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Windsor Great Park is a large Crown Estate of 19 km2 south of the town of Windsor to the west of London in the United Kingdom . The park originates as the private hunting grounds for Windsor Castle and dates from at least the 11th Century. Now largely open to the public, the land is home to the popular Savill Gardens and Valley Gardens as well as the artificial Virginia Water lake. The park is a popular recreation area for residents of the western London suburbs. FEATURES The park may be clearly divided into a number of distinct regions. At the north is the ''Home Park'' on the southern side of the 11th Century Windsor Castle and divided from the main ''Great Park'' by the busy Albert Road (A308) to Old Windsor town. Home Park contains Frogmore house and gardens, including the Royal Mausoleum where the 19th Century Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are buried. Running south from Windsor Castle for a distance of 3 miles (5km) is the ''Long Walk'' with impressive views both of the castle and the 19th Century ''Copper Horse'' statue to King George III atop ''Snow Hill''. Part of this northern end of the park is enclosed as a ''Deer Park'' home to a large herd of semi-wild deer, reflecting the original medieval purpose of the area. The Royal Lodge , in the centre of the park, was renovated in the 1930's as a home for the then Prince Albert , later King George VI, and his Wife . Other notable buildings in the park include Cumberland Lodge , the grounds of which are not generally open to the public. To the south east of the park, near Englefield Green village, are the popular Savill Gardens and Valley Gardens which were designed and built by Eric Savill in the 1930's and 40's. They include an extradorinary range of flowers and trees from around the world. ''Smith's Lawn'' and Polo Grounds are also nearby. Virginia Water lake in the south of the park is an artificially created lake of around 1 km2 dating from the 1740s. Local legend suggests it was built using Jacobite and French Prisoners-of-war labour who were imprisioned on Breakheart hill, now part of the Valley Gardens. Among the lakseside features are a collection of ornamental Roman ruins, transported from the site of Leptis Magna (near modern-day Tripoli) to Virginia Water in 1816. HISTORY Windsor Castle was begun in the 11th Century by William The Conqueror as it afforded a good defensive point over the Thames River . A vast area of land behind the castle became reserved by the king for personal hunting and also to supply the castle with wood, deer, boar and fish. It was not until later that it became necessary to define this area. In 1129 the first ''Parker'' was appointed, and in 1240 King Henry III set out the official area of the 'Park', a region many times larger than the current ''Great Park''. The title ''Parker'' exists today as "''Ranger of the Park''", the current title-holder being Prince Philip . Except for a brief period of " Privatisation " by Oliver Cromwell in order to pay for the Civil War , the Park remained the personal property of the monarch until the reign of George III when control over all Crown Land s was handed over to Parliament . Today the Park is officially owned by Queen Elizabeth II but administered by the Crown Estates Commissioners office, a department of government. By the 18th Century the food value of the park land to Windsor had decreased in importance and the new Hanoverian monarchs preferred to build and garden the land rather than hunt in it. The ''Long Walk'' had been laid out by William Of Orange in the 1680's, with double rows of elms which lasted until World War II , but the Georges extended it and built numerous monuments, such as the ''Copper Horse'' (depicting George III) and the Obelisk (in honor to William, Duke Of Cumberland ). George III had a set of 2,000 year old Roman ruins imported from Libya and placed in the park. Virginia Water was begun in 1746 by William, Duke of Cumberland who was then Ranger of the Park. Few details are recorded of the building of the lake, however it has been suggested that Prisoners-of-war from the recent Jacobite risings, who were incamped at the nearby Breakheart hill, were involved. The original lake was much smaller than the current form, and was destroyed in a flood in 1768. In 1780 Paul and Thomas Sandby began construction of a much larger lake at the site, and went on the add an artificial waterfall, Meadow Pond and Obelisk Pond. The lake is probably named after Queen Elizabeth I , who was known as the Virgin Queen, however it is not known why they should have named it after a Monarch of 150 years before. Queen Victoria was probably the greatest patron of the Park. Following the death of her beloved Albert, she largely withdrew from public life, retreating in part to the Park. At Frogmore she built a Royal Mausoleum for Albert. She was later buried there on her death, along with a number of other Royals. A statue to Albert is to the west of the Polo grounds. During the World Wars, the Smith's Lawn area of the Park was used for housing troops. During the 1940's much of the Deer Park was ploughed and farmed for food, which involved the felling of hundreds of ancient trees. Over 200 large bombs fell on the land, including several V-2 Rocket s. In the 1950's the Park was gradually turned into the public recreation area it is today. This involved the re-planting of Savill Gardens (which had been allowed to run wild during the war) and the new Valley Gardens . In 1951 a large wall for creeping plants was built at Savill using bricks from bombed-out London buildings. In 1958 a Totem Pole was installed nearby, a gift from British Columbia to the Queen. A new visitor centre is currently under construction by the renowned Glenn Howells Architects. SEE ALSO Nearby places
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