The waymark coordinates are for St George's Gate, the visitor's entry to Windsor Castle.
On 20 Nov 1992, capping a year the Queen called her "annus horribilis" a fire broke out at Windsor castle, and burned for 12 hours. A hot light let lit too close to flammable curtains touched off he blaze, which did over 36 billion pounds in damage.
The fore made international headlines, as evidenced by this story from the Chicago (US) Times: (
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Windsor Castle Suffers Extensive Fire Damage
November 21, 1992|By Ray Moseley, Chicago Tribune.
LONDON — Windsor Castle, a second residence for the British royal family for more than 850 years, was heavily damaged by a fire that burned out of control for hours Friday, and some of its priceless paintings may have been lost.
Queen Elizabeth II rushed to the scene, 30 miles west of London, when she learned of the fire and helped to carry out some of the castle`s art treasures, which include tapestries, carpets, armor, sculpture, ancient books and antique furnishings.
``Her majesty is absolutely devastated,`` her second son, Prince Andrew, said afterward.
The fire began at 11:37 a.m. (5:37 a.m. Chicago time) and flames were still shooting into the night sky more than 11 hours later. But firefighters said the blaze was largely under control. Two people were slightly injured.
The queen has the world`s largest private art collection. Sir Roy Strong, former director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, said: ``I pray nothing has happened to it because otherwise it could be one of the great national heritage tragedies of this century.``
But Andrew said initial assessments suggested six paintings had been lost. The castle, which attracts 1 million tourists a year, contains masterpieces by Holbein, Rembrandt, Titian, Rubens, Van Dyck, Gainsborough, Canaletto and Da Vinci.
Damage to the fabric of the 11th Century castle was extensive, and senior fire officer David Harper said, ``Parts of it are close to collapse.``
Some of the worst damage was to the great 15th Century St. George`s banquet hall, where state banquets are held. The roof of the hall collapsed. But staff managed to salvage from the hall the world`s largest seamless carpet, a gift to Queen Victoria in the 19th Century.
``I have seen firsthand what it looks like, and it`s a pretty nasty mess,`` Andrew said. ``The devastating thing was the speed of the flames.``
A fire official said of one ravaged area: ``It`s all charred and black inside. Nothing`s worth having. Everything`s melted.``
The fire appeared to have started in a private chapel in the Chester Tower, then swept to other parts of the castle along the roof. Late Friday night, the 19th Century Brunswick Tower caught fire.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known. But security sources said it may have been started inadvertently by workers renovating the castle`s electrical system.
They ruled out arson, and particularly any suggestion the fire could have been set by the outlawed Irish Republican Army.
Windsor is the queen`s favorite castle and her usual weekend retreat from London. The largest inhabited castle in the world, it was built on the site of a fortress erected around 1070 by William the Conqueror, overlooking the Thames River.
It has played a central role in British history. King John went from Windsor to nearby Runnymede in 1215 to set his seal on the Magna Carta, the charter of liberties that English barons forced John to accept.
King Charles I was imprisoned at Windsor before his execution in 1649.
George III, king at the time of the American Revolution, was confined in the castle after he suffered bouts of madness.
The queen and her sister, Princess Margaret, sheltered in the castle during the World War II blitz of London by Nazi German bombers.
Their father, King George VI, is buried at Windsor, along with Kings Edward IV, Henry VI, Henry VIII, Charles I and George V."
The fire restoration took 5 years, and was finally finished in 1997.