Venus Garden (Windsor Castle)

Origins

The origins of the garden can be traced back to the 1650s when Charles II, after extending the castle's existing north terrace, landscaped the lawns to the east as three bowling greens.^[3]

First East Terrace Garden

The first East Terrace garden was created by George IV in the early nineteenth century. Charles Long, 1st Baron Farnborough, designed an enclosed formal garden for George IV, although the architect Jeffry Wyatville was responsible for the final design. The same architect designed the new east wing of Windsor Castle, wherein are found George IV's semi-state apartments which look out onto the garden. At the same time George IV closed what was then Little Park to the public.

The completed garden had varieties of exotic plant life, many of which died in the subsequent winter and had to be replaced.^[1] It also contained sculptures cast in Rome by Hubert Le Sueur during the reign of Charles I, representing classical gods and goddesses and a Roman gladiator. These were originally displayed at St James's Palace and the Palace of Whitehall before the Civil War, when they were sold off by Oliver Cromwell. The works were returned upon the Restoration, later being brought to Windsor for installation in the new East Terrace Garden.

The garden also included an orangery, which is built into the north wall of the garden, and held 34 orange trees gifted from Charles X of France to George IV.^[1]

19th century

William IV and then Queen Victoria both opened the garden to the public. During Victoria's reign a set of stairs were built in the Prince of Wales's Tower to allow the royal family to travel from the castle to the orangery in private. Later in Victoria's reign the garden was redesigned by Prince Albert; during this time Little Park was converted into the private Home Park. Victoria recorded in her diary:

"Albert is daily occupied…in superintending the planting of the garden in the inside of the Terrace. The plots were before so scrubby & scraggy, but are now being very nicely arranged with laurustinus, bays, &c."

20th century

During the Second World War the garden was again transformed, into a Victory Garden in which vegetables were grown to aid the national shortages and rationing caused by the war. A small allotment was kept for the Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret to grow their own produce.

After the war, during the reign of Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh redesigned the garden, planting 3,500 rose bushes. Also installed was a fountain to the Duke's design, which took the shape of a lotus flower.