Whitehall palace
Whitehall Palace was the former principal residence of English kings in London from 1530 to 1698.
The palace grew organically around the former residence of Cardinal Wolsey to become the largest palace in Europe, with over 1,500 rooms. Whitehall was not, however, a single building, but rather a heterogeneous and chaotic complex of different buildings from different periods.
In 1698, the palace suffered a terrifying fire that destroyed most of the complex, especially the old timber-roofed Tudor buildings. The Banqueting House, a party pavilion designed by Inigo Jones and whose ceiling had been decorated by Rubens, was saved from the fire.
Location
Originally, the palace was located on the banks of the River Thames and little by little it was extended to the west towards the present Whitehall street. When there was no space, it was decided to build on the other side of the street, thus leaving the palace divided in two, from north to south, along that street.
The limits of the palace were formed by Northumberland Avenue in the north; St James's Park to the west, Derby Door to the south and the banks of the River Thames to the east (although the construction of the Victoria Embankment in the 18th century XIX meant gaining more land from the river), a total of about 9.3 hectares.
History
The new palace of Henry VIII (1529-1547)
During the Middle Ages, the City of Westminster located to the west of the City of London was the political and administrative center of England, where Westminster Abbey (place of coronation and burial of sovereigns) and the Westminster Palace (seat of parliament and royal residence). In the middle of the 13th century, the Archbishop of York purchased land north of the Palace of Westminster to build his London residence, which it was known as York Place. Subsequently, the property was acquired by Cardinal Wolsey, a patron of Henry VIII, who built a sumptuous mansion on the banks of the river. Upon his fall from grace in 1529, all his property was confiscated by the monarch who, in November of the same year, arrived by ship from Greenwich and took up residence for the first time in the manor.
The King not only wanted to make use of Cardinal Wolsey's recently completed sumptuous residence, but also planned to create a new grand royal residence that could replace the dilapidated old Palace of Westminster. In 1531 he purchased land west of Whitehall Street from Westminster Abbey, and then further north-west from Eton College, including an old leper hospital. Henry VIII therefore created a vast royal estate stretching from the River Thames and the old York Place to the leper colony which was converted into St James's Palace and earmarked for the Prince of Wales. Between them was the extensive park of St. James, reserved exclusively for the court and enclosed by a wall.
In parallel to all these purchases, York Place was also expanded and renovated. The extension works, which were not finished until 1547, were carried out in different phases, creating a heterogeneous and labyrinthine complex in the late-Gothic style typical of the Tudor dynasty. Over time, the palatine buildings also surpassed Whitehall street, and Two large gates/tower were built to allow the street to be crossed above, while pedestrians passed below. The Holbein Gate, further north, was at the level of today's Banqueting House, while the King's Gate at Downing's Street.
In 1536, Henry VIII decided to drop the name York Place, which was no longer suitable, and designate the new palace as "Kyng's Pales att Westm" (King's Palace at Westminster), but given the confusion it generated with the old Palace of Westminster located further south, the new building was progressively called "Palace of Whitehall". The monarch died in his new palace on January 28, 1547.
From the Tudors to the Stuarts (1547-1625)
During the short reign of Edward VI (1547-1553), Whitehall was the main royal residence along with the now-defunct Greenwich Palace; while during the reign of María I (1553-1558), the palace was used on important occasions, such as the two visits of her husband Felipe of Spain, although in general the sovereign preferred the nearby palace of St. James. Like hers father hers Henry VIII, Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603) traveled frequently between her many royal residences, such as Somerset House, St. James's, Greenwich, Hampton Court, Richmond, Windsor, Oatlands or Nonsuch; but she spent about a quarter of her reign from Whitehall. Normally, the large celebrations in the London palace were concentrated on the anniversary of the accession of the queen in November, Christmas and Carnival.
The accession to the throne of James I (1603-1625) and the House of Stuart did not bring about major changes in the use of Whitehall, which remained the most used royal residence along with Hampton Court and Windsor. In general, the court was installed in Whitehall on All Saints' Day and remained there, at least, until the celebration of Ascension Day (of the monarch to the throne) on March 24, in between the Christmas celebrations and the Carnival. During this reign, one of the most important transformations in the architecture of the palace took place, the construction in 1607 of the Banqueting House, a great banqueting hall that flanked Whitehall street. After its destruction in a fire in 1618, it was rebuilt in the Palladian style by Inigo Jones, its immaculate white stone facade one of the great achievements of 19th-century English XVII. In addition, the ceiling would be decorated in 1636 by the famous Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens.
Charles I and the English Revolution (1625-1660)
Although the Palace of Whitehall experienced its most turbulent period with Charles I (1625-1649) and the Civil War (1642-1651), notable projects were also highlighted at the beginning of the reign. The monarch, who had visited Madrid and El Escorial in 1623, initially desired a total reconstruction of the palace. Both Inigo Jones and John Webb presented monumental projects for an ex-novo building, facing St-James Park and retaining nothing of the old Tudor construction. Until shortly before his death, the king continued to show interest in these projects, but the rebellions in Ireland and Scotland and then the Civil War prevented their realization. Without forgetting that the sovereign's great passion was art collecting.
The interventions of this reign were limited, therefore, to some interior reforms, in the apartments of Queen Henrietta Maria of France, windows, ceilings and chimneys were redone in Baroque style, in addition to adding a small Catholic oratory, but essentially the rooms kept their mid-16th century appearance. There were even fewer interventions in the king's apartments, which were limited to moving the bedroom near the public rooms to create a kind of "ceremonial bedroom" or chambre de parade , and to fit out three private cabinets where Carlos I kept his collection of art and watches.
In January 1642, Charles I, as a result of his conflicts with the English Parliament, abandoned Whitehall for good, but it was not until 1644 that Parliament ordered "purge it" of the royalists who still lived in it. From 1648 Whitehall was used as a barracks and on January 30, 1649, Charles I was executed in front of the Banqueting House. The palace was then ceded to the supporters of Parliament and in 1650 it became the residence of the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell, which prevented the complete dispersal of furniture and collections amassed by Charles I and his predecessors. After Cromwell's death in 1658, the palace was put up for sale, but no one took any interest in it.
The Restoration and the reign of Charles II (1660-1685)
With the Restoration and the reign of Charles II (1660-1685), Whitehall reached its maximum period of splendor, due to the reforms and improvements carried out, to the lavishness of the ceremonies that aspired to imitate French manners and to the debauchery of the monarch himself and his court. Carlos II turned the palace of Whitehall into his main residence, inhabiting it for more than half the year, although from 1668 stays in Newmarket for fifteen days or a month were common, to attend the horse carts; while from 1674 the importance of Windsor as a summer residence was growing, being inhabited between three and five months each year. For its part, Hampton Court was rarely visited.
_-_Charles_II_receives_the_Spanish_Ambassador,_Claude-Lamoral,_Prince_de_Ligne,_in_1660.jpg)
The palatine complex still presented an aspect still essentially organic and Tudor against the monumental regular and classicist architecture of the Louvre that the monarch himself had been able to observe during his exile in Paris. In 1661, the Baroque architect John Webb submitted several projects to redevelop Whitehall, however, despite the King's initial enthusiasm, Webb was soon transferred to Greenwich, where Charles II wanted to build another grand Baroque palace. In 1664, the Whitehall reform project was taken up by the young Christopher Wren, who even traveled to Paris to inspect the Louvre and meet the famous Bernini. However, on his return in 1666, he was entrusted with the project of rebuilding the City of London and Saint Paul.
Thus, what Charles II essentially devoted himself to was interior reforms. To begin with, some of the furniture and works of art had to be recovered, mostly in the hands of Cromwell's widow, and then there were constant reforms. The first, between 1661 and 1662, was to formalize the distinction between & #34;ceremony bedroom" that imitated that of Henry IV and his successors in the Louvre, of the private bedroom that Charles II would actually use. For this purpose, the official bedroom from the time of Carlos I was completely redecorated, an alcove (a niche) was created and a large crimson velvet bed was installed, separated from the rest of the room by a golden balustrade. The private bedroom, for its part, was created ex-novo facing the river in the former Queen's Gallery.
In 1666, however, the king considered that it was time to create more comfortable and spacious private apartments facing the river and annexes to those of Queen Catherine Henrietta of Portugal. For this purpose, the Queen's Gallery and an aviary (volary in English) that existed from the time of Elizabeth I and that would give their name to the good apartments, the Volary Lodgings, were dismantled. >, completed in 1668. It was a sober and regular U-shaped building with a central courtyard paved in checkerboard. Inside, the monarch had a library, laboratories and workshops and two private bedrooms, one large attached to a living room and the other small close to the queen's chambers and with private access.
The apartments of Queen Catherine Henrietta of Portugal were also redecorated, in various batches between 1662 and 1670, creating a new and luxurious bedroom and a bathroom on the ground floor. They were more luxurious and spacious, however, the riverside apartments for the Duke of York and his wife, Prince Rupert of the Rhine and the Duchess of Portsmouth, mistress of the king.
James II (1685-1688)
Despite some political turbulence, religious conflicts and dynastic changes, the last fifteen years of the Whitehall Palace's history were very important for its architectural configuration, carrying out great works that, for the first time, would substantially alter the Tudor appearance of the ensemble.
Under the brief reign of James II (1685-1688) they wanted to solve the problem of accommodation for Queen Maria of Modena, who continued to live in narrow buildings facing the river built in the first half of the century XVI, and that they had not enjoyed similar reforms to those made in the king's apartments by Carlos II. In the first place, the complete reconstruction of the north wing of the Privy Garden was decided, where from Henry VIII to Carlos II the private apartments of the king had been. In their place appeared a wing with a regular façade and a broad row of official apartments for the Queen, ending in a monumental Catholic chapel designed by Wren to touch Whitehall Street and the Banqueting House. The official apartments of the queen were finished at the beginning of 1687, and the chapel at the end of the same year. The scale of the works forced, meanwhile, the royal family to settle in the palace of St. James.
At the beginning of 1688 it was the turn to create some new private apartments for the queen, for this the location of the former apartments of the sovereign was chosen, an amalgamation of Tudor buildings facing the river and annexes to the King's Volary Lodgings. Wren built a two-storey rectangular building, with a baroque façade and a large balcony to contemplate the Thames. Inside, the sovereign would have a chamber, a living room, a dining room, a large and a small bedroom, an oratory, a dressing room, a bathroom and a wardrobe. The overthrow of James II, however, prevented Maria of Modena from enjoying these apartments, which would not be completed until March 1689.
William III and Mary II (1688-1698)
In December 1688, during the Glorious Revolution, James II left London and then went into exile in France, the throne being occupied by his daughter Mary II and son-in-law William of Orange.
For the first time in their history, the new sovereigns did not frequent Whitehall, due to his asthma, William III (1689-1702) preferred his Kensington country residence and Queen Mary only inhabited Whitehall occasionally, when William was campaigning in the Netherlands. Even so, a monumental garden terrace was built for her on the banks of the Thames, but her early death in 1694 prevented her from enjoying it.
In April 1691, a fire destroyed a major part of the palace, the chambers at the southern end, which had been occupied by prominent courtiers such as the Duke of Devonshire. Guillermo III felt little interest in rebuilding the damaged parts and preferred to project large landscaped terraces and walks that flanked the river. His building interests were concentrated at Hampton Court and Kensington, and after Queen Mary's death in 1694, the monarch offered the palace to Princess Anne and her husband Prince George of Denmark.
The Fire (1698)
On January 4, 1698, the vast and rambling Palace of Whitehall was completely destroyed by fire. Apparently, it would have exploded in the bedroom of a Dutch maid who lit a brazier to dry her clothes. The very motley and chaotic structure of the palace, in addition to the extensive use of wood in its constructions, many of them still from the Tudor period, facilitated the rapid spread of fire. To this was added the chaos unleashed by the inhabitants of the palace who wanted to save their goods, and the presence of looters who took advantage of the occasion. The fire lasted two days, only saving the Banqueting House by express wish from the King, the gates/tower of straddling Whitehall Street, and some secondary buildings that stood further away. According to court officials, much of the royal collection was saved, only missing "some curtains and stools". However, the iconic mural of the Family of Henry VIII painted by Hans Holbein is known to have the Younger was destroyed in the fire, as was Bernini's marble bust of King Charles I, and most likely Michelangelo's Sleeping Cupid as well.
The burning of the immense palace caused a great impact on the continent, but little sorrow, because, in the words of the Duke of Saint-Simon, "the biggest and ugliest palace in Europe" had burned down.
Although William III initially thought of rebuilding the palace, and Wren presented two projects, nothing was finally done, and the land was sold to individuals who built their houses. Only the Banqueting House would remain of Whitehall Palace, since the Holbein Gate and the King's Gate were demolished in 1759 and 1723, respectively, to widen the street. The Palace of Saint James would become, from then until 1837, the official residence of the English monarch in London.
During the second half of the XIX century, large public and government buildings began to be built in the area, so that the Whitehall area was to become the administrative center of government. Thus, by metonymy, "Whitehall" is synonymous with the British government, the same as "La Moncloa" it is in the Spanish case.
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