A photographic tour
No Victorian site would be complete
without a castle and what better choice than Windsor Castle. For centuries the Queens have
resided here and filled it with beautiful treasures.
First a little history:
William the Conqueror, with the help of
his army, commenced the construction of Windsor Castle. High above the River Thames, on
the edge of a Saxon hunting ground, the castle was designed to guard the western
approaches to the capitol.
(Click here for a
beautiful ariel shot)
Since those early days, Windsor Castle
has been inhabited continuously and improved and restored by successive monarchs according
to their taste and style. Some were great builders, strengthening the castle against
uprising and rebellion. Others living in more peaceful times created a palace within the
apartments of their ancestors.
Today, nine centuries after its
foundation, the castle continues to perform its prime role as an official residence of The
Queen. The State Apartments are the formal rooms
used for ceremonial, state and official occasions. They range from the smaller, intimate
rooms of Charles II's apartments to the vast scale of the Waterloo Chamber, built to
commemorate the famous victory over Napoleon in 1815.
St. George’s Hall
described as a modern interpretation of Gothic,
constructed from 300 green oak trees from the cultivated woodlands around Hay. The Hall is
irregular in shape and therefore each of the 14 trusses, with subtle dimensional
variations, was custom made. Between the main structural arms of the trusses are 980
specially made shields of the Garter Knights. Legend has it that King Arthur and his
Knights of the Round Table walked through this grand hall on their way to battle for the Queen.
Lantern Lobby
An octagonal ante-room, now known as the Lantern Lobby, was created on the site of the
previous Chapel. The lobby is Gothic in design but of modern form with columns of
clustered laminated oak shafts reaching upwards to form the ribs of a vaulted ceiling.
Crimson Drawing Room
The fully restored Crimson Drawing Room. Hanging from the
gilt ceiling is the restored early nineteenth-century cut glass chandelier brought into
the room by Queen Mary in the early 1920's.
The Private Chapel
State Dining Room
The Green Drawing Room
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