[Victorian Web Home —> W. Harrison Ainsworth —> Illustration —> William Alfred Delamotte —> Windsor Castle —> Next]
Bastion and Wall, from the Hundred Steps
W. A. Delamotte
1843
Wood-engraving
8.4 cm high by 6.7 cm wide
Headpiece for Book the Sixth, Chapter VII,"The Signal Gun," in W. Harrison Ainsworth's Windsor Castle, from Ainsworth's Magazine (June 1843), eleventh instalment, p. 311.
[Click on image to enlarge it.]
Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.
On arriving at the castle, Henry gave out that he should hunt on the following morning in the great park, and retired to his closet. But hedid not long remain there, and putting on the garb of a yeoman of the guard, descended by the narrow flight of steps (already mentioned as occupying the same situation as the existing Hundred Steps) to the town, and proceeded to the Garter, where he found several guests assembled, discussing the affairs of the day, and Bryan Bowntance's strong ale at the same time. Amongst the number were the Duke of Shoreditch, Paddington, Hector Cutbeard, and Kit Coo. At the moment of the king's entrance, they were talking of the approaching execution. [Book the Sixth, "Jane Seymour," Chapter VII, "The Signal Gun," pp. 310-311]
While Queen Anne Boleyn was languishing as a prisoner of state in the Tower downriver, about to be executed, Henry hastened to Windsor. Meantime, Henry has already proposed to Jane Seymour. Now in disguise, Henry takes the discrete exit at the Hundred Steps to get a sense of public opinion by buying a drink at The Garter on Thames Street.
Above: The present-day tranquility of Delamotte's wood-engraving contrasts the high drama of the romance featuring Henry VIII, Queen Anne Boleyn, and Sir Henry Norris in an apparent romantic triangle: Henry Perceiving Norris Take up Anne Boleyn's Handkerchief at the Jousts (June 1843). The steel-engraving is positioned in Book VI, Chapter V, so that serves as a climax to both of Delamotte's unpopulated wood-engravings preceding it in the same instalment. [Click on the image to enlarge it.]
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 January 2017