Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle sits in Berkshire, about 40 kilometres west of London, overlooking a strategic stretch of the River Thames. It began as a motte-and-bailey fortress built by William the Conqueror in the 11th century after the Norman Conquest, to overawe the area around London; it has been used by the monarch since the reign of Henry I (r. 1100–1135), making it the longest continuously occupied palace in Europe. Over nearly a thousand years it has been rebuilt, layer upon layer, from a stone stronghold into a place that is at once fortress, palace and small town, holding within its walls both the 15th-century St George's Chapel and the lavish State Apartments of George IV's day. Pass through the gate and look inward along its three wards, and every wall and every tower hides a story worth pausing over.
United Kingdom · 44 The overlooked corners inside
The overlooked corners inside
Waterloo Chamber
The Waterloo Chamber is a large banqueting hall inside Windsor Castle, built between 1830 and 1831 to designs by the architect Jeffry Wyatville. It was conceived to commemorate the Duke of Wellington's victory over Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo, along with the contribution of the allied British, Prussian, Russian and Austrian forces. The room holds the portraits George IV commissioned from Sir Thomas Lawrence, depicting the leading figures who defeated Napoleon, and they still hang here today.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Round Tower
The Round Tower of Windsor Castle is not, despite its name, fully cylindrical, owing to the shape and structure of the motte beneath it. In the early 19th century the architect Jeffry Wyatville raised the tower by about 9.1 metres, giving it a more imposing profile. Its interior was redesigned between 1991 and 1993 to provide more space for the Royal Archives, with a room added within the hollow extension Wyatville had originally left empty.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
St George's Chapel
St George's Chapel — formally the Collegiate Church of St George in Windsor Castle — stands in the north part of the Lower Ward and is one of Britain's finest examples of late medieval Perpendicular Gothic architecture. It serves both as a Royal Peculiar (a church answerable directly to the sovereign) and as the chapel of the Order of the Garter. Edward III founded it in the 14th century alongside St Stephen's College, Westminster; the existing building was begun in 1475, consecrated in 1511, and completed under the successive patronage of Edward IV, Henry VII and Henry VIII. The chapel is listed as a Grade I protected building.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Windsor Castle Print Room
The Print Room is the office of the Royal Collection — part of the Royal Household — that holds the British Royal Family's collection of drawings and prints, including watercolours. It is both an institution and a physical room, currently directed by Martin Clayton, Head of Prints and Drawings. The collection is extraordinarily rich: it includes around 550 drawings by Leonardo da Vinci, as well as works by Raphael, Michelangelo and Hans Holbein the Younger (about 85 sheets). A large portion of the Old Master drawings was acquired by George III.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Garter Throne Room
The Garter Throne Room forms part of the State Apartments and has for centuries been the formal setting in which the sovereign invests new Knights and Ladies of the Garter before they proceed to St George's Chapel for the Installation ceremony. It was designed by the architect Jeffry Wyatville during George IV's ambitious remodelling of the castle; the painted ceiling by Antonio Verrio was replaced by Wyatville's moulded-plaster vault decorated with the arms of the Order of the Garter. At one end a late-18th-century gilded wooden canopy carries magnificent velvet hangings.
Sources: wikidata.org · theenchantedmanor.com · regencyhistory.net
Norman Gate
Despite its name, the Norman Gate was built in the 14th century and is the main entrance t… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Augusta Tower
Augusta Tower is a corner tower on Windsor Castle's south outer wall, forming the middle s… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: british-history.ac.uk · rct.uk
Cornwall Tower
Cornwall Tower stands on Windsor Castle's north front and is one of a group of new towers… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: british-history.ac.uk
Queen Mary's Dolls' House
Queen Mary's Dolls' House was completed in 1924 as a gift to Queen Mary, consort of George… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
George IV Gate
The George IV Gate is the main entrance on the south side of Windsor Castle, built by arch… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: british-history.ac.uk · regencyhistory.net · rct.uk
Gatehouses
The gatehouses in the St George's Hall precinct consist of two symmetrical structures: the… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Salisbury Tower
Salisbury Tower stands at one end of the west wall of Windsor Castle's Lower Ward and was… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: british-history.ac.uk · en.wikipedia.org
Henry III Tower
Henry III Tower sits on the south wall of the Middle Ward and takes its name from the 13th… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: encirclephotos.com · en.wikipedia.org
State Apartments
The State Apartments occupy the principal part of the Upper Ward, running along the north… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Magazine Tower
The Magazine Tower in Windsor Castle's Middle Ward is one of several towers named for thei… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: great-castles.com · en.wikipedia.org
Winchester Tower
Winchester Tower stands on the north side of Windsor Castle's Middle Ward, close to the no… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: british-history.ac.uk
Albert Memorial Chapel
The Albert Memorial Chapel lies at the east end of St George's Chapel. Originally commissi… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Curfew Tower
The Curfew Tower is one of the oldest surviving structures in the Lower Ward, dating to th… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Edward III Tower
Edward III Tower occupies the south-west corner of the Upper Ward, forming part of the cas… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Equestrian Statue of Charles II
At the foot of the Round Tower in the Upper Ward stands a bronze equestrian statue of Char… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Hastings Chantry
The Hastings Chantry is one of the finest surviving cage-chantries in St George's Chapel… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: churchmonumentssociety.org
Lincoln Chapel
Lincoln Chapel lies in the south choir aisle of St George's Chapel and takes its name from… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: unofficialroyalty.com · britainexpress.com
Oxenbridge Chantry
The Oxenbridge Chantry is a small subsidiary chantry in St George's Chapel, established fo… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: britainexpress.com · cambridge.org
Oliver King Chapel
Oliver King Chapel is named after Oliver King, appointed a canon of Windsor around 1480 an… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: britainexpress.com · en.wikipedia.org · facebook.com
Beaufort Chantry
The Beaufort Chantry stands on the west side of the south transept of St George's Chapel a… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: thegeographicalcure.com · academia.edu
King George VI Memorial Chapel
The King George VI Memorial Chapel is a modern annexe to St George's Chapel, commissioned… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Urswick Chantry
The Urswick Chantry was established around 1507 for Christopher Urswick (c.1448–1522), Dea… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: stgeorges-windsor.org · britainexpress.com
Rutland Chantry
The Rutland Chantry, in the north transept of St George's Chapel, was originally founded a… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · britainexpress.com
Bray Chantry
The Bray Chantry, in the south transept of St George's Chapel, was funded in his own lifet… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: treskechurchfurniture.com
Mary Tudor Tower
Mary Tudor Tower is a corner tower on the south wall of Windsor Castle's Middle Ward, bear… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · great-castles.com
Lancaster Tower
Lancaster Tower is a six-storey tower approximately 100 feet high, built by Jeffry Wyatvil… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: british-history.ac.uk
York Tower
York Tower is a medieval corner tower on the south side of Windsor Castle, encased, height… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: british-history.ac.uk · rct.uk
Queen's Tower
Queen's Tower sits in the south-east corner of Windsor Castle's Upper Ward. Architectural… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: british-history.ac.uk · rct.uk
Clarence Tower
Clarence Tower is a square corner tower on the east wall of Windsor Castle's Upper Ward. I… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: british-history.ac.uk
Chester Tower
Chester Tower is one of the best-documented surviving 12th-century square corner towers in… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: british-history.ac.uk
Prince of Wales Tower
The Prince of Wales Tower stands at the north-east corner of Windsor Castle's Upper Ward a… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Brunswick Tower
Brunswick Tower stands at the east end of Windsor Castle's north wing and is one of the ma… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: british-history.ac.uk
George IV Tower
George IV Tower stands on Windsor Castle's north front and is named for the king who funde… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: british-history.ac.uk
State Entrance Tower
The State Entrance Tower in Windsor Castle's Upper Ward marks the main ceremonial entrance… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org · great-castles.com
King John's Tower
King John's Tower stands at the north-west corner of Windsor Castle's Upper Ward. Accordin… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: worldhistory.org
Store Tower
Store Tower is a functionally named tower in Windsor Castle's Middle Ward, its name record… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: great-castles.com · en.wikipedia.org
Saxon Tower
Saxon Tower stands alongside Henry III Tower near the entrance to the Lower Ward, and the… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: encirclephotos.com · en.wikipedia.org
Garter Tower
Garter Tower stands on the west wall of Windsor Castle's Lower Ward and was first built be… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: british-history.ac.uk · en.wikipedia.org
Lower Ward
The Lower Ward lies west of and below the Round Tower and is reached through the Norman Ga… 🔒 Unlock the full guide
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
FAQ
What overlooked corners are worth seeing inside Windsor Castle?
Waterloo Chamber, Round Tower, St George's Chapel and more — 44 spots in all, each with sources and a guide in your language to read or listen to on the spot.
Is the Windsor Castle guide free?
The first 5 spots are free to read; the other 39 unlock with a one-time purchase (not a subscription).