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 Uncluttered
by monuments or furnishings it is within the nave that the visitor can
best appreciate the architectural splendour of St George's Chapel. The
interior of the building is like a stone cage, its great vault springing
from a series of delicate stone piers. Between these piers the walls dissolve
into glass and every surface is covered in a wealth of carved detail.
The
Nave Vault
The nave vault was probably built between 1503 and 1509. It is both broad
and low pitched, features which make its construction of stone a remarkable
technical achievement. Work to the vault was funded in large part by Sir
Reginald Bray, a close supporter of Henry VII. In advertisement of this
patronage his symbol of a hemp bray (a pun upon his name) is carved in
many places upon it.
Viewed from beneath, the vault appears to have two structural elements:
a very complex pattern of ribs supporting a skin or web of stone. In fact
both these elements are carved from the same blocks of stone and, from
above, the vault reveals itself to be a jigsaw puzzle of thin stone slabs.
The West Window
 The great west window forms a magnificent backdrop to the nave. It is
amongst the largest medieval church windows in England, standing 36ft
high (11m) by 29ft (8.8m) wide and containing 75 principal lights. The
glazing of the window is largely medieval but it has a complicated history.
Most of the stained glass figures - a collection depicting kings, popes,
archbishops, bishops and saints - were made for it around 1500-6, possibly
by a workshop with connections to Rouen in Normandy. But mixed in amongst
these are a few slightly earlier medieval figures brought from other windows
in the church during a restoration of 1767. In 1842 the window was extensively
reordered by Thomas Willement, who added the royal arms and devices to
the top of the window. He also created new surrounds to all the medieval
figures. The window was again restored and the figures re-grouped between
1920 and 1930.
The Western Chantry Chapels
 Projecting like ears to either side of the nave at its western extreme
are a pair of small polygonal chapels with cupolas. Both were dedicated
to the Virgin Mary. The one to the south is known as the Beaufort Chantry.
Within it stands the fine alabaster tomb of Charles Somerset, 1st earl
of Worcester (d.1526) and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Herbert (d.1514). Above
the effigies is an angel holding the earl's coat of arms encircled by
the garter, symbolising his membership of the Order of the Garter. The
tomb is enclosed by a rich and gilded iron screen made by Jan van den
Einde of Malines in Belgium.
 The chapel to the north was the chantry of Dr Christopher Urswick, who
became a canon of St George's Windsor in 1492 and dean of the college
in 1496. It was under Dean Urswick's direction that the St George's chapel
was vaulted. Dividing the chantry from the nave is a stone screen with
an inscription in Latin and English giving directions for prayers to be
offered for Urswick's soul.
Entirely filling Urswick's Chantry today is a large neo-Classical monument
by Matthew Wyatt to Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales. She was the only
child of George IV and died in childbirth in 1817 at the age of 21. The
monument shows the shrouded corpse of the princess surrounded by cloaked
mourners. Above these figures the princess's soul rises to heaven flanked
by angels, one of whom holds her still-born child.
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