Riverside west of the Tower, south bank. Windsor - sport and the castle
Riverside west of the Tower, south bank. Windsor - sport and the castle
This post gives sites only south (or in this case west actually) of the river. Sites to the north (or east) are in Datchet Mead
Post to the east Windsor Home Park bathing pond and Datchet
Post to the north Windsor Black Potts and Agar's Plough
Post to the west Windsor riverside and Castle and Eton
Home Park
Home Park is a private park in the Crown Estate and attached to Windsor Castle. This square covers the north section including the area adjacent to the Castle– about a third of the total area.
The North Slopes. This is a series of pleasure grounds on the chalk escarpment on which the Castle is sited. Paths zigzag down the wooded hillside to the Broad Water. Albert, The Prince Consort installed various structures, walks and planting in the 1840s. A lawn is now used as a school playing field. William III planned a formal Maastricht Garden, here designed by Henry Wise in 1701.The work was stopped by George I, but some remains can be seen from the air.
Slopes Lodge. Cottage
Broad Water. This is at the bottom of the north slopes and is lined with trees. It feeds a trout stream which is crossed by several small, stone, gothic-arched bridges
Public Recreation Ground. This is the north section of the Home Park and is now a public area north of King Edward VII Avenue.
Windsor Cricket Club. Thus was set up in 1995 following a merger between Windsor Victoria and Windsor and Eton Cricket Clubs. Their home ground is at the Home Park in Windsor. They also have a lively clubhouse with a bar open all year.
Datchet Dashers. This is a running club which uses the Cricket Club Clubhouse. They organise the Windsor Great Park Dash (formerly the Datchet Dash & The Dorney Dash).
Windsor Forest Bow Men. This archery club was formed in 1951. They cater for Recurve, Compound and Longbow as well as traditional (hunter type) and bare bow and field archery. They use St Stephen's Field, in the Home Park Recreation Ground.
Windsor Home Park Lawn Tennis Club. They have a clubhouse and courts next to the Rugby Club.
King Edward VII Avenue
Children’s Playground
Car Parks
Romney Lock Road
Windsor Rugby Football Club. This is an amalgamation of two clubs. There was a Windsor Rugby Football club in 1889 but thus disbanded in 1895. The current Windsor Rugby Club dates from 1922. The future King George VI was their patron and this continued. In 1961 they opened a Clubhouse in the Home Park and in 1987-8 amalgamated with the of Old Windsorians Rugby Football Club,
Home Park Lodge
Victoria Bridge.
Victoria Bridge. Along with Albert Bridge this was built to replace demolished Datchet Bridge.It was originally built in 1851 and partly paid for by the Windsor, Staines and Richmond Railway Company to allow them access to Windsor. This bridge was damaged by tanks movements during the Second World War. It remained in use until 1963 although subject to weight restrictions but was closed as cracks developed in the cast iron ribs. A Bailey bridge was installed by Royal Engineers above the bridge so that it could be removed. A new bridge was built in 1966 although a footbridge remained. The current bridge was opened in 1967 by Berkshire County Council, with consultants Mott, Hay and Anderson
Windsor Castle
The Castle is a large and complex structure. This square covers only the north east section. Other parts are in squares to the west and the south.
Windsor Castle. The castle was first built in the 11th by William the Conqueror to consolidate Norman dominance to the west of London and over the Thames. It is built on a steep chalk cliff which rises abruptly from the bank of the Thames and is protected by easily defended slopes on the east, south, and west. It has been used by English Monarchs since the reign of Henry I and is the largest and longest occupied castle in Europe. It was built as a standard motte-and-bailey, around a central mound with timber palisades which over time were replaced with stone fortifications. It withstood a siege during the 13th First Barons' War. Subsequently Henry III built a luxurious royal palace here and this was amplified by Edward III. In the Civil War it was used as a military headquarters for the Parliament forces. After the Restoration much of it was rebuilt with architect Hugh May. George II and IV rebuilt this at colossal expense. It became the centre for royal entertainment under Victoria and a refuge for the royal family during Second World War bombing campaigns. There was a bad fire in 1992.
Upper Ward. Thus includes a number of major buildings inside the upper bailey wall. The State Apartments are to the north with the private royal apartments and the King George IV Gate to the south, with the Edward III Tower in the south-west corner and the Round Tower to the west edge of the ward. It has been seen as a 19th creation by Jeffry Wyattville. The walls are of Bagshot stone characterised by the use of small bits of flint in the mortar to give stonework from many periods a similar appearance. The skyline is designed to be dramatic from a distance or in silhouette
The Round Tower. This is the oldest part of the castle , perched on a mound of earth made of spoil from its surrounding ditch. It was bult by Henry II in 1170 with Bagshot stone replacing a wooden keep. It had a number of major refurbishments in the intervening centuries. It is slightly oval in shape and lightly built compared to similar structures elsewhere – and there has subsequently been subsidence which there have been several efforts to control including major work on foundations as revealed by archaeologists. There is a 160ft well in a lower side room. Its current appearance is down Jeffry Wyatville for George IV and his ideas of what a castle ought to look like – this includes the gothic battlements. It was previously used as the Constable’s residence but it needed to fulfill people’s ideas of what the Royal Castle should look like – and is usually shown in art works as taller than it actually is. Today at its base is an external 'gallery'. If the castle was under attack and through the walls bowmen would be stationed here to supplement those in the keep. It is now called the 'cannonade' and has 16 18th bronze field guns. The castle's 15-metre flagpole stands above the tower and when first raised in 1892 coins were buried under it. In the 1970s the building was underpinned because of subsidence and then converted into space for the Royal Archives.
North Terrace with views, of the playing fields of Eton. It was constructed by Hugh May in the 17th
Statue. A bronze statue of Charles II on horseback sits beneath the Round Tower. It was cast by Josias Ibach in 1679, with the marble plinth featuring carvings by Grinling Gibbons. 19th accounts of the castle say that beneath this statue was a device from the 17th by Sir Samuel Moreland for raising water to the buildings.
State Apartments. These lie on the the north side of the quadrangle and follow the medieval foundations laid down by Edward III with services on the ground floor. To the west the layout is primarily the work of architect Hugh May but the east was done by Jeffry Wyatville who wanted each room to illustrate an architectural style. These have largely been remodelled following the 1992 fire and are less decorative to follow modern tastes
Private Apartments
Sources
British History Online. Web site
Castle Studies Group. Web site
Chelsea Speleological Society. Newsletter
Datchet Dashers. Web site
Historic England. Web site
Lasdun. The English Park
London Transport. Country Walks
Roberts. Royal Landscape
Thamesweb. Web site
Wikipedia. Windsor Castle. Web site
Windsor Cricket Club. Web site
Windsor Forest Bowmen. Web site
Windsor Home Park Lawn Tennis Club. Web site
Windsor Rugby Football Club. Web site
This post gives sites only south (or in this case west actually) of the river. Sites to the north (or east) are in Datchet Mead
Post to the east Windsor Home Park bathing pond and Datchet
Post to the north Windsor Black Potts and Agar's Plough
Post to the west Windsor riverside and Castle and Eton
Home Park
Home Park is a private park in the Crown Estate and attached to Windsor Castle. This square covers the north section including the area adjacent to the Castle– about a third of the total area.
The North Slopes. This is a series of pleasure grounds on the chalk escarpment on which the Castle is sited. Paths zigzag down the wooded hillside to the Broad Water. Albert, The Prince Consort installed various structures, walks and planting in the 1840s. A lawn is now used as a school playing field. William III planned a formal Maastricht Garden, here designed by Henry Wise in 1701.The work was stopped by George I, but some remains can be seen from the air.
Slopes Lodge. Cottage
Broad Water. This is at the bottom of the north slopes and is lined with trees. It feeds a trout stream which is crossed by several small, stone, gothic-arched bridges
Public Recreation Ground. This is the north section of the Home Park and is now a public area north of King Edward VII Avenue.
Windsor Cricket Club. Thus was set up in 1995 following a merger between Windsor Victoria and Windsor and Eton Cricket Clubs. Their home ground is at the Home Park in Windsor. They also have a lively clubhouse with a bar open all year.
Datchet Dashers. This is a running club which uses the Cricket Club Clubhouse. They organise the Windsor Great Park Dash (formerly the Datchet Dash & The Dorney Dash).
Windsor Forest Bow Men. This archery club was formed in 1951. They cater for Recurve, Compound and Longbow as well as traditional (hunter type) and bare bow and field archery. They use St Stephen's Field, in the Home Park Recreation Ground.
Windsor Home Park Lawn Tennis Club. They have a clubhouse and courts next to the Rugby Club.
King Edward VII Avenue
Children’s Playground
Car Parks
Romney Lock Road
Windsor Rugby Football Club. This is an amalgamation of two clubs. There was a Windsor Rugby Football club in 1889 but thus disbanded in 1895. The current Windsor Rugby Club dates from 1922. The future King George VI was their patron and this continued. In 1961 they opened a Clubhouse in the Home Park and in 1987-8 amalgamated with the of Old Windsorians Rugby Football Club,
Home Park Lodge
Victoria Bridge.
Victoria Bridge. Along with Albert Bridge this was built to replace demolished Datchet Bridge.It was originally built in 1851 and partly paid for by the Windsor, Staines and Richmond Railway Company to allow them access to Windsor. This bridge was damaged by tanks movements during the Second World War. It remained in use until 1963 although subject to weight restrictions but was closed as cracks developed in the cast iron ribs. A Bailey bridge was installed by Royal Engineers above the bridge so that it could be removed. A new bridge was built in 1966 although a footbridge remained. The current bridge was opened in 1967 by Berkshire County Council, with consultants Mott, Hay and Anderson
Windsor Castle
The Castle is a large and complex structure. This square covers only the north east section. Other parts are in squares to the west and the south.
Windsor Castle. The castle was first built in the 11th by William the Conqueror to consolidate Norman dominance to the west of London and over the Thames. It is built on a steep chalk cliff which rises abruptly from the bank of the Thames and is protected by easily defended slopes on the east, south, and west. It has been used by English Monarchs since the reign of Henry I and is the largest and longest occupied castle in Europe. It was built as a standard motte-and-bailey, around a central mound with timber palisades which over time were replaced with stone fortifications. It withstood a siege during the 13th First Barons' War. Subsequently Henry III built a luxurious royal palace here and this was amplified by Edward III. In the Civil War it was used as a military headquarters for the Parliament forces. After the Restoration much of it was rebuilt with architect Hugh May. George II and IV rebuilt this at colossal expense. It became the centre for royal entertainment under Victoria and a refuge for the royal family during Second World War bombing campaigns. There was a bad fire in 1992.
Upper Ward. Thus includes a number of major buildings inside the upper bailey wall. The State Apartments are to the north with the private royal apartments and the King George IV Gate to the south, with the Edward III Tower in the south-west corner and the Round Tower to the west edge of the ward. It has been seen as a 19th creation by Jeffry Wyattville. The walls are of Bagshot stone characterised by the use of small bits of flint in the mortar to give stonework from many periods a similar appearance. The skyline is designed to be dramatic from a distance or in silhouette
The Round Tower. This is the oldest part of the castle , perched on a mound of earth made of spoil from its surrounding ditch. It was bult by Henry II in 1170 with Bagshot stone replacing a wooden keep. It had a number of major refurbishments in the intervening centuries. It is slightly oval in shape and lightly built compared to similar structures elsewhere – and there has subsequently been subsidence which there have been several efforts to control including major work on foundations as revealed by archaeologists. There is a 160ft well in a lower side room. Its current appearance is down Jeffry Wyatville for George IV and his ideas of what a castle ought to look like – this includes the gothic battlements. It was previously used as the Constable’s residence but it needed to fulfill people’s ideas of what the Royal Castle should look like – and is usually shown in art works as taller than it actually is. Today at its base is an external 'gallery'. If the castle was under attack and through the walls bowmen would be stationed here to supplement those in the keep. It is now called the 'cannonade' and has 16 18th bronze field guns. The castle's 15-metre flagpole stands above the tower and when first raised in 1892 coins were buried under it. In the 1970s the building was underpinned because of subsidence and then converted into space for the Royal Archives.
North Terrace with views, of the playing fields of Eton. It was constructed by Hugh May in the 17th
Statue. A bronze statue of Charles II on horseback sits beneath the Round Tower. It was cast by Josias Ibach in 1679, with the marble plinth featuring carvings by Grinling Gibbons. 19th accounts of the castle say that beneath this statue was a device from the 17th by Sir Samuel Moreland for raising water to the buildings.
State Apartments. These lie on the the north side of the quadrangle and follow the medieval foundations laid down by Edward III with services on the ground floor. To the west the layout is primarily the work of architect Hugh May but the east was done by Jeffry Wyatville who wanted each room to illustrate an architectural style. These have largely been remodelled following the 1992 fire and are less decorative to follow modern tastes
Private Apartments
Sources
British History Online. Web site
Castle Studies Group. Web site
Chelsea Speleological Society. Newsletter
Datchet Dashers. Web site
Historic England. Web site
Lasdun. The English Park
London Transport. Country Walks
Roberts. Royal Landscape
Thamesweb. Web site
Wikipedia. Windsor Castle. Web site
Windsor Cricket Club. Web site
Windsor Forest Bowmen. Web site
Windsor Home Park Lawn Tennis Club. Web site
Windsor Rugby Football Club. Web site
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