I. View of the Castle in 1530, an aerial perspective of Windsor Castle as it would have looked at the conclusion of the novel, by Sandhurst Military Academy drawing-master W. Alfred Delamotte for the tenth instalment of Windsor Castle. An Historical Romance for the May 1843 issue of Ainsworth's Magazine. Book the Third: "The History of the Castle," Chapter I, "Comprising the First Two Epochs in the History of Windsor Castle," facing p. 135: height 9.4 cm width 17 cm (exclusive of key), vignetted. Running head: "Reigns of Richard the First and King John." [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
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Amid the gloom hovering over the early history of Windsor Castle appear the mighty phantoms of the renowned King Arthur and his knights, for whom it is said Merlin reared a magic fortress upon its heights, in a great hall whereof, decorated with trophies of war and of the chase, was placed the famous Round Table. But if the antique tale is now worn out, and no longer part of our faith, it is pleasant at least to record it, and surrendering ourselves for a while to the sway of fancy, to conjure up the old enchanted castle on the hill, to people its courts with warlike and lovely forms, its forests with fays and giants.
Windsor, or Wyndleshore, so called from the winding banks of the river flowing past it, was the abode of the ancient Saxon monarchs; and a legend is related by William of Malmesbury of a woodman named Wulwin, who being stricken with blindness, and having visited eighty-seven churches and vainly implored their tutelary saints for relief, was at last restored to sight by the touch of Edward the Confessor, who further enhanced the boon by making him keeper of his palace at Windsor. But though this story may be doubted, it is certain that the pious king above mentioned granted Windsor to the abbot and monks of Saint Peter at Westminster, "for the hope of eternal reward, the remission of his sins, the sins of his father, mother, and all his ancestors, and to the praise of Almighty God, as a perpetual endowment and inheritance."
But the royal donation did not long remain in the hands of the priesthood. Struck by the extreme beauty of the spot, “for that it seemed exceeding profitable and commodious, because situate so near the Thames, the wood fit for game, and many other particulars lying there, meet and necessary for kings—yea, a place very convenient for his reception,” William the Conqueror prevailed upon Abbot Edwin to accept in exchange for it Wakendune and Feringes, in Essex, together with three other tenements in Colchester; and having obtained possession of the coveted hill, he forthwith began to erect a castle upon it—occupying a space of about half a hide of land. Around it he formed large parks, to enable him to pursue his favourite pastime of hunting; and he enacted and enforced severe laws for the preservation of the game.
As devoted to the chase as his father, William Rufus frequently hunted in the forests of Windsor, and solemnised some of the festivals of the Church in the castle.
In the succeeding reign — namely, that of Henry the First—the castle was entirely rebuilt and greatly enlarged — assuming somewhat of the character of a palatial residence, having before been little more than a strong hunting-seat. The structure then erected in all probability occupied the same site as the upper and lower wards of the present pile; but nothing remains of it except perhaps the keep, and of that little beyond its form and position. In 1109 Henry celebrated the feast of Pentecost with great state and magnificence within the castle. In 1122 he there espoused his second wife, Adelicia, daughter of Godfrey, Duke of Louvain; and failing in obtaining issue by her, assembled the barons at Windsor, and causing them, together with David, King of Scotland, his sister Adela, and her son Stephen, afterwards King of England, to do homage to his daughter Maud, widow of the Emperor Henry the Fifth. [Book the Third, "The History of the Castle," Chapter I, "Comprising the First Two Epochs in the History of Windsor Castle," pp. 135-136]
Delamotte's Complementary Wood-engravings of the Area above Centre: 10, 11, and 12
Left: The view of the gigantic equestrian statue of George III in the park, Colossal Equestrian Statue of George the Third (Book III, headpiece for Ch. I). Centre: Delanotte's second external study of the development of Windsor Castle, Henry the Third's Tower (Book III, Ch. I). Right: Delamotte's composite of a number of mediaeval towers, South Side of the Alms-Knights' Houses, with Henry the Third's tower, and the Governor's Tower (Book III, Ch. I). [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
References
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.
Worth, George J. William Harrison Ainsworth. New York: Twayne, 1972.
Last modified 4 January2018