Detail from the monument to Princess Charlotte

The monument built in the memory of Princess Charlotte (1796-1817) that presides in the Urswick Chapel in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, was constructed by M.C. Wyatt. The money required to cover its cost was raised through private subscription as early as 1817, the same year as the Princess’s death. A list of subscribers who donated money was published in The Times newspaper in 1818. Subscribers were urged to write their names legibly on their subscription papers as mistakes were sometimes unavoidable when the newspapers were written and subsequently printed (The Times, 13th January 1818).

There were certain members of the public, however, who felt the money being raised could be used towards greater causes. One reader of The Times brought forward this suggestion in a letter to the editor: ‘The season is now approaching when the opera is to open: in support of its ballets, female children, from the age of 6 to 16, are brought forward: their remuneration for a season of 60 nights, is not more than 41.4s for each child: here is gain at the expense of eternal happiness, interdependent of the vice which is disseminated by their intercourse with those of their own age.’ (The Times, 25th December 1817). Another writer earnestly pleaded that the monument (whatever it turned out to be) should at least ‘…record in some measure the virtues of the distinguished personate to whose memory it is raised. It is not to be the mere mausoleum of her exalted rank, nor the funeral urn of her personal grace and accomplishments; – it is to express the esteem entertained for qualities of another order.’ (The Times, 13th February 1818).

According to an entry in the register of Chapter Acts, services in St George’s were disrupted and even cancelled in consequence of the work being undertaken in the Chapel for the erection of the Monument (SGC VI.B.9). It was finally unveiled in 1824, seven years after the Princess’s death. Over the years it has needed various restoration work – it was cleaned in 1844 by request of the Office of Works (SGC XVII.61.29 (b)) and in 1849 a pinnacle was restored over the tomb by local stone mason and builder, Thomas Bedborough, for the price of £25 (SGC VI.B.10)

Frances O’Donnell (Archives volunteer)

In October 1642, Colonel John Venn and twelve companies of foot soldiers took possession of Windsor Castle on behalf of Parliament. With Parliamentary troops occupying the Castle, it was merely a question of time before Governor Venn would seek to have the Royalist Dean and Canons ejected from the Lower Ward.  The House of Lords attempted to preserve the College of St George from harm, ordering the Speaker to write to Colonel Venn “to take care that there be no disorders and disturbances made in the Chapel at Windsor; and that the evidences, registers, monuments there and all things that belong to the Order of the Garter, may be preserved without any defacings; and that he permit the Prebends to live in their own houses”. However, it was not to be and on 23 May 1643 the Dean and Canons, accepting the inevitable, petitioned the Lords that “they may have liberty to carry forth all their goods, utensils, household stuffs and books to their several abodes, and that an order might be made for their safe conveying and quiet enjoying of the same”.

With the Dean and Canons departed, Colonel Venn set about plundering the Chapel, from a combination of religious and financial motives. The coat of mail belonging to Edward IV, with its surcoat of crimson velvet decorated with pearls and rubies, was seized from above his tomb and much of the woodwork and metalwork removed, including the brass statues designed for Henry VIII’s unfinished tomb. In September 1643 the organs and stained glass in the Chapel were defaced and many of the furnishings were destroyed or sold. The Chapel plate was melted down and coined to finance Fairfax’s northern campaign. But all was not lost. The Dean, Dr Christopher Wren, father of the famous architect, managed to recover and preserve the three registers of the Order of the Garter (the Black, Blue and Red Books), and these are now held in the Chapel Archives.  Meanwhile the Poor Knights of Windsor, an integral part of the College of St George since its foundation in 1348, were allowed to remain in residence in the Castle. Although depleted in number and in financial distress, they kept the spirit of the College alive throughout the Commonwealth and were there to greet the new Dean, Bruno Ryves, and his fellow Canons at the Restoration in 1660.

Clare (Archivist and Chapter Librarian)

Illustration of a scholar from The arte or crafte to lyve well and to dye well, printed 1505, now on display in the South Quire Aisle

A selection of rare books and archival documents from the St George’s Chapel Archives and Chapter Library is now on display in St George’s Chapel.  This small exhibition can be viewed in the South Quire Aisle, the stonework of which has recently been cleaned as part of the ongoing restoration of the Chapel.

The rare books on display include William Caxton’s The Mirrour of the World, printed in 1481 – one of the earliest printed books. Also on display is the Schorn Book of Hours, a late medieval illuminated manuscript which was discussed in a previous article on this website .

As 2009 is the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII’s accession, we have reserved a section of the exhibition for documents from the Archives and Chapter Library which relate to the Tudor King. These include a book owned by Katherine of Aragon and a 19th century plan of Henry VIII’s conjectured tomb, which the great Tudor monarch intended to have constructed at St George’s Chapel.

Additional documents from the Chapel Archives which relate to Henry VIII, including the Black Book of the Order of the Garter, are on display at ‘Henry VIII: A 500th Anniversary Exhibition’, which is currently being held at Windsor Castle and runs until April 2010.

For further information on Henry VIII and St George’s Chapel, click here

John (Archives Assistant)