Windsor castle (Berks.) is the premier castle of England as well as its largest. It is situated beside the river Thames and on the edge of Windsor Great Park, formerly a popular hunting ground of kings. Windsor castle was founded by William the Conqueror, who adopted the typical Norman design of motte and bailey, and was first used as a royal residence by Henry I. The original wooden structure was replaced by stone from 1165 to 1179 by Henry II, who also constructed the prominent Round Tower. St George's chapel, Windsor—which has long served as the last resting place of sovereigns—was begun by Edward IV in 1475 and is notable for its fan vaulting, monuments, stalls, and stained glass. The conversion of Windsor from fortress into palace began in the 16th cent. and continued in the 17th when Charles II commissioned Hugh May (1621–84) to refurbish the royal apartments. Subsequently extensive remodelling was carried out for George III from 1796 by James Wyatt, and by his nephew Sir Jeffry Wyatville for George IV from 1820 to 1830. Prince Albert died at Windsor in 1861, and to commemorate her husband Queen Victoria converted Henry III's chapel into the present Albert memorial chapel. Set in the surrounding Home Park at Windsor is Frogmore House, whose picturesque grounds may have been designed by Sir Uvedale Price, with a lake and a Gothic temple by Wyatt, and the royal mausoleum (1862–71), domed and Romanesque, by A. Jenkins Humbert and Ludwig Grüner. In the centre of the mausoleum is a monument to the queen and prince consort, with two white marble effigies by Baron C. Marochetti of 1864–8.

Peter Willis