Windsor Castle’s round tower and royal courts

Windsor Castle rises above Windsor on a chalk mound above the River Thames, with the Round Tower holding the centre of the site. Founded by William the Conqueror in the eleventh century, it has been home to 40 monarchs.

Windsor Castle and its layered courts

The castle is organised around two main courts, the lower ward and the upper ward. The Round Tower separates them, and its mass gives the whole complex a strong vertical focus. The present stone tower grew out of Henry II’s work in the 1170s and remains the clearest sign of the Norman beginnings.

The lower ward contains the chapel complex, while the upper ward carries the royal apartments and state rooms. That division gives the castle two distinct characters in one enclosure: ecclesiastical and domestic, ceremonial and residential. The buildings have been altered by successive monarchs, yet the old defensive outline still reads in the plan.

St George’s Chapel and the Order of the Garter

St George’s Chapel is the most important building in the lower ward. Edward IV began it, and it was completed in 1528 in Perpendicular Gothic. It is the chapel of the Order of the Garter and also serves as a royal mausoleum.

The chapel interior is defined by its long nave, quire and fan vaulting, with the Garter stalls lining the quire. Among the burials are Henry VI, Henry VIII and Charles I. The adjoining Albert Memorial Chapel adds another layer of dynastic memory, linking the medieval foundation to later royal commemoration.St George’s Chapel

Royal apartments above the upper ward

The upper ward holds the state apartments and private royal rooms. Charles II refashioned them in the 1670s, and George IV later gave the castle much of its present Gothic appearance under Sir Jeffry Wyatville. The result is a sequence of rooms, corridors and towers that turns the upper ward into a working palace rather than a frozen monument.the state apartments

Several named rooms anchor that sequence, including St George’s Hall, the Waterloo Chamber and the Grand Reception Room. Their scale is matched by the long facades on the north and east sides, where towers and windows break the mass into a rhythm of bays. The castle’s later face is therefore inseparable from its older core.

Visiting Windsor Castle: what travellers from Western Europe should know

• The castle stands in Windsor, Berkshire, above the Thames, and the nearest rail access is Windsor & Eton Central or Windsor & Eton Riverside.Windsor, Berkshire
• The site is on a steep hill, and the plan includes terraces, steps and uneven changes of level across the wards.a steep hill
• The lower ward contains St George’s Chapel and the Albert Memorial Chapel, so the visit combines royal burial space with a major Gothic church.the lower ward
• The upper ward contains the state apartments, the Waterloo Chamber and the Grand Reception Room, with the Round Tower rising beside them.the Round Tower
• The castle has a long military and ceremonial history, and the Order of the Garter remains part of its identity.Order of the Garter

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Frequently asked questions about Windsor Castle

Where is Windsor Castle?

It stands in Windsor, Berkshire, on the south bank of the River Thames. The castle occupies a ridge above the town.

What does a visit include?

The castle combines the lower ward, the upper ward, St George’s Chapel and the state apartments. Its terraces, towers and major ceremonial rooms form the main sequence.

What makes Windsor Castle distinctive?

Its identity rests on the Round Tower, the Order of the Garter and the long royal history of the site. It is both a fortress outline and an active royal residence.