34 
CRANBOURNE TOWER. 
Cranbourne Tower, now shorn of much of its former magnifi- 
cence, is an edifice of considerable historic interest. Built in the 
reign of Charles II. by the Earl of Ranelagh, it was afterwards 
occupied by the Duke of Cumberland, and latterly by the Princess 
Charlotte of Saxe-Coburg. Much of the building has been pulled 
down, but the fine Tower remains, and is occupied as a lodge by 
one of the park-keepers. From the elevated site on which the 
Tower stands, beautiful views of Windsor Castle and the sur- 
rounding country were obtained. Here, it may also be stated, 
are situated the large reservoirs, to which water is pumped 
from the Thames, for the supply of the Castle. At a short 
distance from the Tower, a pillar tablet is placed with the following 
interesting inscription :—‘“‘ The celebrated Race Horse ‘Eclipse,’ 
by Marske out of Spiletta, was foaled in this Paddock, 1764. He 
was bred by H.R.H. William, Duke of Cumberland.” 
WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR’S OAK. 
The party had a capital view of a fine herd of the rare ‘“ White 
Hart” deer in the course of their walk across the Park to the 
spot where stands the venerable ‘“ Monarch” Oak of the Forest, 
beneath whose boughs the hart may have browsed, as it does 
to-day, before the advent of the Conqueror. This Veteran of 
the Forest—known as William the Conqueror’s Oak—grows in 
the White Hart paddock on its western side, at about five 
minutes’ walk from Cranbourne Tower. It is a very fine specimen 
of an old oak. It has been known as William the Conqueror’s 
oak for many generations, though no record is obtainable giving 
the reason why it should have been so named. There is no 
doubt it may have stood in the Conqueror’s time; and the grand 
look-out over the neighbouring country from this high-lying spot 
might have brought Norman William often under its boughs to 
watch and rest. This noble tree is now a comparative wreck of 
its former stately grandeur. The gigantic bole is quite hollow 
with decay in the centre, and the massive limbs that tower aloft 
are many of them lifeless. Still a considerable portion of the 
tree is alive, and pushes forth shoots and green leaves annually, 
which it may continue to do for ages to come, if left unmolested 
by nature and man. An interestingly curious feature of this 
grand oak is, that after the bole had split and decayed, the bark 
