edwardslovelyelizabeth: Eltham Palace is a former royal palace in south-east England. Eltham, once r
edwardslovelyelizabeth: Eltham Palace is a former royal palace in south-east England. Eltham, once rural, is now surrounded by the south-east London suburbs. The old de Vesci manor was rebuilt between 1295 and 1311 by Bishop Bek of Durham, who bequeathed it to Prince Edward, later Edward II, from whom it passed to Queen Isabella. She made additions to it under the supervision of Michael of Canterbury. Before 1360 Edward III spent over £2500 on new buildings; by this time Eltham had a great hall, chambers and chapels for the king and queen, a court and a ‘long chamber’, all moated and walled. Eltham remained popular with Richard II, who added a ‘dancing chamber’, an outer court and further accommodation. The great hall was built for Edward IV in the 1470s for court dining, entertaining and receptions. Its magnificent oak roof is an elaborate ‘false hammer-beam’ construction, with the short vertical posts morticed into the ends of the arch-braced horizontal hammer-beams. Curved wind-braces give strength to the roof trusses. There is evidence that the roof was once partly gilded: it also contained a louvre, ventilating an open hearth in the centre of the floor. Intending the great hall to be used as a music room a minstrels’ gallery was added at one end King Henry VII who resided much in Eltham, and as appears by the rocords in the Office of Arms, most commonly dined in the great hall, rebuild the front of the palace in the west side. Stained glass was added to the hall windows in 1936 by George Kruger Gray. The roundels depict the badges of Edward IV, and the glass in the bay windows depicts some of the great owners of the palace, from Bishop Odo to Edward IV and his queen, Elizabeth Woodville. -- source link
#history#architecture