Nooks and Corners of English Life, Past and PresentTimbs, John
History
Nooks and Corners of English Life, Past and Present
Timbs, John
England -- Social life and customs
From this period, comparatively little was done for a century, when
Edward IV. began to re-erect St. George's Chapel, nearly as we now see
it; thereby adding, if not immediately to the castle itself, to the
buildings within its precincts, one of extraordinary beauty and
interest, as being in some respects the very finest specimen of the
Perpendicular style and of ecclesiastical architecture in the kingdom.
What adds, in some degree, to the interest of this edifice is, that the
architects' names are preserved to us, it being known to be the work,
first of Richard Beauchamp, Bishop of Salisbury; and, after his death,
in 1481, it was completed by Sir Reginald Bray, who was also architect
of Henry VII.'s Chapel. This sovereign intended to erect a mausoleum for
himself at Windsor, and had begun to do so on the site of the original
chapel built by Henry III.; but he abandoned the idea in favour of that
at Westminster. Henry VII., however, added to the castle that building
which is still called after him, and which is situated at the western
extremity of the north side of the great quadrangle. Fortunately, this
has been preserved, owing, perhaps, partly to its situation; for,
although a mere "bit," it is a singularly fine one, and a noble specimen
of palatial architecture, in that particular style.[27]
The small tower at the south-west angle of the Royal apartments near the
library, now called erroneously King John's Tower, is an octagonal
building, and the two chambers in it have very good vaults, with the
ribs meeting in a central boss, which is in both cases carved into the
form of a rose. This enables this rose-tower and the rose-vaults to be
identified in a very remarkable manner. The tower was very richly
painted, and the quantity of paint and other materials charged on the
roll misled the late Mr. Hudson Turner, who had only seen a portion of
these accounts, and made him think they belonged to the great Round
Tower, and that it was painted on the outside. The dates do not agree
with this, and there is no evidence of external painting.
The works which had been carried on during a great part of the long
reign of Edward III. were not completed at the time of his death, and
were continued under Richard II.; but with the exception of necessary
repairs, the accounts for this reign relate chiefly to the offices and
dependencies of the cattle, especially the mews for the falcons, which
was evidently a large and important establishment not within the walls.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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