Nine centuries ago, soon after he had become the first Norman king of England, William the Conqueror built a ring of castles around London. Each was a day's march from the capital. On a steep chalk hill overlooking the River Thames, he found an eminently suitable site for a fortress to guard the western approach to London. Even from the Norman period Windsor Castle has acted as a state prison. As early as 1095 the Earl of Northumberland was imprisoned at Windsor for defying William II. Prisoners were kept in various towers, castle lodgings and gatehouses, including Colehouse, the Curfew Tower and the erroneously named Norman Gate.

Norman Gate stands north of the Round Tower and is one of the main entrances to the Upper Ward that houses the Queen's Private and State Apartments. Bordered on one side by the North Terrace and on the other by the Moat Garden, Norman Gate was actually built during the reign of Edward III and not by the House of Normandy as its name suggests.

The sculpture incorporates buildings from the Tudor era which in recent times have been used as private residences and administrative and defense offices.