Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. The major loss was to the fabric of the castle. [2], There had been no serious injuries and no deaths. A decade later, it was a venue for several royal weddings, including Prince Harry and Princess Eugenie. Windsor Castle, the home of Britains Royal Family for more than eight centuries, suffered enormous damage from a tenacious fire that raged for hours At 15:30, the floors of the Brunswick Tower collapsed. [3] 1.5million gallons[4] (7million litres) of water from the mains water supply, a reservoir-fed hydrant, a swimming pool, a pond, and the nearby River Thames had been used to fight the fire. [6] Five firemen were taken to hospital with minor injuries.[2]. By 23:00, the main fire was extinguished, and by 02:30, the last secondary fires were extinguished. You'll get the latest updates on this topic in your browser notifications. The rebuild took five years to complete and cost about $47.5 million. Interior view of Windsor Castle showing restoration after it was damaged by fire in 1992, 17th November 1997. Although criticised by some people who thought it lacked imagination, the architects believed that, given the history of the building and the surviving fabric, the new work had to be Gothic. The Queen With Firemen Inspecting The Damage After The Fire At Windsor Castle. Queen Elizabeth II had to give up the tax exemptions the Royal Family had benefited from for decades after heavy criticism for the costs of restoring Windsor Castle. A large portion of the floor slabs above the 17th Floor progressively collapsed during the fire when the unprotected steel perimeter columns on the upper levels buckled and collapsed (see Figure 1). Text us for exclusive photos and videos, royal news, and way more. Tim Graham/Getty Images, Queen Elizabeth inspecting the fire damage at Windsor Castle, | By 12:12, there were 20 fire engines, and by 12:20 there were 35, with over 200 fire-fighters from London, Buckinghamshire, Surrey and Oxfordshire, as well as from Berkshire. The fire caused $47.5 million worth of damage to Queen Elizabeths home. [19] The Queen held a reception in the newly restored hall for the architects and building contractors involved in the project. The State Dining Room in the Prince of Wales Tower and the Grand Reception Room were also devastated. Windsor Castle is the largest continually inhabited castle in the world. It's full of richly-decorated interiors. Donating $2.6 million of her personal wealth, she agreed to open her London residence, Buckingham Palace to the public in order to generate the additional funds needed. It was an enormous operation: 300 clocks, a collection of miniatures, thousands of valuable books and historic manuscripts, and old Master drawings from the Royal Library were saved. Furnishings include a suite of Morel & Sneddon seat furniture. [11], one of the official residences of Queen Elizabeth II, George III and the Prince of Wales Reviewing Troops, "Spotlight is blamed for blaze at Windsor", "Big fire in Windsor Castle raises fear about artwork", "Windsor Castle heavily damaged: Royals, civilians save treasures from fire", "Painting lost in castle fire angered George III", "November 20, 1992: Queen faces huge repair bill as Windsor Castle is devastated by fire", "Windsor Castle: five years from disaster to triumph", A day that shook the world: Windsor Castle fire (2010), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1992_Windsor_Castle_fire&oldid=1012604592, Building and structure fires in the United Kingdom, November 1992 events in the United Kingdom, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from April 2019, All articles with vague or ambiguous time, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. At 11:36, Mr Smith pressed a switch to alert the control room at Reading fire station. Royal Rewind: the Windsor Castle fire of 1992 by Kieran Rumsby Fri 20 November, 2020 On 20th November 1992, a fire broke out at Windsor Castle, The Queens favourite residence. Queen Elizabeth II surveys the scene at Windsor Castle following the fire. The fire at Windsor Castle teaches us that there can be positive outcomes to such tragic events. The At 19:00, the roof of St George's Hall finally collapsed. [2] A fire alarm went off[when?] Several ceilings collapsed. The castle played a major role in the First Barons War. Initially, the Brunswick Tower was lit up, but lights soon began to flash indicating that the fire had quickly spread to neighbouring rooms. In all, 125 castle staff, 125 contractors, 100 military personnel and 20 Crown Estate staff were involved in the salvage operation. On 7 June 1994, details of the restoration project were announced. Today, more than 500 people Windsor Castle fire 1992 Nine principal state rooms were destroyed, with over 100 more being severely damaged around one-fifth of the castles area. It will be no intrusion of privacy if you Credit: The fire began in the Queen's Private Chapel at 11:15 in the morning when a curtain was ignited by a spotlight pressed up against it. The number of fire appliances totalled 39 and 225 fire-fighters were in attendance. Select from premium Windsor Castle of the highest quality. The Windsor Castle fire, which started when a restorer's lamp set fire to curtains, damaged 100 rooms, though only a few works of art, and destroyed St George's Hall, the castle Andrew later joined a human chain of employees to remove many priceless pieces of art from the burning castle. [6] Items from the Royal Collection lost include the Sir William Beechey equestrian portrait George III and the Prince of Wales Reviewing Troops, which at 13feet (4m) by 16feet (5m) was too large to remove;[7] an 18-foot (5.5m) long 1820s sideboard by Morel and Seddon; several items of porcelain; several chandeliers; the Willis organ; and the 1851 Great Exhibition Axminster carpet was partly burnt. The Household Cavalry arrived from nearby Combermere Barracks. In total, 100 rooms were affected by the fire. On March 19, 1853, at around 1900, a fire broke out in the north east corner of the castle badly damaging the Prince of Wales Tower but was contained through the valiant efforts of Queen Victorias firefighters and The incident sparked a public debate about whether the taxpayer should foot the repair bill, but in the end, the Queen agreed to meet 70% of the costs. in the watch room of the castle fire brigade, manned by the Chief Fire Officer, Marshall Smith. [11] Occupied royal palaces like Windsor Castle are too valuable to insure,[6] and items in the Royal Collection are not insured against loss. Get push notifications with news, features and more. The blaze started on November 20, 1992, when a faulty spotlight set fire to a curtain in Queen Victorias chapel and quickly spread to the Brunswick Tower, St. Georges Hall and the surrounding private apartments. Designed by architect Giles Downes, the new roof for St George's Hall is an example of a hammer-beam ceiling. Pockets of fire remained until the early hours of the morning, some 15 hours after it began. The fire that roared through Windsor Castle on Friday appears to have claimed only a relative handful of the priceless artworks housed there, but PARISS NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL has been ravaged by a devastating fire and now architectural experts who helped restore Windsor Castle after [citation needed] A royal spokesman denied reports in the media that Christopher Lloyd, the Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures, had suffered a heart attack. On November 20, 1992 much of Windsor Castle, the Queen's weekend residence, was destroyed by fire. The castle was besieged for the first time in [18] The Lantern Lobby has oak columns forming a vaulted ceiling, imitating an arum lily. Feb 10, 2021 - Find the perfect Windsor Castle stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. The new chapel and adjoining cloisters were realigned to form a processional route from the private apartments, through an octagonal vestibule, into St George's Hall. It had to be replicated by N.E.J. The 30-foot (9m) long curtains eventually dropped to the floor and continued to burn, while those present hurriedly began removing paintings from the chapel, until the intense heat and raining embers forced them to leave at 11:32. Credit: Coyote Ugly Turns 20: Where Is the Cast Now? The Royal Collection Department were especially active, including the Director, Sir Geoffrey de Bellaigue, the Surveyor of Pictures, Christopher Lloyd, the Deputy Surveyor of the Queen's Works of Art, Hugh Roberts, the Curator of Print Room, Mrs Roberts, and the librarian, Oliver Everett. [2], Apart from the several hundred firemen directly involved in the fire-fight,[5] staff and tradesmen helped the castle's fire brigade and volunteer salvage corps move furniture and works of art from the endangered apartments, including a 150-foot (46m) long table and a 120-foot (37m) long carpet from the Waterloo Chamber, to the safety of the castle's riding school. A fire broke out at Windsor Castle on November 20, 1992, which caused extensive damage to the royal residence Staff worked to remove works of art from the Royal Collection from the path of the fire. The most seriously damaged rooms had largely been emptied of their valuable contents the previous day, and some paintings were on loan to a travelling exhibition. November 20, 1992 Fire seriously damages Windsor Castle On November 24, 1992, in a speech at the Guildhall in London marking the 40th anniversary of her accession, Queen Elizabeth II said that 1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure. It was many centuries before a major fire threatened Windsor Castle again. Firemen had to temporarily withdraw to locate three men who were briefly lost in the smoke, and withdrew again because men were temporarily unaccounted for when part of the roof collapsed. The Windsor Castle has suffered damage from the fire, mainly water, and smoke damage. [9] The State Apartments reopened in 1993 after rewiring was completed, with all major rooms open by Easter, when only St George's Hall and the Grand Reception Room stayed closed. In the 20th century, the castle survived both world wars, but it was a horrific fire which caused the most damage in 1992. A fierce fire is raging through Windsor Castle in Berkshire, threatening one of the world's greatest collections of art. It was initially feared that it would cost 60million to restore the castle, though the final cost was 36.5million (equivalent to 58 million in 2016[10]), and that drying out the castle would take 10 years. We are working hard to get the pub open for this weekend! By 12:20, the fire had spread to St George's Hall, a banqueting hall and the largest of the State Apartments. Hoses were directed at all levels of the building surrounding the fire. [17] Commentators have noted that Downes's work does much to compensate for the originally flawed dimensions of the hall. The external wall above the bay window of the Crimson Drawing Room (between the Prince of Wales and Chester Towers) was seriously calcified. It continued to burn for another three hours. Credit: It burned as far as the Chester Tower. While Queen Elizabeth was not inside the castle at the time, her son Prince Andrew was and he personally telephoned his mother to tell her the tragic news. (SOUNDBITE OF MONTAGE) UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #1: A major fire swept through Windsor Castle in suburban London. He then activated the public fire alarm in the castle and telephoned the Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service on a direct line, giving the message, "Windsor Castle here; we have got a fire in the Private Chapel. [13] On 29 April 1993 it was announced that 70% of the cost would be met by charging the public for entry into the castle precincts and 8 for admission to Buckingham Palace for the next five years. At least 225 firemen fought the blaze using 39 appliances; according to Fire Brigade figures, Greater The false ceiling in St George's Hall and the void for coal trucks beneath the floor had allowed the fire to spread. An operation to save furniture and works of art involving castle staff, building contractors and the Queen's son, Prince Andrew, had commenced in rooms adjacent to the fire. On the morning of November 20, 1992, a fire broke out in the chapel of Windsor Castle. The Damage. If you would like to opt out of browser push notifications, please refer to the following instructions specific to your device and browser: A Devastating Fire Broke Out at the Queen's Home of Windsor Castle 28 Years Ago Today. A major part of the State Apartments was soon ablaze. Tourists were allowed into the precincts within three days. Engineer Creates App To Translate Your Cat, Find out what your cat is trying to tell you with a new cat app, The Sweetest Photos of Princes Harry with Diana, Princess Diana died when Harry was just 12 years old, Sean Connery's Cause of Death Revealed Weeks After He Dies at Age 90. He was moved to the royal surgery and then to a hospital. However, only the Queen's Private Chapel and several modern rooms were to be restored in a modern style. Queen Victorias journals are on display at the Windsor Castle. Fitting out, originally planned to finish by spring 1998, occurred on 17 November 1997. Apartments burnt included the Crimson Drawing Room (completely gutted), the Green Drawing Room (badly damaged, though only partially destroyed by smoke and water) and the Queen's Private Chapel (including the double-sided 19th century Henry Willisorgan in the gallery between St Geor