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."
25 years later, the press is still writing about the fire, as in this story from the British Telegraph: (
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"November 20, 1992: Queen faces huge repair bill as Windsor Castle is devastated by fire
The royal residence and Europe's largest inhabited castle is severely damaged in a 12-hour blaze - the final ignominy of the Queen's infamous 'annus horribilis'.
By Chas Early
Last updated: 20 April 2016, 17:02 BST
On November 20, 1992, Windsor Castle - one of the official residences of the British monarch - suffered a massive fire that caused damage estimated at £36.5 million.
As the video above recalls, the blaze began at 11.33am in the Queen’s Private Chapel on the first floor of the castle’s north-east wing. It was found to have been sparked by a 1,000-watt spotlight used by renovators, which was left switched on too close to a curtain.
Due to a lack of firebreaks and fire-stopping materials in cavities and roof voids, the blaze quickly spread into the neighbouring Brunswick Tower and St George’s Hall, the castle’s banqueting space (shown below before and after the fire), and into the private apartments in the eastern wing of the building.
The main fire burned for nearly 12 hours. Castle staff, tradesmen and soldiers formed a human chain to remove precious furniture, artworks and antiquities from the building, helped by Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, who had been working in the castle when the fire broke out.
Nine principal state rooms were destroyed, with over 100 more being severely damaged – covering around one-fifth of the castle’s area. Restoration works would not be completed until November 1997.
The main fire burned for nearly 12 hours. Castle staff, tradesmen and soldiers formed a human chain to remove precious furniture, artworks and antiquities from the building, helped by Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, who had been working in the castle when the fire broke out.
Nine principal state rooms were destroyed, with over 100 more being severely damaged – covering around one-fifth of the castle’s area. Restoration works would not be completed until November 1997.
To stop the fire spreading, tradesmen were asked to construct firebreaks in order to block off the majority of the castle. These were put in place at around 1.30pm.
Tourists were allowed back into the castle grounds within three days, and the Queen was back in residence a fortnight later.
A debate followed as to who should foot the bill for repairs to the castle. Technically it is owned by the state, not the monarch, and some MPs and parts of the media called for the Queen to pay for the repairs herself.
In response, the Queen agreed to open up parts of Buckingham Palace to the public for the first time, with money raised from the £8 entry charge going towards Windsor’s restoration. This covered around 70% of the repair bill, while the Queen donated £2 million of her personal wealth to the refurbishment.
Four days after the fire, in a speech at the Guildhall to mark the 40th anniversary of her accession, the Queen referred to 1992 as an 'annus horribilis'; as well as the Windsor fire, the year also saw her daughter Anne divorce and the marriages of her sons Charles and Andrew beset by scandal."