Windsor is a well known name in England, however if using it geographically, it actually refers to three different locations. Windsor in Berkshire is the most well known and it has the distinction of housing Windsor Castle. This is the largest and probably the most famous inhabited castle in the world. The castle itself dates back to the time of William the Conqueror, which contributes to its status as the oldest continually inhabited castle. It is extremely popular with tourists, and guests staying in one of the fine Windsor hotels will certainly make a visit to the castle a top priority of their vacation.
The castle is one of the primary residents of the current Queen Elizabeth. She also resides in Buckingham Palace and the Holyrod Palace in Edinburgh Scotland. She spends many weeks out of the year in Windsor and the castle is used for official state purposes as well as private functions and parties that occur on a grand scale. The castle has seen many revisions and additions through the centuries, and most of the kings and queens of England have had a major role in its evolution. This makes the features of the castle easy to trace through a chronological comparison with the timings of the English rulers.
One of its notable uses occurred during the reign of Elizabeth the first who retreated with her court to the castle following a great outbreak of the plague in 1563. The plague was extremely common during her reign and outbreaks occurred on a regular basis. Elizabeth had a gallows erected in order to control visitors from London would likely to be bringing the plague with them. She also cut back on trade and pubic gathers to decrease the spread of this dreaded disease. Theatres were also closed down during great plague outbreaks and actors and playwrights would often have to scramble to replace the their means of income.