THE Great Windsor cover-up
... so can you spot where the castle has been camouflaged to hide vital building work?
WINDSOR CASTLE is undergoing major renovation work – but thanks to a remarkable piece of visual trickery, most of the tourists who visited the historic Royal residence this summer probably didn’t even notice.
The building work, involving masses of unsightly scaffolding, has been made to ‘disappear’ by covering it a life-size image of the castle walls so realistic that it is almost impossible to spot where the fake stops and the actual castle resumes.
The covering, on the walls and battlements of the North Terrace, was created by taking photographs of the area before the work started and printing a carefully scaled composite image on to a huge, durable plastic sheet, which was then stretched in front of the scaffolding.
The image is so detailed and lifelike that it shows paintings and chandeliers behind the castle’s windows.
Officials realised early this year that the scaffolding would be a major eyesore during events held in the Queen’s 90th birthday year. But thanks to the trickery, the castle has appeared in pristine condition.
Manchester firm Image Group was brought in to create the illusion.
In the space of just five weeks, it used a series of high-resolution photographs to recreate the battlements, walls and windows on the 82ft-high, 130ft-wide PVC mesh banner, and then, with teams of abseilers, attach it to a frame erected over the scaffolding.
A Windsor Castle source said: ‘The craftsmanship was such that you cannot tell the difference when you step back, and anyone passing the castle and looking up would not have a clue it was a fake facade.
‘The Queen has seen it and was absolutely delighted. The work is going on behind the screen and people are totally oblivious to it.
‘The North Terrace is probably the most photogenic view of the castle and there was no doubt it was going to be an ugly blot on the side for the Queen’s birthday.’
Behind the image, workmen are carrying out essential repairs to crumbling walls and leaking lead roofs, as part of a lengthy restoration project. The North Terrace walls are undergoing ‘gilleting’, where small pieces of stone are pushed into the mortar to strengthen it, and the roofs are having their lead replaced.
The terrace, which overlooks Eton College and the River Thames, dates from medieval times but the section being restored was built between 1824 and 1837.
Tom Bywater, of Image Group, said: ‘We were incredibly honoured to be involved in such a prestigious project. We take pride in all of our work but even more so with Windsor Castle being such an iconic and historic building.
‘From initial planning with the Windsor Castle Team through to the final installation, this has been a great project for us to be involved in and we think the results speak for themselves.’