle of a number of poor women and
children, who in their destitute state were commended to the care of the county justices. (fn. 348) Furniture and hangings were recovered to some extent,
and the 'great unicorn's horn' was brought back in
May 1660. (fn. 349) The king's first visit took place in April
1661, when a chapter of the Garter was held once
more after many years, and twelve new knights
companion—many of them elected during the king's
exile—were installed. (fn. 350) Windsor became the king's
chief residence during the summer months, (fn. 351) and it
was with the view of providing for the constant
entertainment of the Merry Monarch's gay court
that the great additions to the fabric of the castle
were made in this reign.
Besides the feasts of St. George, the court functions and banquets, the king found at Windsor opportunities for hunting, fishing near Datchet, hawking
along the river banks and horse-racing on the Flats,
the Datchet Ferry plate being run annually on
24 August. (fn. 352) A new court was made for tennis, one
of Charles's favourite games (fn. 353) ; cock-fighting was
also a fashionable amusement. (fn. 354) The king constantly
took very long walks in the park, where he began
many improvements. A house at Windsor, known
from her son's title as Burford House, was allotted
to Nell Gwyn. (fn. 355) Among the guests entertained
were William of Orange, who visited the castle in
1670 and again in 1681, (fn. 356) and the Duchess of
Orleans, whose visit in 1670 was connected with the
negotiation of the secret Treaty of Dover. (fn. 357) When
at Windsor in the summer of 1679 the king fell ill, a
cold being followed by ague. (fn. 358) The Duke of York,
who had been sent abroad on account of the Parliamentary agitation for his exclusion, alarmed by the
unfavourable news of the king's state, and unwilling
to be out of England if the king were dying, returned
immediately, and on receiving a letter from King
Charles appeared at the castle. (fn. 359) In a few days,
however, Charles recovered. On 15 September the
Lord Mayor of London with the aldermen arrived to
congratulate the king, 'which expression of their duty
and affection his Majesty was very well pleased with,'
and two days later the king left for Whitehall. (fn. 360)
During the latter part of this visit a supposed plot
to assassinate the king at Windsor by three Irishmen
and one Englishman was mentioned in a proclamation.
It is probable that this was one of the alleged ramifications of the spurious Popish plot which was distracting
England at this period. (fn. 361)
In the following year the king had another attack
of ague when at Windsor, and in May 1682 he was
again ill there. (fn. 362) After a later visit in this year
King Charles set out from the castle for London at
two o'clock in the morning. (fn. 363)
An elaborate representation of the siege of Maestricht in the meadows below the Long Terrace
amused the court one night in August 1674. The
Dukes of York and Monmouth took part in the
mimic siege; 'bastions, bulwarks, ramparts, palisadoes,
graffs, hornworks, counterscarps' were constructed;
there was a moat 12 yards wide, great guns were fired
and mines sprung to the delight of a thousand spectators. (fn. 364)
During the king's visits a daily post between
Windsor and London was instituted, beginning about
1674. (fn. 365)
The experiments with Sir Samuel Morland's water
engine for supplying the castle with water in 1681
and 1682 are related at length in the London Gazette.
The whole court assembled to watch the water being
forced up to a height of 66 ft. above the castle. The
engine proved quite satisfactory. It filled the great
eistern of the castle, which was in the middle of the
upper quadrangle below the king's statue, and also the
'New Pond,' 500 yards away in the park. Morland
for this achievement was decorated by the king with
a gold medal. (fn. 366)
The London Gazette of May 1682 gives an amusing
account of the visit of the ambassador of the 'King
of Bantam' to King Charles at Windsor. (fn. 367) This
was the king's last stay at the castle.
Lord Mordaunt, the constable, was deprived of his
office in 1668 under disgraceful circumstances. In
addition to interfering with the Parliamentary elections
in the borough he behaved oppressively towards a Mr.
Tayleur, (fn. 368) a faithful Royalist, who was paymaster and
surveyor of the castle. (fn. 369) He deprived Tayleur of
office, illegally imprisoned him, turned him out of his
lodgings in the castle, made dishonourable proposals
to his daughter, and persecuted the whole family. (fn. 370)
Mordaunt's impeachment led to a dangerous dispute between the two Houses. (fn. 371) During an adjournment the king deprived Lord Mordaunt of his office,
and the matter was allowed to drop. Mordaunt
received a royal pardon in July, and Tayleur was
restored to the office of surveyor. (fn. 372) Mordaunt's
successor was Prince Rupert, who by a separate
instrument to his creation as constable was appointed
governor or lieutenant of the castle. From this date
onward these two offices, formerly distinct, have been
conferred on the same individual. (fn. 373)
Prince Rupert was a very active constable and gave
great attention to the arms and warlike stores. (fn. 374) He
adorned the hall of his lodgings in the Round Tower
'with furniture of arms … so disposing the pikes,
muskets, pistols, bandeliers, holsters, drums, back,
breast and head pieces … as to represent festoons,
and that without any confusion, trophy like.' (fn. 375) The
three companies of Guards that formed the garrison
of the castle formerly had their quarters in the town,
but by Prince Rupert's order, given in 1670, one
company was quartered in the trench of the castle
keep. (fn. 376) About the same time the constable ordered
all leases of land in the castle ditch to be surrendered
and regranted, to be held during the king's pleasure
only, not for terms of years or for life. (fn. 377)
It was reported in 1669 that 1,270½ oz. of plate
had been 'lost or wasted' since the Restoration, but
the loss was not regarded as unusually heavy owing to
the plate having been used 'in hazardous services,'
such as the coronation and the feasts of St George,
in which pilfering seems to have been looked for. (fn. 378)
Under the provisions of the 'Clarendon Code' the
gaol of the castle was filled with Protestant Dissenters,
who held 'unlawful conventicles.' (fn. 379) Henry Martin,
the regicide, was also committed together with various
men who were accused of sedition, 'high misdemeanours,' or who were thrown into prison without
knowing the charge against them. (fn. 380)
Part of the castle ditch on the east side was filled
up in 1676, when the terrace was enlarged. (fn. 381)
The statue of Charles II in Roman dress, which
now stands on the west side of the quadrangle of the
castle, was set up in the centre of the court in 1680
at the cost of Tobias Rustat, the statue being of
copper on a pedestal of white marble carved by
Grinling Gibbons. (fn. 382)
James II paid his first visit to Windsor in July
1685, staying there from 4 August to 9 September (fn. 383)
and from 18 September to 6 October. (fn. 384) In the following year the king came to Windsor on 13 May to
see his daughter the Princess Anne, who had given
birth to a daughter in the castle the day before. He
spent most of August and September at Windsor, (fn. 385)
and while he was in residence the Dean and Chapter
of St. George's were discharged from attendance, the
services being performed by Roman Catholic priests.
Vestments and other ornaments were provided for
the chapel from the Secret Service payments. (fn. 386) An
organ was brought from Winchester, and the ceiling
of the tomb-house, where the services were held,
was decorated by Verrio.
In July 1687 the king, who had been at Windsor
reviewing troops in June, (fn. 387) went a step further, and
gave public audience at the castle to the Papal nuncio,
who came in great state with an imposing retinue in
a procession of thirty-six coaches, each drawn by six
horses, accompanied by the lord chancellor and
other great officers of state. (fn. 388) The town of Windsor
was thronged with sightseers, as no Papal nuncio had
been given a state reception since the reign of Queen
Mary. James was at Windsor during part of August
and September in this year. In July and August of
the following year (1688) the king and queen were
in residence and the infant Prince of Wales was in
August lodged with the Princess Anne, who was living
in the house which had once been Nell Gwyn's. (fn. 389)
At a council meeting held at Windsor on 24 August
1688, in spite of the strong opposition of Jeffreys
and Father Petre, the king decided on calling a
Parliament. (fn. 390) He left Windsor for Whitehall on
18 September, but on 18 November he was back at the
castle on his way to join his army at Salisbury, where
troops were being concentrated to resist William of
Orange, who had landed in Torbay on 5 November. (fn. 391)
The Prince of Wales was brought to the castle the
same day (17 November) on his way to Portsmouth.
The next morning the king left for Salisbury, and
never saw Windsor again.
On 14 December William of Orange with Bentinck
and his Dutch troops reached Windsor on his eastward march to the capital. (fn. 392) He stayed there four
days, being lodged 'below stairs in those rooms called
Will Chiffinch's and dining above in the king's
dining room.' (fn. 393) It was a very critical moment.
The king sent Feversham to Windsor to invite
William of Orange to Whitehall. The prince
answered by requesting the king to remain at
Rochester. Then came the king's attempt at flight,
the prevention of which greatly embarrassed William.
On Monday, 17 December, on the news of the king's
return to Whitehall, William held a council of all the
peers who were present at Windsor, including Halifax
and others, and decided to advance to Whitehall and
order King James to retire. (fn. 394) On Tuesday, the 18th,
William of Orange left Windsor for London. (fn. 395)
William III spent very little time at Windsor
Castle, (fn. 396) but during his absence the affairs of the castle
were managed by the very vigorous and competent
constable, Henry Duke of Norfolk. (fn. 397) Norfolk had
to make strong protests against the alienation by the
king of the rents assigned by an Act of Parliament of
32 Henry VIII to the maintenance of the castle and
forest. In spite of this King William in 1696
bestowed large portions of these rents on the Earl of
Portland and Lord Somers. (fn. 398) The matter was brought
up in Parliament, but no proceedings seem to have
followed.
The constable was also vigilant in preventing encroachments in the castle ditch, which formed the
boundary between the lands belonging to the castle
and the property of the town of Windsor and of Eton
College. In 1692 Sir Christopher Wren was directed
to make a survey of the castle ditch to prevent these
encroachments for the future. At the same time the
old system of leasing out portions of the ditch was
continued. In 1699, for instance, one Philip Lovegrove was licensed to plant a portion of the upper
part of the castle ditch as a garden, to be held by him
as tenant at the will of the constable. Licences were
even given for the erection of buildings within the
precincts of the castle itself. (fn. 399) Thus one Elizabeth
Edwards, a sempstress, was given leave to build a shed
(20 ft. by 3 ft.), apparently to be used as a shop,
inside the gate of the lower ward of the castle. (fn. 400)
After her reconciliation with King William in
1695, the Princess Anne and her husband usually
spent the summer at Windsor. The Duke of
Gloucester, their only surviving child, was installed
a knight of the Garter in 1696, though then only six
years old. He died at Windsor on 30 July 1700. (fn. 401)
Queen Anne spent a great part of every year at
Windsor Castle, (fn. 402) sometimes retiring for a few weeks at
a time to the house and gardens in the Little Park
which she had occupied before her accession. (fn. 403) She
was specially fond of hunting, and at other times rode
daily in the park. There are well-known stories of the
queen in her later years, following the stag-hunt in
Windsor Park in an open chaise or 'calesh—she
drives herself and drives furiously like Jehu.' (fn. 404)
The chapters of the order of the Garter were
held with great splendour, and the installation of the
Dukes of Hanover, Devonshire and Argyll in 1710
was described as 'the finest show that can be seen in
Europe.' (fn. 405) The only state entertainments recorded
in Anne's reign occurred in December 1703 on the
visit of the Archduke Charles, who had been declared
King of Spain with the title of Charles III. (fn. 406)
The victories of Marlborough are commemorated
at Windsor by the terms of the grant of the manor
of Blenheim to the duke in 1705. It was to be
'holden as of the castle of Windsor in common socage
by fealty,' the duke and his descendants rendering
yearly on 2 August (the anniversary of the battle of
Blenheim) a standard with three fleurs de lis. (fn. 407)
The Duke of Marlborough was followed in 1708
as ranger of Windsor Park by the duchess. She at
first refused to pay taxes for the two parks, and was
only prevailed on to do so with great importunity. (fn. 408)
During the height of Mrs. Masham's influence in
the summer of 1709 the queen was at Windsor, and
the Duchess of Marlborough reported that she stayed
there 'in the hot small house which made Prince
George pant for breath,' because Mrs. Masham could
privately introduce visitors from the garden. There
was an open rupture between the queen and the
duchess in August, and in the following April the
latter resigned her offices. (fn. 409)
On Christmas Day, 1713, the queen was at Windsor
seriously ill. An attack of ague at Windsor followed
a little later, and she died on 1 August in the following year. (fn. 410)
The water supply of the castle had again been taken
in hand. At the end of the reign of William III the
old well in the keep of the castle had been repaired,
and Morland's elaborate 'engine' must have still been
in existence. A new engine was, however, set up near
the river to supply the general needs of the castle,
while for the queen's private use water was brought
in pails to the castle from a well she had had made
near the village of Chalvey. (fn. 411) This rather primitive
arrangement was continued until the reign of
George III. (fn. 412)
George I was very seldom at Windsor. His neglect
of the place is mentioned by Lady Elizabeth Lechmere, who wrote in 1721 expressing her astonishment
that 'the king should not choose to be there sometimes;
it has so much more the air of a palace than his house
here, and the park's so beautiful there, and Hide Park
here, at his garden gate, so shamefully kept.' (fn. 413)
George II also cared little for Windsor, and, though
Walpole wrote in 1730 that 'his Majesty designed to
make Windsor the place of his chief residence in the
summer season,' (fn. 414) the notices of his visits there are
few. (fn. 415) The Windsor Medley contains 'choice pieces
of prose and verse' written during the stay of the
court at Windsor in 1730. No new works were
undertaken at the castle, which was only just kept in
repair. Owing to the amalgamation of the office of
works for the castle with the Board of Works in
general, which was made under royal warrant in
1715, even the most necessary outlay was only
authorized with great difficulty. (fn. 416)
George III was constantly at Windsor, (fn. 417) where he
took a very special interest in the great school at
Eton, which still celebrates his birthday. He lived
in great retirement, preferring the Queen's Lodge
(which he built in 1778 opposite the South Terrace)
to the castle. Madame D'Arblay's account of the
court at Windsor during the years 1785 to 1789,
of its dullness and tiresome ceremonial, is well known.
She gives a pleasant picture of the public promenades
of the royal family on the terrace, 'the good king, in
his light grey farmer-like morning Windsor uniform,
walking arm in arm with the queen and followed by
the princesses and the young princes, making a gay
and pleasing procession of one of the finest families in
the world.' (fn. 418) The king was extremely popular at
Windsor. His friendly and gracious manners endeared him to the people, and there are many
stories of the king and queen doing their shopping
in person in the borough, and of the king visiting an
old cottage woman and discovering how the apple
got inside the dumpling. (fn. 419)
The king so much preferred Windsor to London
that, even when he had to hold a levee at St. James's,
he would ride all the way from Windsor to London,
and when the ceremony was over set out to drive
back to Windsor at 6 o'clock in the evening. (fn. 420) He
seems to have had a rooted dislike for his capital and
had been heard to say that 'he would rather live in
Calcutta than in London, though he hated warm
weather.' (fn. 421) The king was at Windsor in October,
1788, when his mental disorder first declared itself, (fn. 422)
and on 29 November his physicians prevailed on him
to leave Windsor for the greater privacy of Kew. (fn. 423)
'Almost all Windsor,' we are told, 'was collected …
to witness the mournful spectacle of his departure,
which left them in the deepest despondence, with
scarce a ray of hope ever to see him again.'
The Prince of Wales had been summoned from
Brighton to Windsor as soon as the king's illness
declared itself, but his arrival added to the king's
delirium. The prince remained at the castle after
the king's removal, took over the direction of affairs,
and had all the king's jewels and papers sealed up. (fn. 424)
The king's recovery, which was announced on
10 March 1789, was followed by his immediate
return to Windsor, where there were great rejoicings,
bell ringing and fireworks. During subsequent illnesses George III was not at Windsor, but at Kew
or Weymouth.
Windsor in 1805 was the scene of a well-known
episode. On hearing of the archbishop's death, the
king instantly walked from the castle to the deanery,
called out the dean, Manners Sutton, and congratulated him as archbishop, in order to forestall Pitt in
making a nomination he disliked. (fn. 425)
On 25 October the king's jubilee was kept with
great public rejoicing. During the months' that
followed the king, who had become quite blind, lived
quietly at Windsor, riding in the park, walking on
the terrace of the castle and attending a daily service
in the chapel. Another attack followed, but by
May 1811 he had recovered and was able to ride in
the park at Windsor with a groom leading his horse.
In the last years of the king's life his disorder returned,
and he died on 29 January 1820, being buried in
St. George's Chapel on 16 February.
In 1784 a military hospital was built in the park
east of the Long Walk. This was later converted
into cottages, which were pulled down about
1850. (fn. 426)
The removal of the prison, which was situated near
the entrance to the Lower Ward, was effected some
time between 1790 and 1805, when the prison,
court room, &c., were converted to the use of the
garrison, a guard room, magazine and apartments
for officers of the guard being constructed. (fn. 427) The
other works of alteration, repair and reconstruction
under this sovereign and his successor are treated of
below. (fn. 428)
In 1826 the Princess Victoria, then aged seven,
visited George IV at Windsor, who during the alterations to the castle was living in the Royal Lodge in
the park, and the princess and her mother were
given rooms in Cumberland Lodge.
During the ministerial crisis over the Catholic
Relief Bill (1829), to which the king was bitterly
hostile, Wellington paid repeated visits to Windsor
and had interviews with the king of over five hours
in length. The king died at Windsor on 25 June
in the following year.
Of William IV at Windsor there is little to relate
except the ill-natured stories told in the Greville
Memoirs. One of the best authenticated of these
describes a speech made by the king at a birthday
dinner in the castle, 21 August 1836, when, in the
presence of a hundred people, he made a violent
attack on the Duchess of Kent, who was there with
the Princess Victoria, with the result that the princess
burst into tears. (fn. 429) He died on 20 June 1837, and
was buried at Windsor on 8 July.
On 22 August 1837 Queen Victoria came into
residence at Windsor for the first time since her
accession, holding her first military review in the
park on 28 September. The first royal guest entertained at Windsor was King Leopold of Belgium,
who was at the castle in September 1839. Prince
Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha came to Windsor
in the following autumn, and on 18 October a marriage
between him and the queen was arranged, though
not announced till November. On 10 February
1840, after their marriage in the Chapel Royal
of St. James's Palace,
the queen and her husband drove down to
Windsor, where they
remained for four days.
During the first
twenty years of the
reign the queen, Prince
Consort and court spent
many months of the year
at Windsor, the queen
having taken a dislike
to London and to 'the
extreme weight and
thickness of the atmosphere' in the capital. (fn. 430)
In 1840 the Prince
Consort established a
model farm for the purpose of breeding stock
and studying experimental agriculture. The
Prince of Wales was
christened in St. George's Chapel with great ceremony
on 10 January 1842. In June of the same year the
queen travelled from Windsor to Paddington by train—her first journey by rail.
In 1843 the Keppel estate was bought by the
Commissioners of Woods and Forests and added to
the royal demesne. (fn. 431)
Among the royal guests entertained at this period
were the Tzar Nicholas I, during whose visit in
June 1844 there was a great review in the park, and
Louis Philippe of France, who in October 1845
was invested with the order of the Garter in full
chapter, with a stately ceremonial revived after the
lapse of many years. Until 1848 the State entertainments at Windsor took the form of banquets,
balls and concerts, but in that year a performance of
The Merchant of Venice was given in the Rubens
room under the direction of Charles Kean. From
that date until the death of the Prince Consort plays
were given in the castle nearly every Christmas. (fn. 432)
The acquisition of Osborne in 1844 and of Balmoral in 1852 left the queen less time to spend at
Windsor.
In 1855 the Emperor Napoleon III and the Empress Eugénie were the queen's guests at Windsor,
where they were most brilliantly entertained, the
emperor being installed a knight of the Garter. The
Christmas season of 1860–1 was the last occasion of
gaiety at the castle for many years. On 14 December
in the following year the Prince Consort died
suddenly at Windsor. For the rest of her life the
queen wore mourning, and for many years lived in
complete seclusion. After the marriage of the Prince
of Wales, which took place in St. George's Chapel
on 10 March 1863, there was some slight mitigation
of this 'gloomy seclusion,' which was the
subject of much unfavourable comment at
the time, (fn. 433) but the queen
herself took no part in
the State balls and concerts, her place being
taken by the Prince and
Princess of Wales. During the later years of the
reign the castle was the
scene of several royal
marriages, of many reviews and some State
entertainments. Among
the royal guests who
visited the castle in
these later years were
the Shah of Persia and
Alexander II of Russia.
The death of Queen
Victoria, which took
place 22 January 1901,
was followed by a stately
funeral at Windsor, the queen being buried in the
Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore on 4 February.
The new reign saw great changes at Windsor.
The castle was entirely redecorated, and the king,
on the comparatively rare occasions of his visits to
Windsor, displayed his 'natural gift for brilliant
hospitality.' It became the king's custom to entertain his royal guests at the castle in November. The
King and Queen of Italy were there in November
1903; in the following year the King and Queen of
Portugal. The castle formed a stately setting for
these entertainments, the most splendid of which
took place in November 1907, when the German
Emperor and Empress, the King and Queen of Spain,
Queen Amelie of Portugal and many other royalties
were present. Command performances of successful
plays were usually given on these occasions.
On 12 February 1901 Queen Alexandra was
created a lady of the Garter.
One of King Edward's last visits was in June 1909,
when he presented colours to the Territorial Army.
The king's funeral, on 20 May 1910, was attended
by the German Emperor, the Kings of Norway, Denmark, Greece, Spain, Bulgaria, Portugal and Belgium.
On 10 June 1911, a few days before the coronation
of His Majesty King George V, Edward Prince of
Wales was installed a knight of the Garter in
St. George's Chapel. The service, which was attended
by many companions of the order, was an impressive
display of ancient and dignified ceremonial.
The following is a list, as complete as can be
compiled from sources at present available, of the
castellans, keepers and constables of Windsor Castle:
Walter Fitz Other, 1086 (fn. 434) ; William Fitz Walter,
1100; Hugh Pudsey, Bishop of Durham, 1190 (fn. 435) ;
constableship seized by William Longchamp, Bishop of
Elv, 1191 (fn. 436) ; William Earl of Arundel, 1191 (fn. 437) ;
William Longchamp again seized the office, 1191 (fn. 438) ;
Walter Archbishop of Rouen, 1191–3 (fn. 439) ; Hubert
de Burgh, 1200 (fn. 440) ; John Fitz Hugh, 1201 (fn. 441) ; Robert
de Vipont, 1204 (fn. 442) ; John Fitz Hugh, 1205–16 (fn. 443) ;
Engelard de Cygony, 1216 (fn. 444) ; Stephen Langton,
Archbishop of Canterbury, 1223–4; William de
Rughedon, Osbert Giffard, 1224 (fn. 445) ; Ralph Tirel,
1224 (fn. 446) ; William de Millers, 1228 (fn. 447) ; Waleran Tyes,
1231; Alan de Crepping, 1231 (fn. 448) ; Stephen de
Segrave, 1232 (fn. 449) ; Henry de Passelewe, before 1234 (fn. 450) ;
Engelard de Cygony, 1234 (fn. 451) ; Bernard of Savoy,
1242 (fn. 452) ; Peter of Geneva, 1248 (fn. 453) ; Maud de Lacy,
widow of Peter of Geneva, 1249 (fn. 454) ; Aymon Thurumbert, 1257 (fn. 455) ; John de Sancta Elena, 1261 (fn. 456) ;
Giles de Argentein, 1263 (fn. 457) ; Drew de Barentyn (fn. 458) ;
John Fitz John, 1264 (fn. 459) ; John of London, 1266 (fn. 460) ;
Ebulo de Montibus, 1266 (fn. 461) ; Nicholas de Yatingdon,
1269; Hugh de Dyne, 1269 (fn. 462) ; Geoffrey de Picheford, 1272 (fn. 463) ; John of London, 1298 (fn. 464) ; Roger le
Sauvage, 1305 (fn. 465) ; Robert de Haustede, 1308 (fn. 466) ;
Warin de Lisle, 1309 (fn. 467) ; Oliver de Bordeaux, 1319 (fn. 468) ;
Ralph de Camoys, 1319 (fn. 469) ; Thomas de Huntercombe,
1326 (fn. 470) ; John de Lisle, 1327 (fn. 471) ; Thomas de Foxle,
1330 (fn. 472) ; Richard de Vache, 1360 (fn. 473) ; Thomas Cheyne,
1365 (fn. 474) ; Helming Legatte, 1369 (fn. 475) ; Sir Simon
Burley, 1377 (fn. 476) ; Thomas Tyle, 1389 (fn. 477) ; Peter de
Courtenay, 1390 (fn. 478) ; Sir Hugh de Waterton, 1405 (fn. 479) ;
Sir John Stanley, 1409 (fn. 480) ; John Wintershull (deputy
constable), 1413 (fn. 481) ; Sir Walter Hungerford (afterwards Lord Hungerford), 1423 (fn. 482) ; Edmund Earl of
Dorset, 1439 (fn. 483) ; William Lord Nevill of Fauconberg
and John Lord Berners, jointly, 1455 (fn. 484) ; Thomas
Bourchier (jointly with his father John Lord Berners),
1472 (fn. 485) ; Sir John Elrington, 1483 (fn. 486) ; Thomas
Windsor, 1484 (fn. 487) ; Sir Thomas Bourchier, 1485 (the
office was confirmed to him jointly with Giles Lord
Daubeney in 1493) (fn. 488) ; Sir Thomas Bourchier jointly
with Henry Earl of Essex, 1511 (fn. 489) ; Henry Earl of
Devon, afterwards Marquess of Exeter, 1525 (fn. 490) and
1538 (fn. 491) ; Robert Earl of Leicester, 1559; Charles
Lord Effingham (created Earl of Nottingham in
1596), 1590 (fn. 492) ; George Duke of Buckingham, 1624;
Henry Earl of Holland, 1628 (fn. 493) ; Philip Earl of
Pembroke, 1648 (fn. 494) ; Bulstrode Whitelocke, c. 1653 (fn. 495) ;
John Viscount Mordaunt, 1660 (fn. 496) ; Prince Rupert,
1668 (fn. 497) ; Henry Duke of Norfolk, 1689 (fn. 498) ; George
Duke of Northumberland, 1701; Henry Duke of
Kent, 1714; Richard Lord Cobham, 1717 (fn. 499) ; Charles
Earl of Carlisle, 1723–30 (fn. 500) ; Charles Duke of St.
Albans; George Earl of Cardigan, 1752; James Earl
of Cardigan, 1791; Charles Earl of Harrington,
1811; Prince Ferdinand Victor of Hohenlohe,
1867 (fn. 501) ; John Douglas Sutherland Campbell, 1892,
styled Marquess of Lorne, succeeded as ninth Duke
of Argyll, 1900, who is the present constable.
The service of ward at the castle was a condition of
the tenure of much of the land in the neighbourhood
of Windsor. The Abbot of Abingdon owed the
service of thirty knights; Henry de Pinkeney, William
de Windsor and many others also owed ward at the
castle. (fn. 502) The castle-guard rents and other services were
in 1255 put into the keeping of the king's serjeant. (fn. 503)
When commuted, the castle-guard rents were often collected by the sheriff and handed by him to the constable. (fn. 504)
A court for the castle and honour of Windsor was
held from the earliest times, and references to it are
frequent from the 13th century onwards. (fn. 505) One
court was held at Datchet and another in the castle.
The jurisdiction of the castle court extended over
almost the whole forest of Windsor, the borough of
New Windsor being excepted. (fn. 506) It included the
seven hundreds of Cookham and Bray, the hundred
of Ripplesmere and Wargrave and parts of the
hundreds of Sonning and Beynhurst, together with
manors in Bucks., Surrey and Wilts. (fn. 507)
Frogmore House
Among the payments due to the castle under the
terms of the original grants were the two Indian
arrows (fn. 508) tendered on Easter Tuesday by which the
province of Baltimore was held, and the two beaver
skins by which the province of Pennsylvania was held.
The arrival of the latter on New Year's Day, 1753,
formed the subject of an anxious letter from the deputy
governor to the constable. He could not find that
they had ever been tendered to his predecessors, and
as they were undressed he was anxious for instructions
as to how to dispose of this awkward form of tribute.
There is a record of these skins being presented in
1754 and 1758. (fn. 509)
As already stated, the manor of Woodstock is
held by the Duke of Marlborough by the service of
rendering a flag of fleurs de lis on the anniversary
of the battle of Blenheim. The Duke of Wellington
holds the manor of Stratfieldsaye by the similar
service of depositing annually in Windsor Castle a
tri-coloured flag on the day of Waterloo.
The estate of FROGMORE HOUSE in Windsor
Park has always belonged to the Crown. In the
16th, 17th and 18th centuries it was frequently
granted out on long leases. Thus in 1590 Humphrey
Michell obtained a lease of the property, which was
described as the capital messuage of Frogmore. (fn. 510)
Henry Sadock was lessee in 1617 (fn. 511) ; in 1624 it was
leased to William Holt and William Gwynne for
thirty-one years. In the survey of 1649 it is described as a 'decayed messuage.' (fn. 512) At the accession of
Charles II, in 1661, it was leased to Thomas Howell
for twenty-two years. (fn. 513) He must have surrendered
this lease, for in 1672 Richard Francklyn obtained a
thirty-one years' lease of Frogmore, (fn. 514) which in 1684
was granted on lease to Elizabeth Francklyn, widow,
together with William Aldworth. (fn. 515) The latter in
1688 became sole lessee, (fn. 516) and his lease was renewed
in 1700, (fn. 517) though the house itself was for some time
occupied by George Fitzroy, Duke of Northumberland, a natural son of Charles II. He died in 1716.
Frogmore House was held under lease from the
Crown in the reign of George III by Mrs. Egerton.
The lease was bought by Queen Charlotte in 1800;
the house was rebuilt and gardens were laid out. (fn. 518)
Frogmore was often the queen's residence. (fn. 519) She
obtained a lease of it for ninety-nine years in 1809,
for the lives of herself and her daughters, and after her
death (17 November 1818) it was often occupied by
the Princess Augusta Sophia. (fn. 520) On her death the
lease was purchased by the Commissioners of Woods
and Forests and surrendered to the Crown, the house
with its gardens and grounds of about 33 acres being
appropriated to the use of the sovereign, becoming an
appendage to the castle, and being maintained and
regulated, like other royal palaces, by the Commissioners of Woods and Forests. (fn. 521)
It was made over in September 1840 to the
Duchess of Kent, who occupied it until her death in
1861. It afterwards became the residence of Albert
Edward Prince of Wales, whose eldest son Prince
Albert Victor was born there in January 1864, and
was later occupied by Prince Christian.
The history of ST. GEORGE'S CHAPEL before
the reign of Elizabeth has been treated in an earlier
volume. (fn. 522)
In 1571 the canons of Windsor were petitioning
for exemption from payment of the subsidy. It was
pointed out that they had only 40s. corpus and 12d.
a day when present, that they had to augment the
salaries of choristers and virgers, that repairs cost them
£900 and more yearly, and that they had various
other expenses. (fn. 523) The dean was much occupied in
lay affairs. In 1576 he was specially commended for
his diligence in apprehending a man who was found
in possession of a counterfeit seal of the Admiralty, (fn. 524)
but next year the dean and chapter were warned not
to try and evade contribution to the cost of the
musters for Berks., 'stayenge them selfes uppon their
privileges.' (fn. 525) In 1579 the dean was ordered to see
to a Scotchman who had been preaching and uttering
'leude and disordered speeches.' (fn. 526) A little later he
was to persuade Lord Paget, then in custody at
Windsor, to conform to the established church, (fn. 527)
and in 1588 he was ordered to examine the parson
of Sonning, who was reported to have 'badde and
Papistycall bookes and other lyke trompery.' (fn. 528)
There was an amusing dispute between the Crown
and the dean and chapter over liability for the repair
of one of the outer walls of the castle which fell down
in 1603. (fn. 529) It was decided that the liability for repair
lay with the Crown, but at the date of Norden's
Survey the wall was still unrestored and the canons
were seeking in vain to have it repaired. One of
their body thought that the cause of their nonsuccess was that their 'wit was bounded with honesty,'
but their attempt at bribing one of the officials was
not very encouraging—they gave a purse of gold, but
got no help. (fn. 530) The spot where the wall was rebuilt
can still be identified. (fn. 531)
During the reign of James I efforts were made to
provide new plate for the chapel, to make up for the
loss of that sold in the reign of Edward VI. Subscriptions were raised from the knights of the Garter,
but the work was not actually taken in hand until
1635, when a Nuremberg artist, Christian Van
Vianen, was commissioned to make several new
pieces of plate, £600 being advanced to him. Two
years later Van Vianen had finished nine pieces of
silver-gilt plate, elaborately chased with 'Scripture
Histories.' Prince Charles gave two silver-gilt basins
to commemorate his installation in 1638, and later
two large candlesticks, two book covers and two large
flagons were added. The total weight of these seventeen pieces, all of which were of Van Vianen's
workmanship, was 3,580 ounces 7 pennyweights, at
a cost of £1,564 6s. (fn. 532)
The dean complained bitterly in 1637 about the
intrusion of improper persons into the chapel, who
made the royal closet 'a common passage to the
leads between the chapel and the tomb house' and
picked out whole panes of the painted glass of the
east window. The king ordered that locks and keys
should be provided for the chapel. (fn. 533) Immediately
after the occupation of the castle by the Parliamentary forces in 1642 the chapel was plundered of all
its plate with the exception of two flagons and two
chalices, the door of the chapel treasury being burst
open by one Captain Fog. (fn. 534)
The Dean and Canons of St. George's were
expelled from their houses by the governor, Colonel
Venn, under an ordinance of April 1643 for seizing
the lands of Papists, bishops, deans, deans and chapters
and notorious delinquents. (fn. 535) They had petitioned
Parliament for exemption as they did not bear arms,
and the Speaker of the House of Lords directed the
governor not to molest them as long as they lived
quietly, but the governor seems to have decided that
it was unsafe for them to remain, and by May they
were leaving their homes and asking for permission to
take their goods with them. (fn. 536) In spite of the order
of the House of Lords that 'no disorders or disturbances' were to be made in the chapel, it was
plundered by Venn. All the ornaments of the chapel
were seized, the rich service of gold plate and the
historic relics, including the coat of mail and surcoat
of Edward IV, were seized, woodwork was torn up,
and the organ and stained glass windows were
destroyed. The plate was melted down, coined and
sent northwards to Fairfax for the army.
By the personal exertions of the dean, Dr. Christopher Wren, certain of the chapel records were
saved from destruction. He also saved the valuable
garter set with diamonds which had belonged to
Gustavus Adolphus by burying it beneath a floor, but
it was unfortunately discovered before the end of the
war. (fn. 537)
In December 1643 the House of Commons directed
the governor to remove all 'scandalous monuments
and pictures' from the chapel. (fn. 538) The work of
destruction was so thoroughly done that in 1649 the
chapel was unrecognizable by those who had known
it well. (fn. 539)
After the dean and chapter had been driven out,
many of their dependants were left in a miserable
position, and the choristers petitioned Parliament for
relief. (fn. 540) A sum of £50 yearly from the sequestrated
revenues of the chapter was assigned in 1646 to the
maintenance of ministers in the parish church; and
certain persons, who included Sir Robert Bennet, kt.,
and Mr. Brown the butcher, were appointed to
'performe or officiate the lecture' in the parish
church. (fn. 541) In April 1648 the Lords recommended
that three ministers should be appointed to preach at
Windsor, £100 a year being assigned to each. (fn. 542)
Trustees were appointed in 1650 for the sale of
the lands of the dean and chapter. (fn. 543) In 1655 it was
arranged that part of the former revenues of the
dean and chapter should be assigned to the Poor
Knights, and that the remainder should go to charitable purposes, the sum of £200 being assigned to
'the Commissioners for the Approbation of Public
Preachers.' (fn. 544) Some of the tithes belonging to the
college were assigned to the Windsor almshouses. (fn. 545)
Cromwell is said to have used his influence to prevent
further spoliation of the chapter and of their chapel,
and in 1658 the governor was actually applying for
money for the repair of the chapel. (fn. 546)
The restoration of St. George's Chapel to something of its former splendour was undertaken immediately after the king's accession. The knights of
the Garter gave subscriptions 'with cheerful and
ready consent,' and by 1667 there was again a full
service of plate, including a pair of plain flagons, a
pair of flagons adorned with the figure of St. George
on horseback, a pair of chalices, a large embossed
basin and a small basin, another pair of basins given
by the Duchess of York, and a large pair of candlesticks. (fn. 547) The last named may be identified with the
large silver-gilt candlesticks presented by the king,
together with two silver book covers, in 1665. (fn. 548)
At the same time two pieces of tapestry to hang
behind the altar were given to the chapel. (fn. 549)
In 1661 it was ordered that on the feast of
St. George a hymn should be sung in the chapel
instead of the usual Litany, and a couple of years
later an organ was placed in the chapel. (fn. 550)
The dean of the chapel petitioned in 1662 for a
visitation of the chapel by the Lord Chancellor; he
spoke of abuses in the government of the chapter,
'some preaching false and heterodox doctrines, and
questioning the authority under which they are.' (fn. 551)
The visitation took place, but nothing of importance
seems to have resulted from it.
The MILITARY KNIGHTS or POOR KNIGHTS
OF WINDSOR were founded by Edward III in
1348. The Letters Patent founding the college of
St. George's Chapel, Windsor, (fn. 552) provided that twenty-four Poor Knights who were impotent or necessitous
should be maintained out of the revenues of the
college and should be under the command of the
warden of the college. (fn. 553) Four years later the number
of Poor Knights was increased to twenty-six, possibly
to correspond with the number of companions of
the order of the Garter, who each presented one
knight at the institution of that foundation. (fn. 554) In
1373 the king ratified his grants by a charter, which
was confirmed in 1378, 1400, 1413 and 1423. (fn. 555)
Subsequently the successive sovereigns filled up
vacancies in their number. Records of such presentations are constantly found on the Patent and
Close Rolls. (fn. 556) Poverty as well as past service in the
field was a condition for membership of the foundation; if one of the Poor Knights acquired property
worth £20 he was deprived of his place and someone else appointed. (fn. 557)
The Poor Knights resided in dwellings within the
castle walls, shared with the canons of St. George's
College the use of the garden on the south side of
the castle granted by Edward III (fn. 558) and also the last
of red herrings rendered annually by the corporation
of Yarmouth under the terms of a grant of 1352.
Before the end of his reign, in 1365, Edward III
resumed possession of the castle garden, granting to
the Poor Knights, choristers, &c., a garden in the
town of Windsor. (fn. 559)
The first of many disputes between the Poor Knights
and St. George's College seems to have arisen about
1378. The knights complained that the warden of
the college retained the fines paid by the knights
(12d. for each absence from chapel) which should
have been divided among the knights themselves and
also prevented the knights from having any share in
the offerings made by the Knights Companion of the
Garter. A full inquiry was made by the chancellor,
who decided in favour of the Poor Knights with
regard to the fines and their share in the offerings.
The chancellor, however, found the foundation in a
very unsatisfactory state. Two of the oldest of the
Poor Knights lived scandalously immoral lives, and
the chancellor ordered that in future on the third
offence they should be expelled from the college, the
royal licence being first obtained. (fn. 560)
In the reign of Edward IV an Act of Parliament
confirming a previous charter granted by the king to
the college contained a clause discharging the Dean
and Canons of St. George's of the burden of maintaining the Poor Knights, for whom, according to
the statute, the king had otherwise provided. (fn. 561) The
nature of this provision has not been found, but the
Poor Knights urgently pressed for the repeal of this
statute on the accession of Henry VII. They did
not succeed in this, and the dean in 1502 obtained
a confirmation of the charter of Edward IV. (fn. 562) The
position of the foundation must have been precarious,
but the usual appointments to vacancies took place in
the reign of Henry VII, and they must have been in
receipt of a regular income. A statement of their
income and expenditure in 1559 has been preserved. (fn. 563)
Under the will of Henry VIII 12d. a day was left
to each of the thirteen Poor Knights, with an extra
payment of £3 6s. 8d. yearly to the one to be chosen
as their governor. Each of the knights was to receive
once a year a white cloth gown embroidered with the
Garter and with the shield and cross of St. George
and a red cloth mantle. (fn. 564)
From the bequests to St. George's College under
this will £600 a year was devoted to the building of
dwellings for the Poor Knights on the south side of
the Lower Ward. (fn. 565) The work does not seem to have
been begun until the reign of Mary. By September
1558 the houses had been erected at a cost of
£2,747 7s. 6d. (fn. 566) There were twelve separate houses
and a square tower which contained the common
hall and kitchen and the governor's lodging. Much
of the stone was brought from the abbeys of Reading
and Wallingford. (fn. 567)
The new statutes of the order of the Garter drawn
up in 1552–3 do not mention the Poor Knights,
though the draft statutes mentioned them with the
provision that they should not use the 'superstitious
ceremonies' to which they had before been accustomed. (fn. 568) The revised statutes were annulled by Queen
Mary. On the completion of the new dwellings the
queen nominated nine of the thirteen knights to fill
them, and the assignment of lands for their maintenance was considered. The matter was delayed by
the queen's illness and death. (fn. 569) Elizabeth, however,
in the first year of her reign re-established the Poor
Knights as part of the foundation of St. George's
Chapel. (fn. 570) Each of them received £18 5s. yearly,
their governor taking £3 6s. 8d. in addition, and
they were each entitled to a coat or gown of red
cloth with a mantle of blue or purple cloth. At the
same time the queen issued a set of rules to govern
the foundation, which are still in force. (fn. 571)
This allowance was doubled by James I, who provided that each knight should be paid an additional
£18 5s. from the Exchequer. (fn. 572) A fee of £6 13s. 4d.
for each of the Poor Knights is entered on the castle
accounts. (fn. 573) This seems to have been an additional
grant from the Crown.
During the reign of Charles I, by the bequest of
Sir Francis Crane, who died in 1635, £1,500 was
left to build dwellings within the castle for five Alms
Knights, each of whom was to receive an allowance
of £40 annually. (fn. 574) There was some delay in carrying
on the buildings, caused partly by the negligence of
Crane's executor and partly by the outbreak of the
Civil War. (fn. 575) King Charles, however, recognized the
five knights as an addition to the existing foundation,
and contemplated bringing up the number to twentysix as originally settled. The war, however, frustrated
this intention. (fn. 576) In this disturbed period the Poor
Knights underwent some vicissitudes. In June 1647
the House of Lords ordered that the Poor Knights
should be maintained from the proceeds of the sequestrated livings and that they should not be turned out
of their dwellings, or should be given the profits
obtained by keeping prisoners in these dwellings. (fn. 577)
In September 1654 the House of Commons ordered
that the Poor Knights should still be maintained, but
in April 1657 this ordinance was discussed in the
House of Commons, a Devonshire member, one
Captain Hatsell, asserting that many poor parishes in
Devon were 'robbed' to provide maintenance for
these 'thirteen gentlemen.' He argued that it was
'robbing the soul to clothe the body,' and urged that
the maintenance of a minister should be provided out
of the Poor Knights' allowances. The House, however, resolved not to diminish the sum allowed for
their maintenance. (fn. 578)
In 1655 a commission reported that the manor of
Carbrooke in Norfolk was by the terms of Sir Richard
Crane's (fn. 579) will bound to the payment of £200 yearly
for the support of the Alms Knights and the rest of
Sir Richard Crane's estate was liable to provide the
sum required for completing the unfinished buildings.
The buildings were finished in 1656. (fn. 580)
After Cromwell attained supreme power as Lord
Protector he issued an ordinance to regulate the
foundation. The Poor Knights attended the Protector's funeral and were provided with suits of
mourning. (fn. 581) Once again before the Restoration the
question of the Poor Knights came before Parliament, which in September 1659 appointed a commission to inquire into the whole question of their
revenues and maintenance. (fn. 582)
For many years after the Restoration the history of
the foundation is uneventful. Under the will of
Samuel Travers, who died in 1725, money was
provided for an annual payment of £60 each to
seven gentlemen, for whom he hoped the king would
allow a building to be erected in or near Windsor
Castle. The testator desired that these gentlemen
should be added to the existing eighteen Poor
Knights, that they should be 'single men without
children, inclined to lead a virtuous, studious, and
devout life,' that they should live in a collegiate
manner and keep a constant table. He directed that
these knights should be lieutenants in the navy, chosen
by the Commissioners of the Navy, the lord high
admiral and the king. (fn. 583) This foundation was incorporated by George III in 1799 under the title of
'The Poor Knights of Windsor of the Foundation of
Samuel Travers.' The Patent of incorporation forbade
the knights to absent themselves for more than ten
days in the year or to haunt the town or taverns.
The governor, who was to be the senior in naval
rank, was to have authority over the rest, the knights
were to attend the feasts of St. George dressed in
naval uniform and have an allowance of food and
drink at the king's charge. (fn. 584)
Dwellings for these Naval Knights, as they were
sometimes called, were built in 1802, and their
incomes were increased by subsequent benefactions.
They were not connected with the older foundation
of the Poor Knights and are now dissolved.
In 1834 William IV changed the title of the Poor
Knights to that of the Military Knights, by which
they are now known. The present establishment
(1913) consists of a governor, twelve knights on the
royal foundation and four on the lower foundation.