The Lower Ward: Religion

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THE LOWER WARD: RELIGION

Passing through Henry VIII.'s Gateway into Castle Yard, St. George's Chapel will be seen in front, with the Albert Memorial Chapel to the right of it and the picturesque Horseshoe Cloister (where dwell the Lay Clerks of the Chapel) to the left.

Built originally by Edward IV (one of his badges was a falcon within a fetterlock, hence the configuration of the Cloister), the Horseshoe Cloister was rebuilt by Sir Gilbert Scott, partly with the old materials, about 1874.

In the north part of the Cloister is the entrance to the Curfew Tower, the interior of which may he inspected on application.

On the south side of Castle Yard, extending from Henry VIII.'s Gateway to the Henry III Tower, are the residences of the Military Knights of Windsor, who were originally founded by Edward III as an order of poor or alms knights.

Both without and within, St. George's Chapel is a magnificent example of Perpendicular work. It was begun by Edward IV, the Yorkist rival of the Lancastrian Henry VI, whose own noble church is across the river at Eton, and has since been restored and embellished on various occasions, notably by Sir Gilbert Scott.

Among those buried here are Edward IV, Henry VI, Henry VIII, Charles I, and Edward VII, and Queen Alexandra.

In the choir are the stalls of the Knights of the Garter.

A detailed description of this beautiful church is outside the scope of this section of LondonOnline but official guides which go into more detail are available to visitors.

The adjoining Albert Memorial Chapel is a rebuilding by Henry VII, of an earlier chapel. It was granted by Henry VIII to Cardinal Wolsey, who himself prepared it for his own sepulchre.

In 1810 George III caused a royal tomb house to be formed beneath it, and here lie the bodies of that king, of George IV and William IV, and various members of the Royal Family.

The chapel proper (which is seen through an open doorway) was formed by Queen Victoria into a memorial of the Prince Consort (the Prince lies with the Queen in the mausoleum at Frogmore, in the Home Park), and is the burial place of the Duke of Albany (Queen Victoria's son) and the Duke of Clarence and Avondale (brother of King George V). The splendid tomb of the latter is by Alfred Gilbert.

A passage leads from the Albert Memorial Chapel to the Dean's Cloisters, which date from the time of Edward III - observe on the south wall (which was part of a chapel built by Henry III) a drawing of Henry III. The Deanery is on the east.

Adjoining these cloisters are the timbered Canons' Cloisters (around which are the residences of the Canons), which also were formed in the time of Edward III.

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