 Several minor alterations were made to the Upper Ward under Victoria . Anthony Salvin rebuilt Wyatville 's grand staircase , with Edward Blore constructing a new private chapel within the State Apartments . Salvin also rebuilt the State Dining Room following a serious fire in 1853 . Ludwig Gruner assisted in the design of the Queen 's Private Audience Chamber in the south range . Blore and Salvin also did extensive work in the Lower Ward , under the direction of Prince Albert , including the Hundred Steps leading down into Windsor town , rebuilding the Garter , Curfew and Salisbury towers , the houses of the Military Knights and creating a new Guardhouse . George Gilbert Scott rebuilt the Horseshoe Cloister in the 1870s . The Norman Gatehouse was turned into a private dwelling for Sir Henry Ponsonby . Windsor Castle did not benefit from many of the minor improvements of the era , however , as Victoria disliked gaslight , preferring candles ; electric lighting was only installed in limited parts of the castle at the end of her reign . Indeed , the castle was famously cold and draughty in Victoria 's reign , but it was connected to a nearby reservoir , with water reliably piped into the interior for the first time . 
