Windsor Royal Beasts on St. George’s Chapel roof

July 6, 2008 at 4:22 pm | Posted in Heraldry, Photography, St. George's Chapel, Windsor, Windsor Castle | Leave a comment
Tags: Architecture, Heraldry, My photos, Photography, Royal Beasts, St. George's Chapel, Windsor, Windsor Castle

“Don’t look at me. Look at what I’m looking at.” 

~ a great teacher’s quote by the Headmaster of St. George’s School Windsor Castle during Speech Day and Prize-Giving in St. George’s Chapel today.

As usual, I was listening while studying the awe-inspiring interior of the nave. Outside it was raining, and there is no photography allowed inside. However, I have been waiting for such an occasion to show you a few more photos from June. There are certainly several dozen different animals on the roof, and this paragraph from Britannia helps you appreciate what I look up at every time I visit the chapel:

Adorning the roof of St. George’s Chapel are seventy-six stone animals known as the Windsor Royal Beasts. They hold wind vanes and coats of arms, and depict fourteen different heraldic animals associated with the Plantagenet & Tudor Royal families: 

• The Crowned Golden Lion of England
• The Red Dragon of Wales
• The Silver Falcon of York
• The Black Bull of Clare(nce)
• The Heraldic Panther of Queen Jane Seymour
• The Beaufort Yale of Kendal
• The Mortimer White Lion of March
• The White Greyhound of Richmond
• The Bohun White Swan of Hereford
• The White Hart of Richard II
• The Bohun Collared Silver Antelope
• The Black Dragon of Ulster
• The White Unicorn of Edward III
• The Golden Hind of Kent

Royal Windsor Beasts on South Transept 16 June 2008 (click to enlarge)

The Windsor Royal Beasts fascinate me.  They are referred to as The Queen’s Beasts in some publications and as The King’s Beasts in others. My photographs show sculptures that replaced more ancient ones less than a century ago, so these are very modern by comparison with most of their surroundings.

Taking a closer look at a couple on top of the South Transept of St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle … which animals do you think these are?  The Beaufort Yale and the Heraldic Panther?  At this stage, I do not know, but I am going to try to find out …

Royal Windsor Beasts on South Transept 29 June 2008 (click to enlarge)