IV.
Containing the History of the Castle from the Reign of Charles the Second to that of George the Third--With a few Particulars concerning the Parks and the Forest. Windsor Castle.
ON the Restoration the castle resumed its splendour, and presented astriking contrast to the previous gloomy period. The terrace, with itsfestive groups, resembled a picture by Watteau, the courts resoundedwith laughter, and the velvet sod of the home park was as often pressedby the foot of frolic beauty as by that of the tripping deer.
Seventeen state apartments were erected by Sir Christopher Wren, underthe direction of Sir John Denham. The ceilings were painted by Verrio,and the walls decorated with exquisite carvings by Grinling Gibbons. Agrand staircase was added at the same time. Most of the chambers werehung with tapestry, and all adorned with pictures and costly furniture.The addition made to the castle by Charles was the part of the northfront, then called the "Star Building," from the star of the Order ofthe Garter worked in colours in the front of it, but now denominated the"Stuart Building," extending eastward along the terrace from Henry theSeventh's building one hundred and seventy feet. In 1676 the ditch wasfilled up, and the terrace carried along the south and east fronts ofthe castle.
Meanwhile the original character of the castle was completely destroyedand Italianised. The beautiful and picturesque irregularities of thewalls were removed, the towers shaved off, the windows transformed intocommonplace circular-headed apertures. And so the castle remained formore than a century.
Edward the Third's Tower, indifferently called the Earl Marshal'sTower and the Devil Tower, and used as a place of confinement for stateprisoners, was now allotted to the maids of honour. It was intended byCharles to erect a monument in honour of his martyred father on the siteof the tomb-house, which he proposed to remove, and 70,000 pounds werevoted by Parliament for this purpose. The design, however, was abandonedunder the plea that the body could not be found, though it was perfectlywell known where it lay. The real motive, probably, was that Charles hadalready spent the money.
In 1680 an equestrian statue of Charles the Second, executed by Strada,at the expense of Tobias Rustat, formerly housekeeper at Hampton Court,was placed in the centre of the upper ward. It now stands at the lowerend of the same court. The sculptures on the pedestal were designed byGrinling Gibbons; and Horace Walpole pleasantly declared that the statuehad no other merit than to attract attention to them.
In old times a road, forming a narrow irregular avenue, ran through thewoods from the foot of the castle to Snow Hill but this road having beenneglected during a long series of years, the branches of the treesand underwood had so much encroached upon it as to render it whollyimpassable. A grand avenue, two hundred and forty feet wide, was plannedby Charles in its place, and the magnificent approach called the LongWalk laid out and planted.
The only material incident connected with the castle during the reign ofJames the Second has been already related.
Windsor was not so much favoured as Hampton Court by William the Third,though he contemplated alterations within it during the latter part ofhis life which it may be matter of rejoicing were never accomplished.
Queen Anne's operations were chiefly directed towards the parks,in improving which nearly 40,000 pounds were expended. In 1707 theextensive avenue running almost parallel with the Long Walk, and calledthe "Queen's Walk," was planted by her; and three years afterwardsa carriage road was formed through the Long Walk. A garden was alsoplanned on the north side of the castle. In this reign Sir JamesThornhill commenced painting Charles the Second's staircase with designsfrom Ovid's Metamorphoses, but did not complete his task till after theaccession of George the First. This staircase was removed in 1800, tomake way for the present Gothic entrance erected by the elder Wyatt.
The first two monarchs of the house of Hanover rarely used Windsor as aresidence, preferring Hampton Court and Kensington; and even George theThird did not actually live in the castle, but in the Queen's Lodge--alarge detached building, with no pretension to architectural beauty,which he himself erected opposite the south terrace, at a cost of nearly44,000 pounds. With most praiseworthy zeal, and almost entirely at hisown expense, this monarch undertook the restoration of Saint George'sChapel. The work was commenced in 1787, occupied three years, andwas executed by Mr. Emlyn, a local architect. The whole building wasrepaved, a new altar-screen and organ added, and the carving restored.
In 1796 Mr. James Wyatt was appointed surveyor-general of the royalbuildings, and effected many internal arrangements. Externally herestored Wren's round-headed windows to their original form, and at thesame time gothicized a large portion of the north and south sides of theupper ward.
Before proceeding further, a word must be said about the parks. The homepark, which lies on the east and north sides of the castle, is aboutfour miles in circumference, and was enlarged and enclosed with a brickwall by William the Third. On the east, and nearly on the site of thepresent sunk garden, a bowling-green was laid out by Charles the Second.Below, on the north, were Queen Anne's gardens, since whose time thedeclivity of the hill has been planted with forest trees. At theeast angle of the north terrace are the beautiful slopes, with a pathskirting the north side of the home park and leading through charmingplantations in the direction of the royal farm and dairy, the ranger'slodge, and the kennel for the queen's harriers. This park contains manynoble trees; and the grove of elms in the south-east, near the spotwhere the scathed oak assigned to Herne stands, is traditionallyasserted to have been a favourite walk of Queen Elizabeth. It stillretains her name.
The great park is approached by the magnificent avenue called the LongWalk, laid out, as has been stated, by Charles the Second, and extendingto the foot of Snow Hill, the summit of which is crowned by the colossalequestrian statue of George the Third, by Westmacott. Not far from thispoint stands Cumberland Lodge, which derives its name from William, Dukeof Cumberland, to whom it was granted in 1744. According to Norden'ssurvey, in 1607, this park contained 3050 acres; but when surveyed byGeorge the Third it was found to consist of 3800 acres, of which 200were covered with water. At that time the park was over grown with fernand rushes, and abounded in bogs and swamps, which in many places weredangerous and almost impassable. It contained about three thousand headof deer in bad condition. The park has since been thoroughly drained,smoothed, and new planted in parts; and two farms have been introducedupon it, under the direction of Mr. Kent, at which the Flemish andNorfolk modes of husbandry have been successfully practised.
Boasting every variety of forest scenery, and commanding from its knollsand acclivities magnificent views of the castle, the great park istraversed, in all directions, by green drives threading its longvistas, or crossing its open glades, laid out by George the Fourth.Amid the groves at the back of Spring Hill, in a charmingly sequesteredsituation, stands a small private chapel, built in the Gothic style, andwhich was used as a place of devotion by George the Fourth during theprogress of the improvements at the castle, and is sometimes attended bythe present queen.
Not the least of the attractions of the park is Virginia Water, withits bright and beautiful expanse, its cincture of green banks, soft andsmooth as velvet, its screen of noble woods, its Chinese fishing-temple,its frigates, its ruins, its cascade, cave, and Druidical temple, itsobelisk and bridges, with numberless beauties besides, which it would besuperfluous to describe here. This artificial mere covers pretty nearlythe same surface of ground as that occupied by the great lake of oldentimes.
Windsor forest once comprehended a circumference of a hundred and twentymiles, and comprised part of Buckinghamshire, a considerable portionof Surrey, and the whole south-east side of Berkshire, as far asHungerford. On the Surrey side it included Chobham and Chertsey, andextended along the side of the Wey, which marked its limits as far asGuildford. In the reign of James the First, when it was surveyed byNorden, its circuit was estimated at seventy-seven miles and a half,exclusive of the liberties extending into B
uckinghamshire. There werefifteen walks within it, each under the charge of a head keeper, and thewhole contained upwards of three thousand head of deer. It is now almostwholly enclosed.
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