Part 18

At an installation, the Knights of the garter dine here in great state in the absence of the Sovereign.

XVIII. You next enter St. George’s chamber, which is particularly set apart to the honour of the most illustrious order of the garter, and is perhaps one of the noblest rooms in Europe, both with regard to the building and the painting, which is here performed in the most grand taste. In a large oval in the centre of the ceiling King Charles II. is represented in the habit of the order, attended by England, Scotland and Ireland; Religion and Plenty hold the crown of these kingdoms over his head; Mars and Mercury, with the emblems of war and peace stand on each side. In the same oval Regal Government is represented upheld by Religion and Eternity, with justice attended by Fortitude, Temperance and Prudence, beating down Rebellion and Faction. Towards the throne is represented in an octogon St. George’s cross incircled with the garter, within a star or glory supported by Cupids, with the motto,

HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE.

and besides other embellishments relating to the order, the Muses are represented attending in full consort.

On the back of the state, or Sovereign’s throne, is a large drapery, on which is painted St. George encountering the dragon, as large as the life, and on the lower border of the drapery is inscribed,

VENIENDO RESTITUIT REM,

in allusion to King William III. who is painted in the habit of the order, sitting under a royal canopy, by Sir Godfrey Kneller. To the throne is an ascent by five steps of fine marble, to which the painter has added five more, which are done with such perfection as to deceive the sight, and induce the spectator to think them equally real.

This noble room is an hundred and eight feet in length, and the whole north side is taken up with the triumph of Edward the Black Prince, after the manner of the Romans. At the upper part of the hall is Edward III. that Prince’s father, the conqueror of France and Scotland, and the founder of the order of the garter, seated on a throne, receiving the Kings of France and Scotland prisoners; the Black Prince is seated in the middle of the procession, crowned with laurel; and carried by slaves; preceded by captives, and attended by the emblems of Victory, Liberty, and other _ensignia_ of the Romans, with the banners of France and Scotland displayed. The painter has given a loose to his fancy by closing the procession with the fiction of the Countess of Salisbury, in the person of a fine lady, making garlands for the Prince, and the representation of the merry wives of Windsor.

At the lower end of the hall is a noble music gallery, supported by slaves, larger than the life, in proper attitudes, said to represent a father and his three sons, taken prisoners by the Black Prince in his wars abroad. Over this gallery on the lower compartment of the ceiling is the collar of the order of the garter fully displayed. The painting of this room was done by Verro, and is highly finished and heightened with gold.

XIX. You are next conducted to St. George’s or the King’s chapel, which is no less royally adorned. On the ceiling is finely represented our Lord’s ascension; and the altar-piece is adorned with a noble painting of the last supper. The north side of the chapel is ornamented with the representation of our Saviour’s raising Lazarus from the dead, his curing the sick of the palsy, and other miracles, beautifully painted by Verro; and in a group of spectators the painter has introduced his own effigy, with those of Sir Godfrey Kneller, and Mr. Cooper, who assisted him in these paintings. The east end of this chapel is taken up with the closets belonging to his Majesty and the Royal family. The canopy, curtains, and furniture are of crimson velvet, fringed with gold; and the carved work of this chapel, which is well worthy the attention of the curious, is done by that famous artist Gibbons, in lime-tree, representing a great variety of pelicans, doves, palms, and other allusions to scripture history, with the star and garter, and other ornaments finished to great perfection.

From St. George’s chapel you are conducted to the Queen’s guard chamber, the first room you entered; for this is the last of the state apartments at present shown to the public; the others being only opened when the court resides at Windsor. They consist of many beautiful chambers, adorned with the paintings of the greatest masters.

In passing from hence the stranger usually looks into the inner or horn court, so called from a pair of stag’s horns of a very extraordinary size, taken in the forest and set up in that court, which is painted in bronze and stone colour. On one side is represented a Roman battle, and on the opposite side a sea fight, with the images of Jupiter, Neptune, Mercury and Pallas; and in the gallery is a representation of King David playing before the ark.

From this court a flight of stone steps lead to the King’s guard chamber; and in the cavity under these steps, and fronting this court, is a figure of Hercules also in stone colours. On a dome over the steps, is painted the battle of the Gods, and on the sides of the stair case is a representation of the four ages of the world, and two battles of the Greeks and Romans in fresco.

_St. George’s chapel_, among the buildings of this noble palace we have mentioned the chapel of St. George situated in the middle of the lower court. This antient structure, which is now in the purest style of Gothic architecture, was first erected by King Edward III. in the year 1337, soon after the foundation of the college, for the honour of the order of the garter, and dedicated to St. George, the patron of England; but however noble the first design might be, King Edward IV. not finding it entirely completed, enlarged the structure and designed the present building, together with the houses of the dean and canons, situated on the north and west sides of the chapel; the work was afterwards carried on by Henry VII. who finished the body of the chapel, and Sir Reginald Bray, knight of the garter, and the favourite of that King, assisted in ornamenting the chapel and compleating the roof.

The architecture of the inside has always been esteemed for its neatness and great beauty, and in particular the stone roof is reckoned an excellent piece of workmanship. It is an ellipsis supported by Gothic pillars, whose ribs and groins sustain the whole ceiling, every part of which has some different device well finished, as the arms of Edward the Confessor, Edward III. Henry VI. Edward IV. Henry VII. and Henry VIII. also the arms of England and France quarterly, the cross of St. George, the rose, portcullis, lion rampant, unicorn, &c. In a chapel in the south isle is represented in ancient painting, the history of John the Baptist, and in the same isle are painted on large pannels of oak, neatly carved and decorated with the several devices peculiar to each Prince, the portraits at full length of Prince Edward, son to Henry VI. Edward IV. Edward V. and Henry VII. In the north isle is a chapel dedicated to St. Stephen, wherein the history of that saint is painted on the pannels and well preserved. In the first of these pannels St. Stephen is represented preaching to the people; in the second he is before Herod’s tribunal; in the third he is stoning; and in the fourth he is represented dead. At the east end of this isle is the chapter house of the college, in which is a portrait at full length, by a masterly hand, of the victorious Edward III. in his robes of state, holding in his right hand a sword, and bearing the crowns of France and Scotland, in token of the many victories he gained over those nations. On one side of this painting is kept the sword of that great and warlike Prince.

But what appears most worthy of notice is the choir. On each side are the stalls of the Sovereign and Knights companions of the most noble order of the garter, with the helmet, mantling, crest, and sword, of each Knight set up over his stall on a canopy of antient carving curiously wrought, and over the canopy is affixed the banner or arms of each Knight properly blazon’d on silk, and on the back of the stalls are the titles of the Knights, with their arms neatly engraved and blazoned on copper. The Sovereign’s stall is on the right hand of the entrance into the choir, and is covered with purple velvet and cloth of gold, and has a canopy and compleat furniture of the same valuable materials; his banner is likewise of velvet, and his mantling of cloth of gold. The Prince’s stall is on the left, and has no distinction from those of the rest of the Knights companions, the whole society, according to the statutes of the institution, being companions and collegues, equal in honor and power.

The altar-piece was soon after the restoration, adorned with cloth of gold and purple damask by King Charles II. but on removing the wainscot of one of the chapels in 1707, a fine painting of the Lord’s supper was found, which being approved of by Sir James Thornhill, Verrio, and other eminent masters, was repaired and placed on the altar-piece.

Near the altar is the Queen’s gallery, for the accommodation of the ladies at an installation.

In a vault under the marble pavement of this choir, are interred the bodies of Henry VIII. and Jane Seymour his Queen, King Charles I. and a daughter of the late Queen Anne. In the south isle, near the door of the choir, is buried Henry VI. and the arch near which he was interred was sumptuously decorated by Henry VIII. with the royal ensigns and other devices, but they are now much defaced by time.

In this chapel is also the monument of Edward Earl of Lincoln, Lord high Admiral of England in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, erected by his Lady, who is also interred with him. The monument is of alabastar, with pillars of porphyry.

Another, within a neat screen of brass work, is erected to the memory of Charles Somerset, Earl of Worcester, and Knight of the garter, who died in 1526, and his lady, daughter to William Earl of Huntingdon.

A stately monument of white marble erected to the memory of Henry Somerset, Duke of Beaufort, and Knight of the garter, who died in 1699. There are here also the tombs of Sir George Manners, Lord Roos; that of the Lord Hastings, Chamberlain to Edward IV. and several others.

Before we conclude our account of this ancient chapel, it will be proper to observe that King James II. made use of it for the service of popery, and mass being publicly performed there, it has ever since been neglected and suffered to run to ruin; and being no appendage to the collegiate church, waits the royal favour to retrieve it from the disgrace of its present situation. _Delices de Windsore._

With respect to the royal foundations in this castle, they are the most noble order of the garter, which consists of the Sovereign and twenty-five Knights companions: the royal college of St. George, which consists of a dean, twelve canons, seven minor canons, eleven clerks, an organist, a verger, and two sacrists; and the alms-knights, who are eighteen in number; _viz._ thirteen of the royal foundation, and five of the foundation of Sir Peter le Maire, in the reign of King James I.

_Of the Knights of the Garter._ Windsor Castle being the seat of this most illustrious order, it may be expected that we should here give some account of it. The order of the garter was instituted by Edward III. in the year 1349, for the improvement of military honour, and the reward of virtue. It is also called the order of St. George, the patron of England, under whose banner the English always went out to war, and St. George’s cross was made the ensign of the order. The garter was, at the same time, appointed to be worn by the Knights on the left leg, as a principal mark of distinction, not from any regard to a Lady’s garter, “but as a tye or band of association in honour and military virtue, to bind the knights companions strictly to himself and each other, in friendship and true agreement, and as an ensign or bage of unity and combination, to promote the honour of God, and the glory and interest of their Prince and Sovereign.” At that time King Edward being engaged in prosecuting, by arms, his right to the crown of France, caused the French motto HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE, to be wrought in gold letters round the garter, declaring thereby the equity of his intention, and at the same time retorting shame and defiance upon him who should dare to think ill of the just enterprize in which he had engaged, for the support of his right to that crown.

The installation of a Knight of this most noble order consists of many ceremonies established by the royal founder, and the succeeding Sovereigns of the order, the care of which is committed to Garter king at arms, a principal officer of the order, appointed to support and maintain the dignity of this noble order of knighthood.

On the day appointed for the installation, the Knights commissioners appointed by the Sovereign to instal the Knights elect, meet in the morning, in the great chamber in the dean of Windsor’s house, dressed in the full habit of the order, where the officers of the order also attend in their habits; but the Knights elect come thither in their under habits only, with their caps and feathers in their hands.

From hence the Knights walk two and two in procession to St. George’s chapel, preceded by the poor knights, prebends, heralds, pursuivants, and other officers of the order, in their several habits; being arrived there, the Knights elect rest themselves in chairs behind the altar, and are respectively introduced into the chapter house, where the Knights commissioners (Garter and the other officers attending) invest them with the surcoat or upper habit of the order, while the register reads the following admonition: “take this robe of crimson to the increase of your honour, and in token or sign of the most noble order you have received, wherewith you being defended, may be bold, not only strong to fight, but also to offer yourself to shed your blood for Christ’s faith, and the liberties of the church, and the just and necessary defence of them that are oppressed and needy.” Then Garter presents the crimson velvet girdle to the commissioners, who buckle it on, and also girds on the hanger and sword.

The procession of each Knight elect separately is afterwards made into the choir attended by the Lords commissioners, and other companions of the order, and preceded by the poor knights, prebends, _&c._ as before, Garter in the middle carrying on a crimson velvet cushion, the mantle, hood, garter, collar, and george, having the register on his right hand, who carries the New Testament, and the oath fairly written on parchment, and the black rod on his left. On entering the choir, after reverence made to the altar, and the Sovereign’s stall, the Knights are conducted to their several stalls, under their respective banners, and other ensigns of honour. The Knights elect then take the oath, and are compleatly dressed, invested with the mantle of the order, and the great collar of St. George, which is done with great state and solemnity.

After the installation, the Knights make their solemn offerings at the altar, and prayers being ended, the grand procession of the Knights is made from the choir in their full habits of the order, with their caps frequently adorned with diamonds and plumes of feathers, on their heads, round the body of the church, and passing out at the south door, the procession is continued in great state through the courts of the castle into St. George’s hall, preceded by his Majesty’s music; in the following order, the poor knights of Windsor; the choir of St. George’s chapel; the canons, or prebends of Windsor, the heralds, and pursuivants at arms; the dean of Windsor, register of the order, with garter king at arms on his right hand, and on his left the black rod of the order; the Knights companions, according to their stalls, their trains supported by the choristers of St. George’s chapel.

The Knights having for some time rested in the royal apartments, a sumptuous banquet is prepared, if the Sovereign be present, in St. George’s hall, and in his absence, in the great guard chamber next adjoining, and the Knights are introduced and dine with great state in the habits of the order, the music attending. Before dinner is ended, Garter king at arms proclaims the style and dignity of each Knight, after which the company retire, and the evening is closed with a ball for the ladies in the royal lodgings. For the farther illustration of the preceding account of Windsor Castle, we have given a plan of it, which shews the exact disposition of the whole, and the situation of its several parts with regard to each other. The perspective view is taken from

WINDSOR _great park and forest_. As we have already described the town of Windsor, the little park and castle, and given some account of the order of Knights of the garter, we are naturally led to mention the great park, which lies on the south side of the town and opens by a noble road in a direct line to the top of a delightful hill at near thee miles distance. This road leads through a double plantation of trees on each side, to the ranger’s or keeper’s lodge, at present the residence of his Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, who has greatly improved the natural beauties of the park, and by large plantations of trees, extensive lawns, new roads, canals, and rivers, has rendered this villa an habitation worthy of a Prince.

The great park is fourteen miles in circumference, and is well stocked with deer and other game; many foreign beasts and birds are here also kept by his Royal Highness, who is continually adding new improvements. The new erected building on Shrub’s hill, adorned beneath with the prospect of the most beautiful verdure, and a young plantation of trees, is very elegant, and promises in a short time to afford the most delightful rural scene, the noble piece of water below, produced at a great expence from a small stream, is now rendered capable of carrying barges and boats of pleasure. Over this river, which terminates in a grotto, and large cascade, his Royal Highness has erected a bridge on a noble and bold plan, it consisting of one single arch 165 feet wide.

But his Royal Highness’s attention is not confined to the park alone; but in like manner extends to the adjoining forest, which is of great extent, and was appropriated to hunting and the residence of the royal game by William the Conqueror, who established many laws and regulations for the preservation of the deer, that are still observed. In this extensive tract of land are several pleasant towns and villages, of which Wokingham, situated near the center of the forest, is the principal, and though the soil is generally barren and uncultivated, yet it is finely diversified with hills and vales, woods and lawns, and interspersed with pleasant villas. These rural scenes are finely painted by Mr. Pope, who resided here when he wrote his Windsor forest, and was himself a native of the place, being born at Binfield.

_Here waving groves and chequer’d scenes display,_ _And part admit, and part exclude the day;_ _There, interspers’d in lawns and op’ning glades,_ _There trees arise, that shun each others shades._ _Here in full light the russet plains extend;_ _There wrapt in clouds the blueish hills ascend;_ _Ev’n the wild heath displays her purple dyes,_ _And ’midst the desart, fruitful fields arise,_ _That crown’d with tufted trees and springing corn,_ _Like verdant isles the sable waste adorn._

Among the many fine villas which are in this forest we shall only here mention Cranborne lodge, which now belongs to the Duke of Cumberland, as keeper of the forest. It is large and well built, and is happily situated, it commanding an extensive prospect over a fine plain, and a rich country, that forms a most beautiful landscape.

WINDSOR _court_, 1. Drury lane: 2. Little Knightrider street, by Addle hill: 3. Monkwell street, by Silver street, near Cripplegate: 4. in the Strand.

WINE LICENCE OFFICE, in Arundel street in the Strand. This office is under the management of five commissioners, who grant licences to the several retailers of wine in all parts of the kingdom, except to the free vintners of London.

WINE OFFICE _court_, in Fleet street, leading into Gough’s square.

WINE _street_, 1. Fore street, Limehouse: 2. Liquor Pond street, Leather lane.

WINE _yard_, Long alley, Moorfields.

WINGFIELD’S _court_, Three Colts street, Limehouse.†

WINGOOSE _alley_, Thames street.†

WINKWORTH’S _buildings_, Austin Friars, Broad street.†

WINSLEY _street_, Oxford street.†

WINSTON’S _court_, Silver street, Wood street.†

WISDOMS _alley_, Millbank, Westminster.

WISE’S _court_, Wheeler street, Spitalfields.†

WISEMAN’S _alley_, Brook street.†

WISEMAN’S _court_, Gardeners lane.†

WITCHELLOR’S _yard_, Thames street.†

WITHER-RUSH _court_, Whitecross street.

WOBURN FARM, the seat of the late Philip Southcote, Esq; it joins to the Earl of Portmore, just beyond it. ’Tis what the French call a _Ferme ornée_, but perhaps it is rather too much ornamented for the simple plainness of a farm; it is altogether however a very pleasing place. It has a deal of variety and many prospects which are remarkably beautiful and picturesque. Indeed, there are few places within the same distance from London which afford such a variety of fine landscapes.

WOOD _street_, 1. a long street extending from Cheapside to Cripplegate; in this street is one of the two city compters: 2. Hare street, Spitalfields: 3. North street, Westminster.

WOOD _wharf_, 1. Northumberland street, in the Strand: 2. near Broken wharf, Thames street: 3. Millbank, Westminster: 4. Wapping.

WOOD _yard_, 1. Back street, Lambeth: 2. Brick lane: 3. Church lane, Houndsditch: 4. Gravel lane, Houndsditch: 5. Long acre: 6. Maze pond, Southwark: 7. Moses and Aaron alley, Whitechapel: 8. Ratcliff highway.

WOODFORD, a village near Chingfield in Essex, derived its name from a ford in Epping forest, where now is Woodford bridge.

WOODROFF _lane_, Crutched Friars.†

WOOD’S ALMSHOUSE, adjoins to that of Gibson’s at Ratcliff, and was founded by Toby Wood, of Lincoln’s Inn, Esq; in the year 1613, for six decayed coopers, who have an allowance of 6_l._ _per annum_, and thirty bushels of coals each.

WOOD’S _alley_, Harrow alley.†

WOOD’S CLOSE, a street which extends from the end of St. John’s street almost to the turnpike in Islington road.†

WOOD’S _court_, 1. Norton falgate by Shoreditch.† 2. Oxford street.†

WOOD’S _mews_, Tyburn lane.†

WOOD’S _yard_, 1. Norton falgate, by Shoreditch.† 2. Redcross street.†

WOODSTOCK _court_, Charing Cross.

WOODSTOCK _mews_, Woodstock street.

WOODSTOCK _street_, Oxford street.

WOOLHAM’S _yard_, Gray’s Inn lane, Holborn.†

WOOLIS’S _court_, in the Minories.†

WOOLMEN, a company probably of great antiquity, though they have no charter, and are a community only by prescription. They have a master, two wardens, and eleven assistants; but neither hall nor livery.

WOOLPACK _alley_, Houndsditch.*

WOOLPACK _yard_, Kent street, Southwark.*

WOOLSTAPLE _lane_, New Palace yard, so called from the woolstaple formerly held there. _Stow._

WORCESTER PLACE, Thames street.

WORCESTER PLACE _lane_, Thames street.

WORCESTER _street_, 1. Old Gravel lane, Ratcliff Highway: 2. in the Park Southwark; 3. Peter street.

WORLD’S-END _bridge_, St. Olave’s street, Southwark.

WORLD’S-END _yard_, Old Horselydown lane, Southwark.

WORLEY’S _court_, Redgate court, in the Minories.†

WORMWOOD _street_, extends from Bishopsgate street to Broad street.