About the images

Created from the 1760s to the 1790s, the paintings offer an insight into life at Windsor during the reign of George III (1760– 1820), who used the castle as an occasional country retreat for his growing family.


The drawings will be displayed at the castle next month alongside a number of early guidebooks, showing what visitors to Windsor would have experienced some 250 years ago.

‘The father of English watercolour’, Paul Sandby (1730–1809), and his older brother Thomas (1721–98) produced views of the castle from numerous angles and viewpoints. They created an unrivalled visual record of the building and surrounding area.

The watercolours also document the appearance of the castle before the major remodelling of the building by George III’s son, George IV, in the 1820s.

Capturing the Castle: Watercolours of Windsor by Paul and Thomas Sandby will be on display at The Drawings Gallery, Windsor Castle, from 7 February to 5 May 2014.


Visitors can, from February 2014, use a free Capturing the Castle app to explore the 18th-century views, and compare them with the appearance of the castle today.