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Summary

Scheduled Monument built c.1070 in Clewer parish consisting of an earthen motte and surmounted by a tower surrounded by a ditch between an upper and lower bailey. Henry II (1154-89) built the round tower and outer walls of the castle in stone. Major additions were built in 1216, 1359, 1461 and the mid 17th and 18th century.

Monument Type(s):

• CASTLE (Medieval - 1070 AD to 1539 AD)
• MOTTE AND BAILEY (Medieval - 1070 AD to 1539 AD)

Description

Scheduled monument 1006996 (formerly SM 80) built c.1070 in Clewer parish consisting of an earthen motte and surmounted by a tower surrounded by a ditch between an upper and lower bailey. Henry II (1154-89) built the round tower and outer walls of the castle in stone. Major additions were built in 1216, 1359, 1461 and the mid 17th and 18th century <1><2><3> A watching brief was carried out in the north Choir Aisle of St. George's Chapel, Winsdor in 1993 as a result of burials having been revealed after modern paving slabs were lifted <4>.

William the Conqueror chose the site high above the River Thames and on the edge of a Saxon hunting ground. It was a day's march from the Tower of London and intended to guard the western approaches to the capital. In the 1170's Henry II rebuilt - in stone instead of wood - the Round Tower, the outer walls of the Upper and most of the Lower Ward, and the Royal apartments in the Upper Ward. In the 1360's Edward III, who was born at Windsor, extended the Castle. He created the immense St. George's Hall, for the use of the Knights of his newly founded Order of the Garter <1>. Edward III founded his college of canons at Windsor Castle and to complete this he added a treasury or 'aerary' on the west side of the cloister over a vaulted porch <13>. As part of this 14th century development of the castle the Norman Gate was constructed. A tile floor of mid-14th centruy date survives in one of the tower rooms and is exceptional within a national context. The floor is composed of 4 panels of tiles, mostly of Penn type. The tiles are laid in groups of 4, to depict a circular motif. The floor exhibits evidence of repair, through the re-use of old tiles to infil areas <21>. St. George's Chapel was begun by Edward IV and completed by Henry VIII. It is dedicated to the patron saint of the Order of the Garter, and ranks among the finest examples of late medieval architecture in western Europe. Ten British monarchs are buried in the chapel (Edward IV, Henry VI, Henry VIII, Charles I, George III, George IV, William IV, Edward VII, George V and George VI). Oliver Cromwell captured Windsor Castle after the Battle of Edgehill in 1642 and for the rest of the Civil War it became a prison as well as the headquarters of Parliamentary forces. In 1648 Charles I was held there before his trial and execution in London, with his body brought back for burial. Following the restoration, Charles I created a new set of State Apartments in the 1670's using the skill of the architect Hugh May, the artist Antonio Verrio for murals and ceiling paintings, and the famous wood carver Grinling Gibbons. The King's Dining Room and the Queen's Presence and Audience Chambers retain many of these original features. Charles II also laid out the 5km Long Walk leading due south from the Castle into Windsor Great Park. Much of the Castle's present appearance is due to the alteration instigated by George IV in the 1820's with his architect Sir Jeffrey Wyatville. The buildings were refashioned in the Gothic Style with the addition of crenellations, turrets and towers. In the Upper Ward the private apartments were moved from the north side of the quadrangle to the south and east side. The rooms on the north side were designated for use on formal occasions and State visits. One of George IV's additions was the Waterloo Chamber, created in the 1820's to show portraits commissioned from Sir Thomas Lawrence to commemorate the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. On 20th November 1992 nine principle rooms and over 100 other rooms, comprising 9000 sq m was destroyed by fire - approximately 1/5 of the Castle area <1>.

<1> Heaton, M.J and Hawkes, J.W, Windsor Castle Service Conduit, W337 - Archaeological Recording (Unpublished document). SRW4360.

<2> English Heritage (Central Archaeology Service), 2005, Tree-Ring Analysis of Timbers from the Roof of the Accounts Office, Dean's Cloister, Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire (Bibliographic reference). SRM12977.

<3> Munby J, Barber R and Brown R, 2007, Edward III's Round Table at Windsor. The House of the Round Table and the Windsor Festival of 1344 (Bibliographic reference). SRM13541.

<4> Tatton-Brown, T, 1992, Observations in the North Cloister Aisle – St George’s Chapel, Windsor (Unpublished document). SRW12398.

<5> GSB Prospection Ltd, 2006, Geophysical survey Report 2006/46 Windsor Castle, Berkshire (Unpublished document). SRM13542.

<6> Oxford Archaeology, 2005, Windsor Castle Watching Brief (Unpublished document). SRM13889.

<7> Oxford Archaeology, 2005, Windsor Castle, Berkshire, Watching Brief Report (Unpublished document). SRM13890.

<8> Oxford Archaeology, 2008, Windsor Castle, Advance Gate Police Box - Archaeological watching Brief (Unpublished document). SRM13891.

<9> Oxford Archaeology, 2008, Garden House, Windsor Castle, Windsor (Unpublished document). SRM13893.

<10> Oxford Archaeology, 2005, The Garden House, Windsor Castle, Berkshire. Historic Building Investigation and Recording (Unpublished document). SRM13892.

<11> Oxford Archaeology, 2007, Windsor Castle, North Slopes Cable Duct, Berkshire (Unpublished document). SRM13987.

<12> Oxford Archaeology, 2007, Windsor Castle, Room 621, Paper Conservation Studio Redevelopment (Unpublished document). SRM13988.

<13> Cambrian Archaeological Projects Ltd, 2007, The College of St George, Windsor Castle, Desk-based Assessment for a new Service Trench through the Canon's Cloister (Unpublished document). SRM14189.

<14> The Ancient Monuments Society, 2010, Transactions of the Ancient Monuments Society, Pages 37-38 and 46 (Journal). SRM14091.

<15> Cambrian Archaeological Projects Ltd, 2007, Canon's Cloister, Windsor Castle, Berkshire (Unpublished document). SRM14190.

<16> Cambrian Archaeological Projects Ltd, 2007, Windsor Castle, Lower Ward, Denton's Commons (Unpublished document). SRM14191.

<17> Cambrian Archaeological Projects Ltd, 2008, Windsor Castle, Lower Ward Service Trenches (Unpublished document). SRM14192.

<18> English Heritage Research Department, 2011, Windsor Castle Governor's House (Norman Gate, South Tower, First Floor) Survey Record and Interpretation of a Medieval Tile Floor (Unpublished document). SRM14194.

<19> English Heritage (Centre for Archaeology), 2004, Tree-Ring Analysis of Timbers from 25 The Cloisters, (Denton's Common), Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire (Bibliographic reference). SRM14228.

<20> English Heritage (Centre for Archaeology), 2005, Tree-Ring Analysis of Timbers from Number 8 Canon's Cloister, Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire (Bibliographic reference). SRM14229.

<21> English Heritage Research Department, 2011, Windsor Castle Governor's House (Norman Gate, South Tower, First Floor) Survey Record and Interpretation of a Medieval Tile Floor (Unpublished document). SRM14194.

<22> Kupferman E, 2012, Remodelling of Windsor Castle - History (Unpublished document). SRM14342.

<23> Historic England, The National Heritage List for England, List entry number: 1006996 (Index). SRD12029.

<24> Cambrian Archaeological Projects Ltd, 2007, Horseshoe Cloister, Windsor Castle - Archaeological Watching Brief (Unpublished document). SRM13916.

<25> Historic England, 021-2018, Windsor Castle Excavations in the Round Tower (site 431) 1989-1992 and the Upper Ward Site (Site 485) 1992. A Preliminary Report on the Fish Remain (Bibliographic reference). SRM15813.

Sources

Designations

• Scheduled Monument 1006996: Windsor Castle

Associated Events:

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds:

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