Kellys_Berks_Bucks&Oxon_1915_0293.jpg

d ir e c to r y

.]

B E R K S H IR E .

days only- from 2 u n til 6 d u rin g the absence of the
C o u rt; the Royal stables m ay be viewed daily from
1 to 2.30, and d u rin g the absence of th e C ourt u n til 3.
About half-p ast nine o’clock on the n ig h t of S a tu r­
day, the 19th of M arch, 1853, a fire broke out in the
Prince of W ales’s Tow er at the north-east angle of the
castle, which threatened serious consequences, and was
not extinguished until h alf-p ast four o’clock the next
m orning: Queen V icto ria and Royal fam ily had arrived
a t the castle for th eir E aster sojourn only a few hours
previously to the breaking out of the fire, which was
confined to th e tower where it had originated, the
dam age being estim ated at £6,000.
There are two parks, Th e Home or L ittle Park and
the G reat Park. The Home P ark, adjoining th e castle,
contains 400 acres and is about 4 m iles in circum ­
ference : avenues of stately elms and noble groups of
various forest trees adorn its w ide expanse, conspicuous
am ong w hich are a num ber of m agnificent oaks : here
•<tood for six centuries th e celebrated H erne’s Oak,
im m ortalized by Shakespeare in his “ M erry W ives of
W in d so r;” this venerable tree fell on A u g u st 31, 1863,
having reached, it is believed, th e great age of 650
y'ears; the rem ains of th e tree were, by Queen V ic ­
toria’s com m and, converted into various form s for
d istribution, and the site is now m arked by a young
oak planted by H .M. th e late Queen, Septem ber 12,
1863, w ith a suitable inscription.
The Long W alk, a noble avenue of oaks and elms,
stretches from the grand entrance to the castle in an
undeviating line for about 3 m iles, and a t th e furth er
end of the walk is a bronze equestrian statu e of G eorge
III. by W estm acott, 26 feet in h eig h t, and raised upon
a rocky pedestal of like e le v a tio n : the trees were
planted in 1680 and there is a carriage drive in the
centre w ith footpaths on each side. Queen A nne’s
Ride, com m encing at th e end of K in g ’s road and ex­
tending to the boundary of the G reat Park near Ascot
Heath, is also 3 m iles in len gth .
Frogm ore, also m entioned by Shakespeare, in the
“ M erry W ives of W indsor,” belonged to Queen C h ar­
lotte, who purchased it about 1800; the Duchess of
K ent died here M arch 16, 1861, and since then it was
occupied by H .M. the late K in g, when Prince of W ales,
whose eldest son, the late Prince A lb ert V ictor, was
born here Jan. 8, 1864, and by P rin ce C h ristian ; the
gardens com prise about 32 acres, artificially laid out,
and containing m ock antique ruins, a herm itage and
a temple.
In the grounds stands the R oyal M ausoleum , a
m agnificent tom b-house erected by th e late Queen
V ictoria, from the designs and under th e superintend­
ence of M r. H um bert and Professor G riiner, at a total
cost of upwards of ^200,000; the ground plan forms
a G reek cross, from the centre of which rises a dome
70 feet in h e ig h t ; the arm s of the cross, extending to
the same distance, form transepts, w ith aisles sur­
rounding the central portion and com m unicatin g with
each tra n s e p t; the whole floor is supported by massive
v aults of brick, in one of which is the foundation
stone laid by Queen V icto r ia ; th e approach to the
building is by a grand fligh t of gran ite steps, and a
porch carried on m onolithic colum ns of g r a n it e ;
im m ediately over the door is th is in scrip tio n :

WINDSOR.

277

bronze capitals and bases ; the interior is appropriately
decorated and lig h ted by panels of stained glass in the
d om e; in the centre is a statue, by Theed, of the
Duchess, whose rem ains are deposited in a sarcophagus
of polished blue gran ite, in the vau lt below.
In a niche below the Mausoleum is a m arble bust, by
T heed, of H .S.H . Feodora, late Princess Hohenlohe,
Queen V icto ria’s half-sister, erected by Her late
M ajesty in 1873; and in front of it a m onum ental
cross, also erected by Her late M ajesty in m em ory of
L ad y A u g u sta (liruco), wife of A rth u r Penrhyn Stanlev
D.D. form erly dean of W estm in ster; it is of fine blue
C airn gall gran ite, b eau tifu lly enriched on the front
and sides w ith entwined ornam ents, after th e style of
the early C hristian crosses in the w est of Scotland ;
and stands upon an unhewn block of gran ite, the total
h eigh t being about seven feet. On the stem of the
cross in gold letters is inscribed the follow in g: —
“ To the dear m em ory of L ad y A ugusta Stanley, fifth
daugh ter of Thom as B ruce, seventh E arl of E lg in and
K incardine, th is cross is erected by Queen V ictoria in
gratefu l and affectionate rem em brance of her faithful
labours for 30 years in the service of the Queen, th'^
Duchess of K en t, and th e Royal Fam ily. Born, A pril 3,
1822. Died, M arch 1, 1876.”
A delaide C ottage, in . th e Home Park, at the end of
the slopes, is a secluded dw elling in th e m idst of a
p retty garden, and was a favourite resort of th e late
Queen Adelaide ; in the inclosure attached to the cot­
tage is “ L u th e r’s B eech ,” a tree raised from the beech
near A lten stein , in th e D uchy of Saxe M einingen,
under w hich L u th er was arrested in 15 2 1; it was
planted by Queen A delaide near the house in B ushey
P ark, and by h er wish transplanted hither.
In the Home Park are also F rogm ore C o tta g e ; the
R oyal dairy, b u ilt in 1858 from a design by the late
Prince C onsort, adjoining w hich is the D airy F a rm ;
the Queen’s A viary, a sem i-G oth ic b u ild in g / contain­
ing a rare and valuable collection of fowls ; and the
Royal G ardens, w ith a range of 1,300 feet of glass­
houses. Shaw F arm , th e model farm of the late Prince
Consort, is now carried on by His M ajesty th e K in g.
The G reat Park, which is open to the pub lic, is about
14 m iles in circum ference, and contains about 1,800
acres, th rou gh which extend both the L o n g W alk and
Queen A nne’s Ride ; it abounds in d elig h tfu l walks,
affording rich glim pses of forest scenery, and is well
stocked w ith herds of red and fallow deer, w h ite harts
and Cashm ere goats &c. Oaks and beeches are very
num erous, some specimens of which are known to be
several centuries old. In the neighbourhood, near
Cranbourn Lodge, in the Forest, said to have been a
favourite resort of W illiam the N orm an, stands the
“ K in g 's O ak,” 26 feet round and hollow ; th is tree
is not visible from the p ublic road, b ut a rem arkablv
fine and picturesque specim en, called the “ g ra n d ­
father of the forest,” can be seen close to the highw ay
leading from Forest G ate to H ig h S tan din g H ill, on
the W inkfield road. Th e G re a t P ark is under the con­
trol of H.M. Com m issioners of W oods and F orests and
in charge of a ranger. In the G reat Park are C um ber­
land Lodge, now the residence of T .R .H . the Prince
and Princess Christian of S chlesw ig-H olstein, and once
occupied by W illiam , Duke of C um berlan d, the victor
“ A lberti Principis quod m ortale erac
of Culloden ; the Royal L o dge of G eorge IV. inhabited
Hoc in sepulchro deponi v olvit vidua
by th e Hon. L a d y E llis ; Sand P it L o dge ; A ll S ain ts’
Mcerens Victoria R egin a M D C C C L X II.
Chapel Roval, for th e use of residen ts in th e P ark ;
Vale desid eratissim e!
the Royal V in ery and th e Norfolk F arm .
Hie dem um conquiescam tecum
V irg in ia W ater, form ed by W illiam , Duke of C u m ­
T ecum in C hristo con surgam .”
berland, is a large artificial lake upwards of a m ile and
Throu gh the porch, gates open into the E astern tran ­ a h alf long, and of varyin g w id th , 5^ m iles from
sept condu cting to the cen tral cham ber, the walls of W indsor, at the extrem e south of the G reat Park, and
which are covered w ith exqu isitely designed m arble is p artly in the parish of E gh am , county of S urrey ;
panelling, adorned w ith bas-reliefs and paintings in it extends over w hat was once a w ild, swam py district,
fresco; in niches between th e transepts are statues of whose waters drained into a basin of considerable
David, Isaiah, Daniel and S olom on ; the dome has a dimensions and then flowed into th e Tham es at C hertblue ground studded w ith golden stars, and below it sey, and its banks laid out by G eorge IV . w ith all the
is a clerestory pierced by eigh t th ree-lig h t windows, resources of the landscape gardener’s art, are charm ­
all s ta in e d ; a lam p of g ilt bronze hangs in each tra n ­ in gly diversified ; near th e lake, in a beautifully
sep t; the whole floor is of polished m arble inlaid, and secluded corner of th é park, stand several marblo
in the centre is placed the sarcophagus of Aberdeen columns w ith portions of the frieze and other fragm ents
gran ite, containing the m ortal rem ains of H er late of a C orinthian tem ple, and in the neighbourhood are
M ajesty Queen V ictoria and A lbert, th e late Prince some fir trees of great h eig h t ; access to the lake and
Consort, on a p linth of black m arble given by K in g park from th e S u rrey side is obtained th rou gh the
miles
Leopold I. of B e lg iu m ; on its sum m it repose full- grounds of th e W heatsheaf H otel; about
length effigies of both, by the late Baron M arochetti, and distan t is the V irg in ia W ater station of the London
at the angles are kneeling figures of angels in bronze ; and South W estern railw ay.
the side bears a short and sim ple inscription. The
W indsor offers m any attraction s to th e excursionist,
Mausoleum of the Duchess of K en t, an edifice erected who m ay easily reach by w ater th e b eau tifu l scenery
at the express desire of her late Royal H ighness, is of Maidenhead and Cookham ; and inland, A scot,
circular in form , with a dome supported on sixteen S un n ingh ill, W inkfield, W arfield and Binfield. F resh ­
Ionic colum ns of Penrhyn gran ite, 10 feet h ig h , w ith w ater fish of all kinds are abundant and v ery fine trou t