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Landing of the staircase in the Round Tower
W. A. Delamotte
1843
Wood-engraving
9.4 cm high by 8.3 cm wide
Tailpiece for Book V, Chapter I,in W. Harrison Ainsworth's Windsor Castle, from Ainsworth's Magazine (May 1843), tenth instalment, p. 254.
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Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham.
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"Go with him, Surrey," cried Richmond.
Pressing the Fair Geraldine to his breast, the Earl committed her to the charge of his friend, and tearing himself away, followed the steps of the demon. He had not proceeded far when he heard his name pronounced by a voice issuing from the tree above him. Looking up, he saw Herne in one of the topmost branches, and at a sign, instantly climbed up to him. The thick foliage screened them from observation, and Surrey concluded his guide was awaiting the disappearance of the sentinel, who was at that moment approaching the tree. But such apparently was not the other's intentions; for the man had scarcely passed than Herne sprang upon the ramparts, and the poor fellow turning at the sound, was almost scared out of his senses at the sight of the dreaded fiend. Dropping his halbert, he fell upon his face with a stifled cry Herne then motioned Surrey to descend, and they marched together quickly to a low door opening into the keep. Passing through it, and ascending a flight of steps, they stood upon the landing at the top of the staircase communicating with the Norman Tower, and adjoining the entrance to Surrey's chamber.
Apparently familiar with the spot, Herne took down a large key from a nail in the wall, against which it hung, and unlocked the door.
"Enter," he said to Surrey, "and do not forget the debt you owe to Herne the Hunter." And as the earl stepped into the chamber, the door was locked behind him. [Book V, "Mabel Lyndwood," Chapter I, "How the Earl of Surrey and the Fair Geraldine met in King James's Bower in the Moat — And how they were surprised by the Duke of Richmond," pp. 253-254]
Since the wood-engraving appears well into the novel, in both serial and volume form after the non-fiction antiquarian section on the history of Windsor Castle, Delamotte in all likelihood made the sketch for it in the summer of 1842, but probably had no inkling as to how Ainsworth would use it nine months later. Thus, it is not technically an "illustration" since it is unlikely that Delamotte had read what would turn out to be the accompanying text when he visited the castle. However, the present-day drawing of the broad staircase accords well with the scene in Book the Fifth, for which it serves as the tailpiece.
Ainsworth, William Harrison. Windsor Castle. An Historical Romance. Illustrated by George Cruikshank and Tony Johannot. With designs on wood by W. Alfred Delamotte. London: Routledge, 1880. Based on the Henry Colburn edition of 1844.
Patten, Robert L. Chapter 30, "The 'Hoc' Goes Down." George Cruikshank's Life, Times, and Art, vol. 2: 1835-1878. Rutgers, NJ: Rutgers U. P., 1991; London: The Lutterworth Press, 1996. Pp. 153-186.
Worth, George J. William Harrison Ainsworth. New York: Twayne, 1972.
Last modified 1 January 2017