 The west side of the Fountain Court comprises the apartments , with a number of bay windows and window seats facing west and north across the park . The Grand Staircase divides the apartments ; restored between 2010 and 2011 , the staircase would originally have had a substantial porch , similar to the one that survives in the Pitched Stone Court , and would have been a centre @-@ piece of the Fountain Court . The apartments to the west of the staircase are more complex than the others , designed to create somewhat greater privacy , and overlooked the gardens to the west of the castle . On the south side of the court is the South Gate , the original entrance to the castle prior to the 1460s reconstruction . The fan vaulted gatehouse closely resembles the contemporary cloisters at Gloucester Cathedral , but by the 16th century had been converted to the entrance to the bowling green in the terrace beyond . 
