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153-602: Bramshill House , in Bramshill , northeast Hampshire, England, is one of the largest and most important Jacobean prodigy house mansions in England. It was built in the early 17th century by the 11th Baron Zouche of Harringworth but was partly destroyed by fire a few years later. The design shows the influence of the Italian Renaissance , which became popular in England during the late 16th century. The house
306-402: A loggia , typical of early 17th-century houses, with a central arched entrance to accommodate coaches. The central bay is crowned by an ornamental pierced parapet below a niched Dutch gable , which shelters a small statue of Lord Zouche or James I. There are small obelisks at either side of the gable. Thorpe originally intended the main entrance of the house to be on this side, building on
459-665: A "very curious collection of portraits of distinguished characters". Also on the first floor is the "Chapel Drawing Room" in the south wing, connected to the Drawing Room. The Copes created this room by reducing the size of the original chapel, which is entered through it. The current chapel has an altar reredos with paintings of the Virgin Mary, St. Stephen, St. Mary Magdalene and St. John the Evangelist, by Alexander Rowan and dated by Pevsner to about 1840. The tapestry in
612-645: A Grade I listed building on 8 July 1952, and was acquired by the British government the following year as a dedicated site for police training. It became the location of the National Police College in 1960. From 2005, two buildings on the site housed the European Police College (CEPOL) until this was moved to Budapest in 2014. By the late 1980s the estate had become expensive to maintain, and according to John Wheeler , Chair of
765-427: A Grey Lady (one story suggests that her husband, a religious dissenter, was beheaded in the 17th century) and a Green Man (a Cope family member who either drowned in the lake in 1806, according to the journalist P. Lal, or threw himself off a cliff near Brighton , according to the author Penny Legg). The Green Man, dressed as his name suggests, reportedly manifests near the lake, as does the ghost supposed to be that of
918-531: A Rococo style. These rooms take the fluid, playful aspects of this mid-18th century artistic movement, including many original pieces of Louis XV style , but project them on a "vastly inflated" scale. Investigations after the 1992 fire have shown though that many Rococo features of the modern castle, originally thought to have been 18th-century fittings transferred from Carlton House or France, are in fact 19th-century imitations in plasterwork and wood, designed to blend with original elements. The Grand Reception Room
1071-472: A bailey formed around the motte or artificial hill in the centre of the ward. The motte is 50 feet (15 m) high and is made from chalk originally excavated from the surrounding ditch. The keep , called the Round Tower, on the top of the motte is based on an original 12th-century building, extended upwards in the early 19th century under architect Jeffry Wyatville by 30 feet (9.1 m) to produce
1224-713: A classical statue. In 1642 the English Civil War broke out, dividing the country into the Royalist supporters of Charles, and the Parliamentarians . In the aftermath of the battle of Edgehill in October, Parliament became concerned that Charles might advance on London. John Venn took control of Windsor Castle with twelve companies of foot soldiers to protect the route along the Thames river, becoming
1377-757: A court along the north side of the Upper Ward. This was intended primarily for the queen and Henry's children. In the Lower Ward, the king ordered the construction of a range of buildings for his own use along the south wall, including a 70 ft (21 m) long chapel, later called the Lady Chapel . This was the grandest of the numerous chapels built for his own use, and comparable to the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris in size and quality. Henry repaired
1530-485: A diplomat and Clerk of The King's Works. Windsor Castle continued to be favoured by monarchs in the 15th century, despite increasing political violence. Henry IV seized the castle during his coup in 1399, although failing to catch Richard II , who had escaped to London. Under Henry V , the castle hosted a visit from the Holy Roman Emperor in 1417, a massive diplomatic event that stretched
1683-444: A distance or silhouetted against the horizon, an image of tall towers and battlements influenced by the picturesque movement of the late 18th century. Archaeological and restoration work following the 1992 fire has shown the extent to which the current structure represents a survival of elements from the original 12th-century stone walls onwards, presented within the context of Wyatville's final remodelling. The State Apartments form
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#17327941436811836-427: A distance". The room is set off by a set of restored Gobelins French tapestries . Although decorated with less gold leaf than in the 1820s, the result remains "one of the greatest set-pieces of Regency decoration". The White, Green and Crimson Drawing Rooms include a total of 62 trophies : carved, gilded wooden panels illustrating weapons and the spoils of war, many with Masonic meanings. Restored or replaced after
1989-451: A gallery and a new ceiling. A bridge was built over the ditch to the south of the castle to enable easier access to the park. Elizabeth built a gallery range of buildings on the west end of the Upper Ward, alongside Henry VII's tower. Elizabeth increasingly used the castle for diplomatic engagements, but space continued to prove a challenge as the property was simply not as large as the more modern royal palaces. This flow of foreign visitors
2142-401: A gardener who drowned there. The Grey Lady allegedly haunts the terrace, the library, and the chapel. Legg suggests that she has a young and beautiful appearance, with a sad, tear-stained face and golden hair, and smelling of the lilies of the valley ; Lal argues that she has reddish-brown hair and wears a grey, sleeveless robe. The Grey Lady's husband has been reported to haunt the stables and
2295-484: A key medieval route into London, and Windsor Forest , a royal hunting preserve previously used by the Saxon kings. The nearby settlement of Clivore, or Clewer , was an old Saxon residence. The initial wooden castle consisted of a keep on the top of a man-made motte , or mound, protected by a small bailey wall, occupying a chalk inlier , or bluff, rising 100 ft (30 m) above the river. A second wooden bailey
2448-472: A large part of the building and began to build the Bramshill House of today. Henry Shaw describes the new house which Zouche built as a "specimen of Elizabethan [ sic ] architecture [which] merits particular attention, exhibiting all the stateliness for which the period referred to was remarkable, with a suite of apartments both large and lofty. The amplitude of its dimensions indicate
2601-472: A mezzanine on the west side during the 18th century. They were responsible for much of the interior, with significant renovation work done in the 19th century and in 1920. After his victory over Napoleon, the Duke of Wellington was offered his choice of house by Parliament; he visited Bramshill but in 1817 chose Stratfield Saye instead. Numerous paintings and prints depict games and social events taking place on
2754-585: A more imposing height and silhouette. The interior of the Round Tower was further redesigned in 1991–1993 to provide additional space for the Royal Archives , an additional room being built in the space left by Wyatville's originally hollow extension. The Round Tower is in reality far from cylindrical , due to the shape and structure of the motte beneath it. The current height of the tower has been criticised as being disproportionate to its width; archaeologist Tim Tatton-Brown, for example, has described it as
2907-470: A more private Upper Ward and a Lower Ward devoted to the public face of the monarchy. Little further building was carried out at the castle during the 13th century; the Great Hall in the Lower Ward was destroyed by fire in 1296, but it was not rebuilt. Edward III was born at Windsor Castle and used it extensively throughout his reign. In 1344 the king announced the foundation of the new Order of
3060-655: A mutilation of the earlier medieval structure. The western entrance to the Middle Ward is now open, and a gateway leads north from the ward onto the North Terrace. The eastern exit from the ward is guarded by the Norman Gatehouse. This gatehouse , which, despite its name, dates from the 14th century, is heavily vaulted and decorated with carvings, including surviving medieval lion masks , traditional symbols of majesty, to form an impressive entrance to
3213-537: A possible location for the Legend of the Mistletoe Bough , a ghost story associated with several English country mansions. This legend tells of a bride who supposedly hid in a wooden chest during a game of hide and seek on her wedding night. In the case of Bramshill House, the story has it that this happened at Christmas time, and that the bride was found fifty years later still wearing her wedding dress and with
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#17327941436813366-463: A princely residence." An inventory taken in 1634 after Zouche's death listed the library as having 250 books and a collection of mathematical instruments, and revealed that the maids' chamber was of a very high standard. James Zouch, grandson of Edward la Zouche, sold the property to the Earl of Antrim in 1637, at which time the house's furniture was valued at £2,762. During the reign of Charles I ,
3519-416: A row of four windows on the top floor. The inner two sections have the same layout on the first and top floors with eight windows aligned in rows of four on the first floor and four windows on the top floor, but the ground floor features two arches, which form part of the central loggia. The stone central bay, 20 feet (6.1 m) wide, is emphasised by superimposed double decorated pilasters on all floors and
3672-479: A royal residence. The early Norman kings preferred to use the former palace of Edward the Confessor in the village of Old Windsor . The first king to use Windsor Castle as a residence was Henry I , who celebrated Whitsuntide at the castle in 1110 during a period of heightened insecurity. Henry's marriage to Adela , the daughter of Godfrey of Louvain , took place in the castle in 1121. During this period
3825-498: A sprig of mistletoe in her hand; the chest is on display in the entrance hall. The woman is sometimes identified as John Cope's daughter Anne, who married Hugh Bethell of Yorkshire. An alternative claim is that she was Genevre Orsini, who was married in 1727, and that her ghost came to Bramshill from Italy together with the chest. In his monograph on the house, the Victorian writer Sir William Cope preferred this theory and added that
3978-413: Is a popular tourist attraction, a venue for hosting state visits , and was the main residence of Elizabeth II from 2011 to 2022. Windsor Castle grounds cover 13 acres (5.3 hectares) and combines the features of a fortification, a palace, and a small town. The present-day castle was created during a sequence of phased building projects, culminating in the reconstruction work after a fire in 1992 . It
4131-664: Is bounded by a 3-foot-3-inch-high (0.99 m) balustrade . The arcade on the terrace of the southern front is a good example of Italian domestic architecture, used in villas. The triglyphs and ornamented metopes , together with the simple capitals of the columns, indicate the Doric order, but are light enough to be Ionic. The south entrance was the model for Darlington, the Crocker-McMillin Mansion in New Jersey, US, built between 1901 and 1907. The east façade
4284-708: Is considered by historian John Robinson to be "one of the supreme achievements of English Perpendicular Gothic" design. At the east end of St George's Chapel is the Lady Chapel, originally built by Henry III in the 13th century and converted into the Albert Memorial Chapel between 1863 and 1873 by George Gilbert Scott . Built to commemorate the life of Prince Albert , the ornate chapel features lavish decoration and works in marble, glass mosaic and bronze by Henri de Triqueti , Susan Durant , Alfred Gilbert and Antonio Salviati . The east door of
4437-464: Is in essence a Georgian and Victorian design based on a medieval structure, with Gothic features reinvented in a modern style. Since the 14th century, architecture at the castle has attempted to produce a contemporary reinterpretation of older fashions and traditions, repeatedly imitating outmoded or even antiquated styles. As a result, architect Sir William Whitfield has pointed to Windsor Castle's architecture as having "a certain fictive quality",
4590-404: Is older and octagonal. Carved in the wall at the side is a frieze consisting of four squares, each depicting an animal: a lion, an elephant, a wild boar and a camel. The west façade dates to the 18th century and is the only one with multiple gables; the windows on the ground floor are sashed. Two of the rooms have large tapestries on their walls depicting historical figures and scenes. Those in
4743-484: Is one of the largest and most important Jacobean mansions in England, described as one of the "glories of English architecture" by the historians Anthony Blunt and James Lees-Milne . The architecture of the three-storey building was inspired by the Italian Renaissance, and was executed mainly by German builders. It is approximately 140 feet (43 m) in length. The design is traditionally attributed to
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4896-441: Is panelled with oak for its entire height of about 16 feet (4.9 m). One of the upper panels, surmounted by its Corinthian entablature, is a frieze depicting a fig , grape , and pomegranate , each with foliage and blossoms. One of the lower panels, part of the dado in the same room, has a section of projecting mouldings . The upper panel is 2 feet 10 inches by 2 feet 4 inches (.86 m × .71 m);
5049-576: Is the largest green-oak structure built since the Middle Ages, and is decorated with brightly coloured shields celebrating the heraldic element of the Order of the Garter ; the design attempts to create an illusion of additional height through the gothic woodwork along the ceiling. The Lantern Lobby used to welcome guests features flowing oak columns forming a vaulted ceiling, imitating an arum lily , and
5202-441: Is the longest, about 124 feet (38 m) wide, and two storeys high. It features four full-height angular bays with two windows between, while its upper walls have two arches set within a rectangular panel. On this side there is a Troco Terrace with a lawn, as well as two arcaded openings at the side on either wing of the house. The southernmost arcaded opening contains a bench with eight arches and has three tables, one of which
5355-423: Is the most prominent of these Rococo designs, 100 feet (30 m) long and 40 feet (12 m) tall and occupying the site of Edward III's great hall. This room, restored after the fire, includes a huge French Rococo ceiling, characterised by Ian Constantinides, the lead restorer, as possessing a "coarseness of form and crudeness of hand ... completely overshadowed by the sheer spectacular effect when you are at
5508-600: Is where the pre-fire chapel built for Queen Victoria was located. The new Private Chapel is relatively intimate, only able to fit thirty worshippers, but combines architectural elements of the St George's Hall roof with the Lantern Lobby and the stepped arch structure of the Henry VIII chapel vaulting at Hampton Court . The result is an "extraordinary, continuous and closely moulded net of tracery", complementing
5661-496: The Classical , Gothic and Rococo styles, together with an element of Jacobethan in places. Many of the rooms on the eastern end of the castle had to be restored following the 1992 fire, using "equivalent restoration" methods – the rooms were restored so as to appear similar to their original appearance, but using modern materials and concealing modern structural improvements. These rooms were also partially redesigned at
5814-463: The First Barons' War at the start of the 13th century. Henry III built a luxurious royal palace within the castle during the middle of the century, and Edward III went further, rebuilding the palace to make an even grander set of buildings in what would become "the most expensive secular building project of the entire Middle Ages in England". Edward's core design lasted through
5967-540: The Frogmore estate. The Long Walk, a double lined avenue of trees, runs for 2.65 miles (4.26 km) south of the castle, and is 240 ft (73 m) wide. The original 17th century elms were replaced with alternating chestnut and plane trees. The impact of Dutch elm disease led to large-scale replanting after 1945. The Home Park adjoins the northern edge of the more extensive Windsor Great Park , occupying some 5,000 acres (2,020 ha) and including some of
6120-470: The Picturesque and Gothic design generating "a sense that a theatrical performance is being put on here", despite late 20th century efforts to expose more of the older structures to increase the sense of authenticity. Although there has been some criticism, the castle's architecture and history lends it a "place amongst the greatest European palaces". At the heart of Windsor Castle is the Middle Ward,
6273-556: The Tudor period , during which Henry VIII and Elizabeth I made increasing use of the castle as a royal court and centre for diplomatic entertainment. Windsor Castle survived the tumultuous period of the English Civil War , when it was used as a military headquarters by Parliamentary forces and a prison for Charles I . At the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Charles II rebuilt much of Windsor Castle with
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6426-593: The district of Hart . It is bordered by the Rivers Whitewater , Blackwater and Hart and by the villages of Farley Hill , Eversley , Hazeley , Heckfield , Riseley and Swallowfield . The population of Bramshill is around 100. Bramshill SSSI is a Site of Special Scientific Interest . Historically, Bramshill was an estate owned by the Lord of the Manor, residing at Bramshill House . The last incumbent
6579-520: The servants' hall and steward's room at Windsor Castle, it may have been a copy of William of Wykeham 's work there. The estate remained in the hands of the Foxley family and their heirs, the Essex family, until 1499, when it was sold to Giles Daubeney, 1st Baron Daubeney . Giles's son Henry Daubeney (later Earl of Bridgewater) sold the property to Henry VIII , and in 1547 Edward VI granted
6732-626: The 17th century in partnership with the painter Antonio Verrio and carver Grinling Gibbons . The Queen's Presence Chamber, the Queen's Audience Chamber and the King's Dining Room are designed in a Baroque, Franco-Italian style, characterised by "gilded interiors enriched with florid murals", first introduced to England between 1648 and 1650 at Wilton House . Verrio's paintings are "drenched in medievalist allusion" and classical images. These rooms were intended to show an innovative English "baroque fusion" of
6885-626: The Broad Water formed by the River Hart by a Grade I listed early 19th-century bridge with two arches. There are separate listings for other structures near the house, including the Grade ;I listed early 17th-century triple-arched gateway on the route to Reading to the northeast of the house, Grade I listed early 17th-century boundary walls and turrets to the south and west, Grade II listed boundary walls and gate-piers to
7038-586: The English abbeys. Water was piped into the Upper Ward to create a fountain. Mary also expanded the buildings used by the Knights of Windsor in the Lower Ward, using stone from Reading Abbey . Elizabeth I spent much of her time at Windsor Castle and used it a safe haven in crises, "knowing it could stand a siege if need be". Ten new brass cannons were purchased for the castle's defence. It became one of her favourite locations and she spent more money on
7191-597: The English county of Berkshire , about 25 miles (40 km) west of central London. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family , and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history . The original castle was built in the 11th century, after the Norman invasion of England by William the Conqueror . Since the time of Henry I (who reigned 1100–1135), it has been used by
7344-475: The First's gnarled giants". In the 19th century, Sir John Cope, a friend of Kingsley's, was known as a supporter of the fox hunt and especially as a breeder of fox hounds. The opening of the season at Bramshill in the late 1840s was noted in the British hunting press. The main avenue approaches from the southwest, through an arched gateway formed by two Grade II listed early 19th-century lodges, before crossing
7497-462: The Great Hall that lay along the north side of the Lower Ward, and enlarged it with a new kitchen and built a covered walkway between the Hall and the kitchen. Henry's work was characterised by the religious overtones of the rich decorations, which formed "one of the high-water marks of English medieval art". The conversion cost more than £10,000. The result was to create a division in the castle between
7650-648: The Home Affairs Select Committee, by 1989 it was "in a poor state of repair". In July 2013 the Home Office placed the house and estate on the market for £25 million. It was sold to the heritage property developers City & Country in August 2014. In 2018, the house, with a reduced estate of about 90 acres, was put back on the market with a guide price of £10 million. The 15-bedroom 56,974 square feet (5,293.1 m) Bramshill House
7803-629: The King George IV Gate to the south, with the Edward III Tower in the south-west corner. The motte and the Round Tower form the west edge of the ward. A bronze statue of Charles II on horseback sits beneath the Round Tower. Inspired by Hubert Le Sueur 's statue of Charles I in London, the statue was cast by Josias Ibach in 1679, with the marble plinth featuring carvings by Grinling Gibbons . The Upper Ward adjoins
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#17327941436817956-467: The King's Chamber in the palace, and had the roof of the Great Kitchen rebuilt in 1489. He also built a three-storied tower on the west end of the palace, which he used for his personal apartments. Windsor began to be used for international diplomatic events, including the grand visit of Philip I of Castile in 1506. William de la Pole , one of the surviving Yorkist claimants to the throne,
8109-482: The Lower Ward is St George's Chapel. This huge building is the spiritual home of the Order of the Garter and dates from the late 15th and early 16th century, designed in the Perpendicular Gothic style. The ornate wooden choir stalls are of 15th century design, having been restored and extended by Henry Emlyn at the end of the 18th century, and are decorated with a unique set of brass plates showing
8262-663: The North Terrace, which overlooks the River Thames , and the East Terrace, which overlooks the Home Park; both of the current terraces were constructed by Hugh May in the 17th century. The East Terrace has a private formal rose garden, first laid out by George IV in the 1820s. The present garden was updated by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, after it was used for victory garden production during World War II, tended in part by Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret. In 2020 it
8415-522: The Round Table at the castle. Edward began to construct a new building in the castle to host this order, but it was never finished. Chroniclers described it as a round building, 200 ft (61 m) across, and it was probably in the centre of the Upper Ward. Shortly afterwards, Edward abandoned the new order for reasons that remain unclear, and instead established the Order of the Garter , again with Windsor Castle as its headquarters, complete with
8568-438: The Upper Ward are built of Bagshot Heath stone faced on the inside with regular bricks, the gothic details in yellow Bath stone . The buildings in the Upper Ward are characterised by the use of small bits of flint in the mortar for galletting , originally started at the castle in the 17th century to give stonework from disparate periods a similar appearance. The skyline of the Upper Ward is designed to be dramatic when seen from
8721-431: The Upper Ward. Wyatville redesigned the exterior of the gatehouse, and the interior was later heavily converted in the 19th century for residential use. The Upper Ward of Windsor Castle comprises a number of major buildings enclosed by the upper bailey wall, forming a central quadrangle. The State Apartments run along the north of the ward, with a range of buildings along the east wall, and the private royal apartments and
8874-435: The accession of the 14-year-old Edward III . In 1347 he obtained a licence to build a manor house or small castle at Bramshill, which included a 2,500-acre (1,000 ha) wooded park. The house, built between 1351 and 1360, had thick walls, vaulted cellars, and an internal courtyard measuring 100 by 80 feet (30 by 24 m). Based on the similarity of the surviving vaults under Bramshill House and those under what became
9027-532: The accommodation rather than the defences. The castle played a role during the revolt of the English barons : the castle was besieged in 1214, and John used the castle as his base during the negotiations before the signing of Magna Carta at nearby Runnymede in 1215. In 1216 the castle was besieged again by baronial and French troops under the command of the Count of Nevers , but John's constable , Engelard de Cigogné , successfully defended it. The damage done to
9180-399: The architect John Thorpe , although no records remain to confirm the attribution. Surviving records do show that the stone mason Richard Goodridge was working at Bramshill in 1617 and again in 1621 and the authors of the revised Hampshire volume of Pevsner's Buildings of England suggest him as a possible alternative designer. The building stands on the edge of a plateau, overlooking
9333-476: The arms of the Knights of the Garter over the last six centuries. On the west side, the chapel has a grand Victorian door and staircase, used on ceremonial occasions. The east stained glass window is Victorian, and the oriel window to the north side of it was built by Henry VIII for Catherine of Aragon . The vault in front of the altar houses the remains of Henry VIII, Jane Seymour and Charles I , with Edward IV buried nearby. The chapel
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#17327941436819486-536: The attendant Poor Knights of Windsor . As part of this process Edward decided to rebuild Windsor Castle, in particular Henry III's palace, in an attempt to construct a castle that would be symbolic of royal power and chivalry. Edward was influenced both by the military successes of his grandfather, Edward I, and by the decline of royal authority under his father, Edward II, and aimed to produce an innovative, "self-consciously aesthetic, muscled, martial architecture". Edward placed William of Wykeham in overall charge of
9639-670: The building in 1871 and little of the original structure remains. Other ranges originally built by Edward III sit alongside the Horseshoe, featuring stone perpendicular tracery . As of 2011, they are used as offices, a library and as the houses for the Dean and Canons . Behind the Horseshoe Cloister is the Curfew Tower, one of the oldest surviving parts of the Lower Ward and dating from the 13th century. The interior of
9792-531: The castle during the second siege was immediately repaired in 1216 and 1221 by Cigogné on behalf of John's successor Henry III , who further strengthened the defences. The walls of the Lower Ward were rebuilt in stone, complete with a gatehouse in the location of the future Henry VIII Gate, between 1224 and 1230. Three new towers, the Curfew, Garter and the Salisbury towers, were constructed. The Middle Ward
9945-634: The castle's accommodation to its limits. By the middle of the 15th century England was increasingly divided between the rival royal factions of the Lancastrians and the Yorkists . Castles such as Windsor did not play a decisive role during the resulting Wars of the Roses (1455–1485), which were fought primarily in the form of pitched battles between the rival factions. Henry VI , born at Windsor Castle and known as Henry of Windsor, became king at
10098-462: The central archway of the loggia in the Doric , Ionic , and Corinthian orders, surmounted by a florid perforated pediment. In addition there is an oriel window on the first floor above the main entrance. An important difference from the other sides of this building is a terrace, 25 feet (7.6 m) in width, between the projecting wings, a kind of architectural foreground to the garden. The terrace
10251-593: The centre for royal entertainment for much of her reign. During the First World War , the historic estate inspired the naming of the royal House of Windsor . In the reign of George VI , it was used as a refuge by the royal family during the Luftwaffe bombing campaigns of the Second World War . An extensive restoration of several state rooms took place after the castle survived a fire in 1992 . It
10404-535: The chapel drawing room. The ghost of a young child allegedly haunts the library and the Fleur de Lys room; the child has supposedly been heard crying, and attempts to hold visitors' hands. Folklore holds that the Grey Lady was the child's mother. A lady dressed in the style of Queen Anne , and a knight in armour, are reported to have been seen in the chapel drawing room. The chapel itself is purportedly frequented by
10557-696: The chapel is a range of buildings including the lodgings of the Military Knights , and the residence of the Governor of the Military Knights . These buildings originate from the 16th century and are still used by the Knights, who represent the Order of the Garter each Sunday. On the south side of the Ward is King Henry VIII's gateway, which bears the coat of arms of Catherine of Aragon and forms
10710-401: The chapel room is older than the house, and was assessed by an expert as dating to 1450 or earlier; in the early 19th century it had hung in the Red Drawing Room. When the chapel ceiling was restored by Sir William Cope, it was discovered that one section of the plaster work had previously been replaced with carved wood. The large window in the south wall of the courtyard was presumably moved from
10863-451: The chapel, covered in ornamental ironwork, is the original door from 1246. At the west end of the Lower Ward is the Horseshoe Cloister, originally built in 1480, near to the chapel to house its clergy. It houses the vicars-choral, or lay clerks of the chapel. This curved brick and timber building is said to have been designed to resemble the shape of a fetlock , one of the badges used by Edward IV. George Gilbert Scott heavily restored
11016-574: The chest on display was not the original, which had been proved large enough by "a woman of comely proportions" who had tested it by lying down in it, but which had been taken away by Sir Denzil Cope's widow in 1812. Bramshill Bramshill is a civil parish in the English county of Hampshire . Its name has become synonymous with the Police Staff College, Bramshill located in Bramshill House . Bramshill forms part of
11169-553: The course of the River Hart . Within the grounds is a private lane, Lower Pool Road, which connects Mansion Drive to Reading Drive South, passing the pond and several outer buildings. The latitudinal and longitudinal location is 51°19'57.9"N 0°54'43.2"W or also, 51.332759, −0.911991. The 1086 Domesday Book lists one of the two manors of Bromeselle (the Anglo-Norman spelling of Bromshyll ) as held by Hugh de Port . In
11322-467: The decade after the Norman conquest of 1066. William established a defensive ring of motte and bailey castles around London; each was a day's march – about 20 miles (32 km) – from the City and from the next castle, allowing for easy reinforcements in a crisis. Windsor Castle, one of this ring of fortifications, was strategically important because of its proximity to both the River Thames ,
11475-459: The drawing room contain scenes from Roman history and were based on designs by Peter Paul Rubens , who supervised the work in Brussels. These tapestries were initially made for Dudley Carleton, 1st Viscount Dorchester , Zouche's brother-diplomat, but in the end he rejected them for another set; how the first set came to Bramshill is not known. Rubens's sketches for the first and last tapestries in
11628-513: The early 14th century, Sir John Foxley ( c. 1270 – c. 1325), Baron of the Exchequer , built and endowed a chapel in the village of Bramshill. His first wife, Constance de Bramshill, may have been the heiress of the Bramshill family. Their son, Thomas Foxley (c. 1305–1360), became MP for Berkshire in 1325, and was appointed constable of Windsor Castle in 1328, soon after
11781-485: The end of the war, some 3,580 ounces (101 kg) of gold and silver plate had been looted. Prince Rupert of the Rhine , a prominent Royalist general, attempted to relieve Windsor Castle that November. Rupert's small force of cavalry was able to take the town of Windsor, but was unable to overcome the walls at Windsor Castle – in due course, Rupert was forced to retreat. Over the winter of 1642–1643, Windsor Castle
11934-416: The estate to William Paulet , whose heirs sold it in 1600 to Sir Stephen Thornhurst of Agnes Court, Kent . In March 1605, Edward la Zouche, 11th Baron Zouche , a favourite of James I , bought the property from Thornhurst. A house was earlier planned on the site for Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (1594–1612), whose heraldic feathers are displayed above the central pediment. Lord Zouche demolished
12087-464: The exception of the Hall, Chapel and the Great Chamber, the new interiors all shared a similar height and width. The defensive features, however, were primarily for show, possibly to provide a backdrop for jousting between the two-halves of the Order of the Garter. Edward built further luxurious, self-contained lodgings for his court around the east and south edges of the Upper Ward, creating
12240-422: The expense of considerably weakening the castle's defences. Early in his reign, Henry had given the eastern Lady Chapel to Cardinal Wolsey for Wolsey's future mausoleum. Benedetto Grazzini converted much of this into an Italian Renaissance design, before Wolsey's fall from power brought an end to the project, with contemporaries estimating that around £60,000 (£295 million in 2008 terms) had been spent on
12393-447: The fire, these trophies are famous for their "vitality, precision and three-dimensional quality", and were originally brought from Carlton House in 1826, some being originally imported from France and others carved by Edward Wyatt. The soft furnishings of these rooms, although luxurious, are more modest than the 1820s originals, both on the grounds of modern taste and cost. Wyatville's design retains three rooms originally built by May in
12546-488: The foot of the staircase. Across from this is the former dining room, containing a large tapestry, believed to have been made by an English artist, "representing forest scenery in very subdued colours". During the time of the Cope family in the 1880s, the kitchen near the south hall was used as a dairy. The kitchen and the adjoining room had back-to-back fireplaces. The drawing room, containing four bay windows of different sizes,
12699-411: The gamekeepers with his crossbow. An inquiry cleared him of murder. Another notable clergyman/hunter who frequented Bramshill was Charles Kingsley , rector of Eversley, who hunted fox and deer and collected butterflies there and frequently took his family and friends. Kingsley was reportedly especially enamoured of the fir trees, which he considered "a source of constant delight", fondly naming them "James
12852-433: The gardens and continued the planting of trees in the park. At the close of the 18th century the grounds were re-landscaped to be less formal, and some areas in the south were returned to parkland. Bramshill Park was conceived as a "hunting box" for Henry Frederick and became a popular estate for hunting. On 24 July 1621, while hunting in the park, George Abbot , Archbishop of Canterbury , accidentally shot and killed one of
13005-400: The gatehouse of the earlier Foxley house. The southern façade was described by Nikolaus Pevsner as "among the most fanciful pieces of Jacobean design in [England]". It is three storeys high and features three sets of three bays in either wing, with five inner sections. The outer two of the inner sections feature eight angular windows, aligned in rows of four on the first two floors and then
13158-414: The ghost of a lady in 17th-century dress, and by that of a nun. A young man dressed in 1920s tennis garb, reputed to be a Cope family member who fell from a train, has supposedly been seen in the reception area of the house. A small boy documented to haunt the terrace is said to have fallen from the roof sometime in the 18th century. In addition, Bramshill House was cited by the historian William Page as
13311-420: The governor of the castle for the duration of the war. The contents of St George's Chapel were both valuable and, to many Parliamentary forces, inappropriately high church in style. Looting began immediately: Edward IV's bejewelled coat of mail was stolen; the chapel's organs, windows and books destroyed; the Lady Chapel was emptied of valuables, including the component parts of Henry VIII's unfinished tomb. By
13464-422: The help of the architect Hugh May , creating a set of extravagant Baroque interiors. After a period of neglect during the 18th century, George III and George IV renovated and rebuilt Charles II's palace at colossal expense, producing the current design of the state apartments, full of Rococo , Gothic and Baroque furnishings. Queen Victoria made a few minor changes to the castle, which became
13617-430: The heritage property developers City & Country in August 2014. Among the 14 ghosts reputed to haunt the house is that of a bride who accidentally locked herself in a chest on her wedding night and was not found until 50 years later. Bramshill House is at the approximate centre of a triangle formed by Reading , Basingstoke and Farnborough , about 47 miles (76 km) by road southwest of central London. It lies to
13770-404: The hitherto separate arts of architecture, painting and carving. A handful of rooms in the modern State Apartments reflect either 18th-century or Victorian Gothic design. The State Dining Room, for example, whose current design originates from the 1850s but which was badly damaged during the 1992 fire, is restored to its appearance in the 1920s, before the removal of some of the gilded features on
13923-421: The house was partly destroyed by a fire. On 25 June 1640, Lord Antrim sold Bramshill for £9,500 to Sir Robert Henley. In 1673 it was the property of his son, Sir Andrew Henley, 1st Baronet . Sir John Cope purchased the property in 1699, and his descendants occupied the premises until 1935. The Cope family shortened the wings on the south side in 1703, converted most of the chapel to a drawing room and introduced
14076-421: The house, the wider 490-acre (200 ha) medieval park, landscaped from the 17th to the 20th century, with 250 acres (100 ha) of woodland and buildings including an icehouse and a folly known as Conduit House. Parts of the park have been used for commercial softwood production since the 19th century. To the west of the house is Peatmoor Copse and to the east Bramshill Forest, and the grounds contained what
14229-478: The house. The wider medieval park was landscaped from the 17th to the 20th century and contains woodland. Bramshill appears to have been a local sporting and social venue since the 16th century. The cricket ground at the house played host to a first-class match in 1823 when an early Hampshire team played an England XI , and it hosted three other matches in 1825–26. During the Second World War,
14382-469: The influence of Windsor Castle can easily be seen. The new castle was used to hold French prisoners taken at the Battle of Poitiers in 1357, including King John II , who was held for a considerable ransom . Later in the century, the castle also found favour with Richard II . Richard conducted restoration work on St George's Chapel, the work being carried out by Geoffrey Chaucer , who served as
14535-400: The keep suffered a substantial collapse – archaeological evidence shows that the southern side of the motte subsided by over 6 ft (2 m). Timber piles were driven in to support the motte and the old wooden keep was replaced with a new stone shell keep , with a probable gateway to the north-east and a new stone well. A chemise , or low protective wall, was subsequently added to
14688-465: The keep. Henry II came to the throne in 1154 and built extensively at Windsor between 1165 and 1179. Henry replaced the wooden palisade surrounding the upper ward with a stone wall interspersed with square towers and built the first King's Gate. The first stone keep was suffering from subsidence, and cracks were beginning to appear in the stonework of the south side. Henry replaced the keep with another stone shell keep and chemise wall, but moved
14841-511: The kitchen courtyard. The great hall had numerous large windows looking out across the ward. The range had an unusual, unified roof-line and, with a taller roof than the rest of the palace, would have been highly distinctive. The Rose Tower, designed for the king's private use, set off the west corner of the range. The result was a "great and apparently architecturally unified palace ... uniform in all sorts of ways, as to roof line, window heights, cornice line, floor and ceiling heights". With
14994-593: The lawn; one such painting by Joseph Nash , now in the National Fencing Museum , depicts 17th-century rapier practice, with a number of upper-class men, women and children as spectators. The cricket ground at the house first played host to a first-class match in 1823 when an early Hampshire team played an England XI . Hampshire won by five wickets. Two further first-class matches were played there in 1825, when Hampshire drew against Godalming and defeated Sussex . A final first-class match
15147-406: The lower part. The ceilings of the drawing room and library are the most elaborate in the house. The plaster frieze in the library also displays fine workmanship; 1 foot 7 inches (0.48 m) wide, it is designed in a striking arabesque pattern, with an evident Florentine influence. In the 1880s the library had a collection of 5,000 volumes, about half the number the Cope family owned at
15300-413: The lower, 2 feet 7 inches by 2 feet 6 inches (.79 m × .76 m). The massive chimneypiece in the drawing room is classically designed, believed to be inspired by one of the great Italian architects of 16th-century Mannerism , Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola . It is two storeys in height, the lower being Doric and the upper Ionic. The distribution of the members is regular, and
15453-494: The major part of the Upper Ward and lie along the north side of the quadrangle. The modern building follows the medieval foundations laid down by Edward III , with the ground floor comprising service chambers and cellars, and the much grander first floor forming the main part of the palace. On the first floor, the layout of the western end of the State Apartments is primarily the work of architect Hugh May , whereas
15606-478: The mansion was used as a Red Cross maternity home , before becoming the residence of the exiled King Michael and Queen Anne of Romania for a number of years. It became the location of the Police Staff College in 1960, and was later home to the European Police College . As a result, many campus buildings have been added to the estate. Owing to escalating maintenance costs the property was sold to
15759-405: The mansion, while several rooms have large tapestries depicting historical figures and events on their panelled walls. The house is set in 262 acres (106 ha) of grounds containing an 18-acre (7.3 ha) lake. The grounds, which received a Grade II* listing in 1984, are part of a Registered Historic Park that includes about 25 acres (10 ha) of early 17th-century formal gardens near
15912-420: The modern shape of the quadrangle. The Norman gate was built to secure the west entrance to the Ward. In the Lower Ward, the chapel was enlarged and remodelled with grand buildings for the canons built alongside. The earliest weight-driven mechanical clock in England was installed by Edward III in the Round Tower in 1354. William of Wykeham went on to build New College, Oxford and Winchester College , where
16065-520: The new stained glass windows commemorating the fire, designed by Joseph Nuttgen and Prince Philip . The Great Kitchen, with its newly exposed 14th-century roof lantern sitting alongside Wyatville's fireplaces, chimneys and Gothic tables, is also a product of the reconstruction after the fire. The ground floor of the State Apartments retains various famous medieval features. The 14th-century Great Undercroft still survives, some 193 feet (59 m) long by 31 feet (9.4 m) wide, divided into 13 bays. At
16218-493: The north and east. There are three vaulted cellars to the west. The house is built of red brick laid in English bond dressed with stone, with ashlar quoining at the corners of the wings. Stone dressings are featured on numerous large mullion windows. An open carved parapet surmounts the building. The roof consists of red tiles, and there are large gables on the west side. The chimney stacks are rectangular. The north façade has three bays separated by windows and features
16371-599: The north side of the Upper Ward, called Little Cloister, King's Cloister and the Kitchen Court. At the front of the palace lay the St George's Hall range, which combined a new hall and a new chapel. This range had two symmetrical gatehouses, the Spicerie Gatehouse and the Kitchen Gatehouse. The Spicerie Gatehouse was the main entrance into the palace, while the Kitchen Gatehouse simply led into
16524-527: The northeast of Hartley Wintney , east of Hazeley off the B3349 road, southeast of the village of Bramshill , which lies on the B3011 road. Three main lanes approach the property: Mansion Drive from the B3011 in the southwest, Reading Drive South from the B3011 to the east of Bramshill village from the north, and the shorter Pheasantry Drive which approaches it from the southeast from Chalwin's Copse, just north of
16677-455: The oldest broadleaved woodlands in Europe. In the Home Park, to the north of the castle, stands a private school, St George's , which provides choristers to the chapel. Eton College is located about half a mile from the castle, across the River Thames , reflecting the fact that it was a royal foundation of Henry VI . Windsor Castle was originally built by William the Conqueror in
16830-462: The original chapel. The house is set in 262 acres (106 ha) of grounds, which include an 18-acre (7.3 ha) lake north of the house. The grounds form part of a Registered Historic Park that received a Grade II* listing in 1984; this was subsequently upgraded to Grade I in September 2017. Under this designation are the 25 acres (10 ha) of early 17th-century formal gardens near
16983-470: The original construction. It has a dais and a Jacobean stone screen, 13 feet (4.0 m) high, decorated with 92 shields. Resident families emblazoned the shields with the arms of ancestors and family members. The entablature of the screen has a double row of 40 sculptured shields and has a depth of 2 feet 6 inches (0.76 m). Beyond the dais, double doors lead into the Terrace Hall at
17136-418: The panelling in the garden room, which he had traced when two of the bedrooms were being repainted. The billiard room has a hidden door leading to the original entrance on the north side of the house through the Foxley gatehouse into the interior courtyard, and several doorways remain in the kitchen and housekeeping areas. The Great Hall, to which an arcaded porch gives direct access, retains the basic design of
17289-433: The park to the south. The plan of the house is unusual, partly because of its incorporation of the earlier building; it extends at right angles to the primary (southern) façade. The elevations are symmetrical, facing outwards, but the interior court is narrow, and projecting wings lie at either end of the eastern and western sides. Bramshill House is three storeys high on the southern main entrance side and two storeys high to
17442-541: The pilasters. Anthony Salvin 's Grand Staircase is also of mid-Victorian design in the Gothic style, rising to a double-height hall lit by an older 18th-century Gothic vaulted lantern tower called the Grand Vestibule, designed by James Wyatt and executed by Francis Bernasconi . The staircase has been criticised by historian John Robinson as being a distinctly inferior design to the earlier staircases built on
17595-489: The principal castle gateway in about 1510 and constructed a tennis court at the base of the motte in the Upper Ward. He also built a long terrace, called the North Wharf, along the outside wall of the Upper Ward; constructed of wood, it was designed to provide a commanding view of the River Thames below. The design included an outside staircase into the king's apartments, which made the monarch's life more comfortable at
17748-409: The property than on any of her other palaces. She conducted some modest building works at Windsor, including a wide range of repairs to the existing structures. She converted the North Wharf into a permanent, huge stone terrace, complete with statues, carvings and an octagonal, outdoor banqueting house, raising the western end of the terrace to provide more privacy. The chapel was refitted with stalls,
17901-432: The rebellions and political strife of 1549, Windsor was again used as a safe-haven for the king and the Duke of Somerset . Edward famously commented while staying at Windsor Castle during this period that "Methink I am in a prison, here are no galleries, nor no gardens to walk in". Under both Edward and his sister, Mary I , some limited building work continued at the castle, in many cases using resources recovered from
18054-424: The rebuilding and design of the new castle and while work was ongoing Edward stayed in temporary accommodation in the Round Tower. Between 1350 and 1377 Edward spent £51,000 on renovating Windsor Castle; this was the largest amount spent by any English medieval monarch on a single building operation, and over one and a half times Edward's typical annual income of £30,000. Some of the costs of the castle were paid from
18207-485: The recommended work was carried out. Nonetheless, Charles employed Nicholas Stone to improve the chapel gallery in the Mannerist style and to construct a gateway in the North Terrace. Christian van Vianen, a noted Dutch goldsmith, was employed to produce a baroque gold service for the St George's Chapel altar. In the final years of peace, Charles demolished the fountain in the Upper Ward, intending to replace it with
18360-499: The reigning monarch and is the longest-occupied palace in Europe. The castle's lavish early 19th-century state apartments were described by the art historian Hugh Roberts as "a superb and unrivalled sequence of rooms widely regarded as the finest and most complete expression of later Georgian taste". Inside the castle walls is the 15th-century St George's Chapel , considered by the historian John Martin Robinson to be "one of
18513-426: The resulting drunken behaviour of the two kings. The absence of space at Windsor continued to prove problematic, with James' English and Scottish retinues often quarrelling over rooms. Charles I was a connoisseur of art, and paid greater attention to the aesthetic aspects of Windsor Castle than his predecessors. Charles had the castle completely surveyed by a team including Inigo Jones in 1629, but little of
18666-452: The results of ransoms following Edward's victories at the battles of Crécy , Calais and Poitiers . Windsor Castle was already a substantial building before Edward began expanding it, making the investment all the more impressive, and much of the expenditure was lavished on rich furnishings. The castle was "the most expensive secular building project of the entire Middle Ages in England". Edward's new palace consisted of three courts along
18819-588: The same site by both Wyatt and May. Some parts of the State Apartments were completely destroyed in the 1992 fire and this area was rebuilt in a style called "Downesian Gothic", named after the architect Giles Downes . The style comprises "the rather stripped, cool and systematic coherence of modernism sewn into a reinterpretation of the Gothic tradition". Downes argues that the style avoids "florid decoration", emphasising an organic, flowing Gothic structure. Three new rooms were built or remodelled by Downes at Windsor. Downes' new hammer-beam roof of St George's Hall
18972-482: The same time to more closely match modern tastes. Art historian Hugh Roberts has praised the State Apartments as "a superb and unrivalled sequence of rooms widely regarded as the finest and most complete expression of later Georgian taste." Others, such as architect Robin Nicolson and critic Hugh Pearman , have described them as "bland" and "distinctly dull". Wyatville's most famous work are those rooms designed in
19125-569: The secondary entrance to the castle. Windsor Castle's position on top of steep ground has meant that the castle's gardens are limited in scale. The castle gardens stretch east from the Upper Ward across a 19th-century terrace. Windsor Castle is surrounded by extensive parkland. The immediate area stretching to the east of the castle is a 19th-century creation known as the Home Park . The Home Park includes parkland and two working farms, along with many estate cottages mainly occupied by employees and
19278-465: The series are in Alte Pinakothek (Munich). The west section of the ground floor contains the former dining room and kitchen. The openings in the wall between the billiard room and the garden room had been blocked up but the rooms were reconnected in the 19th century under Sir William Henry Cope, uncovering an original doorway with a four-centred pointed arch. Cope applied arabesque patterns to
19431-440: The shafts of the columns are variegated marble . The upper compartment of the chimneypiece is composed of separate pieces of the same diversified material, and the frieze of the upper order also consists of coloured marble in the centre. The fireplace is 6 feet (1.8 m) wide and 4 feet 8 inches (1.42 m) high, and retains the ancient andirons , used for burning wood. These are large and well adorned, particularly in
19584-470: The similar chapel that Henry VI had ordered to be constructed at nearby Eton College . Richard III made only a brief use of Windsor Castle before his defeat at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, but had the body of Henry VI moved from Chertsey Abbey in Surrey to the castle to allow it to be visited by pilgrims more easily. Henry VII made more use of Windsor. In 1488, shortly after succeeding to
19737-542: The size of the royal retinue visiting Windsor had to be restricted because of the growing numbers. During the Pilgrimage of Grace , a huge uprising in the north of England against Henry's rule in 1536, the king used Windsor as a secure base in the south from which to manage his military response. Throughout the Tudor period, Windsor was also used as a safe retreat in the event of plagues occurring in London. Henry rebuilt
19890-428: The structure on the eastern side represents Jeffry Wyatville's plans. The interior of the State Apartments was mostly designed by Wyatville in the early 19th century. Wyatville intended each room to illustrate a particular architectural style and to display the matching furnishings and fine arts of the period. With some alterations over the years, this concept continues to dominate the apartments. Different rooms follow
20043-407: The supreme achievements of English Perpendicular Gothic " design. Originally designed to project Norman dominance around the outskirts of London and oversee a strategically important part of the River Thames , Windsor Castle was built as a motte-and-bailey , with three wards surrounding a central mound. Gradually replaced with stone fortifications , the castle withstood a prolonged siege during
20196-439: The throne, he held a massive feast for the Order of the Garter at the castle. He completed the roof of St George's Chapel, and set about converting the older eastern Lady Chapel into a proposed shrine to Henry VI, whose canonisation was then considered imminent. In the event, Henry VI was not canonised and the project was abandoned, although the shrine continued to attract a flood of pilgrims. Henry VII appears to have remodelled
20349-613: The time of the 1992 fire, the Undercroft had been divided into smaller rooms; the area is now opened up to form a single space in an effort to echo the undercrofts at Fountains and Rievaulx Abbeys , although the floor remains artificially raised for convenience of use. The "beautifully vaulted" 14th-century Larderie passage runs alongside the Kitchen Courtyard and is decorated with carved royal roses, marking its construction by Edward III. The Lower Ward lies below and to
20502-410: The time. The standards and balusters of the stairs on the north side of the hall came from Eversley Manor House and probably date to the mid-17th century, although the treads are original to the house and possibly mid-16th century. The walls above the stairs and on the first-floor landing contain some very large paintings, including several portraits. Beyond the staircase are the state rooms and what
20655-417: The tower contains a former dungeon, and the remnants of a sally port , a secret exit for the occupants in a time of siege. The upper storey contains the castle bells placed there in 1478, and the castle clock of 1689. The French-style conical roof is a 19th-century attempt by Anthony Salvin to remodel the tower in the fashion of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc 's recreation of Carcassonne . On the opposite side of
20808-406: The walls in from the edge of the motte to relieve the pressure on the mound, and added massive foundations along the south side to provide additional support. Inside the castle Henry remodelled the royal accommodation. Bagshot Heath stone was used for most of the work, and stone from Bedfordshire for the internal buildings. King John undertook some building works at Windsor, but primarily to
20961-464: The west of the Round Tower, reached through the Norman Gate. Originally largely of medieval design, most of the Lower Ward was renovated or reconstructed during the mid-Victorian period by Anthony Salvin and Edward Blore , to form a "consistently Gothic composition". The Lower Ward holds St George's Chapel and most of the buildings associated with the Order of the Garter. On the north side of
21114-458: The west, including the kitchen garden, Grade I listed garden walls and gateways to the north and east, and the Grade II listed late 18th-century stable block to the north. Bramshill has been cited as one of the most haunted houses in England. According to one UK police officer who worked at the college, 14 ghosts have purportedly been identified, although another officer at the college did not take these suggestions seriously. They include
21267-466: The winter, and fences were burned as firewood. In 1647 Charles, then a prisoner of Parliament, was brought to the castle for a period under arrest, before being moved to Hampton Court . In 1648 there was a Royalist plan, never enacted, to seize Windsor Castle. The Parliamentary Army Council moved into Windsor in November and decided to try Charles for treason. Charles was held at Windsor again for
21420-408: The work. Henry continued the project, but it remained unfinished when he himself was buried in the chapel, in an elaborate funeral in 1547. By contrast, the young Edward VI disliked Windsor Castle. Edward's Protestant beliefs led him to simplify the Garter ceremonies, to discontinue the annual Feast of the Garter at Windsor and to remove any signs of Catholic practices with the Order. During
21573-458: The young age of nine months. His long period of minority, coupled with the increasing tensions between Henry's Lancastrian supporters and the Yorkists, distracted attention from Windsor. The Garter Feasts and other ceremonial activities at the castle became more infrequent and less well attended. Edward IV seized power in 1461. When Edward captured Henry's wife, Margaret of Anjou , she
21726-433: Was Lord Brocket, who sold the estate in 1952. Until the sale of the estate, residents of Bramshill rented their houses very cheaply, the landlord being responsible for all repairs. [REDACTED] Media related to Bramshill at Wikimedia Commons This Hampshire location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in
21879-399: Was announced that for a limited time the garden would be open to the public for the first time in 40 years. Traditionally the Upper Ward was judged to be "to all intents and purposes a nineteenth century creation ... the image of what the early nineteenth-century thought a castle should be", as a result of the extensive redesign of the castle by Wyatville under George IV . The walls of
22032-472: Was brought back to be detained at the castle. Edward began to revive the Order of the Garter, and held a particularly lavish feast in 1472. Edward began the construction of the present St. George's Chapel in 1475, resulting in the dismantling of several of the older buildings in the Lower Ward. By building the grand chapel Edward was seeking to show that his new dynasty were the permanent rulers of England, and may also have been attempting to deliberately rival
22185-480: Was captured for the queen's entertainment in William Shakespeare 's play, The Merry Wives of Windsor . James I used Windsor Castle primarily as a base for hunting, one of his favourite pursuits, and for socialising with his friends. Many of these occasions involved extensive drinking sessions, including one with Christian IV of Denmark in 1606 that became infamous across Europe for
22338-420: Was constructed to the east of the keep, forming the later Upper Ward. By the end of the century, another bailey had been constructed to the west, creating the basic shape of the modern castle. In design, Windsor most closely resembled Arundel Castle , another powerful early Norman fortification, but the double bailey design was also found at Rockingham and Alnwick Castle . Windsor was not initially used as
22491-471: Was converted into the headquarters for the Earl of Essex , a senior Parliamentary general. The Horseshoe Cloister was taken over as a prison for captured Royalists, and the resident canons were expelled from the castle. The Lady Chapel was turned into a magazine . Looting by the underpaid garrison continued to be a problem; 500 royal deer were killed across the Windsor Great Park during
22644-419: Was designated a Grade I listed building in 1952. The mansion's southern façade is notable for its decorative architecture, which includes at its centre a large oriel window above the principal entrance. Interior features include a great hall displaying 92 coats of arms on a Jacobean screen, an ornate drawing room, and a 126.5-foot-long (38.6 m) gallery. Numerous columns and friezes are found throughout
22797-413: Was heavily reinforced with a southern stone wall, protected by the new Edward III and Henry III towers at each end. Windsor Castle was one of Henry III's three favourite residences and he invested heavily in the royal accommodation, spending more money at Windsor than in any other of his properties. Following his marriage to Eleanor of Provence , Henry built a luxurious palace in 1240–1263, based around
22950-491: Was held there in 1826 when a combined Hampshire and Surrey team played and lost to Sussex. In 1935, the house was purchased from the Cope family by Ronald Nall-Cain, 2nd Baron Brocket , the house's last private owner. It was used by the Red Cross as a maternity home during the Second World War, after which it became the home of the exiled King Michael and Queen Anne of Romania for several years." Bramshill House became
23103-463: Was imprisoned at Windsor Castle during Henry's reign, before his execution in 1513. Henry VIII enjoyed Windsor Castle, as a young man "exercising himself daily in shooting, singing, dancing, wrestling, casting of the bar, playing at the recorders, flute, virginals, in setting of songs and making of ballads". The tradition of the Garter Feasts was maintained and became more extravagant;
23256-473: Was known as the "Green Court" and the "Flower Garden" at the time of William Henry Cope in the 1880s. The Grade I listed gatehouse dates to the time of the Foxleys. The fir trees in the grounds are reputed to have been planted "as a memento of his former home" by James I, who brought them from Scotland. The formal gardens were first laid out by Edward la Zouche, a horticulturist. Sir John Cope redesigned
23409-517: Was known as the "Wrought Room". The room has an ornamental ceiling with a Renaissance chimneypiece. Two of the bedrooms, the two "White Rooms", were originally connected to what was called the Flower-de-luce Room, but the doors have been boarded up. The Long Gallery fills the first floor of the northern range: 126.5 feet (38.6 m) long and with a richly decorated stucco ceiling and a complex wooden chimneypiece, it formerly contained
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