Windsor Tower Tour & Warwick Castle

More Royal experiences with the Rozacks....

If they hadn't gotten enough of the Queen's house while we were at Buckingham Palace there was more on the plate with our visit to Windsor. Again the Queen was away but that didn't really bother us much, and in fact let us enjoy the views of her private garden.

Obviously, as we have posted before Windsor wasn't a new thing for us, as it seems to be a common visit for everyone who visits us here in London. But this time was a bit different, as we were able to take a tour of the 'round tower' while we were there. They had just recently opened it back up to visitors after something like 40 years when it 'wasn't safe' The history of the tower was quite impressive.

The Round Tower is 800 years old and was built on an artificial mound. It has a dry moat which now contains some beautiful gardens. Despite the name the Round Tower is not round. The tower follows the mound it was built on and it actually oval. The Round Tower is built over a well which drops 165 feet into rock. The well would provide essential water for the troops when the Castle was under siege which was its key to survival and victory during historical wars in 1193 and again in 1216. In the early 19th century George IV added an extra 10m (33′) to the Round Tower to make it look more imposing.

Once we got to the top we were allowed to take pictures as long as we didn't focus on the Queen's apartments. I didn't pay much attention. That is her place with the wooden doors on the right.

Views of the 'Long Walk' out into the distance. A three mile road which only the Queen gets to use, on her arrival and departure from the Palace.

The changing of the guard from atop the Tower

While not Royal we also visited Warwick Castle.

William the Conqueror established a castle at Warwick in 1068 to maintain control of the Midlands. William appointed Henry de Beaumont, the son of a powerful Norman family, as constable of the castle. In 1088, Henry de Beaumont was made the first Earl of Warwick. In 1153, the wife of Roger de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Warwick, was tricked into believing that her husband was dead, and surrendered control of the castle to the invading army of Henry of Anjou, later King Henry II. Henry later returned the castle to the Earls of Warwick as they had been supporters of his mother, in The Anarchy of 1135–54. During the reign of King Henry II (1154–89), the wooden castle was replaced with a stone castle. The castle passed through seven generations of the Beauchamp family, who over the next 180 years were responsible for most of the additions made to the castle. The line of Beauchamp earls ended in 1449 when Anne de Beauchamp, 15th Countess of Warwick, died. Richard Neville became the next Earl of Warwick through his wife's inheritance of the title. During the summer of 1469, Neville rebelled against King Edward IV and imprisoned him in Warwick Castle. Neville attempted to rule in the king's name; however, constant protests by the king's supporters forced the Earl to release the king. Neville was subsequently killed, fighting against King Edward IV in 1471 during the Wars of the Roses. Warwick Castle then passed from Neville to his son-in-law, George Plantagenet. George Plantagenet was executed in 1478 and his lands passed onto Edward Plantagenet 17th Earl of Warwick; however, Edward Plantagenet was only two when his father died so his lands were taken in the custody of The Crown. He had a claim to the throne and was imprisoned first by Edward IV, then Richard III and finally by Henry VII. He was held in the Tower of London until he was executed by Henry VII in 1499.

In the early 1480s King Richard III instigated the construction of two gun towers, Bear and Clarence Towers, which were left unfinished on his death in 1485; with their own well and ovens, the towers were an independent stronghold from the rest of the castle.
While in the care of The Crown, Warwick Castle underwent repairs and renovations using about 500 loads of stone. The castle, as well as lands associated with the earldom, was in Crown care from 1478 until 1547, when they were granted to John Dudley with the second creation of the title the Earl of Warwick. Warwick Castle had fallen into decay due to its age and neglect, and Dudley did not initiate any repairs to the castle. When Ambrose Dudley died in 1590 the title of Earl of Warwick became extinct for the second time. A survey from 1590 recorded that the castle was still in a state of disrepair, noting that lead had been stolen from the roofs of some of the castle's buildings including the chapel.
In 1604, the ruinous castle was given to Sir Fulke Greville by King James I and was converted into a country house. When the title of Earl of Warwick was created for the third time in 1618, the Greville family were still in possession of Warwick Castle. On 1 September 1628 Fulke Greville was murdered in by his manservant, Ralph Haywood, when he found out he had been left out of Greville's will.
In 1802 George Greville, 2nd Earl of Warwick (of the 3rd creation), had debts amounting to £115,000. The earl's estates, including Warwick Castle, were given to the Earl of Galloway and the Earl of Upper Ossory, in 1806, but the castle was returned to the earls of Warwick in 1813. The castle was extensively damaged by a fire in 1871 that started to the east of the Great Hall. Although the Great Hall was gutted, the overall structure was unharmed. Restoration and reparations carried out during 1872–75 were subsidised by donations from the public, which raised a total of £9,651.
The castle was bought by Maddame Tussauds in 1978, and by Merlin Entertainment in 2007. Now it is more of a period replica amusement park than a historic castle, but still really cool.

A wax solider in the castle....

A not so scary solider in the castle