A
garden was also planned on the north side of the castle. In this reign
Sir James Thornhill commenced painting Charles the Second's
staircase with designs from Ovid's Metamorphoses, but did not
complete his task till after the accession of George the First. This
staircase was removed in 1800, to make way for the present Gothic
entrance erected by the elder Wyatt.
The first two monarchs of the house of Hanover rarely used Windsor as
a residence, preferring Hampton Court and Kensington; and even
George the Third did not actually live in the castle, but in the Queen's
Lodge--a large detached building, with no pretension to architectural
beauty, which he himself erected opposite the south terrace, at a cost
of nearly 44,000 pounds. With most praiseworthy zeal, and almost
entirely at his own expense, this monarch undertook the restoration of
Saint George's Chapel. The work was commenced in 1787, occupied
three years, and was executed by Mr. Emlyn, a local architect. The
whole building was repaved, a new altar-screen and organ added, and
the carving restored.
In 1796 Mr. James Wyatt was appointed surveyor-general of the royal
buildings, and effected many internal arrangements.
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