Windsor Castle is the largest and the oldest castle in the world to still be occupied. After the fire, a massive restoration of the damaged area began. The state would pay for the structural work, while the monarchy would pay to replace objects that were part of the Royal Collection. After an uproar from the public, the Queen promised that the cost of the restoration would in no way fall on taxpayers. In fact, 70% of the the total cost (37 million British Pounds) was made up by allowing the public to see the staterooms of Buckingham Palace - something that had never been done before - for a fee. The restoration was finally completed in 1997. It was done so well that it is hard to tell which rooms were affected by the fire. In one room, the original floor was preserved by lifting up the wood panels, turning them upside down, and putting them back in place. In many cases, the rooms were restored to be more historically accurate to their original appearance. Unfortunately, photography is not allowed inside many parts of the castle so I was limited in my picture taking abilities. I don't think the beauty of these rooms would be able to come through in a photograph anyway.
Like many large castles in England, Windsor was added on to many times. With the exception of one small section, the entire castle was rebuilt be King Henry III starting in 1350. The tower shown above, called "the Round Tower", replaced the original round tower which would have been the oldest part of the original castle. Castle building at that time involved constructing a large central tower on a raised hill with a ditch dug out around it (making the tower itself stand seemingly taller and making it easier to defend). This was called a "keep", which was the most heavily defended part of the castle. Outer defensive walls and towers would be built in a circle around the keep.
We missed the big changing of the guard ceremony that usually is a daily occurrence - for some reason they were not doing it that day. We did see several times though these guards in uniform walking in a procession up and down a central path through the castle grounds. Not a huge loss, the main changing of the guards ceremony that everyone goes to see is at Buckingham Palace, and that always happens everyday. I will be sure to stop by one day and get pictures of that.
St. George's Chapel has a long history and is the chapel of the Order of the Garter, a medieval order of knights that continues to be the highest honor in the United Kingdom. It is also the final resting place of many famous monarchs, including King Henry VIII (we walked across his tomb on the floor inside), Jane Seymour, King George III, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth - The Queen Mother, and is the assumed chosen resting place of the current Queen Elizabeth II.
The castle is absolutely huge. It's floor area is about 484,000 square feet. The land immediately surrounding the castle is called "Home Park" and includes two working farms. Also adjacent is the "Windsor Great Park" that used to be the private hunting grounds of the castle. The 5,000 acre deer park is now mostly open to the public.
After touring the castle, we had about an hour to walk around the town of Windsor. On the way into a pub for lunch, we ran into this character, who immediately started up a conversation. He claims to be the owner of an upscale night club in Greenwich Village in NY that has a 6-month wait list to get in. He also claims to have known personally Frank Sinatra. Jessica and I don't really believe him, but he was fun to listen to anyway. Once inside the pub, we found out that he has been banned from coming inside because he likes to sing really loudly. So every once in a while he will find someone to bring in his money and an empty glass to be refilled. Notice the brandy glass next to him on the left.
This is inside the pub, where Jessica and I ordered some take-away (British for take out) fish and chips to eat on the bus. The older fellow to the left of the cash register struck up a conversation, although between his local accent and his drunkenness he was hard to understand. Apparently he lives way out in the middle of nowhere, and between walking and the bus it takes about an hour to get to the pub (which I assume is a somewhat daily occurrence).
On the way back to the bus, we passed this interested building, "the crooked house of Windsor". Formally known as the Market Cross House, the original structure was built in 1592. Then in 1687 the town council ordered the building to be demolished because of a land dispute. The new building erected in its place soon after (shown in the picture above) got its famous lean in 1718 when it was restructured with unseasoned green oak. And an interesting note: there used to be a secret passage from the basement leading to Windsor Castle - a short block away. It was apparently used for King Charles to meet with his mistress,Nell Gywn, and for taking food to the castle kitchens. After starting out as a butcher shop, it has also been home to a jewelry shop, brewery, antique shop, and gift shop. The 300 year old building is now a restaurant and tea room.
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