Published in Windlesora 22 (2006)
© WLHG
Extract from ‘Windsor, as it Was’, by Charles Knight (1791-1873). Published in A Volume of Varieties, Knight’s Weekly volume, 1844
The whole range of the castle, its terrace, and its park, were places dedicated to the especial pleasures of a schoolboy. Neither warder, nor sentinel, nor gamekeeper interfered with our boisterous sports. The deserted courts of the upper quadrangle often re-echoed, on the moonlight winter evenings, with our whoo-whoop; and delightful hiding-places indeed there were amongst the deep buttresses and sharp angles of those old towers… But if the inner courts of Windsor Castle rang with our sports, how much more noisy was the joy in the magnificent play-ground of the terrace! Away we went, fearless as the chamois, along the narrow wall; and even the awful height of the north side, where we looked down upon the tops of the highest trees, could not abate the rash courage of follow my leader…
The Park! What a glory was that for cricket and kite-flying. The beautiful plain immediately under the eastern terrace was called the Bowling Green; – and, truly, it was as level as the smoothest of those appendages to suburban inns. We took excellent care that the grass should not grow too fast beneath our feet. No one molested us. The king, indeed, would sometimes stand alone for half an hour to see the boys at cricket; – and heartily would he laugh when the wicket of some confident urchin went down at the first ball. But we did not heed his majesty. He was a quiet good-humoured gentleman, in a long blue coat, whose face was as familiar to us as that of our writing-master; and many a time had that gracious gentleman bidden us good morning, when we were hunting for mushrooms in the early dew, and had crossed his path as he was returning from his dairy to his eight o’clock breakfast. Every one knew that most respectable and amiable of country squires, called His Majesty; and truly there was no inequality in the matter, for his majesty knew every one.
Windsor Local History Group 