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Summary

The Cannon's Cloister was erected by Edward III between 1352-1355 as lodgings for the canons and priest vicars serving his newly established College of St George.

Monument Type(s):

• BUILDING (Medieval - 1240 AD to 1350 AD)
• CLOISTER (Medieval - 1352 AD to 1355 AD)

Description

The Canons Cloister is located in the Lower Ward of Windsor Castle north-east of St Georges Chapel. The Cannon's Cloister was erected by Edward III between AD1352 and 1355. The lodgings were for a community of canons and priest vicars serving the Kings newly established college of St George at Windsor Castle. The lodgings were built in timber-frame and were arranged on two storeys, the upper storey jettied out over the lower, to create an internal cloister walk at ground level. The cloister is probably the earliest surviving example of timber framed collegiate architecture in Britain and continues as the home of the canons to the present day <3 and 4> Much of the medieval timber framing for these lodgings has survived to the present day, though it is now obscured in many places by later extensions and adaptations <4>.

Underpinning work in the northeast corner of the cloister garth revealed an east west foundation probably of the 13th century royal lodgings (1240's) and the original mid-14th century cloister arcade foundations <1>.

Archive material dating between c.1770-2000 from St Georges Archives and Chapter Library detailing the positions of former services was consulted as part of a desk based assessment. The earliest plan of the Canon Cloister area dates to c. 1770 and shows the position of former old lead pipes and cisterns. The next readily available plans are dated to 1854 and show the area of the Canons Cloister courtyard as the ‘Little Cistern yard’. An old well is shown at the east end of the cloister with a series of lead and red earthen-ware water pipes. The west end is marked as having a series of drainage pipes running across the courtyard. On this plan, the north-south cloister cross walk is shown in a slightly different position than it is today, staggered further to the west. The service plan of 1884 shows the position of two hydrants in the Canons Cloister area along with a linking water main. The plans show that the area of the cloister yard, both the east and west ends have been heavily disturbed in the past by continually evolving services <2>.

Some time since 1854, the plans show that the north-south cloister cross walk has been moved over to its present position. The cloister yard north-south cross walk was formerly in a slightly different position than it is today, being at an angle located slightly further to the west <2>.

An archaeological watching brief was undertaken during the ground work for new water and gas services in the area of St. Georges House and Cannons Cloister, Windsor Castle. In one trench the remains of a disused former 17th-18th century red brick culvert was revealed. At the base of the trench a loose deposit consisting of fragments of chalk, flint and Reigate stone was exposed indicative of an earlier demolition deposit. Within the garden area of the Canons Cloister, the remains of a chalk, flint and Reigate stone wall were exposed. The wall was running in an east to west direction located directly beneath the existing southern range of the 14th century Canons Cloister walkway. This may imply that the footings from an earlier building since demolished were used as the foundations for the vertical oak timber supports for this part of the Canons Cloister. Documentary sources studied by St. J Hope in the form of a Liberate Roll dated 4th January 1239-40 state that in this immediate area there was a command from the King for a lodging to be built near the wall of the castle for The King and Queen that was to measure 100 feet by 28 feet. A rapid investigation of several features within the standing fabric of the southern elevation within the internal walkway of the Deans Cloister implies that this wall was once an external wall likely of 13th century date. Measurements taken from the external face of this wall to the exposed foundation wall in the Canons Cloister garden reveal a measured width of 28 feet. This implies that the southern range of the 14th century Canons Cloister may have been built over the former 13th century Royal Lodging House <3>.

Recent work to rectify a sagging ceiling over the ground floor ‘Oak Room’ at Number 8 Canon’s Cloister exposed some oak joists and an almost intact floor of wooden boards. The floor consists of a series of east-west joists, in some cases made up of two individual timbers, overlain by a series of thin oak boards. The boards are laid next to each other with slightly overlapping chamfered joints to their long edges and are firmly nailed to the joists. In order to establish the dates of these timbers a programme of tree-ring sampling was requested by English Heritage on the oak joists and floorboards. A total of ten samples were obtained. The analysis of the samples produced two site chronologies. The first site chronology comprises two samples with a combined overall length of 119 rings. This can be dated as spanning the years AD 1165-1283. Neither of the samples in this site chronology retains the heartwood/sapwood boundary, and therefore it is not possible to accurately calculate the felling date of the timbers represented, except to say that it is unlikely to be before AD 1298 and therefore may represent 14th century material. The second site chronology comprises four samples having a combined overall length of 86 rings. This chronology cannot be dated though again it is likely that the two timbers represented were felled at the same time <4>.

<1> Tatton-Brown, T, 1991, Observations In The North East Corner Of The Canon's Cloister Windsor Castle (Unpublished document). SRW12399.

<2> 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.

<3> Cambrian Archaeological Projects Ltd, 2007, Canon's Cloister, Windsor Castle, Berkshire (Unpublished document). SRM14190.

<4> English Heritage (Centre for Archaeology), 2005, Tree-Ring Analysis of Timbers from Number 8 Canon's Cloister, Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire (Bibliographic reference). SRM14229.

Sources

Designations

• Scheduled Monument 1006996: Windsor Castle

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