The Frogmore estate first came into royal ownership in the mid-sixteenth century but it was held by a succession of Crown tenants for the following 250 years.  It formed a substantial enclave between the Great Park and Little (now Home) Park of Windsor, directly bordering the old public road between Windsor and Old Windsor.  No doubt it was the close proximity of the estate to the Castle that prompted its purchase by the Crown, for although low-lying and marshy (as its name suggests), its perimeter lies less than a mile from the southern facade of the Castle.  One of the scenes in Shakespeare's play, The Merry Wives of Windsor is set in a 'field near Frogmore.' A souvenir guide to the historic Frogmore House and Royal Mausoleum.