A direct bus to Terminal 5 at Heathrow made Windsor a perfect stop before flying out. The castle houses some of the greatest treasures in Britain, there is a pleasant town, the Thames and the Royal Park for walks and Eton on the doorstep.
Windsor has an illustrious history. The castle is the only Royal residence which has been in continuous use since the site was chosen by William the Conqueror after his conquest of England in 1066.
The town developed around the castle in the early 12th century. Burgeoning trade and population bought the Guildhall and the Parish Church and it’s continuing association with the Royal Family has kept its prominence.
The old town around the castle is a pleasant place to wander with some quirky streets and buildings. The Sultan of Oman was visiting whilst we were there and the Omani flags were flying throughout the town interspersed with Union Jacks.
There are lots of dining choices on the hill outside the castle, including a jolly Wetherspoons, and towards the bottom we found the Theatre Royal Windsor and enjoyed an evening there with an elegant if perplexing Turn of the Screw production.
The Guildhall
In daytime meanderings we had found the little park of Bachelor’s Acre where there is quite a cute statue of Queen Elizabeth looking like a bag lady with a pack of corgis scampering around her feet! By Lydia Karpinska, The Windsor Lady was erected to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee in 2012.
The Guildhall was a more obvious attraction; it was built in 1690 with underground cellars for tradesmen, an open corn market and a council chamber on top. By 1830 it had doubled in size and included more rooms and a meat market then the present staircase was inserted in 1893, replacing an exterior version.
Today there is a small local museum on the ground floor in the old meat market. As well as an overview of the town, it contains the ashes of Dexter, a local cat who used to visit the museum and who died this year.
There was always a chance he would turn up for the Royal Wedding on 9th April 1995 when King Charles and Queen Camilla were married in the Ascot Room, adjacent to the big Chamber which is the more usual venue for weddings but which is rather overlooked by the opposite buildings.
Sir Elton John and David Furnish followed hot on their heels when they tied the knot in a Civil Partnership on 21st December 2005 – the first day it was allowed in England and Wales.
There are some interesting windows including 2 depicting four royal castles to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. Others commemorate the death of Prince Leopold (who died in 1884 from the effects of haemophilia following a fall) and the wedding of Princess Beatrice in 1885. A 2002 portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II faces a good likeness of Queen Victoria.
The Chamber, once used by councillors and magistrates, is now the main wedding venue. With two 313 kg brass chandeliers by Pugin and a superb array of royal portraits, it is a very grand room. There is a portrait of every monarch from Elizabeth I to Elizabeth II, bar George I and II who were said not to like Windsor! The flamboyant 1823 portrait of George IV is so large a window had to be removed to get it in – he has pride of place between a very young Victoria and Albert.
The portrait of Queen Elizabeth II was painted whilst her father was still alive, and the sash added later to symbolise that she was now a queen.
Just outside the Guildhall is the Crooked House of Windsor which was built in 1592 and reconstructed in 1718 after having being moved to make way for the Guildhall. It has a definite lean and sits on the corner of Queen Charlotte Street, the shortest street in Britain at 51 feet, 10 inches. It is now a cafe and a prime spot to watching the troops march by when changing the Guard.
In the other direction is Windsor Parish Church, dating back to the 1100s. It is worth a look for it’s fine Grinling Gibbons carvings, the mosaics in the altar and the large painting of the Last Supper.
If one continues along the street, it runs into the Long Walk which stretches 2 ½ miles from Windsor to the Copper Horse statue, unveiled in 1831 and with George III on top.
It is a peaceful place to stroll and enjoy the Windsor Great Park grounds with good views of the castle and the occasional deer. King Charles II planted a double row of lime trees in the 1680s but these were replaced in 1945 by London planes and horse chestnuts. No traffic or bicycles are allowed which is a bonus!
Windsor Castle
The Round Tower houses the Royal archives and stands prominently on a huge mound – it was originally built of wood by King William I in the 1070’s. It flies the Royal standard when the monarch is in residence or otherwise the Union Jack.
We walked around it’s contours and through to the North Terrace from where one enters the staterooms which are used for ceremonial occasions. There were great views towards the Chilterns with Eton College Chapel clearly visible.
Windsor Castle deserves all the superlatives: the state apartments (no photos allowed sadly) are a riot of treasures. Largely rebuilt by King Charles II in the 1670’s, one enters by a grand staircase to find golden rooms of Van Dykes, Rubens and silver furniture, painted ceilings, gilded furniture and intricate tapestries.
The Waterloo Chamber: where paintings of all those involved in the victory of Waterloo line the walls, gazing down on one of the world’s largest carpets, knitted in Agra in 1893. 77 feet x 40 feet and without a seam – now protected by a replica on top which does have seams – it took 50 soldiers to carry it out when the castle caught fire in 1992.
St. George’s Hall is used for state banquets with a table seating up to 160 guests. The Knights of the Garter also dine in the room and the roof is decorated with their shields – this was completely rebuilt following the Windsor Castle fire in 1992.
The King’s Dressing Room has the famous three headed portrait of Charles 1 by Van Dyke, mirrored by the great equestrian portrait of him on a grey horse.
A collection of armour includes one worn by Henry VIIIth in 1540, and nearby the bullet which killed Nelson at the battle of Trafalgar. There is a striking lifesize tiger’s head in gold and rock crystal which used to support the dais of Tipu Sultan at Mysore and which was captured by the British in 1799.
Through the windows could be glimpsed the manicured lawns of the East Terrace Garden which was laid out in the 1820’s.
Nearby, Queen Mary’s Dolls House is a world in miniature, complete with working electricity, water and elevators. Made for the 1924 British Empire Exhibition exhibition, famous craftsmen of the period produced tiny furniture, paintings and books on a scale of twelve to one. A Munnings hangs over the fireplace and the tiny bottles in the cellar contain real wine.
We emerged near the Upper Ward which has the private living quarters of the Royal Family and a large equestrian statue of King Charles II. There is a small outdoor cafe, although I prefer the one on the end of the North Terrace as being rather quieter.
St George’s Chapel
Saint George’s chapel, begun by King Edward IV in 1475 and completed by Henry VIIIth in 1528, is one of the great examples of English Perpendicular Gothic architecture and the final home of 11 kings and queens, including Queen Elizabeth II who lies in a small side chapel with Prince Phillip and her parents.
King Henry VIIIth lies in the centre of the choir with Jane Seymour, Charles 1st and an infant child of Queen Anne, surrounded by beautifully carved, elegant stalls surmounted by the banners, helmets and arms of the Knights of the Garter.
Appointed by the King there are 24 in total; the 24th position is currently vacant after the death of the King of Norway. Their shields through the ages are attached to the back of the stalls; the oldest is 14th century – Margaret Thatcher is amongst the newer ones.
On the way out, one passes the Albert Memorial Chapel, a cacophony of Italian mosaics and gilding. Built in 1240 by King Henry III, it was restored by Queen Victoria in 1863 as a temporary resting place for Prince Albert. It is now occupied by the tomb of Edward VIIth’s oldest son, the Duke of Clarence who died in 1892 at the age of 28 from influenza.
The Changing of the Guard
We were lucky enough to coincide with the Changing of the Guard in the Lower Ward, just below the chapel. This only happens on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 11am so some planning is required. Although they do march along the street, the only place to watch the ceremony itself is within the castle.
The new guard entered through the King Henry VIIIth Gate which was built in 1511 and bears the Tudor rose and the pomegranate of Catherine of Aragon, his first wife. The bearskin hats of the Coldstream Guards rippled in the wind whilst the ostrich plumes and tartan cloaks of the Scots Guards band waved rather more rigourously.
They were a splendid sight and there is nothing as moving as a pipe band; having recently visited Culloden one could easily visualise them marching over the heather into battle.
After lots of suitable stamping and drilling, it was all over and they matched off again to the tune of the Skye Boat Song.
Eton
Cross the Thames below the castle via Windsor Bridge and immediately you are in Eton, whose famous public school was founded by charter by Henry VI in 1440. He decreed that there should be 70 King’s Scholars who lived within the college and were educated for free. The others, the Oppidans, received the same education but lived within houses in the town run by Dames (more recently House Masters). Today there are 24 boarding houses for Oppidans and over 1,300 boys.
The Eton Walkway runs for 2 miles around the town highlighting various points of interest via a trail of bronze plaques with the town’s coat of arms given by Henry VI in 1449.
Initially following a pleasant old High Street we came to The Cockpit, dating back to 1440 and presently under restoration. In the 1930’s it was a tearoom and popular with parents visiting their boys, especially on Sunday days. Cecil Beaton once bought Greta Garbo there for tea whilst taking his nephew out from school – it must have been quite an occasion!
Nestling beside the building is a rare 1856 post box with a fluted Doric column design. Made only 15 years after stamps were invented and still in use today, it has an unusual vertical slit for the mail. Originally painted green, the postboxes became red as people kept walking in to them. Eton was the first village in England to have a post office so there was no excuse for the boys not to write home!
Crossing another bridge, we came to Eton College which is formed around two quadrangles, the largest being School Yard which is surrounded by the original buildings and the Gothic style College Chapel. A statue of Henry VI sits in the middle with Lupton’s clock tower (1517-1520) behind him.
There are guided tours to visit the college but unfortunately they are suspended at the moment due to renovation work. There are also some college museums but they are only open on Sundays.
Across the road from the college is the Burning Bush, a frothy lamp post displaced from the college by a Sebastopol cannon and now a popular meeting place.
We crossed to the nearby College Field which is the venue for the scrum-based Eton Wall Game. Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, lodged in the nearby Timbrells boys house and broke his nose playing the wall game.
Returning down Common Lane we passed under an Anthony Gormley statue which was erected in 2002 – the college was on an acquiring-contemporary-art kick! This one sticks out of the side of the building like a diving board.
We finished by ducking into Tudors, a monster burger and milk shake sort of place just before Baldwins Bridge. I think we quadrupled their average customer age but the chocolate milk shakes were good!
Crossing back into Windsor, we strolled along the Thames to where a model Hawker Hurricane flew high in the air. It was designed by Sir Sydney Camm (a Windsor resident) and over 14,000 were built, many at nearby Langley. It first flew in 1935, entering RAF service in 1937. In the Battle of Britain it shot down more enemy aircraft than the ground and air forces combined.
Mute swans clustered at the river bank and scrabbled for bread scraps – there are around 300 of them on this stretch of the Thames. An unmarked swan belongs to the crown in a tradition dating back to the 12th century and they are checked every year in July in a ceremony known as swan upping, when the King’s Swan Marker is aided by Swan Uppers from the Vinters’ and Dyers’ Livery Companies. Using 6 traditional Thames rowing skiffs, they ascend as far as Abingdon, resplendent in red uniforms.
Not even the fauna is exempt from history and tradition in Windsor!
NOTES
The Green line 703 bus goes direct to and from Terminal 5 at Heathrow (Stand 7). It has half hourly departures, a night schedule and costs £3.
We stayed in the Travelodge which was a 10 minute walk from the bus stop and right in the centre of town within a shopping area. The castle was only 10 minutes walk away.
A popular, more upmarket, option on the river is the Sir Christopher Wren Hotel, just before the bridge to Eton.
Tickets to the castle cost £32 – they can be stamped on entry to allow reentry for a year.
