The Air Forces Memorial, or Runnymede Memorial, in Englefield Green memorial dedicated to some 20,456 men and women from air forces of the British Empire who were lost in air and other operations during World War II. Those recorded have no known grave anywhere in the world, and many were lost without trace. The name of each of these airmen and airwomen is engraved into the stone walls of the memorial, according to country and squadron. The memorial was…
the choir and music Silence is a great blue bell Swinging and ringing, tinkling and singing, In measure’s pleasure, and in the supple symmetry of the soaring of the immense intense wings glinting against All the blue radiance above us and within us, hidden Save for the stars sparking, distant and unheard in their singing. And this is the first meaning of the famous saying, The stars sang. They are the white birds of silence And the meaning of…
Garter Day takes place today and already the castle is full of purpose and activity! King George VI reintroduced an annual service for the Order of the Garter in 1948. Up to that year services had been held irregularly. At first glance the processions, uniforms, robes and music seen and heard on Garter Day might appear to add up to nothing more than splendid pageantry. However sitting at the core of the day is a service of worship, a…
Serving Victoria: Life in the Royal Household by Kate Hubbard A walk from the shops in Windsor into the Castle and my home in The Cloisters always takes one past a statue of Queen Victoria. Perhaps it is the most foolish of historians that can ever take their reader backwards to understand the world of the past and see inside the private world of well know public figures. I was sent this book because my present home features in it !…
It has been a very busy and intensive 10 days as clergy have gathered at St George’s house for a consultation designed to engage us all in a process whereby we might consider how we speak – and perhaps more confidently – about God.We have been blessed with some very skilled and knowledgeable speakers and explored each day the worlds of the church, law, medicine, social action, art, literature, finance and very much more.we have mined for wisdom and attempted…
I have already indicated something of the rhythms and patterns of the College – and this is very self-evident at the moment as we draw the summer term to a close.The school has started its summer holiday and the choristers are enjoying a well-deserved rest.Today the lay clerks sing their last services and change and holiday await them.There is a tangible sense that folks are ready for a break.For the clergy the rhythm of worship continues with said services and…
The organisation that goes into Garter day here in Windsor Castle is quite extraordinary.There are the rehearsals, careful planning of time, consideration of the unpredictable nature of our English weather, organisation of security, music, military bands, processions, guards of honour, press, allocation of seats in the Chapel and the organisation of many hundreds of people who gather in the Castle to experience the event – the list could go on and on. The day got off to a poor start…
Almighty God, who rulest over all the kingdoms of the world, and dost order them according to thy good pleasure: We yield thee unfeigned thanks, for that thou wast pleased, as on this day, to set thy Servant our Sovereign Lady, Queen Elizabeth upon the Throne of this Realm. Let thy wisdom be her guide, and let thine arm strengthen her; let truth and justice, holiness and righteousness, peace and charity, abound in her days; direct all her counsels and…
The stripling posturing before the hero; the mature man posturing before God. Circularity is endless, yet one prayer, slipping the reason, speeds out into the cornerless universe so close to God as to open a crater in his composure. R.S. Thomas, Residues
Queen Anne’s Ride, dating from 1708, is a grand avenue similar to The Long Walk, also three miles in length, but unlike its more famous counterpart, it features only a single row of trees on each side. It runs south-west towards Ascot. In the 18th Century it was known as Queen’s Walk, the name changing during the nineteenth century. A local furore erupted in 1993 when some of the older oaks adjacent to the A332 road to Bracknell were felled…
I have just finished a ten day consultation with 24 clergy here in St Georges House – a fascinating and moving journey for us all. Here is our aspiration as set out by my colleague Hueston Finlay: To try and speak of God is, unavoidably, to work with words and images carved from the world’s wood, the territory of the familiar.’ Nicholas Lash may be right. But speak of God we must and to speak of him consistently, coherently and…
The work of the preservation of the Chapel is fascinating. Slowly the Chapel is being restored and at the moment work has begun of the North Quire Aisle. Scaffolding was erected in the North Quire Aisle in June allowing experts to undertake conservation cleaning of all the stonework in the area. The North Quire Aisle remains accessible beneath the scaffolding; it is from here that visitors can see the side chapel where King George VI and Queen Elizabeth the Queen…
The crowds gather and the Royal Standard is raised! The bands play! Pictures taken by Marc Claire Panton
Friday marked a day of preparations for garter Day here in the Castle. An early start for those involved in the military duties of lining the route of the procession, providing music for the day and leading the processions. Here are a few snaps from my window! The precision and attention to detail are quite remarkable – a small insight into the sheer levels of energy and work that go into these days. And a brief reminder about Garter Day:…
Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Greater London; it has not been inhabited by the British royal family since the 18th century. The palace is located 11.7 miles (18.8 km) south west of Charing Cross and upstream of Central London on the River Thames. It was originally built for Cardinal Wolsey, a favourite of King Henry VIII, circa 1514; in 1529, as Wolsey fell from favour, the palace was passed to the King,…
The Long Walk was commenced by Charles II from 1680-1685 by planting a double avenue of elm trees. The central carriage road was added by Queen Anne in 1710. The original planting comprised 1,652 trees placed 30 feet apart in each direction. The width between the two inner rows was 150 feet, and overall 210 feet. It is a little less long than the three miles of popular rumour being around 2.65 miles (2 2/3rds miles or 4.26 km)…
Some of you know that I am in temporary accomodation tucked in just below the Round Tower ….. for those of you who prefer pictures here is the view from my living room window: Visitors to the College of St George will have noticed some considerable activity. This particular phase of a major refurbishment project is underway with the erection of scaffolding over the Canons’ Cloister. The scaffolding can also be seen from street level as it towers up and…
Today in the Chapel of St Gerge many hundreds of people are gathering for a service of Praise, Remembrance and Dedication for the members of the Royal Victorian Order. The Royal Victorian Order is given by The Queen to people who have served her or the Monarchy in a personal way. These may include officials of the Royal Household, family members or perhaps British Ambassadors who have helped organise a State Visit to a particular country. The Order was founded…
Ultimately cathedrals are places of welcome and transformation. Nowhere is this more true than of their worship. Their very construction points to the existence of a God of mystery and awe, yet in their nooks and crannies are places of intimacy and comfort, where the hesitant can light a candle and say a prayer. Where it has been easy for individuals to make the ‘vertical’ connection between themselves and God, it has been more difficult for the ‘horizontal’ connection…
Yesterday I saw a small group of children in Chapel here in St Georges Windsor. It was amazing to see their reaction and it took me back to thenk about space, wonder and awe. Donald Allchin eloquently evokes how spirituality might relate to a cathedral: To speak of spirituality is to speak of that meeting of eternity with time, of heaven with earth; it is to recover a sense of the holiness of matter, the sacredness of this world of…