Tuesday, October 22, 2013

George Gilbert Scott rebuilt the Horseshoe Cloister in the 1870s

George Gilbert Scott rebuilt the Horseshoe Cloister in the 1870s.[47] The Norman Gatehouse was turned into a private dwelling for Sir Henry Ponsonby.[195] Windsor Castle did not benefit from many of the minor improvements of the era, however, as Victoria disliked gaslight, preferring candles; HP 610773-001 CPU Fan electric lighting was only installed in limited parts of the castle at the end of her reign.[186] Indeed, the castle was famously cold and draughty in Victoria's reign,[195] but it was connected to a nearby reservoir, with water reliably piped into the interior for the first time.[196] IBM ThinkPad R50p 1830 CPU Fan Many of the changes under Victoria were to the surrounding parklands and buildings. The Royal Dairy at Frogmore was rebuilt in a Tudorbethan style in 1853; George III's Dairy rebuilt in a Renaissance style in 1859; the Georgian Flemish Farm rebuilt, and the Norfolk Farm renovated.[197] IBM ThinkPad T61 8898 CPU Fan The Long Walk was planted with fresh trees to replace the diseased stock.[62] The Windsor Castle and Town Approaches Act, passed by Parliament in 1848, permitted the closing and re-routing of the old roads which previously ran through the park from Windsor to Datchet and Old Windsor.[198] IBM ThinkPad R50p 2889 CPU Fan These changes allowed the Royal Family to undertake the enclosure of a large area of parkland to form the private "Home Park" with no public roads passing through it.[196] The Queen granted additional rights for public access to the remainder of the park as part of this arrangement. IBM ThinkPad R50p 1830 CPU Fan Edward VII came to the throne in 1901 and immediately set about modernising Windsor Castle with "enthusiasm and zest".[199] Many of the rooms in the Upper Ward were de-cluttered and redecorated for the first time in many years, with Edward "peering into cabinets; IBM ThinkPad R50 1829 CPU Fan ransacking drawers; clearing rooms formerly used by the Prince Consort and not touched since his death; dispatching case-loads of relics and ornaments to a special room in the Round Tower ... destroying statues and busts of John Brown ... throwing out hundreds of 'rubbishy old coloured photographs' ... [and] rearranging pictures".[IBM ThinkPad R50P CPU Fan Electric lighting was added to more rooms, along with central heating; telephone lines were installed, along with garages for the newly invented automobiles.[201] The marathon was run from Windsor Castle at the 1908 Olympics, and in 1911 the pioneering aviator Thomas Sopwith landed an aircraft at the castle for the first time.[ IBM Thinkpad W500 CPU Fan George V continued a process of more gradual modernisation, assisted by his wife, Mary of Teck, who had a strong interest in furniture and decoration.[203] Mary sought out and re-acquired items of furniture that had been lost or sold from the castle, including many dispersed by Edward VII, Compaq Presario CQ41-206TU CPU Fan and also acquired many new works of art to furnish the state rooms.[204] Queen Mary was also a lover of all things miniature, and a famous dolls' house was created for her at Windsor Castle, designed by the architect Edwin Lutyens and furnished by leading craftsmen and designers of the 1930s.[205]  SONY Vaio VPC-EB4X1E/BQ CPU Fan George V was committed to maintaining a high standard of court life at Windsor Castle, adopting the motto that everything was to be "of the best".[206] A large staff was still kept at the castle, with around 660 servants working in the property during the period.[205] HP Pavilion dv4-1120us CPU Fan Meanwhile, during the First World War, anti-German feeling led the members of the Royal Family to change their dynastic name from the German House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; George decided to take the new name from the castle, and the Royal Family became theHouse of Windsor in 1917.[207] Compaq Presario C550EM CPU Fan Edward VIII did not spend much of his reign at Windsor Castle.[207] He continued to spend most of his time at Fort Belvedere in the Great Park, where he had lived whilst Prince of Wales.[207] Edward created a small aerodrome at the castle on Smith's Lawn, now used as a golf-course.[207] Toshiba Qosmio E15-AV101 CPU Fan Edward's reign was short-lived and he broadcast his abdication speech to the British Empire from the castle in December 1936, adopting the title of Duke of Windsor.[207] His successor, George VI also preferred his own original home, the Royal Lodge in the Great Park, but moved into Windsor Castle with his wife Elizabeth.[207] Toshiba Satellite L645D-S4056 CPU Fan

As king, George revived the annual Garter Service at Windsor, drawing on the accounts of the 17th-century ceremonies recorded by Elias Ashmole, but moving the event to Ascot Week in June.[208]

On the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 the castle was readied for war-time conditions. Toshiba Satellite A305-S6837 CPU Fan Many of the staff from Buckingham Palace were moved to Windsor for safety, security was tightened and windows were blacked-out.[209] There was significant concern that the castle might be damaged or destroyed during the war; the more important art works were removed from the castle for safe-keeping, HP Pavilion dv7-4087cl CPU Fan the valuable chandeliers were lowered to the floor in case of bomb damage and a sequence of paintings by John Piper were commissioned from 1942–4 to record the castle's appearance.[210] The king and queen and their children Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret lived for safety in the castle, with the roof above their rooms specially strengthened in case of attack.[211HP Pavilion dv5-1118es CPU Fan ] The king and queen drove daily to London, returning to Windsor to sleep, although at the time this was a well-kept secret, as for propaganda and morale purposes it was reported that the king was still residing full-time at Buckingham Palace.[211] After the war the king revived the "dine and sleep" events at Windsor, Toshiba Satellite A665-S6050 CPU Fan

following comments that the castle had become "almost like a vast, empty museum"; nonetheless, it took many years to restore Windsor Castle to its pre-war condition.[212]

In February 1952, Elizabeth II came to the throne and decided to make Windsor her principal weekend retreat.[213] HP Pavilion G72-259WM CPU Fan The private apartments which had not been properly occupied since the era of Queen Mary were renovated and further modernised, and the Queen, Prince Philip and their two children took up residence.[213]By the early 1990s, however, there had been a marked deterioration in the quality of the Upper Ward, in particular the State Apartments.[214] HP Pavilion dv6-3109ca  CPU  Fan Generations of repairs and replacements had resulted in a "diminution of the richness with which they had first been decorated", a "gradual attrition of the original vibrancy of effect, as each change repeated a more faded version of the last".[215] A programme of repair work to replace the heating and the wiring of the Upper Ward began in 1988.[216] HP Pavilion dv6782eg CPU Fan

Work was also undertaken to underpin the motte of the Round Tower after fresh subsidence was detected in 1988, threatening the collapse of the tower.

On 20 November 1992, a major fire occurred at Windsor Castle, lasting for fifteen hours and causing widespread damage to the Upper Ward.[218] SONY UDQF2PH52CF0 CPU Fan The Private Chapel in the north-east corner of the State Apartments was being renovated as part of a long term programme of work within the castle, and it is believed that one of the spotlights being used in the work set fire to a curtain by the altar during the morning.[219] Toshiba UDQFRPH33CCM CPU Fan The fire spread quickly and destroyed nine of the principal state rooms, and severely damaged over a hundred more.[219] Fire-fighters applied water to contain the blaze, whilst castle staff attempted to rescue the precious artworks from the castle.[220] Many of the rooms closest to the fire had been emptied as part of the renovation work, Toshiba Satellite A505-S6980 CPU Fan and this contributed to the successful evacuation of most of the collection.[219] The fire spread through the roof voids and efforts continued through the night to contain the blaze, at great risk to the 200 fire-fighters involved.[221] It was not until late afternoon that the blaze began to come under control, HP Pavilion dv7-2025es CPU Fan although the fire continued during the night before being officially declared over the next morning.[222] Along with the fire and smoke damage, one of the unintended effects of the fire-fighting was the considerable water damage to the castle, which in many ways caused more complex restoration problems than the fire.[223] TOSHIBA Satellite L300 CPU Fan Two major issues for Windsor Castle emerged following the fire. The first was a political debate in Britain as to who should pay for the repairs.[224] Traditionally, as the property of the Crown, Windsor Castle was maintained, and if necessary repaired, by the British government; furthermore, like other state buildings, it was not insured.[224] HP G62-a10EJ CPU Fan At the time of the fire, however, the British press strongly argued in favour of the Queen herself being required to pay for the repairs from her private income.[224] A solution was found in which the restoration work would be paid for by opening Buckingham Palace to the public at selected times of the year, and by introducing new charges for public access to the parkland surrounding Windsor.[225] Dell MF60100V1-Q000-G99 CPU Fan The second major issue concerned how to repair the castle. Some suggested that the damaged rooms should be restored to their original appearance, but others favoured repairing the castle so as to incorporate modern designs.[226] DELL R859C CPU Fan The decision was taken to largely follow the pre-fire architecture with some changes to reflect modern tastes and cost, but fresh questions emerged over whether the restoration should be undertaken to "authentic" or "equivalent" restoration standards.[21] Toshiba Satellite A105-S2101 CPU Fan

Modern methods were used at Windsor to reproduce the equivalent pre-fire appearance, partially due to the cost.[227] The restoration programme was not completed until 1997, at a total cost of £37 million (£50.2 million in 2009 terms).

Windsor Castle is owned by the Occupied Royal Palaces Estate on behalf of the nation but day to day management is by theRoyal Household.[229] SONY Vaio VGN-FW140E CPU Fan In terms of population, Windsor Castle is the largest inhabited castle in the world and the longest-occupied palace in Europe, but it also remains a functioning royal home.[230] As of 2006, around five hundred people were living and working in the castle.[231] The Queen has increasingly used the castle as a royal palace as well as her weekend home and it is now as often used for state banquets and official entertaining as Buckingham Palace.[ ACER Aspire 5730Z CPU Fan In recent years, Windsor Castle has hosted visits from President Mbeki of South Africa, King Abdullah II of Jordan and President Chirac of France.[233] The castle remains an important ceremonial location. The Waterloo ceremony is carried out in the presence of the Queen each year, SONY Vaio VPC-EB4S1E/WI CPU Fan and the annual ceremony of the Order of the Garter takes place in St George's Chapel.[234] While the queen is in residence, the Guard Mounting ceremony occurs on a daily basis.[235] The Royal Ascot procession leaves the castle each year during the annual meeting.[236] HP Pavilion dv9580ed CPU Fan During the Queen's tenure much has been done, not only to restore and maintain the fabric of the building, but also to transform it into a major British tourist attraction, containing a significant portion of the Royal Collection of art, which is managed from Windsor. Toshiba Satellite L305D-S5934 CPU Fan Archaeological work has continued at the castle, following on from limited investigations in the 1970s, the work on the Round Tower from 1988–92 and the investigations following the 1992 fire.[237] During 2007, 993,000 tourists visited the castle.[238] This has had to be achieved in co-ordination with security issues and the castle's role as a working royal palace.[229] HP Pavilion dv5-1210et CPU Fan,HP Pavilion dv7-1190er CPU Fan

In late 2011 two water turbines were installed along the River Thames to provide hydroelectric power to the castle and the surrounding estate. HP Pavilion dv7-1157cl CPU Fan,HP Pavilion dv6-3163eo CPU Fan,HP Pavilion dv9740us CPU Fan,HP COMPAQ NX9420 CPU Fan

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