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Henry the Third's Tower
W. A. Delamotte
1843
Wood-engraving
9 cm high by 8 cm wide, vignetted
Forty-fourth wood-engraving for W. Harrison Ainsworth's Windsor Castle. An Historical Romance, in the May 1843 (tenth) number of Ainsworth's Magazine; Book III, Chapter I,"Comprising the First Two Epochs of Windsor Castle," p. 139.
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Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.
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In 1241, Henry commenced operations upon the outworks of the castle, and the three towers on the western side of the lower ward —now known as theCurfew, the Garter, and the Salisbury Towers — were erected by him. Healso continued the walls along the south side of the lower ward, tracesof the architecture of the period being discoverable in the inner wallsof the houses of the alms-knights as far as the tower now bearing hisname. From thence it is concluded that the ramparts ran along the eastside of the upper ward to a tower occupying the site of the Wykeham or Winchester Tower.
The three towers at the west end of the lower ward, though much dilapidated, present unquestionable features of the architecture of the thirteenth century. The lower storey of the Curfew Tower, which has been but little altered, consists of a large vaulted chamber, twenty-two feet wide, with walls of nearly thirteen feet in thickness, and having arched recesses terminated by loopholes. The walls are covered with the inscriptions of prisoners who have been confined within it. The Garter Tower, though in a most ruinous condition, exhibits high architectural beauty in its moulded arches and corbelled passages. The Salisbury Tower retains only externally, and on the side towards the town, its original aspect. The remains of a fourth tower are discernible in the Governor of the Alms-Knights' Tower; and Henry the Third's Tower, as before observed, completes what remains of the original chain of fortifications.[Book the Third, "The History of the Castle," Chapter I,"Comprising the First Two Epochs of Windsor Castle," pp/ 139-140]
According to J. Don Vann (1985), in the serial publication, what is now Book Three appeared after book the Fourth and immediately before Book the Fifth. In other words, the reader of the magazine serial would have encountered Delamotte's image of Henry the Third's Tower after the scene in which Henry's groom relegates Wolsey to this rather modest accommodation.
With reference to what in the volume is Delamotte's earlier depiction of Henry the Third's Tower, Ainsworth has Sir Henry Norris, the royal groom, offer to lodge the Cardinals Wolsey and Campeggio in this tower below the great keep since, he asserts, the main part of Windsor Castle is so replete with guests that he cannot accommodate both Wolsey and his sizeable retinue elsewhere:
Campeggio's attendants being comparatively speaking, few in number, were allowed to remain, andhis litter was conveyed to Henry the Third's Tower— a fortification standing, as already stated, in the south side of the lower ward, nearthe edge of the dry moat surrounding the Round Tower. At the steps of this tower Wolsey dismounted, and was about to follow Campeggio into the doorway, when Will Sommers, who had heard of his arrival, stepped forward, and with a salutation of mock formality, said, "I am sure itwill grieve the king, my master, not to be able to accommodate your grace's train; but since it is larger than his own, you will scarceblame his want of hospitality." [Book the Fourth, "Cardinal Wolsey," Chapter XII. "How Wolsey was disgraced by the King," pp. 236-237]
Ainsworth, William Harrison. Windsor Castle. An Historical Romance. Illustrated by George Cruikshank and Tony Johannot. With designs on wood by W. Alfred Delamotte. London: Routledge, 1880. Based on the Henry Colburn edition of 1844.
Patten, Robert L. Chapter 30, "The 'Hoc' Goes Down." George Cruikshank's Life, Times, and Art, vol. 2: 1835-1878. Rutgers, NJ: Rutgers U. P., 1991; London: The Lutterworth Press, 1996. Pp. 153-186.
Vann, J. Don. "Windsor Castle in Ainsworth's Magazine, June 1842-June 1843." Victorian Novels in Serial. New York: MLA, 1985. P. 23.
Worth, George J. William Harrison Ainsworth. New York: Twayne, 1972.
Last modified 21 December 2017