WINDSOR CASTLE.

Dunstan Times, Issue 3130, 14 August 1922, Page 8

WINDSOR CASTLE.

DAYS UE CHIVALKY. (By Walter G. Bell.) the greatest Dinkier amongst tlieiimgusn iv.ngs, Henry 1 11., added mm It to Wmusor castle, the Sovereigns had tueir Palace at Westminster, at the duuiv ui me commercial capital, but it lias curiously lutic ol their intimate instory. it "has oeen more concerned With Saue and ceremonial, the Parliament ami the law, uses which survive to mis oar, lor, despite the treK ol the paw tuurifc towards tile 1 Uit\, the filial court ui Appeal m judicial causes still sits at u estm.aster. As a place of residence, Westminster received scant attention wiiilo successive Sovereigns devoted themselves to enlarging the glories of u mUsor. the buddings are not my purpose at the moment, and 1 recall King Henry in. only because ol an incident which brought London s Mayor and some oi her leading citizens to hud a prison at Windsor Castle. 1 ho Battle of dvesham had been fought, and King Henry fed that he had good cause of complaint against the attitude ol the. Londoners. Eabyn, the chronicler, tells that “the King went to Windsor with a great power, intending, as the lame then went, to destroy the City of London tor the great ire and displeasure he had oi it.” The citizens submitted their goods and lives, whereupon the King peremptorily inquired 10 ot tneu number to attend upon him. Ihomas Fitz-Tliomas, the Mayor, and the party were at Windsor at. one o’clock >mxt afternoon, being Sunday, and theic tarried till four: At which season the King, coming from his disporte, entered the Castle without countenance or once easting his eyes upon the Londoners; and when the' King and his people had entered the Castle, the Londoners would have followed, but they were warned to abide without. And in the evening came unto them Sir Roger Loyborne ami bn Robert Walcys, knights, and brought them into the Castle, and said that the King’s pleasure was not to speak with them that night; and afterwards the said knights delivered them unto the Constable of the Castle, which closed them all in a largo tower, where that nmht they had small cheer and worse, lodging. Then upon the morrow, being Monday, towards night, they were taken out of the tower, ami delivered unto the .Bailiff of the Castle and lodged by his assignment, except five peiLon don’s luckless Mayor, Thomas Fitz-Thoma®, and four leading men were kept fast prisoners at Y\ meteor Castle for four vears before they regained their liberty. King Henry 111. having meantime "imposed a fine of £40.000 imon the city for its rebellious conduct. 11ns ultimately w«fc satisfied by payment of 20,000 marks. . . King Edward 111. was born at Windsor Castle, his mother, Isabella, being then in her eighteenth year and so became known as Edward of 'Windsor. No doubt It's marriage with Philippa of Tlnimiult would have taken place there, instead of at York, hut for Battalia s engagements in the North, where ho was negotiating with the Scots. Earliei than him clnv Windsor had been described by Matthew of Westminster as the most magnificent pa I .ace then existing in Europe, and in lids long reign it attained great lame. The exhaustion of the war.® was overshadowed foi the time by the brilliancy of the victory's of Sluys. of Cnecy and Poictners, and the accomplishment'.; of Edward the Black Prince; and the reputation of the tournaments and festivities held by King Edward at Windsor in the brightpist and most romantic age of chivalry spread wide over the world. ft was his ambition to revive the legendary Round Table of King Arthur’s Kniahte at Windsor. There is stiff extant the Issue Writ for payment to the Prior of Merton for fiftytwo oaks supplied from his woods near Readme for the Rotund Table —evidently intended to be an immense piece of furniture, unless, indeed, the name was ap'pl cd to the hall for the knight® which the King is known to have begun. The feast of the Pound Table was held at Windsor in 1344, and again next year. Letters patent were issued on the former occasion for safe conduct of knights and esquires of all nations who might Av-'eh to come, the King having taken them and their goodp into his special protection while on the journey, diirng their sfov. and on their return. Knights from beyond the seas, from Flanders. Faffianlt. and Brabant attended the jousts l , with main - English knights, but none ramie -rom France. On Edward’s return from France after Crecy and Calais, jousts on a scale of unexampled magnificence were held at Windsor. King David of Scotland, captured in an invasion of England, was then a prisoner at tine Castle, being there entertained with much honor. King Edward him,-off took part in the. tournament, having for his device a. white swan, gorged or, wrought upon k« snveoat and shield, with this inviting motto: Hay hay the White Swan By God’s soul T am thy man. Apparently nothing came to the fanciful pro’cct of the Pound Table, but King Edward HI. built more lastingly when be founded at Windsor about this time the Order of the Garter, still the most coveted of all honors, having precedence' - in antiquity over all other chivalrous Orders in the world. St. George’s Chapel, within the Castle walls at Windsor, was given by him to be the Chapel of the Knights ; lr« successors on the Throne, a century and more later began the marvellously decorated build ng which stands to-day. wherein the banners of the knights of our own gpnoratkni are displayed over the stalls, ivith the helmet, shield, and sword. At the moment all tlrs magnificence is obscured. for from the choir floor rises' a forest of scaffolding, while masons work high above, repairing the stone vault. From the tune of the foundation, the feasts of St. George wore celebrated at Windsor by successive monarebs with imicli splendor. Edward maintained, throughout a long reign of fifty-one years, deep attachment' to hits birthplace, which he made Ids favorite residence. In Windsor Castle his son, Eduard the Black Prince, was: married, and four years later the marriage took place there of his eldest daughter Isabella. At Windsor his; Queen, Philippa of Mainainlt. wedded as a bride of fourteen, died. Froissart, the annalist ol chivalry. avlio travelled in England in her service, ha,-, described in pro.se of malchlo-s simplicity the. parting at the dealh-hedi: “And the good lady, when she knew and perceived that there wais with her 110 remedy but death, she desired to speak with the King her husband; and Avhen he was before her .die put out of her bed her right hand, and took the King by h> right hand, who Ava.s rigid r-"nm)Avful at Ids heart. Then she said. ‘Sir. wo have in peace, joy. ami great prosperity used all onr time together. Sir, now I pray yon. at onr departing, that ye Ayill grant me three desires.’ ” The King, right sorrowfully weeping, said, “Madam, desire wiiat ye will. I will grant it.” “Sir.” -aid sin... “I ivonire you, first of all. that all manner of people, such as i have dealt with all in their merchandise, on lids side tin* sea or beyond, that ii may please yon to pay everything (lint i ewe to them, or to anv other. And. m eondly. Sir. ai( such ordinance and promises as 1 have made to the churches, as well ol Mns

country as beyond the sea, whereat L have had my devotion, that it may please you to accomplish and to fulfil the same. Thirdly, Sir, 1 require yon, that it may please yon to take none other sepulture, whensoever it shall please God to call you out of this transitory life, but beside me in Westminster. ’ The King, all weeping, said, “Madam, I grant yon all you desire.” Then the good lady and Queen made on her the sign of the Cross, and commended the King her husband to God, and her youngest son Thomas, who was there beside her. And anon, after, she yielded up the spirit, the which I belie\ T e surely the holy angels received with great joy up to heaven, for in all her life she did neither in thought nor deed thing whereby to lose her soul, as far as any creature could know. Thus the good Queen of England died, in the year of Our Lord 1369, in the vigil of Onr Lady in the middle of August. In the Abbey church at Westminster, within the Chapel of the Kings, yon find Queen Philippa’s splendid tomb and portrait effigy. And near at hand EdAvard, boAved Avitii cares and years, Avas laid in accordance Avitb bis voav. Lately avc have put up in the neighboring Embankment garden Rodin’s fine monument of the Burghers of Calais, to recall over the centuries that incident in the generous life of Philippa of Hainanlt, Avhich assures for her a lasting place in the memory of all Englishmen and all Frenchmen. The Avorks of the great builder, King Henry HI., left Windsor Castle to. the exterior vlcav much as avc see it today. In detail it is, of course, very different from the defensive fortress and Royal Palace of the Middle Ages, but to a traveller approaching from a distance there would not, til! a near vicav Avas obtained, seem any considerable change. The Round ToAvor lias gained a greater height, increasing the majesty of this dominating feature of the fortress. St. George’s Chapel of the Garter-Knights has given a new sky-line, and lias made bolder the imposing mass of the buildings. But the Avails and toAvers, hoav pierced in many places Avith ivindows to admit light, in substitution for the original narroAV slits, in other respects stands as in Henry lll.’s lifetime. He ruled in turbulent days, when a palace Avail needed to bo strong. Light for the apartments Avas almost entirely gained from Avithin. References to iron bars and clamps for the AvindoAvs of the Royal Lodgings have puzzled inquirers. The King preferred to sleep Avith this additional security. AVindsor has a tradition of an assassin having actually obtained admission to the bedchamber, and in the semi-darkness: stabbed repeatedly at the clothes, but Hie monarch and the Queen then happened to be lying in another apartment. A crazy clerk, avJio declared himself to be the rightful King, and made an attempt at Woodstock to stab Henry 111. Avith a dagger, was torn limb from limb by horses at Coventry. Henry HI. built the massive masonry Avail and high toAvers about the Avestern side ot the lamer Ward Avhich to-day confront, the visitor as ho passes from the Great AVestern Railway Nation toAvards the Thames and Eton. They made the Castle secure. Ero’n Hie Gatehouse to the Curlew ToAvcr ail is thirteenth-century Avork, dating from 1227-130, Although amongst the odcst visible Avork, and giving at the first glance a vivid impression of the formidable nature of these ancient defences, this part of the castle looks a thing of yesterday. The Avail. avluii you examine it, tells its age, though the black pointing of the stones is unfortunate. hut it is dominated by the three towers—the Garter Totver. 'Salisbury ToAver. and especially the immense CleAver, or CnrfeAv, Trover —upon wlm Ii instinctively the eye rests. They seem of onr day, thanks to the ninehine-hke regularity and smooth surface of tinstones, hut that is because they avcic recased by Slavin GO years ago. AVuh the Garter ToAver much rebuilding Avas necessary. It had become a mm —a roofless shell, Avith the side before the bailey completely broken dmvn. Grass grew upon the desolate walls. Go into the tall CnrfeAv ToAver, winch is one of the few toAvers at Windsor Castle accessible to the public, and you have no doubt of its age. In the imver stages the Avails have a thickness of Rift, and are pierced with loopholes. The basement chamber, to Avhich steps descend, is a stone vaulted room of great strength, forbidding hi aspect. Avhich not improbably Avas the chief prison of the Castle. It seems made tor that purpose. Above, on wiiat is known as the main floor. Die entrance opens upon a lofty hall, faced aviHi chalk blocks ami aslar. This lias tile same narrow slits for light, but the floor is obstructed by a great limber staging, which .supports the beffry. Originally a lead-covered belfry and dome stood above the circular had lenient of the toAver —a thing much mere picturesque than the extraordinary halfconical, half-gabled roof devised by Nlavin to conceal it, Avhich now mates so conspicuous and puzzling a feature of the skyline, It is the peal of Nl. George’s Chapel that rings here, licit wonderful building having no belfry of its own. Henry lll.’s ToAver, Avhere the -Middle A Yard and Loavci- Ward join, is another Avork of the same, iimnnreh, and his is the Winchester Toavci* opposite, on the north front of the Castle, looking from its great height over the Thames and a wide expanse of country Famous men have labored upon those A'ast piles of masonery that arc Windsor Castle. William of AVykeham Avas sniweyor of the King’s AVorks at AVindsor Avlien the AVincliester ToAver Avas undergoing repair, and there is a tradition that he caused to he carved noon its front the Avords “Hoc fecit AVykcham.” King EdAvard 11. took offence, translating the phrase as meaning that his architect took entire credit for the structure. AVykeham explained that he did not mean that he made the building, but that tlie building had made him—his employment at the Avorks leading to his promotion and the King’s favor. Eißvard is said to 1 1 aA*e been content. Possibly the Avliole story is npociypbal, but AVyatvilh-. Avlien restoring tlie building for King George IN'., had the Avords cut in the ashlar, so perpetuating the legend, and then- they are. Geoffrey Chancer, in King Richard H.’s reign, acted for seA'eral months as clerk of the Avorks Avhile tin- first Chapel of the Knights of the Garter at AVindsor Castle Avas being icinodelled. A wall and ditch from early times separated the Middle and Lower Wards, miming south to north. The Dean’s rambling bouse in part squats somewhat aAvltAvardly in the ditch, the onlv visible remains of Avhich are the hollow that forms the little garden liefore the house; but I be solid thirteeiitii-' entnrv aa nil still extends by tinside of Hu- Deanery out lo the AA incheater ToAver. Edward 111., continuing the Avork ol liis predecessors. Avas also a considerable builder, but it was fated that no .large Portion of all that he toiled upon should siir\'ive. His Great Hall and some other structures in the Lnwei AVard wen- finally cleared away for the existing St. George s Chapel, and little of ids b.-voiid the Dean’s Clositm; . and th,. old Chanel House, iioav part of tlie Dean's residence, and some portions of tin- Canons’ houses, remains. The old helfrv lower, conspicuous; in il central position among the lodgings i o|- (lie Military Knights, is his. In the

Upper Ward arc more extensive remains in the Royal apartments; the Norman Gateway—so miscalled —with its flanking towers, which, gives entrance, is really Edwardian. A very interesting survival of the reign is the wooden two-storeyed building that fills the lower part of the interior ol the Round Tower, leaving a central square courtyard. This structure, evidently intended to be temporary, but happily surviving so long, was placed there for the accommodation of Edward 111. and his Queen when the extensive rebuilding and enlargement of the Royal lodgings were in progress. . Windsor sent two members to Parliament. The town, straggling down the hill outside the' Castle walls towards the river, seems to have served for a time as the county town of .Berkshire. The Royal borough possessed the county gaol established under charter by Edward 1. Eater the people made complaint, representing that its position at the extremity of the county defeated justice,'and that felons in the long journey thence escaped; moreover, owing to the great cost of conveying felons, juries refrained from accusing thieves of crime. A passage to the petition throws a lurid light upon the callous indifference of the .Middle Ages to the prisoners’ sufferings so small was the humanity of the times; “Another point is, the commonalty of the town of Windsor is so weak that the gaol cannot be sustained by the alms of the town, whereby the prisoners die immediate, as well the innocent as the qiiilty, and those who have goods die before judgment is given, so that the King loses the goods and the chattels of the felons, to the great damage of the Crown.” They starved and died—-what mattered? Reading was afterwards selected as being more convenient for Berkshire generally. King Edward IV. made great changes in the Lower Ward of the Castle. which survives very much as_ he designed and left it. The Yorkist King it was who determined to found within the walls of his Castle of Windsor a' new and magnificent, chapel for the Knights of the Garter, which should also contain his own tomb. The choir had been finished save for the vaulting, when the monarch died. The nave and its side chapels were constructed under King Henrv VII., and St. George’s Chapel as we see it to-day is recognised as being largely Ins work. For richness of design, for sculptural decoration, and for its historical association, this beautiful structure, stands without rival in this country, differing from both King’s College Chapel at Cambridge and King Henry Vll.’s Chapel at Westminster Abbey. Already I have described St. George’s Chapel with: some detail in these pages, and now avoid repetition, hut omission here does not betoken any want of appreciation of a building which is an integral part of the glories of Windsor. It is. and rightlv, almost the first thing that the visitor to Windsor sets out to see. Beyond the flight of steps down !rom the Chapel’s west door, the Horse-shoe Cloisters extend out to the Castle wall. They were* laid out by Edward IN . m the form of the fetlock, a' favorite badge, for the accommodation of the vicars choral, and the houses arc most picturesque, their timber 1 rallies being hik'd in with red brick. Round the liorso-slioo on the inner side runs a wooden penstylo, giving shelter Hum rain and shade on summer days. Hie restorer has left a little too much of Ins industry visible, but the conception stands unspoilt. The Lower Ward contains other dwelling-houses about the church, of Tudor origin, giving it ( character distinct from that of the Upper Ward, which is entirely occupied by the stone towers and walls and buildings of the Koval Apartments.