by Prince Edward, was made the rendezvous of the royal party. Edward I. and Edward II. made Windsor their principal residence ; it was likewise the birthplace of several of their children, the most celebrated of whom was that prince, "famous in history and of great renown," afterwards Edward III. The attachment this enterprising monarch bore to his native place was exemplified by the attention he paid to the improvement of the town and the castle, the latter of which was entirely rebuilt by him, with the exception of three towers at the west end of the Lower Ward. A work of this magnitude, it may naturally be supposed, could not be undertaken at that period without experiencing considerable difficulties, especially in procuring workmen; to obviate this last mentioned impediment, writs were issued to the sheriffs of the different counties, directing them forcibly to impress the necessary artificers, and send them to Windsor, there to be employed, at the King's wages, as long as should be required. This harsh mandate was several times enforced, particularly in the year 1363, about which year a contagious pestilence destroyed a great number of the men. The celebrated William de Wykeham superintended the works, at a weekly salary of seven shillings, and three shillings per week for his clerk. Many improvements and alterations were made during the reigns of his successors; Edward IV. rebuilt, upon an enlarged scale, the Chapel of St. George, in which his remains were subsequently deposited, as well as those of his unfortunate rival, Henry VI. Henry VII. made several additions to the Chapel and Upper Ward; and his successor rebuilt the principal gate of the building. On the 3rd of August, 1544, Queen Mary and her consort, Phillip II. of Spain, made a grand public entry into Windsor from Winchester, where their marriage had been solemnized. A very important addition was made to the edifice by order of Queen Elizabeth, in the formation of a terrace on the north side of the Castle. This noble promenade (which was subsequently enlarged by Charles II. and carried round the east and part of the south fronts) is 1870 feet in length; it is crowned with a rampart of free stone, and commands a finely varied and extensive prospect. On the north side the view comprises the counties of Bedford, Berks, Bucks, Oxford, and Middlesex, including Eton College, Harrow-on-the-Hill, Stoke Park, the river Thames, and several noblemen's seats, and villages. The prospect from the south and east sides is more circumscribed in extent, but scarcely inferior in beauty, extending over the Long Walk, Windsor Forest, and the Great Park, and bounded by the richly wooded scenery of the Surrey hills.

"Here hills and vales, the woodland and the plain,
Here earth and water seem to meet again;

Not, chaos-like, together crushed and bruised,
But, as the world, harmoniously confused,"

The ill-fated Charles I. resided in the Castle at the commencement of his reign, and held occasional courts in those apartments which, towards the close of his eventful career, he was compelled to inhabit as a prisoner. Soon after the Restoration, Charles II. adopted Windsor Castle as his favourite residence, and commenced a series of alterations, the good taste and propriety of which have been since justly questioned. The ancient Gothic windows, so much in unison with the character of the edifice, were replaced by circular French ones, and the general chaste simplicity of the building violated by the introduction of a foreign ornamental taste.-It is, however, but just to add, that the interior was greatly improved by the liberality of that monarch; the royal apartments were richly furnished and decorated, a large magazine of arms constructed, and a number of valuable paintings, by the first masters, formed into a collection a preceding one, which belonged to his royal father, having been sold by order of the Long Parliament. William III. and Queen Anne improved the Parks, planting several avenues of elm and beech trees, and enclosing the Little Park with a brick wall. George I. frequently resided at the Castle, where, every Thursday, he dined in public-a fashionable custom at that period in continental courts. With the exception of trifling occasional repairs, the building remained as it was left by Charles II. till the reign of George III., who selected Windsor for his principal residence. Under his direction, and in great part from his private purse, the north front of the Upper Ward was partly restored to its original appearance, St. George's Chapel completely repaired, and several minor improvements executed. The lamented illness of the King suspended the progress of the undertaking during the period of eleven years; but shortly after his decease, public attention became directed to the propriety of renovating the edifice, upon a scale of grandeur commensurate with its ancient magnificence. In 1823 the alterations were commenced by the demolition of two buildings, called Augusta Lodge and Queen's Lodge, the latter of which was erected by Sir William Chambers, as a domestic residence for George III. and Queen Charlotte, and the younger branches of the royal family. Neither of these fabrics were distinguished by any architectural beauties, and the situation of the Queen's Lodge, in particular, having been ill-chosen, as it excluded the fine view of the Great Park and Long Walk from the south front of the castle, their removal gave general satisfaction. In 1824 a parliamentary grant of £300,000. was voted towards the improvement of the building, the expenditure of which was placed under the superintendence of seven commissioners :-the Duke of Wellington, Earl of Liverpool, Earl of Aberdeen, Lord Farnborough, Sir M. W. Ridley, Mr. Goulbourn, and Mr. Baring. The most eminent architects in the country were competitors for the honour of presenting an ap

proved design, and the plans of Mr. Jeffry Wyatt (afterwards Sir Jeffry Wyattville) were finally decided upon. Various other sums have been since voted, amounting in the aggregate to more than £900,000. The Upper Ward is now completed.*

Opposite Church-street is the entrance to the Lower Ward of the Castle. Passing under King Henry the Eighth's Gateway, the south front of the beautiful building of the Collegiate Church of St. George (described in the following pages) immediately presents itself to the

The most favourable situations from which the stranger can observe the Castle are-1. The Playing Fields of Eton College. From this point of view the whole of the north front is seen to great advantage, comprising the Terrace, Brunswick, George the Third's, and Winchester Towers, the State Apartments, and Queen Elizabeth's Picture Gallery. 2. The fields leading from the little village of Clewer, about a mile west of the town. This walk lies nearly parallel with the Thames, and includes a good view of the town and south-west front of the Castle. 3. The footpath through the Little Park from Windsor to Datchet. This view embraces part of the south and east front, comprising the suite of apartments occupied by Her Majesty, in front of which is the New Pentagon Terrace, with bastions at the angles, inclosing a space tastefully laid out as a flower garden, and affording a fine foreground to the massive and stately towers rising beyond

notice of the spectator. The Lower Ward is more extensive than the Upper, and includes within its circuit the following towers :- -Winchester, which forms the western end of the north terrace, and is at present the residence of H. Saunders, Esq.; it was originally built by William de Wykeham, and is spoken of by several early historians of Windsor.-Store Tower, otherwise called the Wardrobe Tower, is nearly opposite the Deanery, and presents a venerable appearance from the profusion of ivy with which it is mantled ;- -the towers flanking the gateway, containing a guard-chamber for the detachment of military who do duty at the Castle, and apartments for their commanding officer :-Salisbury, the residence of the Bishop of that diocese as Chancellor of the Order of the Garter :-. Garter, a small tower on the west front ;-and Julius Cæsar's, an ancient and irregularly built tower at the north-west angle, now more commonly called the Belfry Tower, from its containing a peal of eight fine-toned bells. A set of chimes also play every three hours.

This ward is divided by St. George's Chapel, on the north of which are the residences of the ecclesiastical officers of the establishment, and on the south and west those of the Military Knights.* Those on the royal foundation reside on the right of the entrance gateway,t a low square tower called Garter-Hall, standing in the centre; the buildings on the west side of the area are occupied by the Knights on the foundation of St. Peter le Maire. The residences of the minor canons and lay clerks are at the west end of St. George's Chapel; the first dwellings on this site were built by Edward IV. in

it. The general outline of the building from this part of the Park is so extremely pleasing, especially when seen by moonlight, as amply to deserve the encomiums passed on it by a celebrated writer of the present day, who terms it " a view which every one who has the slightest taste for the picturesque, ought neither to go abroad nor to die without seeking." 4. Snowhill, an eminence at the further extremity of the Long Walk, on which is placed an equestrian statue of George the Third, executed by Westmacott. The prospect from this situation is one of the most beautiful in the neighbourhood of Windsor, combining a general view of the Castle, with the luxuriant landscape of the adjacent country. These situations have been pointed out only as affording favourable spots for observations to visitants; but it must be obvious that an edifice so extensive and commandingly situated as Windsor Castle must present, in the great number of rides in its vicinity, a variety of views calculated both to please the eye and adorn the sketch book.

Until the time of William IV. they were styled "Poor Kuights.”—See College of St. George.

+ At the foot of the hill,, a short distance to the south of the entrance, stood a stone archway, with the inseription "Elizabetha Regina, xiii. 1572." This gate as late as the period of the Revolution, was a principal entrance of the Castle, the roadway within it being battlemented and running parallel with the moat; but when the latter was filled up, and the ground levelled and converted into a lawn, several dwelling houses were erected on this part of the hill. During the progress of the improvements, these have been pulled down, and a further opening since been effected by taking down the houses on the north side of Castle-street.